Page 18 - strategy of health education

Concepts of Health Promotion

Health Promotion is defined as a combination of planned educational,

environmental, political, regulatory, and organizational supports for actions

and conditions of living conducive to health. EX. Providing vaccination or

establishing healthy lifestyle.

Health promotion is concerned with improving health by seeking to influence

lifestyles, health services and, above all, environments (which are not limited to the

physical environment but encompass as well the cultural and socioeconomic

circumstances that substantially determine health status).

Concept of Health literacy

Health literacy is "the degree to which individuals have the capacity to

obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed

to make appropriate health decisions."

Health literacy requires a complex group of reading, listening, analytical,

and decision-making skills, as well as the ability to apply these skills to health

situations. For example, it includes the ability to understand instructions on

prescription drug bottles, appointment slips, medical education brochures,

doctor's directions and consent forms, and the ability to negotiate complex

health care systems.

Various Terms Used for Communication and Health Education Activities

Information, Education and Communication (IEC) is a general term used for

communication activities to promote health:

Information: A collection of useful briefs or detailed ideas, processes, data and

theories that can be used for a certain period.

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