Health Education

Dr. Rahul Netragaonkar

Associate Professor

HEALTH EDUCATION
The definition John M Last :
"The process by which individuals and groups
of people learn to behave in a manner
conducive to the promotion, maintenance or
restoration of health
Dynamic definition of health education:
"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

Aims and objectives

To encourage people to adopt and sustain
health promoting lifestyle and practices;
To promote the proper use of health services
available to them.
To arouse interest, provide new knowledge,
Improve skills and change attitudes in making
rational decisions to solve their own problems
Self - reliance and participation to achieve
health development through individual and
community involvement at every step from
identifying problems to solving them.

 Aimed at the group to be

taught in the educational
programme.
Health needs which have
been discovered.
Unambiguous
Must be pertinent if the
programme is to be
appropriate and successful.

Health education and behaviour

The behaviour to be adopted or

modified may be that of
individuals, groups (such as
families, health professionals,
organizations or institutions) or
entire community.
Health education can help to
increase knowledge and to

Changing concepts
Following the Alma - Ata Declaration adopted
in 1978,
Prevention of disease to promotion of healthy
lifestyles;
The modification of individual behaviour to
modification of "social environment" in which
the individual lives ;
Community participation to community
involvement
Promotion of individual and community "self reliance" .

Role of health care providers

Provide opportunities for people to learn how
to identify and analyse health and health
related problems, and how to set their own
targets and priorities;
Make health and health - related information
easily accessible to the community;
Indicate to the people alternative solutions
for solving the health and health-related
problems they have identified;
People must have access to proven
preventive

APPROACH TO HEALTH EDUCATION

1. Regulatory approach (Managed
prevention) Regulation in the context of
health education may be defined as any
governmental intervention, direct or
indirect, designed to alter human
behaviour.
The coercive or regulatory approach
seeks change in health behaviour
The Child Marriage Restraint Act.
Seat Belt compulsion

Service approach
Objective is to providing all the health
services needed by the people at their door
steps on the assumption that people would
use them to improve their own health.
This approach proved a failure because it was
not based on the felt-needs of the people.
Eg. water-seal latrines were provided by the
government, free of cost,
The lesson is simple - the people will not
accept a programme or service, even if it is
offered free of cost, unless it is based on their
felt-needs.

Health education approach

If the necessary behaviour
changes are to take place,
people must be educated
through planned learning
experiences what to do, and be
informed, educated and
encouraged to make their own
choice for a healthy life.
This approach is consistent with

Primary health care

starting from the people with their
full participation and active
involvement in the planning and
delivery of health services based
on principals of primary health
care, viz community involvement
and intersectoral coordination.
People receive the necessary
guidance from health care
providers in identifying their health

Health education versus

propaganda

Health education is not health

propaganda; it is more than
mere information or
propaganda.
To educate means to cause or
facilitate learning;
Propaganda means to spread
particular systemized doctrine.

Health education and propaganda

Knowledge and skills
actively acquired
Makes people think for
themselves
Disciplines primitive
desires
Develops reflective
behaviour. Trains people to
use judgement before
acting
Appeals to reason
Develops individuality,
personality and selfexpression
Knowledge acquired
through self-reliant activity

Knowledge instilled in the

minds of people
Prevents or discourages
thinking by ready-made
slogans
Arouses and stimulates
primitive desires
Develops reflexive behaviour;
aims at impulsive actions
Appeals to emotion
Develops a standard pattern of
attitudes and behaviours
according to the mould used
Knowledge is spoon-fed and
passively received
The process is information
centred - no change of attitude
or behaviour designed.

THANK
S