HEALTH EDUCATION

Introduction

Education of the general public is an part of a prevention oriented approach to health and disease- problems . Education can help to increase knowledge.

Health education can bring about changes in life styles and risk factors of disease.

Health education is indispensable in achieving individual and community health.

DEFINITION

HEALTH EDUCATION is a process that informs, motivates and helps people to adopt and maintain healthy practices and lifestyles, advocates environmental changes as needed to facilitate the goal and conducts professional training and research to the same end.

OBJECTIVES

Informing the people The first directive of health education is to

inform the people or disseminate scientific knowledge about prevention of disease and promotion of health . This creates an awareness of health needs and problems and also of responsibilities on the part of the people.

Motivating people People must be motivated to change

their habits and the ways of living , since many present day problems of community health require alteration of human behavior or changes in health practices which are detrimental to health , like pollution of water ,cigarette smoking physical activity etc..

Guiding into action people need help to adopt

and maintain healthy practices and life styles , which may be totally new to them . governments have a major responsibility to provide the necessary infra structure of health services.

CONTENTS

The following contents should be the focus of health education. Human biology Nutrition Hygiene Family health care Control of communicable and non

communicable diseases Mental health Prevention of accidents

Human biology• Understanding health , demands an

understanding of the human biology ,i.e., the structure and functions of the body ; how to keep physically fit-the need for exercise , rest and sleep ; the effects of alcohol , smoking and drugs on the body ; cultivation of healthy life-styles

Nutrition• The aim of nutrition is to guide people to

choose optimum diets , remove prejudices and promote good dietary habits

Hygiene• This has two aspects-personal and

environmental . the aim of personal hygiene is to promote standards of personal cleanliness within the setting of the condition where people live.

• Personal hygiene : bathing , clothing , washing hands and toilet , care of nails ,feet and teeth etc

• hygiene : has two aspects-domestic and community

Family health• Health largely depends of the

family’s social and physical environment and its lifestyle and behavior.

Mental health• The aim of education in mental health is

to help people to keep mentally healthy and to prevent a mental breakdown.

.• .

Disease prevention and control• Education of the people about the

prevention and control of locally endemic disease is the first of eight essential activities in primary health care.

Prevention of accidents• Accident occur in three main area-the

home , road and the place of work•

Use of health service

PRINCIPLES

INTEREST Health teaching should relate to the interest of

the people. PARTICIPATION It is a key word in health education .

participation is based on psychological principle of active learning . it is better than passive learning .

KNOWN TO UN KNOWN we start where the people are and with what

they understand and then proceed to knew knowledge .

COMPREHESION In health education ,we should always communicate in the language people understand and never use words which are strange and new to the people . Teaching should is be within the mental capacity of the student .

REINFORCEMENT Repetition at intervals is extremely useful . Every health

campaign needs reinforcement , we may call it a booster dose .

MOTIVATION In every person there is desire to learn . Awakening this

desire is called motivation .

LEARNING BY DOING Learning is an action –process ; not a “memorizing’’ one

in the narrow sense. SETTING AN EXAMPLE The health education should set a good example in the

things he is teaching . GOOD HUMAN RELATION Sharing of information ,ideas and feelings happen most

easily between people who have a good relationship . LEADERS We learn best from people whom we respect and

regard .if the leaders are convinced first about a given program , rest of the task of implementing the programme will be easy.

APPROACH TO HEALTH EDUCATION

1.REGULATORY APPROACH(Legal)• Any governmental intervention , direct or

indirect ,designed to alter human behavior.• Regulation may take many forms ranging from

prohibition to imprisonment.• The regulatory approach seeks change in health

behavior and improvement in health through a variety of external control or laws placed on people.

• failure : In area involving personal choice ((e.g : diet , exercise , smoking) no government can pass legislation to force people to eat balanced diet or not to smoke.

2.SERVICE APPROACH• It aimed at providing all the health

services needed by the people at there door steps on the assumption that people would use them to improve their on health.

• Failure : It was not based on the felt-needs of the people.

3.HEALTH EDUCATION APPROACH• There are many problems (e.g ,cessation

of smoking , use of safe water supply fertility control) which can be solved only through health education.

• The results are slow , but enduring.

4.PRIMARY HEALTH CARE APPROACH• This is radically new approach starting

from the people with their full participation and active involvement in the planning and delivery of health service based on principals of primary health care.

PRACTICE OF HEALTH EDUCATION

1.Audiovisual aids These help to simplify

unfamiliar concepts and bring about understanding where words fail .

A. Auditory aids : Radio , tape recorder , microphones ,amplifiers ,and earphones.

B . Visual aids : a) Not requiring projection-chalk board , leaflets , posters, charts, flannel graphs exhibits , models, specimens etc .

b)Requiring projections – slides, film strips C . Combined audio visual aids : telivision,

sound films , slides tap combinations

INDIVIDUAL APPROCH

GROUP APPROACH MASS APPROACH

Personal contact Lectures Television

Home visits Demonstrations Radio

Personal letters Discussion methods Newspaper

• Group discussion•Panel discussion•Symposium•Workshop•Conference•Seminars•Role play

Printed mailingDirect mailing PostersHealth museums and exhibitionFolk methodsInternet

2.Methods in health communication. Individual approach1) health education may be given in personal

interviews in the consultation room of the doctor or in the health center or in the homes of the people.

2) The individual comes to the doctor or health centre because of illness.

3) Topics for health councelling may be selected according to the relevance of the situations .

4) Opportunity is taken in educating him on matters of interest-diet ,causation and nature of illness and its prevention , personal hygiene , environmental hygiene

Group approach• Our society contains groups of many

kinds-school children , mothers ,industrial workers , patients ,etc

• Group teaching is an effective way of educating the community.

• The choice of subject in group health teaching is very important ; it must relate directly to the interest of the group.

b)Demonstrationso A demonstration is a carefully prepared

presentation to show how to perform a skill or procedure.

o The demonstrator involves the audience in discussion.

a)Chalk and talk(lecture)o A lecture may be defined as carefully prepared

oral presentation of facts , organized thoughts and ideas by a qualified person.

o Its effectiveness depends to a large extent on the speakers ability to write legibly and to draw with chalk on a black board.

o lecture method can be made more effective by combining with suitable audio visual aids such as-Flipcharts , flannelgraph , exhibits, films and charts.

c)Group discussiono A group is an ‘aggregation of people interacting

in a face-to-face situation.o Group discussion is considered a very effective

method of health communication.o It permits the individuals to learn by freely

exchanging their knowledge , ideas and opinions.

o For effective group discussion , the group should comprise not less than12 members.

o The participants are all seated in a circle , so that each is fully visible to all the others.

o There should be a group leader who initiate the subject , helps the discussion in the proper manner , prevents side –conversation , encourages everyone to participate and sums up the discussions in the

o In group discussion , the members should observe the following rules :a)Express ideas clearly and concisely.

b)listen to what others say.c)do not interrupt when others are speaking.

d)Make only relevant remarkse)Accept criticism gracefully f)Help to reach conclusions.o A well-conducted group discussion is

effective for changing attitudes and the health behavior of people.

o Some members may deviate from the subject and make the discussion irrelevant or unprofitable.

d)Panel discussiono In a panel discussion 4 to 8 persons who are

qualified to talk about the topic and discuss a given problem ,or the topic ,in front of a large group or audience.

o The panel comprises a chairman or moderator and from 4 to8 speakers.

o The chairman opens the meeting ,introduces the topic briefly and invites the panel speakers to present their point of view.

o The discussion should be spontaneous and natural.

e)Symposiumo A symposium is a series of speeches on a

selected subject.o Each person or expert presents an aspect

of the subject briefly.o There is no discussion among the

symposium members like in panel discussion.

o In the end , the audience may raise questions.

f)Workshopo It consists of a series of meeting , usually

four or more , with emphasis on individual work , within the group , with the help of consultants and resource personnel.

g)Role playingo Role playing or socio-drama is based on the

assumption that many values in a situation cannot be expressed in words , and communication can be more effective if the situation is dramatized by the group .

h)Conferences and seminarso This category contains a large component

of commercialized continuing education.o The programmes are usually held on a

regional , state or national level.

Mass approach-Education of the general public• Mass media are a one-way communication .

They are useful in transmitting message to people in the remotest places.

• Uptill the early 1920s , mass communication depended largely on what was printed-posters , pamphlets , books, periodicals and news papers.

• Then came the radio and with it anew dimension of experience.

• TV went a gigantic step further and has become a very powerful weapon.

Television : most popular media. It is effective in not only creating awareness ,but also to an extent influencing public opinion and introducing new way of life.

Radio : Both radio and TV can reach illiterate population not accessible through printed words . Radio much cheaper than TV.

Internet :This is a fast growing communication media and holds very potential to become a major health education tool.

Newspapers :News papers are most widely disseminated of all forms of literature . unfortunately ,health problems have little of value to newspapers.

Printed material :Magazines , pamphlets ,booklets and hand-out have long been in use for health communication.

Direct mailing :This is a new innovation in health communication in India . The intention is to reach the remote area of the country with printed word.

Posters , billboards and signs : These are intended to catch the eye and create awareness therefore ,the message to be communicated must be simple and artistic.

Health museum and exhibition :Properly organized ,health museums and exhibitions can attract large numbers of people . By presenting a variety of ideas , they do increase knowledge and awareness.

Folk media : Keerthan , katha , folk songs ,dances and dramas and puppet shows which have roots in our culture.

DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATIONRelationship of DENTAL HEALTH to

GENERAL HEALTH . Definition of health is applies to

the whole individual and there for encompasses such specific parts of the organism or the oral cavity.

Dental health is concerned with functional efficiency not only of the teeth and supporting structure but also the surrounding parts of the oral cavity and of the various structures related to mastication and maxillo - facial complex.

Major problems in developing a concept of positive dental health.

Dental caries and periodontal disease• The incidence and prevalence of each

vary from one community to another.• Dental caries-tend to be more prevalent

in the young.-destroy the hard tissue of teeth• Periodontal disease-adult-destroy supporting structures.

Malocclusion and dento -facial anomaly• Which are the result of irregularities in

the development of the facial skeleton or spacing and position of the teeth are common.

• Some dental and facial anomalies may be obvious at birth e.g .cleft lip and cleft palate.

Tumours• Their development may be related to

chronic irritation from decayed teeth or poorly fitting artificial restoration or to continual exposure to toxic substance such those derived from smocking.

• Oral cancer

Trauma• Dislocation and fracture of the teeth and

jaws are consequences of injuries arising from transportation accidents , industrial operation , and athletic activities.

PRINCIPLES FOR DEVELOPING DENTAL HEALTH EDUCATION

Dental health education in schools:

• An analysis of the literature on school health education reveals that schools in many countries have attempted over the years to conduct dental health education programmes .

• These programmes have been essentially of the “information-giving ”type.

Dental health education of adults

• Parents everywhere have a significant role in influencing children’s behavior in all area of health.

• Many dentist have been educated to think chiefly in terms of therapy , repair and restoration , with little emphasis on prevention and education .