Environmental Health Department

Umm Al-Qura UniversityFaculty of Public Health and Health Informatics

By: Dr. Ahmed Abdullah

Principals of Health Education

Health Education Definition - WHOdifference between Health education& PromotionDimensions of Health Education

Principals of Health Education

Process of health education

Health Education in the communities

Methods in health Education

Contents of Health Education

Examples of health education.

Communication

Stages of Change

Contents of the Lecture

Health Education Definition - WHO

• Process of providing information and advice related to healthy lifestyle and encouraging the development of knowledge, attitudes and skills aimed at behaviour change of individuals or communities.

• Enables and influences controll over own´s

health leading to optimalization of attitudes and habits related to lifestyle and increasing quality of life.

• Health education is a process aimed at encouraging people to want to be healthy, to know how to stay healthy, to do what they can individually and collectively to maintain health and to seek help when needed.

Health Education Definition

• Health education can be defined as the principle by which individuals and groups of people learn to behave in a manner conducive to the promotion, maintenance, or restoration of health.

Health Education Definition

What is the difference between Health education& Health Promotion?

• Health education, as the name implies, is a field of study that draws from medical sciences and all physical and biological along with emotional and psychological experiences to inform and educate people to promote health and to prevent diseases.

• It imparts knowledge and skills to develop and maintain behaviors and attitudes.

What is the difference between Health education& Health Promotion?

• Health promotion aims to influence the behaviors of people and organizations so that they change their lifestyles and accept their responsibility in causing health problems for others (for example, smoking in public and drunk driving). Health promotion takes the shape of advertisements that try to exert influence on the social behaviors of people and also to make them understand the importance of healthy behaviors and attitudes.

What is the difference between Health education& Health Promotion?

• Health promotion tries to shift the focus of responsibility from governments and health professionals to organizations and people by raising the levels of awareness about diseases and prevention of diseases through healthy behaviors and attitudes.

Dimensions of Health Education

Health Education/Health Promotion

PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH EDUCATION

1. Credibility 2. Interest. 3. Participation/ community involvement.4. Good human relationship.5. Proceed from known to unknown.6. Comprehension. 7. Reinforcement by repetition.8. Motivation 9. Learning by doing10. Role models and leaders11. Setting an example. 12. Feedback.

Credibilityit is the degree by

which the message to be communicated is perceived as trustworthy by the receiver.

in Health Education we should always communicate in the simple language that people can understand, never use strange or new words

Comprehension

Participation/community involvement

Health Education aimed to encourage people to work actively with health workers & others in identifying their own health problems & also in developing solutions & plans to work together

Motivation

it is a psychological principle that people are unlikely to listen to those things which are not to their interest.

Interest

Reinforcementif the message repeated in different ways with reinforcement, people are more likely to remember it.

Learning by doing

• learning is an action-process not a memorizing one.

Known to unknown

Setting an example

Good Human Relations

sharing of ideas information's and feelings.

Feedback

to modifies elements of the system (message, channels).

Role models and leaders

Process of health education

(A) To assess the patients learning needs.(B) To establish the teaching and learning

objectives.(C) To constitute the teaching plan.(D) To implement the teaching plan.(E) To evaluate the teaching and learning.

Health Education in the Communities

• Based on knowledge of their demographic and social specificities (gender, age, education, ethnicity, employment)• Messages are more general and

comprehensible for all community members• Positive motivation – positive aspects and

outcomes are stressed more then negative ones

Methods in health Education

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Methods of Health Education.

Individual Approach

Counseling.

Clinic Consultation.

On-site Visit.

Group Approach

Lectures.

Group Or Panel Discussion.

Workshop, Seminars.

Mass Approach

Radio, T.V

Newspapers.

Printed Materials.

Internet

Contents of Health Education1. Human biology: i.e., how to keep

physically fit, the effects of alcohol, smoking & drug on the body.

2. Nutrition: the aim is to promote good dietary habits.

3. Hygiene: personal and environmental.4. Family health: HE promote the family’s

self reliance regarding i.e., child bearing & rearing.

Contents of Health Education1. Disease prevention and control:

education of people about the prevention & control of locally endemic diseases is the first of eight essential activities in PHC.

2. Mental health.3. Prevention of accidents.4. Use of health services.

Examples of publications

Examples of publications

Communication• Communicator: the person or the team

give the message (Educator). • Message: the contents (materials) of

health education• Channel: method of carrying the

message• Audience: the receivers (users or

targets) of the message

Communication Barriers • Social and cultural gap between the sender

and the receiver• Limited receptiveness of receiver• Negative attitude of the sender• Limited understanding and memory• Insufficient emphasis by the sender (health

professional)• Contradictory messages• Health education without identifying the

“needs "of the community

Stages of ChangePrecontemplationContemplationPreparationPreparationActionMaintenance

Precontemplation• Definition–the action of looking thoughtfully at

something for a long time.–Before changing their behavior

• Intervention Approach–Novel information –Persuasive communications –Experiences

Contemplation• Definition–Person is beginning to consider behavior

change.– Important stage of information acquisition

• Intervention Approach–Motivated by role modeling and

persuasive communications–Receptive to planned or incidental learning

experiences.

Preparation• Definition–Deciding to change by preparing and

experimenting.–Psychological preparation of trying on or

visualizing new behaviors and sharing the idea with others. Deciding to change.

• Intervention Approach–How-to information, skill development,

attitude change

Action• Definition–Actually trying the new behavior

• Intervention Approach– Skill–Reinforcement– Support– Self-management–Attitude and attribution change

Maintenance• Definition–Establishment of the new behavior–Taking on the new attitudinal and

environmental supports• Intervention Approach–Relapse prevention skills–Self-management–Social and environmental support

References

• World Health Organization - http://www.who.int/topics/health_education/en/

• National Institute of Public Health Prague – http://www.szu.cz• Health promotion and health education in practice / Leo Baric. -

Altrincham, England: Barns Publication, 1994. -Module 1: Definition of problems and choice of solutions. -Module 2: The organizational model. -Module 3: Research, evaluation and auditing. - 624p.

• James F. McKenzie, Brad L. Neiger& Rosemary Thackeray (2012) Planning, Implementing, & Evaluating Health Promotion

• 2-Donald J. Breckon, John R. Harvey & R. Brick Lancaster (1998) Community Health Education: Settings, Roles, and Skills for the 21st Century [Hardcover]

Thank You