Question

what is health education/health promotion, and what does it mean to be a professional in this field?

2. what are your professional responsibilities for your profession ( public health ) ?

3. how does community health education fit within these goals ?

Answer 1

1.Health education is indispensable in achieving individual and community health. It can help to increase knowledge and to reinforce desired behavior patterns. It is the translation of what is known about health, into desirable individual and community behavior patterns by means of an educational process. For a professional, health education is the part of health care that is concerned with promoting healthy behavior. Strategies designed tk influence the behavior of individuals or groups will vary greatly depending upon the specific disease concerned and it's distribution in the population as well as upon the characteristics and acceptability of available methods preventing or controlling disease. The role of health providers in this regard compromise to

• Provide opportunities for people to learn how to identify snd analyze 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-relsted problems they have identified.
• People must have access to proven preventive measures.

2.

• Prenatal care
• Post partum home visiting.
• Routine immunization
• School health care
• Occupational health care
• Infectious disease Control.
• Health lifestyle promotion
• Injury prevention
• Environmental health.

3.Heath education cannot be planned in vaccum. It is planned in connection with a specific health programme or health service. Therefore the specifics of a health education strategy in a local community have to be formulated in accordance with its socio-cultural, psycho-social, political, economic and situational characteristics. The planners should be fully conversant with the health education needs of the particular programme for which health education us to be planned. Health education planning follows the main steps in scientific planning, which are

• Collecting information on specific problem as seen by the community.
• Identification of the problem.
• Deciding on priorities.
• Setting goals and measurable objectives.
• Assessment of resources
• Consideration of possible solutions.
• Implementing the plan.
• Monitoring and evaluating the degree to which stated objectives have been achieved.
• Reassessment of the process of planning.

All health education work requires continuous evaluation to measure the effectiveness of health education activities in achieving stated objectives and to assess the importance on programme performance of such variable as knowledge, attitudes, behavior change and consumer satisfaction.