Wednesday, June 26, 2013

AMIS AND PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH EDUCATION-FOUR

 
14. It has already been mentioned that the health education should be need based. It has, therefore, to be specific and relevant to the problems and the available solution. It is a wasteful exercise or occupation if unwanted details and information are included in the content. The content should always aim at the focus or s\essence. Otherwise, the client will not only show lack of attention or interest but may miss the essential points.

For example, there is no need for telling the lay people about all the latest research on a particular health problem. It is a common tendency of many professionals and para-professional health workers to try to impress the audience with all the scientific knowledge and reach details which they have learnt. The common man is only interested in knowing what the problem is and its solution.
15. Related to health and daily way of life there may be many practices and behaviour which may or may not have any basic connected knowledge and attitude. It is the essential function of any health educator to find out the existing behavioural patterns and their basis. If any change of behaviour is required from a wrong practice to a supposed right practice the process of health education should aim at removing the wrong idea and its connected attitude and then introducing correct ideas, attitude and practices.
16. It must be remembered that people are not absolutely without any information or ideas. There is always some perception or belief, etc. which should be studied first before health education can be started. The health educator should remember that he is not merely passing information but he is giving an opportunity for the clients to analyses fresh ideas with old ideas compare by past experience and take decisions which are found favorable and beneficial.
 
17. A grave danger with health education programmes is the pumping in of a bulk of information in one exposure or enthusiasm to give all possible information. Since it is essentially a learning process the process of education should be done step by step and wite due attention to the different principles of communication.
18. Health education can be for individual, group or community. As has already been mentioned it should provide an opportunity for the client or clients to go through the stages of identification of problems, planning, implementation, evaluation and so on. This is of special importance in the health education of the community. The principles of community organization, viz., the identification of opinion leaders, identification of problems and planning, implementing and evaluating are to be done with full involvement of the community to make it the community’s own programme.

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