Principles of Health Education
Clarity: Such that the message has a favorable impact on the listener.
Interest: Educate people based on their felt needs to draw their attention and interest
Simplicity: Use languages that the people understand and straight to the point
Participation: Encourage participation to facilitate learning
Adaptability: Should be such that the community can implement
Comprehension: Use simple language, so people can understand.
Reinforcement: Learning experience should follow a repetitive sequence at intervals for people to remember.
Diplomacy: Not rigid but able to carry the people along
Motivation: Encourage or create a driving force in the learners to enable them learn with eagerness. Prizes, praise and other incentives are useful stimulants/motivators.
Communication: The health educator should imbibe an effective communication skill that elicits favorable feedback. It could be verbal (Spoken word) or non-verbal (gestures, smiles, frowns).
Leadership: Involve the communities’ local leaders and schoolteachers who must be close to the people for easy access.
Elements of Effective Communication
Sender (encoder): This refers to the person or communicator of the message
Message- This means the idea being transmitted
Channel: This is the medium used to pass information to the audience e.g. face-to-face, Radio, television. A 2-way medium is preferable.
Receiver (Decoder): This is the target audience to whom the message is meant. It may be a specific group or whole population.
Feedback: The receiver of the message must comprehend and give a feedback, either positively or negatively, without which communication is incomplete.
Methods of Health Communication
Methods of communicating health message could be verbal or non-verbal
Communicated as follows;
Role playing
Story telling
Panel discussion, Simulation and counseling
Songs, dance and drama
Lecture
Demonstration
Seminar or workshop
Aids Used in Communication
These are either audio aids, visual aids or both used in health communication.
Audio aids: These include: -Audio-tapes, Amplifiers, Microphones and Earphones.
Visual-aids: Chalkboard/marker board, Booklets and leaflets, Flannel-graph Posters, Video, machines and films, Slides Puppets, Filmstrips, Specimen, Models Overhead Projector, Transparences Exhibits.
Audio-Visual aids: Television, Sound films.
Advantages of Audio-Visual Aids in Health Education
It enables retention of learnt behavior for longer time
It enables the audience to think and form a good picture of their problem
Makes teaching easier and more meaningful
It encourages participation by the Audience.
Steps/processes in Carrying out Health communication
Identify and assess the health problem in the community e.g. female genital mutilation
Analyze the problem: Reason for the behavior
Plan for solution e.g. Organizing a program
Implementation of the Program
Evaluation of program- This is assessing how the program have changed their behaviors
Guideline for Message Development
Build on topics that could be understood easily by the audience
Involvement and encourage active participation
Provide conducive environment
Respect for tradition and culture
Develop listening ability
Master your topic
Eliminate barriers
Factors That Facilitate Effective Communication
Proximity (closeness) of communicator to the audience
Noise free environment
Good planning before the exercise
Simplicity of the topic
Using appropriate communication aid
Using language understandable by the audience
Good composure
Barriers to Effective Communication
These may include: deafness, dumbness, poor planning, wrong uses of media, Emotions, poor listening skill, inadequate knowledge on subject matter, Noise, inadequate space, socio-economic differences, power failure, poor personality of educator, beliefs of audience, language differences, attitudes and perceptions, religion and customs