Health Education

health education begins with the start of life and extends throughout the span of existence,in home,in school and comminity at large.Health education is an essential tool of community health.Every branch of community health has an educational aspects of health.In fact community health is just health education,and every community health worker is a health educator.The objective of health education is'to win friends and influence people'.Although health education has unique characterstics in each of these settings,a common thread runs through them all,giving unity of purpose and of direction.
The term'health education' means many thins to many peoples.Numerous individuals and groups have attempted to define it.For some,it is an educational force,or a process by which agents of agents of education such as the teachers,nurses or parents exert their influence individuals in such a way as to impress behaviour.The WHO expert comitte on health education has stated,"Health education is the process which enables individuals and groups of individual to realise their health needs and match them to necessary health behaviours for attainment of positive health.Health education like general education is concerned with the change in knowledge,attitude and behaviour of the people.In it`s most useful form it is concentrated on the development of such practices as believed to attain the best possible state of well being.
According to the society of public health Education,"Health education is a process which affects change in the health practices of people and in the knowledge and attitudes related to such changes."
In the view of R.E. Grout,"Health education is the translation of what is know about health into desirable individual and community behaviour patterns by means of the educational process."
The above defination implies that,

• Health education is an process involving a series of steps- not a single procedure.


• Health education is concerned with establishing or including changes in the knowledge,attitudes,and behaviour that promote helathy living.


• Health education involves efforts by the people.

The objectives of health education are as fallows,

1. to ensure that health is valued as an asset in community.


2. to encourage the people to attain good health.


3. to equip the people to solve their health problem with their own actions and efforts.


4. to promote and encourage the development and proper use of available health services.

The importances of health education are,

• develop and practise desirable healthy behaviour.


• appriciate the aesthetic values of helathy living,including cleanliness,sanitation exercise and balanced diet.


• contribute to the maintenance and improvement of health of friends,neighbours,members of the family,community and nation.


• find emotional satisfaction in individuals relationship with the school home and community.