Health Promotion and Education Paper II (A)

General description of the course:

The role of human behavior is fundamental for the achievement of preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative objectives. The rationale behind designing this course is that the health and medical care setting such as hospitals, nursing homes, private clinics, and health centers or health projects where there are probabilities of utilizing medical graduates, should have health education activities as an indispensable component of total medical care. Since the MBBS graduates are more likely to work in these settings, they need to be equipped with the basic concept and components of patient health education so as to facilitate health education activities in the medical care settings. Hence, this course is basically focused on patient-health education management and applied to health and medical care settings in general and patient in particular.

The course is divided into 6 units and behavioral objectives are set for each unit separately.

General objectives:

The students will be able to comprehend the role of patient health education in medical care settings and carry out patient counseling and education activities in a team approach.

Specific objectives:

Unit I: Introduction

Students will be able to

  • describe the meaning of health promotion with due focus to Ottawa charter and
  • Jakarta declaration as applied to health promoting hospitals/ Medical care settings.
  • describe aim, objective and principles of health education by analyzing various definitions of health education, particularly those propounded by G. W. Stewart, Dorothy Nyswander, WHO scientific group and SOPHE_AAPHER
  • explain the concept, principle and practice of patient health education and counseling for compiiance and patient satisfaction
  • describe the place and opportunities of health education in health and medical services;
  • describe scope of health education in
  • schools
  • work sites
  • family
  • community
  • health and medical care settings, such as hospitals, health centers, nursing homes, private clinics, and health care projects.

Unit II: Health education in health and medical care settings (HMCS)

Students will be able to

  • explain the concept of facilitation of health education in health and medical care settings (HMCS);
  • describe the role and functions of health and medical care providers (HMCP) for facilitation of patient health education as a planner, counselor, a facilitator or a monitor;
  • list and explain the following functions of health and medical care providers (HMCP):
  • risk assessment and identification of patient’s needs/problems;
  • health education planning and facilitating functions;
  • health education counseling function
  • health education monitoring functions.

Unit III: Patient health education counseling (PHEC), planning and facilitating

Student will be able to

  • identify health promotion and education need in the medical care settings through qualitative approaches — Participatory appraisal such as Participatory Learning Actions and Focus Group Discussions
  • explain the concept of patient counseling (PC) as one of the strategy for behaviour change;
  • list and explain the essential traits required among HMCPs to carry out patient education;
  • demonstrate the process of planning, implementing patient education/counseling in HMCS;
  • describe the need of assessing the effectiveness of health education/counseling activities in the HMCS.

Unit IV: Methods and media of health education/counseling in medical care setting

Students will be able to

  • list the patient education/counseling methods appropriate for use in HMCS;
  • appreciates the role of group dynamics and group process for conducting effective group discussions
  • describe the nature, process and limitations of interview, counseling and group discussion methods;
  • explain the selection criteria for interview, counseling demonstration and group discussion methods of health education;
  • demonstrate the process of patient education/counseling methods;
  • list the health education materials and equipment appropriate for health education in HMCS.

UnitV: Communication in patient education process

Students will be able to

  • explain effective interpersonal and group communication with patient and patient parties;
  • define communication, its elements and principles for effective communication;
  • describe interpersonal and group communication barriers and the ways to overcome the barriers in terms of :
  • inadequate and misleading perception of patient’s own problems,
  • offensive behavior,
  • message distortion, communication noises,
  • cultural difference between providers and patient/patient parties, and
  • concept of activated patient and compliance tendency .

Unit VI: Practice of health promotion and education in a hospital setting

Students will be able to

  • assess the existing situation and prepares an annual plan of action for health promotion education with the medical team from patient and providers perspective with due provision of regular review monitoring in a hospital setting.
  • conduct participatory learning action (PLA) process in the medical care setting;
  • conducts successful group discussions and patient counseling
  • prepare and demonstrate proper use of some of the selected health education materials such as pamphlet, Flash cards, display board and electronic media.
  1. Pradhan, Hari Bhakta, Textbook of Health Education, Educational Publishing House, Kathmandu.
  2. Ramchandra L, Dharmalingam T. A Textbook of Health Education, Vikas Publishing, New Delhi.
  3. Lawrence Green et al. Health Education a diagnostic and planning approach — PRECEDE and PROCEED Framework.
  4. Ottawa Charter and Jakarta Declaration of 1986 and 1997.
  5. Bedworth David & Bedworth A. Health Education: A process of human effectiveness, Harper and Row, New York, 1978.
  6. Guilbert, J J, Educational Handbook for Health Professional, Geneva: WHO, 1977.