This document discusses health education, including its introduction, concepts, components, philosophy, and principles. It provides definitions for key terms like health literacy and health promotion. It also outlines stages in the adoption of new ideas and practices, emphasizing the need to proceed from known to unknown concepts for effective learning. The document presents an analogy that people are the soil, health facts are the seeds, and educators are the sowers, highlighting the importance of interrelating these components. The overall purpose is to explain what health education involves and how it works to change attitudes and behaviors to promote wellness.

1. Health Education: Introduction,
Concepts, Components, Philosophy,
and Principles
Col Zulfiquer Ahmed Amin
M Phil (HHM), MPH (HM), PGD (Health Economics), MBBS
Armed Forces Medical Institute (AFMI)

2. Introduction
Attitude: A mental state of feeling and thinking about someone or something
Behavior: The way a person acts in response to a particular situation or stimulus

3. Intervention Attitude Behavior Expected Action
HE
(Intervention)
Changed
attitude
about use of
toilet
Changed
response on
physiologica
l stimuli
Using Toilet

4. The practice of instructing people and
communities in the principles of hygiene and in
ways of avoiding disease is a very old ancient
one.
An elementary study of the history of medicine
reveals that since time immemorial it has been
considered a necessity to instruct communities in
health matters for their protection and survival. In
recent days, same concept prevails but
strategically, philosophies have changes.

5. “According to many health experts, for the first time in the
history of the United States young people are less healthy and
less prepared to receive their places in society than their parents
were” (Health Education, 2003). The Center for Disease Control
has six major risk factors that adolescents are facing today. These
include tobacco use, dietary patterns contributing to disease,
sedentary lifestyle, sexual behaviors that result in HIV infection or
other STDs and unintended pregnancy, alcohol and other drug
use, and behaviors that result in intentional and unintentional
injuries.
To reduce risk behavior and improve health an effective health
education program will help to develop a positive attitude and a
healthy behavior to ensure wellbeing.

9. “Health education is the process by which individuals and group of people learn To “:
• Promote
• Maintain
• Restore health.

11. Some common terms:
Health literacy
“The degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain,
process, and understand basic health information and services
needed to make appropriate health decisions.”
Health promotion
“The process of enabling people to increase control over, and to
improve, their health.”

14. Importance of HE

20. 20
Adoption of New ideas and practices
• Awareness
• Interest
• Evaluation
• Trial
• Adoption
Stages:

21. Stages in the adoption of new ideas
and practices
• Stage of unawareness: Stage in which
individual not aware of new idea or practice.
• Stage of awareness: Stage in which individual
has some general information about the new
idea or practice, but does not know much
about its usefulness, limitations etc.
• Stage of interest: Stage in which individual
showing some interest into the idea.

22. • Stage of evaluation: Stage in which the individual tries
to find out the advantages and disadvantages of the
new method. He evaluates whether the new practice
will be beneficial to him and his family.
• Stage of trial: Stage in which the individual decides to
put the new idea or method into practice. Additional
information and guidance should be given at this stage.
• Stage of adoption: Stage in which the individual finally
accepts the new idea or practice as beneficial to him
and adopts it.

36. For imparting health education, one should proceed
from, the known to the unknown, One should start
where the children are and with what they
understand and then proceed to new knowledge.
The existing knowledge of the children should be
used as pegs on which to hang new knowledge.

39. Feedback Community
Leader

40. SOIL, SEED & SOWER:
The people are soil, the health facts are the seeds &
the educator is the sower.
All the components of this triad will influence the
outcome.
The 3 factors should be carefully & satisfactorily
interrelated.

51. Philosophy of Health Education

56. Thanks