Introduction of Health Education PDF

Int roduct io n of health educa tion Outlines Definition of health. Limitations of the WHO definition of health. Meikirch model of health. Health continuum: Wellness-Illness. Definition of Health Education. Aim of health education. Principles of health educ...

Int roduct io n of health educa tion Outlines Definition of health. Limitations of the WHO definition of health. Meikirch model of health. Health continuum: Wellness-Illness. Definition of Health Education. Aim of health education. Principles of health education. Approaches of health education. Targets for health education. Settings of health education. Duties and responsibilities of health educator. Definition of Health: In 1948, World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its constitution as “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. But this definition of has limitations. This definition of health has received a lot of criticism over the years for a number of reasons; 1- The use of the word state is misleading. Health is dynamic and changes from time to time. For example, a person may be healthy in the morning and then develop a headache in the afternoon and thus not be in the “state” of health.  2. The dimensions mentioned in the definition are inadequate :. As the spiritual dimension Another dimension that is not mentioned is the political dimension. 3-The word well-being is very subjective. A definition must be more objective, and subjectivity should be minimized. 4. The way in which health is defined makes it very difficult to measure  5- WHO’s definition of health presents an idealistic the definition of health lacks practical applications. 6-The definition is individualistic in which health is defined for one person. It lacks a community orientation.. Limitations of the World Health Organization definition of health 1.Health is dynamic, not a state 2.The dimensions are inadequate 3.The definition is subjective 4.Measurement is difficult 5.The definition is idealistic rather than realistic 6.The definition lakes a community orientation According to Meikirch Model Health is a dynamic state of wellbeing characterized by a physical, mental and social potential, which satisfies the demands of a life.If the potential is insufficient to satisfy these demands the state is disease. ‫‪Five components of Meikirch model:‬‬ ‫(متطلبات الحياة) ‪1. Demands of life‬‬ ‫( األمكانيات المعطاة بيولوجيا) ‪2. Biologically given potential‬‬ ‫المواد البيولوجية التي تشكل خطر علي الكائنات الحية‬ ‫(األمكانيات المكتسبة شخصيا) ‪3. Personally acquired potential‬‬ ‫(المحددات األجتماعية (‪4. Social determinants of health‬‬ ‫(حيث تفسر سبب المعاناة مثل الفقر – السكن غير الصحي – ظروف خطرة)‬ ‫( المحددات البيئية للصحة) ‪5. Environmental determinants of health‬‬ ‫( مثل مستوي الرعاية الصحية ونمط الحياة الشخصية والبيئة المحيطة وأسباب‬ ‫التلوث)‬ ‫‪These five components are interacting with each other.‬‬  The Illness- Wellness Continuum: **To achieve high level of wellness individual need to pass through three stages like awareness, education and growth. **If individual have positive attitude, he moves towards right side that means to achieving good health. But if individual have negative attitude he will move left side. **For example, if a person has a fever, and he thinks he will be better in few days and continue the treatment person will have both mental wellness and physical wellness. **In case of a negative attitude, the individual will be in mental distress and there may be a delay in recovery from illness. Role of nurse in achieving health: the Nurse can: 1- Determine the clients' stage of health and position at health illness model. 2- Recognize the risk factors that are causing degradation in health of client, it may be genetics, or physiological. 3- Prevent the illness through awareness, educating the client. The health continuum: Wellness-Illness  Health education Health education has been defined in several ways; Definition 1:Any combination of learning experiences designed to help individuals and communities improve their health, by increasing their knowledge or influencing their attitudes. Definition 2:A process that informs, motivates, and helps people to maintain healthy practices and lifestyle. Definition 3:An educational process where the individual and community behavior patterns will be changed into desirable manner, by enhancing the health information through health professionals, mass media and by community itself.  Aim of health education 1- Motivating people to adopt health- promoting behaviors by providing appropriate knowledge and helping to develop positive attitude. ` 2- Helping people to make decisions about their health and acquire the necessary confidence and skills to put their decisions into practice. 3- Help the people to understand that health is their fundamental right and community asset. 4- To provide healthy environment by enriching the people with scientific information about health and disease. 5- To make people aware of their needs and health problems. 6- To identify interest and provide new knowledge.  principles of health education 1. Credibility ** It is the degree to which the message to be communicated is perceived by the receiver. ** Good health education must be consistent **with scientific knowledge **with the local culture, **educational system **and social goals. 2. Interest ** Health teaching should be related to the interests of the people, based on the “FELT NEEDS”, so that it becomes “people’s program. ** Felt needs are the real health needs of the people, that is needs the people feel about themselves 3. Participation **The people have a right and duty to participate individually and collectively in the planning and implementation of their health care”. **A high degree of participation tends to create a sense of involvement, personal acceptance and decision –making. 4. Motivation * Need for incentives is a first step in learning to change. *Incentives may be positive or negative. * Main aim of motivation is to change behavior. 5. Comprehension: **Health educator must know the level of understanding, education and literacy of people to whom the teaching is directed. **Always communicate in the language people understand. 6. Reinforcement ** Repetition of message is necessary. ** If the message is repeated in different ways, people are more likely to remember it. 7. Learning by doing ** The importance of learning by doing can be best illustrated by the Chinese proverb “if I hear, I forget; if I see, I remember; if I do, I know”. 8. Known to unknown **Health educator must proceed as the following for new knowledge: “from the particular to the general” ) ‫(من الخاص للعام‬ “from the simple to the more complicated” “from the easy to more difficult” 9. Feedback ** For effective communication, feedback is of importance. ** The health educator can modify the elements of the system (e.g., message, channels) in the light of feedback from his audience. 10. Leaders : Leader can: ** Understands the needs and demands of the community ** Provides proper guidance. ** Identifies himself with the community. **Able to control the various factors in the community. **Easily accessible to the people. 11- Good human relations: Interaction of health educator with audience will go a long way in how they listen to you as the health educator. Having the right attitude and coordination will also give room for improvement and adoption. 12. Setting an examples: Lead by example and practice what you teach so doing your audience can adopt your healthy lifestyle.  Approaches to health education - The persuasion approach –deliberate attempt to influence the other persons to do what we want them to do (Directive approach). - The informed decision making approach-giving people information, problem solving and decision making skills to make decisions but leaving the actual choice to the people. E.g. family planning methods Many health educators feel that instead of using persuasion it is better to work with communities to develop their problem solving skills and provide the information to help them make informed choices. However, in situations where there is serious threat such as an epidemic, and the actions needed are clear cut, it might be considered justified to persuade people to adopt specific behavior changes. Targets for health education -Individuals such as clients , patients, healthy individuals Groups E.g. groups of students in a class, youth club Community E.g. people living in a village  Health education settings Communities Health care facilities Work sites Schools Prisons Refugee camps...etc The health educators: Health educators are professionals who educate people about health promotion and disease prevention. Health education is the duty of everyone engaged in health and community development activities. Health educators, health education specialists, have different duties depending on their work setting. Most of them work in healthcare facilities, colleges, public health departments, and private businesses. General responsibilities and duties of health educator: 1. Assess the health needs of the people and communities they serve. 2. Develop programs, materials, and events to teach people about health topics. 3. Teach people how to manage existing health conditions. 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of programs and educational materials. 5. Help people find health services or information. 6. Provide training programs for community health workers or other health professionals. 7. Supervise staff who implements health education programs. 8. Collect and analyze data to learn about a particular community and improve programs and services. 9. Advocate for improved health resources and policies that promote Health.