Communication in

Health Education
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3rd lecture
 Objectives
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By the end of this lecture, each student will be able to:

 Define communication.

 Explain communication process.

 Identify elements of communication.

 Apply effective communication skills.

 Discuss different barriers for Effective communication.

 Introduction
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 Communication in health education as the blood

stream to the human being.
 Communication affects how people in health
education session relate to each other. Lack of
effective communication can lead to
misunderstanding, poor performance and many
undesirable outcomes.
 Definition
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✓ Communication is:
 The process by which people share ideas,
experience, knowledge and feelings through the
transmission of symbolic message.

 It includes the spoken and written words as well

as nonverbal communication as gestures, facial
expression, body message and movements.
 Communication in Health Education

 Communication is the transfer and

exchange of information and understanding

from one person to another through

meaningful symbols.
 It is a way of exchanging and sharing
ideas, attitudes, values, opinions, and facts.
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 Importance of communication
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➢ Communication is the basis for effective nursing

practice and health education .
 To establish positive nurse-patient relationships.
 To be effective in expressing interest/concern for
patient/family upon which health decisions are
made and programs are developed.
 To facilitates expression of feelings and promotes
closer working relationship.
 Communication process

The process of transfer

(sending) and exchange
(receiving) of information
and understanding from one
person to another through
meaningful symbols.
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 Elements of communication process
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The elements of communication are:

1-The message, is an expression of the purpose of
communication.
2-The sender, the person who is conveying the
message.
3-Encoding message : the sender translate the
message to the receiver (this can be performed
through verbal or non verbal means).
4-The transmission channel: refers to the medium
through which the sender conveys the message.
 Elements of communication process
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5- Receiver, the person to whom the message is

directed.
6- Decoding: the receiver must translate the message
into an understandable form called decoding.
7-Feedback : the receiver understood the message
(decoded) in the way that the sender intended. It
indicates the success of transference of the meaning
to the receiver.
- feedback can be divided into 2 types: positive
(encouraging change) negative (no change).
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 (A) Types of Communication
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1-One-Way Communication: a person sends a

message to another person and no questions, feedback,
or interaction follow.

◼ Good for giving simple directions.

◼ Fast but often less accurate than 2-way

communication.
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 (A) Types of Communication
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2-Two-Way Communication: the communicator &

receiver interact.

◼ Good for problem solving.

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 (B) Types of Communication
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1-Verbal communication use of words (language)

in either spoken or written forms.

Verbally speaking to communicate to other people

using words to get your message across the person
you are speaking to.
 Types of Communication (Con.)
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2- Non–verbal communication:
is communicating to people using sign language
or simple hand movements as:
1-Bodily contact
2-Facial expressions
3-Eye contact
4- Proximity
5-Orientation
6- Level
7- Posture
8 -Physical appearance
9-Hand movement and head movement
Non–verbal communication
‘is what is observed and sensed’
1-Bodily contact: touching people is surrounded by
"rules" directed by cultural expectation and taboos,
and by expectation of "professional distance" e.g.
handshaking can say "I am glad to see you -
welcome".

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Non–verbal communication
2-Facial expressions: can obviously indicate feelings, such
as, sadness, happiness, anger, surprise and puzzlement.

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 Facial expressions
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3-Eye contact: As a rule, the speaker will look
away from the listener for part of the time when
speaking, but will maintain direct eye contact
occasionally. When a speaker concentrates on what
he is saying his eyes will tend to wonder although,
he is not conscious of this because his mind is busy
on what he is saying .He will look directly at the
listener when he wants a response.

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4- Proximity/distance: proximity is how close
people are to each other, people vary for space" they
need, and feel uncomfortable when others come too close.

5-Orientation: it means how individual position

himself in relation to other people and objects.
Example is to consider the message conveyed by the
layout of a room where a small group of people are to be
touch. Chairs and tables in rows facing the teacher imply
that the teacher will do all the talking whereas chairs
placed in a circle imply that everyone will be encouraged
to participate.
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6- Level: this refers to differences height between people.
Generally, communication is more comfortable if people
are on the same levels.

7- Posture: it is how people stand, sit or lie. Posture can

convey message of tension and anxiety e.g. by being with
arms crossed , or one of welcome by being upright with
arms outstretched.

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8 -Physical appearance such as tidy habits or concern
with fashion.
9-Hand movement and head movement: Movements
of the hand and head are very revealing .Nods and
shakes of the head obviously convey agreement and
disagreement without need for words, clenched fists ,
tapping hands reveal stress and tension , whereas still
open hands denote a relaxed frame of mind .

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 (c) Types of Communication
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 Skills of Effective Communication

• communication skills enables a person to

convey information so that it is received and
well understood.
• Communication skills ( use of verbal and non-
verbal) , active listening, use of simple language,
paraphrasing , use of visual illustration, helping
people to talk, accepting other people's feelings,
asking questions and obtaining feedback, giving
feedback.

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 1- Listening:
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Listening: is an active process that involve a conscious

effort to listen to words, to the way that they are said.

 A primary skill needed for health educator is

effective listening, in order to help the client to
talk and to discover the clients' needs.
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2- Helping people to talk:

Giving invitation to talk ,giving attention, encouraging,
reflecting feelings , reflecting meanings and summing up.
3- Asking questions: use closed questions and open
questions.
4- Getting feedback: to make sure that the client really
has what was said and remember it.
5- Accepting other people's feelings by giving
feedback: Positive feedback and negative feedback.
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 IV. Language Barriers
• People usually interpret the meaning of
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words differently depending on many

variables as their age, education, culture,
and their spoken language.
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