HEALTH EDUCATION

• is a process concerned with designing, implementing and evaluating educational programs that enable families, groups, organizations and communities to play active roles in achieving, protecting and sustaining health.

  Health Education
• is also defined as "any combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary adaptations of behavior conducive to health."

  Health education
• Its purpose is to contribute to health and well-being by promoting lifestyles, community actions and conditions that make it possible to live healthful lives"

  (The Code of Ethics for Health Educators, Association for the Advancement of Health Education)
• Education for health begins with people. It hopes to motivate them with whatever interests they may have in improving their living conditions. Its aims is to develop in them a sense of responsibility for health conditions for themselves as individuals, as members of families, and as communities.
• In communicable disease control, health education commonly includes an appraisal of what is known by a population about a disease, an assessment of habits and attitudes of the people as they relate to spread and frequency of the disease, and the presentation of specific means to remedy observed deficiencies.
• is a systematic, sequential, planned course of action with teaching and learning as its two major interdependent functions and the teacher and learner as the key players involved

  The Education Process
• is a deliberate intervention involving the planning and implementation of instructional activities and experiences to meet the intended learner outcomes based on the teaching plans.

  Teaching
• is just one aspect of teaching, which involves communicating information about a specific skill (cognitive affective or psychomotor). It is sometimes used inter- changeably with teaching.

  Instruction
• is a change in behavior (knowledge, skills and attitudes) that can occur at any time or in any place as a result of exposure to environmental stimuli. Learning is an action by which knowledge, skills and attitudes are consciously or unconsciously acquired and behavior is altered which can be seen or observed.


  Learning
• a process of assisting people to learn health related behaviors (knowledge, skills, attitudes, values) which can be incorporated into their everyday lives.


  Patient education
• amidst all these mandates and requirements that the nurse as a health educator faces is the need to be knowledgeable about the principles of teaching and learning. Instead of the "teacher teaching", the paradigm has shifted to focus on the "learner learning." Hence, the nurse needs to know not only the subject matter but also her role in the teaching-learning process and the nature of the learner.

  Staff education
• The three pillars of the teaching process are the:

  1.) teacher

  2.) learner

  3.) subject-matter
• focuses on planning and implementation of care based on assessment and diagnosis of the patient's physical and psychosocial needs

  Nursing process
• identifies instructional content and methods based on an assessment of the client's learning needs, readiness to learn and learning styles;

  Education process
• when the physical and psychosocial needs of the clients are met

  nursing process
• when the changes in knowledge, attitudes and skills occur

  education process
• "the role of the educator is not primarily to teach, but to promote learning and to provide for an environment conducive to learning to create the teachable moment rather than just wait for it to happen.

  According to Wagner and Ash (1998)
• Each component has its own contribution to the whole process of teaching and learning. Studies have shown that:

  a.the vital role of the teacher is motivating students to learn

  b. and inspiring them to get out of their comfort zones, to stretch and develop the 98% portion of their brain which is still unintuitive one

  c. both are methods for monitoring and judging the overall quality of nursing interventions based on objective data and scientific criteria.
• is a guide to assist teachers in making instructional materials

  ASSURE Model
• A - analyze the learner; identify who your learners are based on:

  1. general characteristics like age, highest educational attainment or grade level, socioeconomic factors, ethnicity, and culture.
  2. specific learner competencies like knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding the topic;
  3. learning styles which refer to perceptual preferences and strengths like visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic
• S - State the objectives using SMART (specific, measurable attainable, realistic and time-bound)
• S - select the instructional media and materials by:

  a.selecting the available materials

  b. modifying existing materials

  c. designing, revising, or making new materials
• U - use the materials and the instructional media by:

  a.reviewing the materials and maximize the use of the materials

  b. practicing the use of the materials and the instructional media

  c. preparing the classroom, equipment and facilities

  d. presenting the materials using using your skills and teaching
• R -require learner participation by preparing activities that will encourage students to respond and actively participate; the teacher should give appropriate feedback to the student's responses
• E - evaluate and revise to evaluate the effectivity of the presentation, the following questions may be asked:

  • Was the visual material able to help me make a clear, coherent and interesting presentation?
  • Was it able to help me meet the objectives of the lesson?
  • Was it able to help the learners/ trainees meet the objectives of the lesson?
• For nurses to fulfill the role of educator, they must have a solid foundation in the principles of teaching and learning and special training in instructional skills.
• article on "Rethinking Patient Education," suggested that it is unreasonable to expect every nurse to teach when they have only had basic nursing education.

  Luker & Caress (1989)
• They suggested that the minimum qualifications for nurse educators should be a BSN degree and ideally the educator's role should be delegated to nurses with master's degrees (advanced practice nurses like clinical nurse specialists and nurse practitioners).
• The role of educator is not primarily to teach, but to:

  • promote learning
  • provide for an environment conducive to learning create a teachable moment rather than just waiting for it to happen (Wagner & Ash, 1998).
• implies a didactic information-giving approach.

  Patient teaching
• implies something more comprehensive, for which specialist skills are required.

  patient education
•  The teaching function will always be an integral part of the duties of a professional nurse. This dates back to the time when Nursing was given recognition as a discipline in the 1800's and health. Education became a unique and independent function of the nurse. This was regarded as the Period of Educated Nursing. The historical evolution of teaching as an essential role of the nurse traces its roots to the mid-1800's through the initiative and efforts of Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing and founder of the first school of nursing.
• Role of the Nurse as a Health Educator

  • Giver of information
  • Facilitator of learning
  • Coordinator of teaching
  • Client advocate
• In the design/implementation of strategies and methods, health educators have an obligation to two principles:

  1.The people have a right to make decisions affecting their lives;

  2. there is moral imperative to provide people with all relevant information and resources possible to make their choice freely and intelligently (Cottrell, Girvan, & Mckenzie, 2001)
• Learners can always identify the best teacher who is also the most effective and the worst (de Young,2003).The effective teacher possesses certain qualities, characteristics and attitudes which make them one of the most approachable and respected members of the faculty.
• that is, they don't watch the clock, they go extra mile, and work long hours;

  committed
• meaning they stimulate intellectual inquisitiveness, as well as, exploratory and critical thinking.

  creative
• meaning the teacher is able to identify the student's predominant style of intelligence and based on this knowledge, the teacher is able to build on the student's strength.

  intuitive
• In the performance of the duties and responsibilities as a mentor, the teacher is guided by the principle of "in loco parentis" which gives the teacher the right to exercise the parental role in the absence of the real parents. This also allows the teacher to impose appropriate disciplinary measures or minor offenses committed by the student in his/her presence.
• Three basic approaches by which instructor can increase self-esteem and reduce anxiety are through:

  a.empathic listening by listening to the to the learner and seeing the world through his/her own eyes;

  b. accepting the learners as they are whether you like them or not; avoid imposing your own prejudices or standards;

  c. communicating honestly with your students by letting them know what your expectations are and what their responsibilities are.