Communication for Health Education

1. Communication for HealthEducation

3. Communication : • regarded as two way process of exchanging or shaping ideas, feelings and information. • Ultimate goal of all communication is to bring about a change in the desired direction of the person who receives the communication – cognitive (increase in knowledge), affective(change in existing pattern of behavior & attitude) & psychomotor (acquire new skill)

4. Communication Process : • Complex process having five components : • Sender (source) • Receiver (audience) • Message (content) • Channel (medium) • Feedback (effect)

6. Sender : • originator of the message • must know - • his objectives, should be clearly defined. • his audience: its interests & needs • his message • channels of communication • his professional abilities and limitation

7. Receiver: single person or group • Two types- • Controlled audience : one which is held together by common interest, homogeneous • Uncontrolled audience : one which has gathered together from motives of curiosity. • - the more homogenous the audience is, the greater are the chances of an effective communication

8. Message: • is the information which the communicator transmits to his audience to receive, understand, accept and act upon. • transmitting right message to the right people at right time is very crucial factor in successful communication.

9. Channels of Communication : • Interpersonal • Mass Media • Folk Media

10. Feed back: • Reaction from the audience • May reject if message is not clear or not acceptable • Hence opportunity to sender to modify message and render it acceptable. • Inter-personnel communication- immediate • Mass communication- takes time • Feedback is obtained through opinion polls, survey and interviews

11. Types of Communications: • One way communication • Two way communication • Verbal communication • Non – verbal communication • Formal and Informal communication • Visual communication • Tele communication and internet

12. One way communication: (Didactic Method) • E.g. – lecture method in class rooms • Draw backs - knowledge is imposed - learning is authoritative - little audience participation - no feedback - does not influence human behavior

13. Two way communication (Socratic Method): • Audience may raise questions • Add their own information, ideas and opinions to the subject • Learning is active and democratic • More likely to influence behavior than one – way communication

14. Verbal communication: • Word of mouth, traditional way • It is persuasive

15. Non – verbal communication • Communication without words • Bodily movements, postures, gestures, facial expressions • Silence is a non – verbal communication • It can speak louder than words

16. Formal communication: • Follows lines of authority Informal communication: • E.g.: gossip circles • May be more active, if formal channels do not cater to the information needs

17. Visual communication: • Charts • Graphs • pictograms • Tables • maps • Posters

18. Telecommunication and internet: • Communication over distance • Radio, TV, internet, telephone, telegraph etc • Point to point telecommunications systems (telephone, telegraph) are closer to interpersonal communications

19. Health Communication : • Health Communication has to cater the following needs, • Information • Education • Motivation • Persuasion • Counselling • Raising morale • Health development • Organization

20. Health Education : • A process aimed at encouraging people to want to be healthy , to know how to stay healthy , to do what they can individually and collectively to maintain health, and to seek help when needed.

21. Aims & objectives of health education: • To encourage people to adopt & sustain health promoting lifestyles and practices • To promote the proper use of health services provided to them • To arouse interest, provide new knowledge, improve skills & change attitudes in making rational decisions to solve their own problem • To stimulate individual & community self reliance & participation to achieve health development

22. Approach to Health Education : • Regulatory approach (Managed prevention) • Service approach • Health education approach • Primary health care approach

23. Models of Health Education : • Medical Model • Motivational Model • Social Intervention Model

24. Medical Model: • Dissemination of health information based on scientific facts • In this model social, cultural and psychological factors were thought to be little or no importance • Did not bridge the gap between knowledge and behavior

25. Motivational Model: • Awareness • Motivation –Interest -Evaluation - Decision making • Action - Adoption or acceptance • Interpersonal communication (friends, groups, technical persons) is vital to lend support to his decision making Internalization: • New ideas or acquired behavior which becomes part of a persons own existing values

26. Social Intervention Model: • In some situations it is not the individual who needs to be changed but the social environment which shapes the behavior of the individual & community. • An effective health education model is based on precise knowledge of human ecology & understanding of the social interaction between the cultural, biological, physical & social environmental factors.

27. Contents of Health Education: • Human Biology • Nutrition personal • Hygiene • Family Health • Disease prevention and control • Mental health • Prevention of accidents • Use of health services domestic Environmental community

28. Practice of Health Education: • Audio Visual Aids : • Auditory aids • Visual aids – Not requiring projection and requiring projection • Combined A V aids

29. Methods in Health Communication : • 1.Individual approach 2.Group approach • 3. Mass approach • Individual Approach – • Personal contact • Home visits • Personal letters • Group Approach- • Lectures • Demonstration • Discussion methods

30. Discussion methods • Group discussion • Panel discussion • Symposium • Workshop • Conference • Seminar • Role Play

31. Mass Approach • Television • Radio • Newspaper • Printed material • Direct mailing • Posters • Health museums and exhibition • Folk methods • Internet

32. Lectures (Chalk & Talk): • Group should not be more than 30 • Talk should not exceed 15 – 20 mins • Can be made more effective by combining with audio- visual aids such as ; - flip charts, flannel graph, Exhibits, Films & charts

33. Disadvantages of lecture: • Minimum student involvement, • Passive learning, • Comprehension varies with student • Health behavior of listener is not necessarily affected • Do not stimulate thinking or problem solving capacity

34. Demonstration: • Carefully prepared presentation to show how to perform a skill or procedure • Clinical teaching in hospitals • This method has a high motivational value • Can be used in programmes like environmental sanitation (construction of sanitary latrine), mother & child(ORS) etc

35. Group discussion: • Aggregation of people interacting in a face to face situation • For effective group discussion: -should comprise not < 6 & not > 12 members -seated in a circle, each is fully visible to others -group leader; initiate the subject, helps discussion in proper manner, prevents side conversations, encourages everyone to participate, sums up the discussion in the end - desirable to have a person to record

36. Group discussion contd… • Considered very effective in health communication • The group may arrive at decisions which no individual would have been able to make alone • Decision taken by the group tends to adopted by each individual rather than a solitary one • Where long compliance is involved (e.g. cessation of smoking, obesity reduction) group discussion is considered valuable

37. Limitations of group discussion: • Those shy may not take part in discussions • Some may dominate the discussion • Some may deviate from the subject and make the discussion irrelevant or unprofitable

38. Panel discussion: • 4- 8 persons, qualified to talk about the topic, sit & discuss a given problem • In front of a large group or audience • Panel comprises of a chairman & 4 – 8 speakers • No specific agenda, no order of speaking & no set of speech • Success of the panel depends upon the chairman • After the main aspects of the subjects are explored by panel speakers, the audience is invited to take part

39. Symposium: • Series of speeches on a selected subject • Each expert presents an aspect of the subject briefly • No discussion among the symposium members • Audience may raise questions in the end • Chairman makes a comprehensive summary at the end of the entire session

40. Workshop: • Consists of a series of meetings, usually 4 or more • Emphasis on individual work, within the group, with the help of consultants or resource personnel • Provides each participant opportunities to improve his effectiveness as a professional worker

41. Role playing (socio - drama) : • Many values in a situation cannot be expressed in words • Communication can be more effective if the situation is dramatised by the group • Size of the group is best thought to be at about 25 • Role playing is useful technique to use in providing discussion of problems of human relationship • Particularly useful educational advice for school children • Role playing is followed by discussion of the problem

42. Conferences & Seminars: • Contains a large component of commercialized continuing education • Usually held on a regional, state or national level • Range from once half day to one week in length • May cover a single topic in depth or be broadly comprehensive • Usually use variety of formats to aid the learning process

43. “If I hear , I forget ; If I see, I remember ; If I do, I know”