With the high level of formal education and literacy in our generation, more people are now realizing the need to take charge of their health and promote it. Health education is an acknowledged means of achieving, and communicating highly medical practices to those who want to achieve and maintain good health, and of promoting environmental and lifestyle changes to facilitate this objective. It influences behaviour, produces changes in knowledge, attitude and skills needed to maintain and improve health. This paper, therefore, looked into the concept of health education and promotion as described by many authors. The different methods, steps, role of health education in disease prevention, in ensuring compliance and cooperation of clients to the treatment regimen and its role in rehabilitation was discussed. The role of nurses in health education and promotion was highlighted. The literature reviewed reports studies which show that many chronic diseases e.g. diabetes, stroke, hypertension and some forms of cancers can be avoided through lifestyle and behaviour modification. These modifications are in areas of nutrition, exercise, weight reduction and stress management. Health education was also seen to be indispensable in rehabilitating people who have suffered severe injuries or who have to live the rest of their life with an incurable disease. Its role in encouraging compliance and co-operation of patients to treatment regimen was fully discussed, as well as the important role nurses as a health care professional have to play in promoting the health of the populace through health education. It was recommended among others that nurses be re-trained through Continuing education programs as professional health educators.
Title page 1
Abstract 2
Table of contents 3
Introduction 5
Objectives 7
Concept of health education 7
Concept of health promotion 10
Methods and steps of health education 11
Steps in health education 12
Role of health education in disease prevention 13
Role of health education in ensuring co-operation and compliance of clients
to treatment regimen 15
Role of health education in the rehabilitation of disabled and follow-up cases 16
Role of nurses in health education and promotion 17
Summary/Conclusion 18
Recommendation 19
References
Introduction
Today, with more awareness, the concern of people about their health has been on the increase. Everyone has started looking for quality health care because afterlife itself, good health is one of the most important aspects of life. One of the ways people aim to achieve good health is by receiving proper health education.
Health Education simply means educating people about health. It is one important activity that is commonly undertaken to promote health. It is the communication of information that enables people to make decisions about their health and follow health-related activities at all stages of life, which are necessary for proper health. (Donatelle, 2009). Health, as defined by WHO (2005), is a state of complete physical, mental, social and emotional and spiritual wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease. Health education therefore is not limited to teaching people what to do to avoid disease but is holistic in nature. It is concerned with communication on areas that are related to water supply, sanitation, community health, mental health, disease control, personal hygiene, disaster management, reducing the risk of communicable diseases, proper nutrition, alcohol and drugs, accident and first aid, sexuality but to mention a few. (www.aticlebase.com/healtheduc action concepts).
It is obvious, therefore, that health education does not teach prevention and basic knowledge alone but also conditions ideas that re-shape the everyday habits of people with unhealthy lifestyles. This kind of conditioning not only affects the immediate recipients of such education but also future generations as well. (Donatelle, 2009). Moreover, besides physical health, health education can also promote health by helping people deal with situations of extreme stress, anxiety, depression or other emotional disturbances. (Kann, Brenner and Allensworth, (2001). Health education for health promotion begins with people. It hopes to motivate them with whatever interests they may have in improving their living conditions. Its aim is to develop in people a sense of responsibility for their health as individuals, as members of families and as a community. Promotion of health involves a lot of elements, but health education still remains the primary focus. This has come into light basically as a result of the shift from curative to preventive medicine. A popular slogan in Nigeria says that “prevention is better than cure”. Evidence has continually shown also that when consumers of health services take the prerogative for ensuring their own health, the outcome is much better.
With the high level of formal education and literacy in our generation, more people are now realizing the need to take charge of their health and promote it. The number of physical fitness facilities in every nook and cranny of the society testifies to this fact. People now realize the need to be conscious of their weight, exercise regularly, drink enough water, take their immunizations and eat an adequate diet. All this has come about as a result of health education which spreads through the media, newspapers, in schools and even religious bodies and most of all in health care institutions.
However, even though Nigeria has become a health-conscious nation and we are aware of the importance of nutrition and exercise in our lives, many of us still smoke, eat junk food, have weight problems, abuse drugs, and engage in unhealthy sexual practices. This calls for more attention of health care providers especially nurse to the importance of continuous health education if better health for all by the year 2020 (Vision 2020) is going to be feasible. It is on this need that this paper is based.
Objectives
The objectives of this paper are to:
Concept Of Health Education
Health education is defined as the “continuing process of informing people on how to achieve and maintain good health; of motivating them to do so and of promoting environmental and lifestyle changes to facilitate this objective” (Bastable,2003). Health education simply means educating people about health. Areas within health education encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual and spiritual health, (Donatelle, 2009).
In the ’70s, health education was viewed mostly as a means of communicating healthy medical practices to those who should be practising them. In the ’80s, definitions began to incorporate the understanding that education is a means of empowerment for the individuals, allowing the individual to make informed health decisions. Health education then became “the process of assisting individuals to make informed decisions about matters affecting their personal health and the health of others” (Donatelle,2005). The WHO expert committee on health education of the public stated that the principal aim of health education is to help people achieve health by their own individual efforts and actions. Patient education as an important aspect of teaching the patient provides patients with instruction about their care and provides direction for preventing complications (Cipriano, 2007).
The Joint Commission on Accreditation and Health care Organization (JCAHO) as noted by Habel, (2005), defined patient health education as “the process of influencing behaviour, producing changes in knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to maintain and improve health”. The JCAHO listed some goals for patient and family teaching, these include:
Successful Health education programs involve more than the production of messages and materials. It uses research-based strategies to shape the products and determine the channels that deliver them to the right intended audience. Some of the importance of health education in promoting health include:
What are the important of health in the community? the importance of health education in Nigeria
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