Principles and Methods of Health Education

1
Principles and Methods of Health Education

• By Dr Olajide FO
• Lecturer/Consultant Public Health Physician

2
Definition

• A combination of learning activities that
  informs, motivates and encourage voluntary
  behaviors which are conducive to health in
  individuals, groups or community

3
Principles

• Health education is an essential component of any
  programme to improve the health of communities.
• Effective planning of any health education
  programme depends on identifying the problems/
  needs of the people.
• The introduction of new practices may fail if
  they are incompatible with local beliefs and
  practices.

4
Principles (CONTD)

• Any proposal for a change of practice should
• meet a felt need of the community
• be simple to put into practice with the existing
  knowledge and skills in the community
• fit in with existing life style and culture and
  not conflict with local beliefs
• be locally affordable (money, materials, and
  time)

5
Principles (CONTD)

• flexible and fit in with peoples
  circumstances-For example, education about
  nutrition should be based on foods that are
  available locally, aids for the disabled made
  from local materials, latrines built with
  traditional methods.
• Require continuous dialogue with the community to
  find acceptable solutions to meet their needs.
• Local taboos may be obstacles to implementing
  health education but many of them actually
  support the health education programme.

6
Principles (CONTD)

• Interest/ Motivation..felt needs
• Comprehension/ Communicationliteracy level
• Known to unknownexisting knowledge, beliefs,
  practices and values
• Participation/ Active learningpractical
  experiences

7
Principles (CONTD)

• Reinforcement / Repetition various methods
• Incentives
• Involvement of Influential persons
• Link with other health activities
• Evaluation and course correction

8
Characteristics

• It involves the use of multiple strategies and
  methods.
• It is a systematically planned activity or
  process
• It is a health intervention which is devoid of
  coercion
• Done with the full understanding and free
  acceptance by the target audience.
• It focuses on human health related behavior or
  action (a) Healthy (b) Unhealthy
• It is a process

9
The communication process

• Feedback
• Sender message channel receiver

10
Barriers to Effective COMMUNICATION

• Physiological
• Psychological
• Environmental
• cultural

11
Materials for Health Education

• Print media e.g posters, flannel graph, flip
  charts, hand bills e.t.c
• Electronic media e.g projectors, radio,
  television, internet, e.t.c
• Traditional media e.g story telling, songs,
  roleplays, announcers e.t.c

12
Methods of Health Education

• Health talks
• Seminars
• Focus Group Discussions
• Workshops
• Demonstration
• Role playing/ Drama

13
Methods of Health Education

• The methods which have proved to be most
  effective are those which take into account the
  interests of the learner and which offer him the
  opportunity of participating actively in the
  learning process.

14
Targets of Health education / unit of practice

• Individual e.g. a patient.
• Groups (formal or inf.)e.g. families, group of
  patients.
• Communities e.g. neighborhoods, village, hamlet,
  town,
• LGA, State, Country.

15
Settings for the practice of health education

• Health care facilities (patient education and
  counseling)
• Schools
• Workplaces
• Community or neighborhoods
• Pharmacy shop
• Medical laboratory etc, etc.
• Any place that permits effective communication

16

• Thank You