Health Education: Defining Health

Defining Health

• Health is a complex concept with varying definitions from different populations (mothers, elderly, youth, children) in different settings.
• People's idea of 'health' and 'being healthy' is shaped by their experiences, knowledge, values, expectations, and fitness level.
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in 1948 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not the absence of disease or infirmity."
• Holistic concept of health includes:
  • Physical health: mechanistic function of health
  • Mental health: ability to think clearly and coherently
  • Emotional health: ability to recognize and express emotions appropriately
  • Spiritual health: connected with religion or personal creeds and principles
  • Social health: ability to make and maintain relationships with others

Health Promotion

• Health promotion is the combination of educational and environmental supports for actions and conditions of living conducive to health.
• The importance of health education and promotion lies in the fact that 40-70% of premature deaths, a third of acute disability, and two-thirds of chronic disability are caused by behavioral and lifestyle risk factors.
• International initiatives for improving health include:
  • The 'Health for All' movement by WHO (1977)
  • The Ottawa Charter (1996)
  • The Jakarta Declaration (1997)
• National initiatives include Ethiopia's adoption of the "Health for All by the Year 2000" declaration and the Health Sector Development Programs (HSDP) I-IV.

Historical Development of Health Education

• The concept of educating people about health dates back to the dawn of humans.
• Health education emerged as a profession over a century ago.
• The first course of health education for specialists was launched in London in 1957.
• The Alma Ata Declaration (1978) recognized health education as a fundamental tool for the attainment of health for all.

Definition of Health Education

• Health education is "a combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions that are conducive to health" (Lawrence Green).
• The definition emphasizes the importance of matching multiple learning experiences with multiple determinants of behavior.

Terminologies

• IEC (Information, Education, and Communication)
• BCC (Behavior Change Communication)
• Health Promotion: planned intervention using educational, political, environmental, regulatory, or organizational mechanisms to support health-promoting actions and conditions.
• Nutrition Education: education aimed at promoting nutrition and healthy eating habits.
• Family Life Education: education for young people on topics like family planning, child rearing, and responsible parenthood.

Objectives and Principles of Health Education

• Objectives:
  • Motivating people to adopt health-promoting behaviors
  • Helping people make informed decisions about their health
• Principles:
  • Need-based approach
  • Multidisciplinary approach
  • Two-way communication
  • Adjusting talks and actions to suit the audience
  • Providing opportunities for the audience to identify problems, plan, implement, and evaluate health education programs.

Approaches to Health Education

• Persuasion approach: influencing people to do what you want them to do.
• Informed Decision Making approach: giving people information, problem-solving, and decision-making skills to make their own choices.

Targets and Settings for Health Education

• Targets:
  • Individuals (clients, healthy individuals, patients)
  • Groups (students, members of a youth club)
  • Communities (people living in a village)
• Settings:
  • Communities
  • Health care settings
  • Worksites
  • Schools
  • Prisons
  • Refugee camps

This quiz explores different understandings of health from various populations, including mothers, elderly, youth, and children, and how their experiences, knowledge, values, and expectations shape their views of health.