The Importance Of Health Education

990 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Concept of health promotion

The main goal of health promotion is to enable population and individuals increase control over their health by making a healthy decision. Health education being one of the five action strategies in health promotion has been an essential component in promoting health and preventing diseases. World Health Organization (WHO) simply defined health education as the combination of planned learning experiences designed to help individuals and communities improve their health, by increasing their knowledge or influencing their attitudes towards certain health behaviors (WHO, 2014). Health education focuses on social and behavioral decisions thus; it involves teaching population and individuals on how to develop certain skills such as personal and social skills which are required to make positive behavioral choices (Nutbeam, 2000).
The delivery of health education is simply achieved through peer to peer education, lectures, handouts or brochures, posters, guest speakers, project- base (getting individuals and the communities involved), drama etc. (Narushima, 2014). In order to understand the determinants and mechanism of behavioral change, several theories had been developed by social psychologists, and theses theories are mostly used by health educators. Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior/ Reasoned Action, Stages of change Model, and Social Cognitive Theory are the main theories used in behavior modification (Narushima, 2014). Health Belief model is a commonly known theory that helps explain and enhance health related behaviors in population and individuals (Naidoo & Wills, 2000).
Health Belief Model contends that, in order for behavior modification to occur, individuals must have an incentive to change, feel threatened ...

... middle of paper ...

..., nutrition plays vital component of children’s growth and development, most especially important for children receiving cancer treatment. As a result, HACS should also incorporate nutrition programs in their organization whereby parents and care givers will be trained about their child's nutritional needs and how cancer and its treatment may affect them.
In conclusion, keeping up with schoolwork during cancer treatments seems impossible for these children. Therefore, HACS should recruit more volunteers and organize a tutoring program whereby children at McMaster children’s hospital will be able to come together and learn as their other colleagues in the society which in turn will keep them up to date with school work. This is a form reassurance that there is a future for a child diagnosed with cancer which will definitely increase their level of social cohesion.

Show More
Related

  • Social Cognitive Theory: The Health Belief Model

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lets make it quite clear that change doesn’t happen overnight nor is it ever a process easy. To make a proper and healthy life-style behavior change, you must be dedicated to put in the time and effort that’s necessary for accomplish any goal. When I first began to become engage in exercising and becoming more physically fit I found that the Health Belief Model and the Social Cognitive Theory demonstrated the progression that I have made throughout my change. To begin you do not need to try and follow through the steps provided in any given model or a theory, the reasoning behind that statement is that everyone is different so our stages of change will all differ from one another. For me, once I decided that I wanted to begin attending group-fitness classes I found that through the Health Belief Model I had to understand the perceived benefits of my change, I had to

    Read More

  • Mr. A's Diabetes Case Study

    1278 Words  | 3 Pages

    A of his current state of health and lifestyle behaviours (Harris, Nutbeam, Wise, 2004). For example, the model explores 6 behavioural stages; pre-contemplation, contemplation, determination, action, maintenance and termination. These stages focus on the individual’s experience, behavioural changes and processes as opposed to an event which has determined a behaviour change. Evidently, the transtheoretical model determines that Mr. A is at the pre-contemplation stage (Prochaska & Velicer, 1997). Due to Mr. A experiencing this stage, he is not planning change to his current lifestyle choices. Although Mr. A is not planning changes in the foreseeable future, the transtheoretical model in conjunction with an education campaign can inform Mr. A about different behavioural stages that he may experience. However, understanding this behaviour change model of health cannot determine why Mr. A’s his current lifestyle and behaviour (Prochaska & Velicer, 1997). Fortunately, inclusion of maslow’s hierarchy of needs psychology theory (Donovan, Egger, Spark, 2005) used in conjunction with the transtheoretical model of health, can identify barriers that are stopping Mr A from actively using information from health education campaigns to change his behaviour (Harris, Nutbeam, Wise,

    Read More

  • Stages Of Change Model Of Health Behaviours

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Health Belief Model is a framework that is used for understanding service user’s health behaviours. The Health Belief Model is based on believing that a service user will seek health care related action if they believe that they are at risk of developing a certain condition and also if they believe that they can successfully and confidently take action to avoid getting the condition. A conceptual framework that describes a person's health behavior as an expression of health beliefs. The model was designed to predict a person's health behavior, including the use of health services, and to justify intervention to alter maladaptive health behavior. www.medical-dictionary.com (accessed 1/11/2016).

    Read More

  • The Effects of Childhood Cancer on Families and the Journey That Becomes the New Normal

    1749 Words  | 4 Pages

    Childhood cancer is a life altering experience, not only for a child, but for their entire family. It is the leading cause of death in children from the time of birth to 14 years of age, defined by the ag...

    Read More

  • Essay On Health Behavior Theories

    2001 Words  | 5 Pages

    The Health Belief Model (HBM) comes from the psychological and behavioral theorists. The premise is that there are two parts involved in health related behavior. “People are more inclined to engage in a health behavior when they think doing so can reduce a threat that is likely and would have severe consequences if it occurred.” (Brewer & Rimer, 2008, p. 152). The patient believes that a specific health action will prevent or cure the illness. How the individual responds depends on the perceived benefits and barriers of that health behavior.

    Read More

  • Health Belief Model: Condoms and Sexual Risk

    1459 Words  | 3 Pages

    The key concept of the health belief model includes threat perception (perceived threat), behavioral evaluation, self-efficacy and other variables. The threat perception has very great relevance in health-related behaviors. This perception are measured by perceived susceptibility (the beliefs about the likelihood of contacting a disease) and perceived severity (the feeling about the seriousness of contacting an illness and leaving it untreated). The behavioral evaluation is assessed by the levels of perceived benefits (the positive effects to be expected), perceived barriers (potential negative aspects of a health behavior), and cues to action (the strategies to activated one’s readiness). The self-efficacy key concept was not originally included in of the health belief model, and it was just added in 1998 to look at a person’s belief in his/her ability to take action in order to make a health related change. The other variables that are also the key concepts of the model include diverse demography, sociopsychology, education, and structure. These factors are variable from one to another and indirectly influence an individual’s health-related behavior because the factors influence the perception...

    Read More

  • Nursing Theories

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    The health promotion is a key factor process of permitting people to increase control over their health status in order to improve it. It not only covers the actions directly aimed at increasing the skills and capabilities of individuals, but is also aimed at changing the social, environmental and economic issues that impact on healthy habits.

    Read More

  • A Career In Pediatric Oncology

    1253 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pediatric Oncology is at the heart of many organizations. There are many financial and emotional burdens associated with a loved one having cancer, and thanks to these foundations parents and children can sleep a little bit better at night knowing that someone has their back. Some of the more prominent groups that have an impact here in our community are: Alliance for Childhood Cancer, Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation, CURE Childhood Cancer, and National Cancer Institute (Mccaul). These are organizations that make an impact in the lives of the children battling cancer and their families. Whether an organization has been started in memory of a loved one or to support a college or hospital, organizations like those listed above have

    Read More

  • The Nine Step Stairway to Effective Evaluation

    646 Words  | 2 Pages

    DiClemente, R. J., Salazar, L. F., & Crosby, R. A. (2013). Health Behavior Theory for Public Health: Principles, Foundations, and Applications. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning

    Read More

  • Social Cognition Model Essay

    1524 Words  | 4 Pages

    Human behavior is a vital component in the sustainment of health and the prevention of illness. For some decades now there has been an increasing attention to the contribution of psychological and social components to improving and changing health. Health specialists have used the help of models of behavior change in order to reduce health risks. Through all these years psychosocial models have been a leading influence in predicting and explaining health behaviors. The most accustomed are the social cognition models. A central principle of social cognition is that people’s social behavior is comprehended by examining their perceptions about their own behaviour

    Read More

  • Social Cognitive Theory

    1585 Words  | 4 Pages

    According to the Social Cognitive Theory, changing a behavior is a function of individual characteristics: a person’s sense of self efficacy about the new behavior, their confidence and overcoming barriers. The person’s behavioral capability, expectations and expectancies, their level of self-control and emotional coping ability; environmental factors: the social and physical environment surrounding individuals. The behavior of others (“modeling”) and the consequences of that behavior, which result in vicarious learning. The situation in which the behavior takes place, and perceptions of the situation by individuals. Reinforcements (negative or positive) that are given to individuals in response to the behavior; the interactive process of reciprocal determinism where a person acts based on individual factors and social/environmental cues, receives a response from that environment, adjust behavior, acts again and so on (Edberg, 2015). Ensuring that patients receive social skills training, self-efficacy boost, an educational component and vicarious learning is in alignment with the social cognitive theory. Unfortunately, there are certain regions that suffer from health and socioeconomic disparities that lead to extraordinarily poor health outcomes that would benefit from the implementation of the social cognitive

    Read More

  • Role of the Nurse in Health Promotion

    2168 Words  | 5 Pages

    Behavior is an important keyword when discussing health promotion theories because lifestyle modification requires a change in beliefs and attitude. Many health promotion theories explain how behavior can enhance or deter a patients progress in health related activities. Nola Pender, a nursing theorist and educator, has developed the Health Promotion Model (HPM). The three main parts of the HPM ar...

    Read More

  • The Affects of Childhood Cancer

    1810 Words  | 4 Pages

    When one hears the word “cancer”, thoughts about how their previous life is about to change cloud the mind, but when one hears the word cancer for their child, it is a whole different outlook; the affects of childhood cancer are not only taken on by the patients, but also by their families; the affects can range from emotionally to physically, socially to financially, and even educationally. “Childhood cancer is considered rare, especially compared with adults. Still it’s the leading cause of death in children pre-adolescent, school-aged children” (Report: Childhood Cancer Rates Continue to Rise, but Treatment Helps Drive Down Deaths). Around 12,000 children in the United States are diagnosed with cancer every year and around one in five children that are diagnosed with cancer will die.

    Read More

  • Reflection Paper On Behavior Change

    1556 Words  | 4 Pages

    There were several behavior change theories that were taught through this contemporary health issues course, but only a few that are really helpful throughout this process. One theory that helped me discover what influenced my behavior was the social cognitive theory. When reading the definition of the social cognitive theory, and seeing that the theory is based on behavior being influenced by the people around someone, as well as society itself, I saw that I was affected by my family as well as the books I read. A lot of children learn from the television shows they watch, or they learn from their friends at school. Sometimes people will say someone makes the same face as someone else, or someone might say a certain saying they heard from a friend, that is all in relation to this theory. The other model that affected my behavior growing up was the health belief model. The health belief model focuses on how person was raised, and how his or her decisions and behavior are in relation to his or her beliefs. According to the Boston University of Public

    Read More

  • The Necessity of Health Education

    2258 Words  | 5 Pages

    Health education is one of the most controversial subjects taught in schools throughout the United States. Many people argue that the topics discussed in health classes do not have appropriate content for middle school and high school students to be learning. Despite the controversy surrounding these topics, health education is still an extremely important aspect of the middle school and high school curricula. Children are being exposed to alcohol, tobacco, and various drugs at earlier ages than ever before. Health education is the best vehicle to inform students of the dangers and consequences that are associated with these substances. Health education also allows students to become aware of the changes that will affect their minds and bodies as they continue to mature.

    Read More

More about The Importance Of Health Education

Open Document