Health education is the profession of educating people about health. Areas within this profession encompass environmental health, physical health, social health, emotional health, intellectual health, and spiritual health. It can be defined as the principle by which individuals and groups of people learn to behave in a manner conducive to the promotion, maintenance, or restoration of health. However, as there are multiple definitions of health, there are also multiple definitions of health education. The Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology of 2001 defined Health Education as "any combination of planned learning experiences based on sound theories that provide individuals, groups, and communities the opportunity to acquire information and the skills needed to make quality health decisions." The World Health Organization defined Health Education as "comprising of consciously constructed opportunities for learning involving some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including improving knowledge, and developing life skills which are conducive to individual and community health."
Education for health begins with people. It hopes to motivate them with whatever interests they may have in improving their living conditions. Its aim is to develop in them a sense of responsibility for health conditions for themselves as individuals, as members of families, and as communities. In communicable disease control, health education commonly includes an appraisal of what is known by a population about a disease, an assessment of habits and attitudes of the people as they relate to spread and frequency of the disease, and the presentation of specific means to remedy observed deficiencies.
American Public Health Association (APHA) APHA is the main voice for public health advocacy that is the oldest organization of public health sine 1872. The American Public Health Association aims to “protect all Americans and their communities from preventable, serious health threats and strives to assure community-based health promotion and disease preventions.” Any individual can become a member and benefit in online access and monthly printed issues of The Nation’s Health and the American Journal of Public Health
Health Care Settings: these include hospitals (for-profit and public), medical care clinics, home health agencies, HMOs and PPOs. Here, a health educator teaches employees how to be healthy. Patient education positions are far and few between because insurance companies do not cover the costs.
Public Health Agencies: are official, tax funded, and government agencies. They provide police protection, educational systems, as well as clean air and water. Public health departments provide health services and are organized by a city, county, state, or federal government.
Higher Education: typically two types of positions health educators hold including academic, or faculty or health educator in a student health service or wellness centre. As a faculty member, the health educator typically has three major responsibilities: teaching, community and professional service, and scholarly research. As a health educator in a university health service or wellness centre, the major responsibility is to plan, implement, and evaluate health promotion and education programs for program participants.
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