HEALTH EDUCATION:
Health education is a process that informs, motivates and helps people to adopt & maintain healthy practices & lifestyles, advocates environmental changes as needed to facilitate this goal & conducts professional training and research to the same end.
( NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PREVENTIVE MEDICINE IN USA)
DEFINITION OF HEALTH : Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. (W.H.O. 1948)
DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH :
Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization have identified 12 determinants of health:
Income and social status
Employment
Education
Social environments
Physical environments
Healthy child development
Personal health practices and coping skills
Health services
Social support networks
Biology and genetic endowment
Gender
Culture
AIMS:
1. Informing
2. Motivating
3. Guiding into action
METHODS OF APPROACH
1. Legal or regulatory approach
2. Service approach
3. Health education approach
4. Primary health care
AIDS IN HEALTH EDUCATION:
These can be categorized into audio, visual and a combination of Audio and Visual aids
1. Audio Aids:
They are based on the principles of sound and electricity. These include:
• Tape recorders
• Microphones
• Megaphones
• Gramophone
• Amplifiers
• Radio.
2. Visual aids:
A. Which requires projection.
These include:
• Slides
• Films
• Epidiascopes
• Bioscope
• Overhead projectors
• Transparencies.
B. Which don’t require projection.
These include:
• Models
• Blackboard
• Posters
• Charts
• Graphs
• Specimens.
3. Combined audio-visual aids:
• Televisions
• Cinemas
• Video cassette player and recorder
• Slide-tape combinations
• Multimedia computers.
METHODS OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION:
PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Credibility
Interest
Participation
Motivation
Comprehension
Reinforcement
Learning by doing
Known to unknown
Setting an example
Good human relations
Feedback
Leaders
Soil
Seed
Sower
