This document discusses various aspects of health education and communication. It describes 3 main ways to promote health: by force, by providing ideas and information, and by discussing problems to promote participation. It then covers communication processes, types of communication, barriers to communication, approaches to health education, contents of health education, principles of health education, and practices of health education including various aids and methods.

1. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH
DENTISTRY
HEALTH EDUCATION
Dr. SOMANATH REDDY
READER
NAVODAYA DENTAL COLLEGE

2. How to promote?
3 ways
By force
Give ideas Discuss problems and
and information promote interest
and participation
Helping people to lead healthier lives,
Make own choices for healthy life

3. Communication
for Health
Education

4. Communication
A two way process of
exchanging or shaping
ideas, feelings and
information.
Countless ways that humans
have of keeping in touch
with one another…..

5. COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Sender Message Channel Receiver
Feedback
Communication process
Awareness
Interest
Evaluation
Adoption

6. • SENDER
– Communicator
• Objectives clearly defined
• Understand interests & needs of audience
• Know validity & content of message
• Channels of communication
• His abilities & limitations
• RECEIVER
– Audience
• Controlled – common interest
• Uncontrolled/ free – curiosity

7. • MESSAGE
• Idea or information that communicator
tries to transmit
– In line with the objectives
– Meaningful
– Based on felt needs
– Clear & understandable
– Specific & accurate
– Timely & adequate
– Fitting the audience
– Interesting

8. • CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION
– Interpersonal communication
– Mass media
– Traditional / folk media
• FEEDBACK
– Reaction of the audience
– Provides opportunity to modify the message

9. Types of Communication
1. One-Way communication
2. Two way communication
3. Verbal communication
4. Non verbal communication
5. Formal and Informal
6. Visual communication
7. Telecommunication and Internet

10. Types of communication
• One- way communication
– Knowledge is imposed
– Learning is authoritative
– Little audience participation
– No feedback
– Doesn’t influence human behavior
• Two – way communication
– Learning is active & democratic
– More likely to influence behavior

11. • Verbal communication
– Loaded with hidden meanings
– Persuasive
• Non-verbal communication
• Formal & informal communication
• Visual communication
– Charts, graphs, pictograms, tables, maps, posters
etc.
• Telecommunication & internet

12. Barriers of Communication
1. Physiological
2. Psychological
3. Environmental
4. Cultural

13. Barriers of
communication
• Physiological
– Difficulties in hearing , seeing , expression ,
understanding
• Psychological
– Emotional disturbances, level of intelligence,
language or comprehension difficulties

14. • Environmental
– Noise , invisibility , congested areas
• Cultural
– Illiteracy , levels of knowledge & understanding,
customs , beliefs , religion, economic & social class
differences , cultural difficulties , between urban
& rural population

15. HEALTH EDUCATION
It is the translation of what is known about health
into desirable individual & community behaviour
patterns by means of an educational process.
“A process aimed at encouraging people to want
to be healthy, to know how to stay healthy, to do
what they can individually & collectively to maintain
health, & to seek help when needed”

16. Health education is a process that informs ,motivates
and helps people to adopt and maintain healthy
practices and lifestyles , advocates environmental
changes as needed to facilitate this goal and conducts
professional training and research to the same end.
-National conference on preventive Medicine ,USA
1977

17. APPROACH TO HEALTH
EDUCATION
1. REGULATORY APPROACH
2. SERVICE APPROACH
3. HEALTH EDUCATION APPROACH
4. PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
APPROACH

18. Approach to Health Promotion
• Legal / Regulatory
makes use of law to protect health
Eg: -The child marriage restraint Act
– Simplest & quickest method
– Can't eradicate the cause
– Can’t regulate the areas of personal choice
– Require vast administrative infrastructure &
expenditure

19. • Service approach
– Basic Health Services 1960
– Providing all the health services at their door step
– Failure: Not based on felt – needs
• Health education approach
– People will be better off if they have autonomy over
their lives
– Informed, educated & encouraged to make their own
choice
– Results are slow, but enduring
– Behavior is easily controlled / developed in young
population

20. • Primary health care education
– New approach
– Participation & active involvement of people
– Necessary guidance in identifying health problem &
finding a workable solution
– Objective – making people self reliant

21. CONTENTS OF HEALTH
EDUCATION
• HUMAN BIOLOGY
• NUTRITION
• HYGIENE
• FAMILY HEALTH
• DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
• MENTAL HEALTH
• USE OF HEALTH SERVICES

22. • HUMAN BIOLOGY
– Understanding
• Structure & function of the body
• Need of exercise, rest, sleep
• Effect of deviation from healthy life style
– UNICEF 1989
• Child spacing
• Breast feeding
• Safe motherhood
• Immunization
• Weaning
• House hygiene
Content Of Health Education …

23. • NUTRITION
– Guide people to choose healthy & balanced
diet
– Promote good dietary habits
– Intervention for the prevention of
malnutrition
– Promotion of health
– Improve quality of life
Content Of Health Education …

24. • HYGIENE
– Personal
• Bathing , clothing , washing hands , dental care
• Should start in early age
– Environmental
• Domestic
Fresh air, light, ventilation, hygienic storage of
food , disposal of wastes
• Community
Water supply , disposal of wastes , food ,
sanitation & housing
Content Of Health Education …

25. • FAMILY HEALTH
– Strengthen and improve family health as a
unit
Maternal & child health care, family planning,
immunization, nutrition
• DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL
– Provide elementary knowledge about the
nature of disease & method of prevention
– Encouraged to participate in disease control
Content Of Health Education …

26. • MENTAL HEALTH
– Help people keep mentally healthy
– Enjoy relationship with others
– Live & work without mental break down
Mother after child birth, child at entry into school ,
decision about future , starting new family
Content Of Health Education …

27. • PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS
– Road, work place
– Enforce certain rules
– Provide safe environment
• USE OF HEALTH SERVICES
– Inform people about health services available
• Screening programmes, Immunization. , Family
planning
Content Of Health Education …

28. PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH
EDUCATION
1. Credibility
2. Interest
3. Participation
4. Motivation
5. Comprehension
6. Soil ,Seed and Sower
7. Learning by Doing
8. Known to Unknown
9. Reinforcement
10.Setting an Example
11.Good human relation
12.Feed Back
13.Leaders

29. • CREDIBILITY
– Message should be trustworthy
– Based on facts
– Consistent & compatible with
• scientific knowledge
• Local culture
• Educational system
• Social goals
• INTEREST
– Should be based on felt – needs of people
Principles of H.E …

30. • PARTICIPATION
– Encourage people to participate in health education
programmes
– Should work actively in identifying & solving health
problems
– Creates a sense of involvement, acceptance & decision
making
Principles of H.E …

31. • MOTIVATION
– Def :- “ fundamental desire for learning in an
individual ”
• Primary motives – inborn desires & forces which
drives individual into action
– Food , clothing , housing
• Secondary motives – created by outside forces
– Praise, reward, love, punishment, rivalry
Principles of H.E …

32. • COMPREHENSION
– Level of understanding of people
– Communicate in the language people understand
– Never use new & strange words
– Teach within the mental capacity of the audience
Principles of H.E …

33. • SOIL , SEED & SOWER
– Soil -- people to whom health education is given
– Seeds -- health facts
– Sower -- media used to transmit facts
Principles of H.E …

34. • LEARNING BY DOING
If I hear, I forget
If I see, I remember
If I do, I know
Principles of H.E …

35. KNOWN TO UNKNOWN
“ from the particular to the
general ”
“ from easy to the difficult ”

36. REINFORCEMENT
Repetition - “ Booster dose ”
Repeat the message in different
way

37. Setting an example
• The health educator should set a good example in the
things he is teaching.
• Smoking
• Family size

38. GOOD HUMAN RELATIONS
Sharing , information, ideas and feelings happen
most easily between people who have a good
relationship. Building good relationship with people
goes hand in hand with developing communication
skills.

39. • Feed back:
• One of the key concepts of the systems
• Modify the elements of the system
e.g: messaga, channels

40. • Leaders
– Understands the need & demands of the community
– Provides proper guidance
– Takes initiative
– Receptive to the views & suggestions
– Identifies himself with the community
– Self less, honest, impartial
– Easily accessible
– Possesses skill & knowledge of eliciting cooperation ,
coordination
Principles of H.E …

41. PRACTICE OF HEALTH
EDUCATION
HEALTH
EDUCATION
AIDS
HEALTH
COMMUNICATION
METHODS

42. AUDIOVISUAL AIDS
AUDITORY VISUAL
COMBINED
AUDIO-VISUAL

43. HEALTH COMMUNICATION
Individual
Approach
Mass Approach
Group
Approach

44. STAGES OF ADOPTION
Learning steps
Unawareness
Awareness
Interest
Evaluation (involvement)
(Action)Trial
Adoption( Behaviour)

45. Lectures
A lecture may be defined as carefully prepared oral
presentation of facts, organized thoughts and ideas by
a qualified person.
The group should not be more than 30 and the talk should
not exceed 15 to 20 minutes.
A lecture can be made more attractive and acceptable by
using (a) chalkboard, (b) charts and diagrams, (c) over
head projectors, (d) flannel graphs, (e) posters, (f) slide
presentations, (g) flash cards, and (h) exhibits.
Advantage : a number of facts and concepts can be
presented in a short time to a large number of people.
Disadvantage : There is no individual participation and very
little opportunity for creative thinking.
I It is a "one-way" communication.

46. Demonstrations
Demonstration is a carefully prepared presentation to
show how to perform a skill or procedure.
1. Dramatises by arousing interest
2. Persuades the onlookers to adopt recommended
practices
3. Upholds the principles of “seeing is believing” and
“learning by doing”
4. Bring desirable changes in the behaviour pertaining
to the use of new practice
This method has a high motivational value.

47. Group discussion
• Very effective method of health communication
• The group comprise not less than 6 and not more than 12
members.
• The participants are all seated in a circle.
• A group leader initiates the subject, helps the discussion in
the proper manner and the recorder prepares a report on
the issues discussed and agreements reached.
Limitations : those who are shy may not take part in the
discussions
• There may be unequal participation of members unless
properly guided
• Some may deviate from the subject and make the discussion
irrelevant.

48. Panel discussion
• 4 to 8 persons (speakers) who are qualified to talk about
the topic sit and discuss a given problem or the topic, in
front of a large group.
• Chairman opens the meeting, welcomes the group,
introduces the topic briefly, introduces the panel
speakers and invites them to present their points of
view.
• Audience are invited to take part at the end.

49. Symposium
• A series of speeches on a selected subject
• There is no discussion among members
• In the end, audience may raise questions

50. Workshop
• Series of meetings (4 or more) with emphasis on
individual work, within the group, with the help of
consultants and resource personnel.
• It consists of small groups and each group will choose a
chairman and a recorder. All work, solve a part of the
problem with the help of consultants, contribute to
group work and discussion and lave the workshop with a
plan perfect action on the problem.

51. Role playing
• Values are dramatized by the group. The members
enact their roles as they have experienced them.
• Audience pay attention to what is going on, suggest
alternative solution if requested and come up and
take part if asked.
• The size of the group is about 25.

52. Conferences and seminars
• Commercialized continuing education
• Programmes are usually held on a regional, state or
national level and range from once half day to one
week in length, cover a single topic or be broadly
comprehensive.

53. Mass approach – mass media
• Television
• Radio
• Internet
• Newspapers
• Printed material
• Direct mailing
• Posters, billboards and signs
• Health museums and exhibitions
• Folk media

54. THANK YOU