Different Approaches in Health Education

Importance of Health Promotion Campaigns

• Important because: campaigns educate people on health habits, help with early health issue identification, and treatment strategies

• Why are they not always successful? • Campaigns sometimes have the opposite intended effect

• People do not want to be told what to do or they want to do the

opposite of what they are told

The Need for the Campaign

The campaign I have chosen is for health promotion against smoking.

There is a need for this campaign for many reasons: • There are many health risks related to smoking • There is a high prevalence and incidence among smokers. There are 10

million adult smokers within the UK, including 22% of all men and 17% of all women.

• Change is possible and desired. Surveys show that about 2/3’s of smokers would like to stop quit smoking but do not believe they have the ability or resources to do so. This issue of smoking is manageable through proper health promotion efforts.

Historical Perspective

Smoking has not always been perceived a major health issue within society. In the past, smoking was a leisurely past time, with few consequences. It was only recently, within the past 50 years or so, that the hazards of smoking were fully realized.

Through the development of a contemporary public health system in society, there has become a greater need for promotion against smoking.

Health Problems Associated

• Risk for heart attack

• Risk lung cancer and breathing problems

• Risk for pancreatic cancer

• Risk for bladder, kidney, and intestine cancer

• Risk to pregnancy

• Risk for stroke

• More

Government Health Targets

• Reduce the prevalence and incidence of smoking by 20% among adult smokers over the course of the next 20 years

• Educate the public on the hazards of smoking through awareness and overall promotion

• Provide tools and strategies for those who want to quit smoking i.e. establish and assist clinics to help people quit smoking

Role of Health Educators

• Health educators for the health issue of smoking play a very important role

• They act as counselors and educators for those who smoke

• They encourage antismoking among youths

• They act as an overall support system

• In this campaign, the NHS would direct local clinics to help people stop smoking

Health Education Campaigns

• There are many health education campaigns against smoking.

• One specific campaign focuses on highlighting the health risks and consequences of smoking

• The campaign is grotesque and grabs the attention of the audience.

• It relates directly to my campaign because it discourages smoking among adults

Approaches to Health

1. Behavior Change: try to make smokers change their activity of smoking i.e. chewing gum or exercising when they want to smoke

2. Attitude Change: try to make smokers change their attitude or opinion towards smoking so that they care about quitting

3. Perception Change: try to make smokers change their perception of why smoking is bad for them or why they haven’t been able to quit in the past

Victim Blaming Model

• Holds the victim accountable and responsible for their health issues

• Increases the role of the health educator

• Lacks empathy for the situation of the victim

• Makes the smoker responsible for their behaviors and forces them to change on their own

Empowerment Model

• Aims to help people identify their health issues

• Helps people develop skills to reduce their health issues

• Puts the individual at the center and the health educator as the facilitator

• Gives the smoker the tools to change their health behavior

Social Marketing

• Social Media marketing is very important to a successful health promotion campaign in today’s age

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Instagram

• YouTube

• Can have a major impact on health education by linking the audience and the issue

Mass Media

• Mass media plays an extremely influential role in health promotion campaigns

• In terms of how it affects smoking, it is huge

• Television and billboard advertisements can actually act as a barrier to those who wish to stop smoking because it makes people think smoking is “cool”.

• But television and billboard advertisements can also be helpful in educating people on the harms of smoking.

Community Development

• Community development is very important in health promotion in terms of education, resources, and overall perception

• For smoking, community development is crucial in changing the attitudes and perceptions people have towards smoking

• Some examples of community development for anti smoking could be these: educational pamphlets, local clinics, peer counselors and groups, and more.

Two-way Communication

• Two-way communication is also important in linking smokers and health educators within a community

• Smokers need to be able to communicate their health issue and the reasons why they have yet to change

• Health educators need to be able to communicate their understanding and their available resources

• By smokers communicating with health educators and health educators communicating with smokers, progress is possible.

Peer Education Project

• Peer education could be beneficial in raising awareness for smoking within the community

• This project would have to be completed strategically so that is does not have the opposite of the intended effect i.e. encouraging people to smoke because they like to rebel

• Peer education could help to educate on the risks related to smoking and why people should quit

• More examples of how this would work: peer “buddy” system for smokers, group forum discussion on smoking issues, peer presentations on smoking

Ethical Issues

• Legalities: people do not like to be told when and where they cannot smoke i.e. restaurants, public buildings, workplaces, and more

• The greater good: issue of second hand smoke and third hand smoke and what is good for the health of the community

• Cost of help: some people that are of poverty cannot afford help or resources so there is a question of whether or not public tax money should be used for the cause