course material

1. DB – Week 4
• • ues of health education and promotion, e research, resources, and people involved 6E t
to research, resources, and practitioners in health education/ undation in the history,
philosophy, theory, and ethics of health t overall introduction to the growing profession of
health oles and responsibilities of health education specialists, the nd the ethics of the
profession. In addition to presenting the alth education/promotion, the book gives you a
glimpse at what tion specialists. ost current thinking and practices in the f eld, the Sixth
Edition reform developments, the responsibilities and competencies raditional health jobs,
w hat’s in store for the future of health dia in health promotion, and much more. the
ducation/ oundation phy, theory, d education. most n the f eld, def nitions, Specialists of
health, ies of health and its use Philosophical Foundations • • Practitioner’s Perspective
boxes provide personal stories of health education specialists. Almost half of the boxes are
new and include information on public health, non-traditional jobs, cultural competency,
advocacy, and social media. Chapter 3 • All chapters have been updated for currency
including tables, f gures, references, terminology, end-of-chapter materials, Weblinks, and
appendices. • Case Studies at the end of each chapter encourage you to think like a health
educator. om for more contact our customer (201) 767-5021 ookstore. ISBN-13: 978-0-
321-92714-9 ISBN-10: 0-321-92714-1 9 0 0 0 0 6E 9 780321 927149 Copyright © 2015
Pearson Education, Inc. • • Chapter Objectives – 1 • Define the terms philosophy, philodoxy,
wellness, holistic, and symmetry and explain the differences between them • Discuss the
importance of having a personal philosophy about life • Compare and contrast the
advantages and disadvantages of having a life philosophy and an occupational philosophy
that are similar • Formulate a statement that describes your personal philosophy of life and
identify the influences that account for your philosophy Copyright © 2015 Pearson
Education, Inc. Chapter Objectives – 2 • Identify and explain the differences between the
following: – – – – – – behavior change philosophy cognitive-based philosophy decision-
making philosophy freeing/functioning philosophy social change philosophy eclectic
philosophy • Explain how a health education specialist might use each of the five health
education/promotion philosophies to address a situation in a scenario • Create and defend
your own philosophy of health education/promotion Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education,
Inc. Introduction • Purpose of developing a health education/promotion philosophy –
Provides bridge between theory and practice – Helps answer the “whys” of health
education/promotion Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. What is a Philosophy? •
Statement summarizing the attitudes, principles, beliefs, and values held by an individual or

2. group – How you act is a reflection of your philosophy – Corporate slogans and mission
statements are often used to convey philosophies – Many quotes by famous people actually
are philosophy statements • Philodoxy – love of opinions; presents problems for health
education specialists • Philosophy reflects your values and beliefs, which determine your
purpose for being – Loren Bensley Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Why Does One
Need a Philosophy? – 1 • A person’s philosophy helps form the basis of reality for her/him •
Philosophies can change as result of new experiences, learnings, or insights • A philosophy
is usually congruent throughout all aspects of a person’s life Copyright © 2015 Pearson
Education, Inc. Why Does One Need a Philosophy? – 2 • Sometimes health education
specialists are called upon to educate those who hold different philosophies – Primary
responsibility is to protect the health of the public – Health is not a moral issue –
Philosophical thought is important to the delivery of health education/promotion •
Philosophies can serve to guide time commitments a professional chooses to emphasize •
Well-reasoned philosophy plays an important role in a career path – Commitment to
improved health – Provides a service to others Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Principles and Philosophies Associated with Health – 1 • Some philosophies used in health
education/promotion serve to create a framework to better understand the meaning of
“health” – Philosophy of symmetry – health has physical, emotional, spiritual, and social
components, each one as important as the other – Holistic philosophy – the mind and body
distinction disappears, yielding a whole unified being – Wellness – always a positive quality
that enables a person to strive to reach an optimum state of health in all dimensions
(spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, social, environmental) Copyright © 2015
Pearson Education, Inc. Principles and Philosophies Associated with Health – 2 Leading
Philosophical View points Irreversible Damage Premature Death Average Health and
Wellness 83 Optimum Wellness Th e We lln e s s Con t in u u m • Differing philosophical
views of health that all people can achieve some measure of wellness, no matter what
limitations they have, • and that achieving optimal health is an appropriate journey for
everyone. The optimum state of wellness occurs when people have developed all six of the
dimensions of health to the Health education specialists must distinguish between what
maximum of their ability. (See Figure 3.4.) be sure, there are those who in their
philosophical view of health. For example, affectsTohealth from what isdiffer health Balog
(2005) believes that health must by nature be seen solely as a physical state because “
health must reside in the person”(p. 269), and it is not possible for a person to be truly
healthy if the systems of the body are not functioning in the way they were intended to
operate. He argues that any other view of health is really not objective but introduces
subjective Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Leading Philosophical Viewpoints •
Becky Smith (2010) – “I have come to believe that when internal and external elements that
facilitate the development of the human potential are available, individuals are more likely
to experience optimal health.” • John Allegrante (2006) – “I have always believed that the
goal of health education is to promote, maintain, and improve individual and community
health through the educational process” • Marian Hamburg (1993) – “unexpected
opportunities appear,” “mentorship,” “cooperation,” & “networking” • John Seffrin (1993) –
“…enabling of individuals to achieve a level of personal freedom…” Copyright © 2015

3. Pearson Education, Inc. Developing a Philosophy – 1 • Most professionals and many
organizations have developed philosophies that serve as a guide for living and working –
University of Wisconsin at La Crosse Community Health Education mission statement – to
prepare professionals using entry-level health education competencies and public health
core areas . . . – Outline of the process used to develop the program’s mission statement is
presented Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Developing a Philosophy – 2 • Process
of developing a philosophy includes discussing and listing core beliefs and principles
regarding health education • Drafting your own philosophy uses a similar process –
Personal values and beliefs – Defining health – Personal attributes – Results of health
studies – Expected outcomes Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Developing a
Philosophy – 3 • Philosophy statements are not stable • Philosophy results from the sum of
knowledge, experience, and principles • Examples – William Kamkwanba—self-taught;
determination Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Predominant Health
Education/Promotion Philosophies* – 1 • behavior change philosophy – focuses on
modifying unhealthy habits • cognitive-based philosophy – focuses on the acquisition of
content & factual information • decision-making philosophy – emphasizes critical thinking
& lifelong learning *Welle, Russell, & Kittleson (1995) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education,
Inc. Predominant Health Education/Promotion Philosophies* – 2 • freeing/functioning
philosophy – focuses on freeing people to make best health decision for them based on their
needs and interests– not necessarily for society • social change philosophy – emphasizes
creating social, economic, & political change that benefits health of individuals & groups •
eclectic health education/promotion philosophy – focuses on an adapting approach that is
appropriate for setting *Welle, Russell, & Kittleson (1995) Copyright © 2015 Pearson
Education, Inc. Predominant Health Education/Promotion Philosophies* – 3 • A call to
return to our roots – health education specialists should be disseminators of factual
information and facilitators of rational choice (Buchanan, 2006) – cognitive based –
decision-making – freeing/functioning – call for an integrated behavioral ecological
philosophy *Welle, Russell, & Kittleson (1995) Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.
Impacting the Delivery of Health Education/Promotion • Every educational choice carries a
philosophical belief with it – Javier’s behavior change approach – Nokomis’ decision-making
case example – Li Ming’s use of the freeing or functioning method Copyright © 2015
Pearson Education, Inc. Summary – 1 • philosophy means a statement summarizing the
attitudes, principles, beliefs, & concepts held by an individual or a group • Forming both a
personal & an occupational philosophy requires reflection & the ability to identify the
factors, principles, ideals, & influences that help shape your reality • The decision to use any
philosophy involves understanding & accepting the foundation that helped create the
philosophy • A sound philosophical foundation serves as a guidepost for many of the major
decisions in life Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Summary – 2 • Predominant
philosophies of health education/promotion: behavior change, cognitive based, decision
making, freeing/functioning, social change, eclectic health education/promotion • Health
education specialists might disagree on which philosophy works best • One of the
overriding goals of any health education/promotion intervention is the betterment of
health • All of the philosophies have that goal; they simply differ in how to attain it

4. Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc. Philosophical Foundations Chapter 3: The End
Copyright © 2015 Pearson Education, Inc.