INTRODUCTION

The practice of instructing people

and communities in the principles of
hygiene and in ways of avoiding
disease is a very ancient one.
An elementary study of the history of
medicine reveals that since time
immemorial it has been considered a
necessity to instruct communities in health
matters for their protection and survival.
 DEFINITIONS

 The National Conference on Preventive

Medicine [USA]

Health education is a process which informs,

motivate and helps people to adopt and maintain
healthy practices and life styles; advocates
environmental changes as needed to facilitate
this goal and conducts professional training and
research to the same end.
 WHO Definition

Health education, like general education,

is concerned with changes in knowledge,
feelings and behaviour of people.In its
most usual forms, it concentrates on
devoloping such health practices as are
believed to bring about the best possible
state of well being.
 AIMS OF HEALTH EDUCATION
 To inform the general public of the principles of
physical and mental hygiene and methods of
preventing avoidable diseases.
 To create an informed body of opinion and
knowledge. (social workers, teachers)
 To give the public accurate information of
medical discoveries.
 To facilitate the acceptance and proper usage of
medical measures.
 METHODS OF APPROACHES IN
HEALTH EDUCATION
1. Legal or Regulatory Approach

2. Administrative or Service Approach

3. Educational Approach
 Legal or Regulatory Approach

 Makes use of the law to protect the health

of the public.
 Eg : Epidemic Diseases Act , Pollution Act
 Limitations :

1. applicable only at certain times or

limited situations.
2. they may not alter the behaviour of the
individual.
Administrative or Service Approach

 Intends to provide all the health facilities

needed by the people
 ‘felt needs of people’
 Educatinal Approach
 most effective
 Components :
1. motivation
2. communication
3. decision making

• results slow , but permanent and enduring.

• Suffient time for an individual to bring about changes
• learning new facts as well as unlearning wrong
information as well.
 CONTENTS OF HEALTH
EDUCATION
1. Human Biology
2. Nutrition
3. Hygiene
4. Family Health Care
5. Control of Communicable and Non-
Communicable Diseases
6. Mental health
7. Prevention of Accidents
8. Use of Health Services
Human Biology
 Nutrition

 for prevention of malnutrition

 Taught nutrient value of food stufs
 Method of preparation , storage
 Help people to choose balanced diet
 Hygiene

Personal Environmental
 Family Health Care
 Strengthen and improve the health of the
family as a unit rather than as an
individual.
 Maternal and child health care, family
planning, immunization, nutrition, etc.
Control of Communicable and Non-
Communicable diseases

 Provide elementary knowledge about the

nature of the diseases and methods of
preventing them.
 Mental Health
 Depression, neurosis, mental anxiety and
emotional disturbances
 Basic knowledge of common
psychological ailments, its detectio,
methods of prevention and treatment.
 Prevention of Accidents
 People taught about basic safety rules and
prevent common accidents.
 Use of Health services
 People should be informed about various
health services and preventive
programmes available to them.
STAGES IN ADOPTION OF NEW
IDEAS AND PRACTICES
STAGE OF UNAWARENESS
Not aware of new idea or practice
STAGE OF EVALUATION
Find out advantages &
disadvantages
STAGE OF TRIAL
Puts it into practice
STAGE OF AWARENESS
Gets some information but not
know much
STAGE OF INTEREST
Shows interest to know more
Listen, read
STAGE OF ADOPTION
Accepts new idea as beneficial
to him & adopts it
 PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH
EDUCATION
 INTEREST
 PARTICIPATION
 COMPREHENSION
 MOTIVATION
 REINFORCEMENT
 KNOWN TO UNKNOWN
 LEARNING BY DOING
 SOIL, SEED & SOWER
 COMMUNITY LEADERS
 GOOD HEALTH RELATIONS
 Interest

 Topic of interest
 Identify the ”felt needs” of the people
 Then prepare a programme
 Participation
 Educator should encourage people to
participate in health education
programmes
 Group discussions, panel discussions, etc
provide oppurtunities for people’s
participation
 Leads to acceptance
 Known to Unknown
 Start with what the people already know
and then give the new knowledge
 Existing knowledge as people as the basic
step
 Comprehension
 Determine the level of literacy and
understanding of audience.
 Language of communication,
understandable to audience
 Usage of technical or medical terms
should be avoided.
 Reinforcement
 Also called as “booster dose”
 Refers to repetition needed
 When not possible for people to learn new
things in short time
 Motivation
 Defined as “the fundamental desire for learning
in an individual”
 2 types :

primary motive  inborn desires

food, clothing, housing
secondary motive  outside forces
gifts, a word of praise,
love, rewards
 Learning by Doing
 Learning process accompanied by doing
the new things.
 Based on famous Chinese proverb “if I
hear, I forget ; if I see, I remember ; if I do,
I know.
 Soil, Seed & Sower
 Soil  people to whom education is given
 Seeds  Health facts to be given
 Sower media to transmit the facts
 All components are interdependent and
result in dynamic interaction.
 Good Human Relations
 health educator should have good
personal qualities
 Should be able to maintain friendly
relations with people
 Should have a kind nad sympathetic
attitude
 Community leaders
 Leaders can be used to reach people of
the community and to convince them
about the need for health education.
HINDRANCES OR BARRIERS IN
PROCESS OF COMMUNICATION
 Psychological barriers
 emotional disturbances
 depression
 neurosis
 Physiological barriers
 difficulties in self-expression
 difficulties in hearing or seeing
 difficulties in understanding
 HINDRANCES…
 Environmental barriers
 excessive noise
 difficulties in vision
 congested areas
 Cultural barriers

 persistent patterns of behaviour, habits,

beliefs, customs, attitudes, religion, etc
 EDUCATIONAL AIDS USED IN
HEALTH EDUCATION
1. Audio aids

2. Visual aids

3. Combination of Audio-Visual aids

 Audio Aids
 Based on principles of sound, electricity and
magnetism

 megaphones
 public addressing systems or
microphones
 Gramophone records
 Tape recorders
 Radios
 Sound amplifiers
 Visual Aids
 Based on principles of projection
Projected aids – needs projection from a
source on to a screen
 films or cinemas
 film strips
 slides
 overhead projectors
 epidiascopes
 transparencies
 bioscopes
 video cassettes
 silent films
Non-projected Aids – do not require
projection
 blackboard
 pictures
 cartoons
 photographs
 posters
 flashcards
 charts
 brochures
 models

Other aids – traditional media which makes use of light and sound stimuli
 Folk dances and Folk songs
 Puppet shows
 Dramas
 Combination of Audio-Visual Aids

 Modern media available

 Sound & sight combined together to create
a better presentation
 televisions
 tape and slide combinations
 Video Cassette Players and Recorders
 Motivation pictures or Cinemas
 Multimedia Computers
 HEALTH EDUCATION FOR THE
GENERAL PUBLIC
 Mass communication literally means
communication that is given to a community
where the people gathered together does not
belong to one particular group.
 Advantages
 large no. of people can be reached
 people of all socio-economic status
irrespective of their caste, creed and religion
 Medias
televisions, radios, posters, news papers, etc
 ESSENTIALS OF HEALTH
EDUCATON TO THE PUBLIC
1. Accuracy and Truth

2. Presentation must be simple

3. Health education should be factual

4. Principles of health should be taught

 CONCLUSION
In a field such as health, it is natural that
“helping people to help themselves”
should be as important as direct service.