Health Education

• Health Education


  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


  Any combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary adaptations of behavior conducive to health
• The purpose of health education is to contribute to health and well-being by promoting lifestyles, community actions and conditions that make it possible to live healthful lives
• Education for health begins with people and aims to motivate them to improve their living conditions
• In communicable disease control, health education includes an appraisal of what is known by a population about a disease, an assessment of habits and attitudes, and the presentation of specific means to remedy observed deficiencies
• Education process


  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
• Teaching


  A deliberate intervention involving the planning and implementation of instructional activities and experiences to meet the intended learner outcomes based on the teaching plans
• Instruction


  One aspect of teaching, which involves communicating information about a specific skill (cognitive, affective or psychomotor)
• Learning


  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
• Patient education


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


  The need for nurses as health educators to be knowledgeable about the principles of teaching and learning
• The three pillars of the teaching-learning process

  • Teacher
  • Learner
  • Subject-matter
• The role of the educator is not primarily to teach, but to promote learning and provide an environment conducive to learning - to create the teachable moment
• ASSURE Model


  A guide to assist teachers in making instructional materials, an acronym for Analyze, State objectives, Select media/materials, Use materials, Require learner participation, Evaluate and revise
• Nurses require a solid foundation in teaching and learning principles, and special training in instructional skills, to fulfill the role of educator
• The minimum qualifications for nurse educators should be a BSN degree, and ideally the role should be delegated to nurses with master's degrees
• Patient teaching


  Implies a didactic information-giving approach
• Patient education


  Implies something more comprehensive, for which specialist skills are required
• The teaching function has been an integral part of the duties of a professional nurse since nursing was recognized as a discipline in the 1800s
• Florence Nightingale taught nurses, physicians, and other health officials about the importance of clean, well-ventilated and well-lit environments in assisting patient recovery and healing
• Roles of the nurse as a health educator

  • Giver of information
  • Facilitator of learning
  • Coordinator of teaching
  • Client advocate
• Health educators have an obligation to the principles that people have a right to make decisions affecting their lives, and that there is a moral imperative to provide people with all relevant information and resources to make their choices freely and intelligently
• Qualities of effective teachers


  • Committed
  • Creative
  • Intuitive
• Hallmarks of good or effective teaching in nursing

  • Professional competence
  • Skillful interpersonal relationships with students
  • Desirable personal characteristics
  • Teaching practices
  • Evaluation practices
  • Availability to students
• Characteristics of an effective teacher

  • Willingness to admit error or lack of knowledge
  • Caring attitude
• Teaching practices


  • Thorough knowledge of subject matter
  • Presents materials in clear, interesting, logical and organized manner
• Evaluation practices


  • Clearly communicating expectations
  • Providing timely feedback on student progress
  • Correcting students tactfully
  • Being fair in evaluation processes
  • Giving pertinent tests and assignments
• Availability to students


  • Especially in laboratory, clinical and other skills application areas
  • Instructor's dilemma is being in two or more places at the same time
  • Communicating where he/she can be located
  • Endorsing students to knowledgeable staff during absence
• Teacher clarity


  • Logically organizes instruction
  • Explains what is to be learned
  • Uses simple terms in presenting new materials
  • Constantly assesses student understanding
  • Uses repetition and summarization
• Teacher style


  • Blend of form or content
  • Teaching persona - ability to stimulate student interest and enthusiasm
• Aspects of teacher style

  • Scholarliness, intelligence and sincerity
  • Pleasant speaking voice
  • Use of variety of teaching strategies, jokes, humor
  • Good timing - adapting speed of delivery
• Principles of good teaching practice

  • Encourage interaction between teacher and learner
  • Elicit cooperation among students
  • Engage students in active learning
  • Give prompt feedback
  • Emphasize time on task
  • Communicate higher expectations
  • Respect diverse talents and learning styles
• Learning


  Relatively permanent change in mental processing, emotional functioning and/or behavior as a result of experience
• How learning occurs


  Individual interacts with environment and incorporates/applies new information or experiences to what they already know
• Environmental factors affecting learning

  • Society and culture
  • Structure and pattern of stimuli
  • Effectiveness/credibility of role models and reinforcements
  • Feedback for correct and incorrect responses
  • Opportunities to process and apply learning
• Learner factors affecting learning

  • Learning styles
  • Type, nature and level of motivation
• Factors facilitating or hindering learning

  • Teacher selection and structuring of learning experiences
  • Teacher's knowledge, teaching methods, communication skills, ability to motivate
  • Relating new knowledge to previous experiences, values, self-perception, learner readiness
• Learning principles to motivate learners

  • Use several senses
  • Actively involve learners
  • Provide conducive learning environment
  • Assess learner readiness
  • Determine relevance of information
  • Repeat information
  • Generalize information
  • Make learning pleasant
  • Begin with known, move to unknown
  • Present information at appropriate rate
• What ensures relatively permanent learning

  • Organizing learning to be meaningful and pleasurable
  • Practicing/rehearsing new information
  • Applying reinforcement through rewards/recognition
  • Assessing/evaluating learning
• Learning theory


  Coherent framework and set of integrated constructs and principles that describe, explain or predict how people learn, how learning occurs, and what motivates people to learn and change