Information education and communication (IEC) aims to improve health by increasing awareness, knowledge, and promoting behavior change. IEC provides new health information to encourage behaviors like adopting healthy lifestyles and properly using health services. It also seeks to improve skills and change attitudes. Effective IEC considers factors like the target audience's culture, available resources, existing knowledge and beliefs, and social influences. A variety of communication methods can be used including individual, group, and mass approaches.

1. INFORMATION EDUCATION AND
COMMUNICATION(IEC)

2.  Information education is a term commonly used and
referred to by health professionals.
 The purpose of information education in
communication is to improve peoples health by
increasing awareness and knowledge and changing
attitude and behavior .

3.  “Information education and communication is an
important tool in health promotion for creating
supportive environments and strengthening community
action ,in addition to playing an important role in
changing behavior.”

4.  Encourage people to adopt and sustain health
promoting life style and practices .
 Promote the proper use of health service
 provide new knowledge ,improve skills and change
attitudes
 Stimulate individual and community

5.  Definition by John M.Last,
 health education as the presses by which individuals and groups
of people learn to behave in a manner conducive to promotion,
maintenance or restoration of health.
 Health education is any combination of learning experiences
designed to help individuals and communities improve their
health, by increasing their knowledge or influencing their
attitudes.
 Process of providing information and advice related to healthy
lifestyle and encouraging the development of knowledge,
attitudes and skills aimed at behaviour change of individuals or
communities.Enables and influences controll over own´s health
leading to optimalization of attitudes and habits related to
lifestyle and increasing quality of life.( WHO )

6.  The declaration of alma ata (1978) emphasized the
need for individual and community participation and
gave a new meaning and direction to the practice of
health education .
 Def: 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.

7.  Information: information that is relevant, interesting,
simple and understandable.
 Patient: the individual, family, group, people; what
they think, feel, do, their value system, readiness to
learn and bring in desired changes in their life style and
environment.
 Social environment: social culture and economic
supports, barriers which may promote or inhibit
behavior changes for health promotion.

8.  • Health education content: the content about health
and disease, favorable and non favorable life style,
environment, proper use of recourses and health care
facilities, etc.
 • Communication methods: means for dissemination
of and receiving information that can help in
understanding, motivating and bringing in desired
changes of healthy leaving.

9.  The definition adopted by WHO in 1969 and the Alma
Ata declaration adopted in 1978 provide a useful basis
for formulating the aims and objectives of health
education.
 To help the people understand that health is the
most valuable community asset, and to help them
achieve optimum health by their own activities and
efforts.
 To develop a sense of responsibility for improving
their health as individual members of families and
communities.

10.  To develop scientific knowledge, attitude, skills on
health matters to enable people to develop correct
habits.
 To educate people for proper use of health
services in whatever forms it is made available to them
by the government.
 To alter behavior that may have directly or
indirectly influenced the occurrence or spread of
diseases in a given setting, a culturally relevant health
education program can be planned only after
understanding the behavior in all its manifestations.

11.  Promoting the greater possible fulfilment of
inherited powers of the body and the mind and
happy adjustment of an individual in the society.
 To provide a person with appropriate knowledge to
enjoy decent health and also knowledge about the
occurrence and spread of disease thus enabling him to
adopt relevant preventive measures.
 To create in him an interest in his own health and
well-being.
 To create in him an interest for the health of other
members of his family as well those living in his
surroundings.
 To create in him a desire to support health
education programmes in his area.

12.  To inform people or disseminate scientific
knowledge about prevention of disease and promotion
of health.
 To motivate people to change their habits and
lifestyle that are harmful to their health and also
motivate people to adopt habits and ways of living
conducive to healthy living.
 To guide the people who need help to adopt and
maintain healthy practices and lifestyle by showing
proper community resources.

13.  Credibility: It is the degree to which the message to
be communicated is perceived as trustworthy by the
receiver. It must be consistent and compatible with
scientific knowledge.
 Interest: People are unlikely to listen to those things
which are not to their interest.
 Health educators must find out the real health needs i.e.
‘felt needs’ of the people. Very often there are groups
who may have health needs of which they are not
aware.

14.  Participation: Participation is key word in health
education.
It should aim at encouraging people to work actively with
health workers and in identifying their own health
problems and also in developing solutions and plans to
work them out. It provides maximum feedback.
 Motivation: Awakening the desire to learn is termed
as motivation. In health education people are motivated
to accept new thoughts, habits and activities. In the
language people understand

15.  Comprehension: In health education we must know
the level of education and literacy of people. We should
always communicate. Teaching should be within the
mental capacity of the audience.
 Reinforcement: Most people do not accept new facts
in one attempt. Hence repetition is necessary for
effective health education.
 Setting Examples: The health educator should set a
example in the things he is teaching.

16.  Good Human Relations: Sharing information happens
most easily between people who have a good relationship.
 Learning by doing: A person can learn better by doing
things in place of hearing or seeing. Hence it is necessary to
pay more attention to active learning in health education.
 Known to unknown: Health education should be provided
from known to unknown and simple to complex. The
intelligence of a person should be fully exploited to
motivate him towards accepting new facts.
 Regular feedback
 Efficient leadership
 SOIL, SEED, SOWER Soil is the community Seed is
information Sower is the person giving the information

17.  HUMAN BIOLOGY
 NUTRITION
 HYGIENE
 FAMILY HEALTH CARE
 CONTROL OF COMMUNICABLE AND NON
COMMUNICABLE DISEASES
 PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS
 USE OF HEALTH SERVICES

18.  Approach to Health Education 4 well known
approaches to health education:
 Regulatory approach
 Service approach
 Health education approach
 Primary health care approach

19.  It is either directly or indirectly by governmental
intervention designed to alter the human behavior.
 For Example : The child marriage restraint in India.
Compulsory wearing of seat belt and helmet.
 No govt. can pass legislation to eat a balanced diet or
not to smoke.
 The congress defeat in 1977 elections is due to
enforcement of sterilization campaign in 1976.

20.  This approach was tried by Basic Health Services in
1960’s.
 It aimed at providing all the health services needed by
the people at their door steps but this approach proved a
failure because it was not based on felt-needs of the
people.
 Eg. When water seal latrines were provided by
government, free of cost, many people in rural areas
did not make use of them.

21.  People must be educated through planned learning
experiences what to do and to be informed, educated
and encouraged to make their own choice for healthy
life.
 Problems like cessation of smoking, use of safe water
supply, fertility control can be solved by health
education.
 Health education should be started among children and
young population.

22.  This is a new approach started from the people with
their full participation and active involvement in the
planning and delivery of health services.
 Eg. Community involvement and intersectoral
coordination.

23. 1) Medical Model:
 Mostly this model is concerned with disease or illness.
 This model is primarily interested in the recognition
and treatment of disease and technological advances to
facilitate the process.

24.  It is a process consisting of several stages through which an
individual is likely to pass before adoption. These are awareness,
motivation action.
 Motivation includes the stages of interest, evaluation and
decision making.
 Now the last stage of motivation model is the action i.e. whether
if idea is acceptable or not.
 Awareness
 Motivation
 Interest
 Evaluation
 Decision-making
 Action
 Adoption or acceptance

25.  The traditional motivation approach is insufficient to
achieve behavioral change hence it is the social
environment which needs to be changed.
 Example: reducing smoking, adoption of small family
norm, raising the age of marriage, elimination of dowry, etc.
 It is often found that people will not readily accept and try
something new or novel until it has been approved by the
group to which they belong.
 Most of us prefer to do only the things commonly done by
our group.
 Example: adoption of new idea like vasectomy or loop
insertion is facilitated if there is a group support.

26.  Audiovisual Aids :
 No health education can be effective without
audiovisual aids.
 They help to simplify the unfamiliar concepts.
 Auditory Aids – radio, tape recorder, microphone,
amplifiers, earphone
 Visual Aids – Chalk board, leaflet, posters, charts etc
Slides, film strips
 Combined AV Aids – TV, Sound films, Slide-tape
combination

27. Individual Approach
 1. Personal contact
 2. Home visits
 3. Personal letter
Group Approach
 1. Lecture
 2. Demonstration - Group - Pannel - Symposium - Conferences - Seminar –
Workshops Role play
Mass Approach
 1. Television
 2. Radio
 3. Newspaper
 4. Printer material
 5. Direct mailing
 6. Posters
 7. Exhibitions
 8. Folk method
 9. Internet

28.  1) Individual Approach :
 The health education must first create an atmosphere of
friendship and allow the individual to talk as much as
possible.
 In this individual teaching we can discuss, argue and
persuade the individual to change his behaviour.
 But by this we can reach to a small population and who
come in contact with us.

29.  Group teaching is an effective way of educating the
community.
a) Chalk & Talk (Lecture) :
 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 talk should
not exceed 15-20 minutes.
 By using suitable audiovisual aids .

30.  A demonstration is a carefully prepared presentation to
show how to perform a skill.
 This procedure is carried out step by step before an
audience.

31.  c) Discussion method
 Group Discussion :
 For effective group discussion the group should comprise not less than
6 and not more than 12 members.
 There should be a group leader who initiate the subject and encourage
everyone to participate and sum up the discussion in the end.
 There must be a recorder who prepares a report on the issues
discussed.
 The group members should follow some rules :
 § Express the ideas clearly.
 § Listen to what others say.
 § Do not interrupt when others are speaking.
 § Make only relevant remarks.
 § Accept criticism gracefully.
 § Help to reach conclusion.
Sociogram
 Good discussion
 Not a very Good discussion

32. d) Panel Discussion :
 In a panel discussion 4-8 qualified persons talk about
the topic.
 Sit and discuss a given topic in front of a large
group/audience.
 The chairman opens the meeting.
 Panel comprises of a chair person and 4-8 speakers.
 After the main aspect of the subject are explored, the
audience is invited to take part.

33.  e) Symposium :
It is a series of speeches on a selected subject.
Each expert person present it briefly and at the end of
session the chair person make a comprehensive
summary.
Audience are allowed to raise question
 Workshop :
 It consists of series of meetings usually 4 or more with
emphasis on an individual work, within the group and
with the help of consultants and response personnel.

34.  g) Role Playing : This is a brief acting out of an actual
situation for the benefit of the audience for better
understanding.
 h) Conference and Seminar : This programmes are
usually held on a regional, state/national level. Where
several experts from different disciplines meet to
deliberate on a particular theme, to appraise others of
latest knowledge and research in a particular field.

35.  Mass media are a “oneway”communication.
 They are helpful in transmitting messages to people
even in the remote places by TV, Radio, Internet,
Newspaper, Printed material.
 Direct mailing, poster, health museum exhibition and
folk media.

36.  Primordial prevention Promote health by reinforcing
healthy practices
 Primary prevention Prevent ill-health, maintain the
highest level of health & improve the quality of life
 Secondary prevention Understand health behavior
underlying the ailments and means of behavioral
changes to prevent further deterioration of health or
restoration of health
 Tertiary prevention Make the most of the remaining
potential for healthy living.

37. Geographical layout.
Accessibility
Language
Illiteracy & literacy rate
Cost Availability of resources
Culture
Health Facilities
Health Facilitators
Attitudes both clients and educators
Methods, message/material
Educators or officials who carry out the task
The tools use for demonstration

38. Health-promoting behaviors (HPBs) refer to general
activities that improve self-realisation and a sense of
well-being, that include acts that assist persons in
maintaining and promoting healthy lifestyles

39. HPBs are categorized in six dimensions based on
Pender’s health promotion model as follows:
Physical Activity,
Nutrition,
Stress Management,
Health Responsibility,
Interpersonal Relations And
Spiritual Growth
Preventives Of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDs)
Key Determinants Of Maintaining And Improving The
Health Status

40. CULTURE
 Sum of beliefs and values shaping the behaviour of a community
RESOURCES
 • Availability
 • Accessibility
 • Affordability
 • Acceptability
HUMAN BEHAVIOR THOUGHTS & FEELINGS
 • Knowledge
 • Beliefs
 • Attitudes
 • Values
INFLUENCE OF OTHER PEOPLE
 • Leaders
 • Elders
 • Friends