Intro to Health Education

• Nermeen Mahmoud, Professor of Geriatric Nursing at Assiut University - Faculty of Nursing has created a presentation on the introduction to health education

Introduction

• Everyone, young and old, educated and illiterate, needs health education.
• Health education deals with any health-related topic and should be compatible with the needs of individuals or groups.

Definition of Terms

• Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social wellbeing, not just the absence of disease.
• Health education involves learning experiences that facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health and has evolved into health promotion.
• Patient education is a term for education in hospital/clinic settings.
• It is linked to following treatment procedures, medication, and home care/rehabilitation procedures.

Importance of Health Education

• Health education improves the health status of individuals, families, communities, states, and the nation.
• It enhances the quality of life for all people and reduces premature deaths.
• Health education reduces financial and human costs associated with healthcare by focusing on prevention.

Characteristics of Effective Health Education

• Provide adequate time for instruction and learning, addressing learner needs, interests, and maturity levels; ensure learning is relevant and applicable.
• Focus on clear health goals and behavioral outcomes; ensure instructional strategies and learning experiences are directly related to these outcomes.
• Address individual values and beliefs, relating to attitudes, values, and beliefs that support positive health behaviors.
• Use strategies designed to personalize information and engage learning, matching learner cognitive/emotional development to maintain interest and accommodate diverse learning styles.

Domains of Health Education

• Cognitive Domain: Advanced and applied medical knowledge, preventive medicine, population health, disaster/relief medicine, military medicine, critical thinking, and research.
• Psychomotor Domain: Clinical and management skills; technology in healthcare.
• Affective Domain: Justice, nobility, dedication, resilience, communication, universality, collaboration, managerial skills, and spirituality.

Levels of Health Education

• Individual Approach
• Group Approach
• General/Mass Approach

Health Education Settings

• Communities
• Healthcare facilities
• Work sites
• College and university campuses
• Schools
• Prisons
• Refugee camps

Elements of Health Education

• Physical: Ability to cope with stress, strength, energy, regular physical activity, and sufficient rest/sleep.
• Mental: Positive feelings about oneself, thinking skills, ability to enjoy learning, and avoiding negative thoughts.
• Social: Getting along with others, making/keeping friends, providing support, and showing respect.

Barriers to Health Education

• Physical barriers include hearing and seeing difficulties.
• Intellectual barriers may arise from natural ability, home background, or schooling, affecting the receiver's perception and understanding.
• Emotional barriers include the receiver's readiness, willingness, and the educator's emotional status.
• Cultural barriers include customs, beliefs, or religious attitudes.
• Economic and social class differences, language variation, and age differences can also pose difficulties, as can the educator's status compared to the audience.
• Barriers related to the educator: Lack of motivation, knowledge, experience, and poor language skills.
• Barriers related to the audience: Lack of time, support, positive reinforcement, and denial of learning needs.
• Barriers related to teaching materials: Unattractive/uninteresting presentation and materials not suited to the audience's mental level.
• Barriers related to the environment: Too hot or cold, unavailable resources, lack of space, control, and privacy.