HEALTH PROMOTION

CMT 05105

PROVIDE HEALTH EDUCATION SERVICES

Ms. Lucy Mathias

 Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, students are expected to be able to:
 Identify audience for health education session
 Identify needs for health education
 Prepare health education schedule
 Conduct health education sessions
 Use specific IEC materials in providing health education
 Disseminate IEC materials
 Utilize effective communication skills in providing health education
 Evaluate health education sessions
 Definition of terms
• Health education is concerned with changes in knowledge,
feelings and behaviors of people, it concentrates on developing
health practices to bring about the best possible state of
wellbeing.
OR
• Health education is a process which informs, motivate and
helps people to adopt and maintain healthy practices and life
styles.
 Audience for health education session
• Audience is a group of people together in one place to watch or
listen to a play, film, someone speaking etc.
• These are the main participants in the receiving health
education and improving health status of their community or
individually.
• Audience for health education session depends on the type of
health education session conducted.
• Examples: male/female, school age children, youth, elderly etc.
 Needs for health education
•The following are the needs for health education:
Health personnel (educator)
 Key problems
 Targeted audience/population (recipients)
 Message(subject OR topic)
 Time
 Venue/ place
 Methods of education
 Fund,
 Infrastructures
 Health personnel (Educator):
 Health personnel (Educator): Should have good personal
qualities for a health education to take place and the
transmission of knowledge, skills and improving health
behaviors of individuals , health personnel must be involved as
the main participant of the session such health workers like
nurses, medical doctors, community nurses etc.
 Key problems
 Key problems: The health providers have to know what health
problems or unhealthy behaviors that the community faces
and practices , so that it makes easy for the health workers to
create a topic concerning that problem a aim at providing
health education to a particular community.
 Targeted audience/population (recipients):
• Targeted audience/population (recipients): These are the
main participants in the receiving health education and
improving health status of their community or individually.
• Audiences are the ones to be taught on how to maintain health
behaviors and main participants in the health education
session.
• Audience for health education session depends on the type of
health education session conducted.
 Message(Subject or Topic):
• Message(Subject or Topic): the subject rises from the key
problems, this is the main agenda of the conduction of health
education, expert health worker have to take control of the
subject for the audience to understand and ask for more
clarification
 Time, Venue/ place, Method
• Time: there should be a specific time for the health
education to start, so as the participants gather towards the
chosen venue on time.
• Venue/ place: Knowing where exactly the health education
session will take place is very important for the participants
to gather and allocate newcomers. Conducive environment
is needed for effective Health Education.
• Methods of education: how message of education reaches
the recipients.
• Other needs are fund, infrastructures etc.
 Prepare health education schedule
• A health education schedule comprises of the following
o Days/weeks
o Time and date
o Activities; learners and educator’s
o Facilitator/ educator
o Learner characteristics
o Venue/ place
o Evaluation
An example of a health education schedule
KILOSA DISTRICT HOSPITAL
HEALTH EDUCATION SCHEDULE
Date:………. Time: …………..
Subject: …………………
Facilitator:……………….
Learner’s characteristics: ……………….
Venue: ………………..
 Conduct health education sessions
Steps of planning health education and intervention
• Step 1: Analysis
• Step 2: Identify problem and poetize
• Step 3: Setting objectives
• Step 4: develop plan for work
• Step 5: implement action
• Step 6: evaluation
 Steps

Step 1: problem analysis

• The causes of health problems include behaviors,
environmental and social aspects.
• Discuss various causes .
Step 2: Identify problem and prioritize
A number of problems or situation may emerge. Since it is not
possible to deal with all problems at once, we will have to
prioritize.
 steps cont…
Criteria of prioritization (refer session 3) :
• Magnitude,
• Severity,
• Vulnerability,
• Cost of intervention
• Political acceptability
 Steps cont….
Step 3: Setting objectives
• Once problems have been poetized, the next step is to set objectives
• A program objective is a series of statement that must answer:
 what do we want to achieve?
 Where? ,
 Who is the target group?,
 when do we want to achieve?,
 Extent of achievement?
 Steps cont….

Step 4: Develop plan for work

• A plan of work is a detailed schedule of activities to be done in
a given period of time.
• It should specify
 The role of different persons involved,
 The time in which the particular activities have to be carried
out,
 And the different methods to be used.
 Steps cont….

Step 5: implement action

• Implementation is carrying out the plan or putting the plan/ program into
action.
• It is translating the goals and methods into a community based health
education programs.

Step 6: Monitoring
• Monitoring is the systematic collection and analysis of information on the
project progress
• Helps to keep the work on track.
 Steps cont.….
Step 7: Evaluation
• Evaluation is the process of assessing whether the health
education interventions are attaining their goals and objectives
which are predetermined while planning the session.
Use specific IEC materials in providing health education

• It is a public health approach aiming at changing or reinforcing set

of behaviors in a target audience, concerning a specific problem
and within a pre-defined period of time.
• It combine strategies, approaches and methods that enable
individuals, families, groups, organisation and communities to Play
active role in archieving, protecting and sustaining their own health
• The major goal of IEC(Information, Education and Communication)
is to change behavior by providing information to individuals and
communities
 Steps of Creating IEC Messages

• Needs assessment
• Plan of action, including
o Goals
o Objectives
• Use of communication based on sound educational
techniques
• Periodic monitoring and evaluation based on goals and
objectives
 Effective IEC messages
• Are well planned
• Appeal to the target population
• Are positive, attractive and call for attention
• Avoid themes that can encourage discrimination or stigma
• Are sensitive to tradition, culture, norms and values
• Address social conditions of the target audience
• Use appropriate channels for the message
 Media for communicating IEC materials
The following are various media used for communicating health messages:
• Traditional media
o Spoken word (talking, meetings, stories)
o Performance (local dancing, plays, and shows)
• Print media
o Posters, leaflets, banners
o Exhibitions
• Mass media
o TV, video, film, Radio, Newspapers
 Things to consider for Effective ICE strategies
• Communicate a benefit: what does a person or community
stands to gain?
• Communicate a promise: If you take this action you are more
likely to…
• Provide supporting points: data or evidence from someone
who has benefitted
• Lead to the desired action response
• Identify the source(medium) of the message
 Criteria of selecting appropriate Media
• Different people learn best from different media, in order to offer wide
opportunity for different people to learn health matters, different
media should be used for communicating a single key health message.
• The following are criteria for selecting communication media:
o Literacy level of target community
o Cost of media
o People access to media
o Cultural issues
o Nature of message to be communicated
o Expertise in using a particular media.
 Effective communication skills in providing health
education
• Communication is a continuous process where the sender
sends some message, concept or information through a
medium with specific objective to a receiver, that create a kind
of reaction to the receiver and accordingly the latter reflects on
that message.
 The process of communication
It comprises of; Soil, seed and sower.
• Soil: people to whom education is given
• Seed: health facts to be given
• Sower: media to transmit the facts

• Note: All components are interdependent and result in dynamic

interaction.
 Essential tasks to make communication effective
• Setting objectives
• Presenting the message simply and in an straight manner
• Selecting medium or method for sending message
• Arranging for receiving response
• Ensuring two-way communication
Effective Communication Skills in Health Education
To make the communication effective, the health workers should
acquire certain specific skills:
• Good interpersonal skill
• Listening skill
• Questioning skill
• Presentation skills
• Understanding skill
• Skill to receive response
• Skills in constructing the message
• Skills in using the medium
 Evaluation Of Health Education Session.
• Evaluation is the process of assessing whether the health
education interventions are attaining their goals and objectives
which are predetermined while planning the session.
• Evaluation is crucial for all health programmed/ sessions, it is
the only way to find out which of your activities have been
successful and which need changing in some way.
 Evaluation cont..
• As your planning to evaluate the health education session
make sure you have known the effectiveness and efficiency of
the program;
 Effectiveness means the extent to which you have achieved
your goals and objectives.
 Efficiency refers to proper utilization of resources when
achieving your education objectives
Types of evaluation used in health education:
• Process evaluation: Deals with measurements of
implementation process to control, assure or improve the
quality of the program e.g.. Methods used in health education.
• Impact evaluation: Deals with immediate observable effects of
the session eg. changes in knowledge, attitude, beliefs,
practices etc.
• Out-come evaluation: Evaluates long term effects of session
such as reduction in mortality, morbidity, prevalence of
disease, improved health status, life expectancy.
 Evaluation Of Health Education Session
• There are various measures that educators can adopt to
evaluate the outcomes of their health education session such
as:
o Changes in knowledge
o Changes in behavior; effective health education will yield
both short and long term changes in behavior that reduces
risky behavior or improve quality of life.
o Learner’s satisfaction; participant satisfaction is gathered
through questionnaires or surveys.
 Steps In Evaluation Of Health Education Session
• 1. Involve people to participate in the activities
2. Describe the activities to be evaluated
3. select method to evaluate
4. Collect credible data
5. Analyze the data
6. Learn from evaluation.
 Roles of Health Care Providers in Health Education

• Educate patients about medical procedures, operations, services, and

therapeutic regimens.
• Create activities and incentives to encourage use of services by high risk
patients.
• Educate service providers about behavioral, cultural, or social barriers to
health.
• Promote self-care to provide high-quality care and avoid burnout.
• Develop activities to improve patient participation in clinical processes
through individual health education.
 Roles cont.…
• Protect, promote or maintain patient health and reduce risky
behaviours through appropriate health education messages.
• Make community-based referrals by providing correct information.
• Assist communities to identify health needs and find solutions to
improve health.
• Conduct community organizing and outreach, coalition-building, and
advocacy.
• Mobilize resources to develop, promote, implement, and evaluate
health programmed, strategies, and campaigns.
 References
• Butler, J.T. (2001). Principles Of Health Education And Health
Promotion. London:Wadsworth
• Ewles, L. & Simnett, I. (2003). Promoting Health A Practical
Guide.(5th Ed.). London: Bailliere Tindal.
• MOH (2001). District Health Management Training. Module
Two: Promoting Partnership In The District. Dar es salaam,
Tanzania: Ministry of Health.