HEALTH EDUCATION

We often hear the term “health is wealth” and this is very true.
No matter how much we study and work hard to earn a big income,
without health everything is futile. How dor we define health? Health is
the complete fitness of the body soundness of mind and the
wholesomeness of the emotion, which make possible the higher quality
of effective living and of service.

Why study health?

1. Medical health records show that current health practices are

poor.
2. People’s attitude towards health does not lead to hygienic living
3. People lack basic information regarding health matters
4. Habits affect health and the school can develop health habits

Principles underlying health:

1. Heredity, environment and mode of living determine one’s health

2. The student’s health is a joint responsibility of the home, the
school as well as the community
3. Teaching health in the school is principally in the hands of the
Health teacher
4. Health education is included in the curriculum starting from
kindergarten up to college
5. The health specialist of the school should have a better
understanding, sympathy, cooperation and support in order to
have an effective health education
 6. Better accomplishment of the medical, dental and nursing
services of the school lies in the health instruction and the
development of health attitude and habits
7. The promotion of the teacher’s health is important in the health
education program as well as the quality and cost of education
8. What constitute a valuable element in the health education of the
student is the professional skill and initiative of the teacher
9. It is very essential to develop the health practices of the students
starting from kindergarten until he becomes old enough to
understand the scientific reasons upon which these practices rest.

Terms to remember:

Health Education: the sum total of the experiences which

favorably influence habits, attitudes and knowledge relating to the
individual and community.

Hygiene: the science if promoting and prolonging health

Public Health: the science and art of preventing disease and

promoting and prolonging life through organized effort.

Sanitation: refers to the establishment of the environmental

conditions favorable to health

School Health: includes all acts carried on in a school system to

the interest of the student’s health.

According to Fuentes women tend to live longer and generally

healthier than men and visit the doctor twice as often. That is partly
because even if they are in the best of health, their basic biological
functions – menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and menopause –
frequently require medical attention.

There is an increasing and predominantly silent crisis in men’s

health and well-being. Due to lack of awareness, poor health education
and culturally induced behavior patterns in their work and personal
lives, men’s health and well-being are deteriorating steadily. In the
1920’s the life expectancy of the males and females were roughly the
same. Now life expectancy among males is over 10% lower or 7 years
shorter than that of women. The relative slack in men’s health is due to
a number of reasons. The primary reason is that men have been
brought up to think it is unmanly to react to pain in their bodies. The
consequence is that men are at a greater risk for several of the top
killers – heart disease, cancer, suicide, accidents and violence.

Women depend on their gynecologist for female problems and

learn the benefits of early detection of breast cancer through self-
examination. Men on the other hand, often ignore warning signs and
symptoms until the problem becomes serious. Furthermore, there isn’t
really a medical specialty to deal with the wide variety of problems that
a man faces.

Essential Facts men should know:

1. Heart Disease: One of the leading cause of death among men, this
disease is brought by lack of concern for diet as well as a stressful
lifestyle.
2. Hospital: Men visit doctors when they can no longer bear the
pain. So if the disease is already severe the tendency is to stay
longer in the hospital.
3. Violence: Men’s tendency is to become aggressive than women.
This aggressiveness is brought about by the male hormone,
testosterone. What happened is that they end up in jail or the
mental hospital…or the funeral parlor.
4. Addiction: Men are prone to addiction, it is estimated that two-
thirds of alcoholics are men. The reason for this is the “macho”
image in which men seldom share their emotional disturbances
with others which later lead them to drugs and alcohol.
5. Accidents: Men are exposed to hazardous jobs especially
engineers, pilots, mariners, fishermen etc. that are prone to
accidents.
6. Sexually Transmitted Disease: STD is a disease among men if they
do not practice safe sex or restrain from sexual activities with
immoral women.
7. Suicide: Men tend to commit suicide than women because their
“macho” image keeps them from admitting their problems to
others. Their lack of outlet to share their emotions led them to
take their own life.
8. Impotence: This is brought about by psychological aspects other
contributors are smoking, alcohol, blood pressure and diabetes.
9. Cancer: According to Fuentes men are twice likely to die from
cancer than women. The male specific cancers are testicular,
prostrate while lung and colon cancer are common to both sexes.
10. Stress: Several factors can cause stress among men are
financial problems, poor health, heavy workload, the death of a
loved one, work environment and marriage strife.

End