Field Of Health Education Research Articles

A paradigm to guide health promotion into the 21 st century: the integral idea whose time has come

The field of health promotion and education is at a turning point as it steps up to address the interconnected challenges of health, equity and sustainable development. Professionals and policy makers recognize the need for an integrative thinking and practice approach to foster comprehensive and coherent action in each of these complex areas. An integrative approach to policy and practice builds bridges across disciplines and discourses, supporting our efforts to take important next steps to generate sustainability and health for all. Comprehensive and coherent practice requires comprehensive and coherent theory. This article offers a brief introduction to Ken Wilber's influential Integral model, inviting its consideration as a promising paradigmatic framework that can guide thinking, practice, research and evidence as health promotion and education enter a new era. Currently influencing thought and practice leaders in diverse disciplines and sectors, the Integral approach presents a practical response to the current call for cross-disciplinary collaboration to address health, equity and sustainability. In addition, it addresses the disciplinary call for evidence-based practice that is grounded in, and accountable to, robust theoretical foundations.

Web 2.0 Teacher Community in a National Health E-learning Network

To create the best e-learning environment, the project of Ministry of Education Taiwan, one of the e-Generation projects, established the digital e-learning web that includes Health, Life, Natural, Science, Arts and Cultural e-learning Networks. The health e-Learning Network combines experts in the field of health and physical education and primary and secondary school teachers to develop practical and high quality e-learning content, while also developing lesson plans and related activities. They can be divided into three areas including health education, medical care and sports and leisure which encompass the “Health e-Learning Network” (HeN). The curriculum of HeN (Chen, 2006) covers seven thematic strands and has lesson plans, material, knowledge, and multimedia learning modules for teachers to utilize during class time. Web2.0 is used to lead into the HeN website, enabling teachers the initiative to participate in e-learning, while also giving users their own initiative to build development, two-way interaction, fast response, and so forth (HeN website: http://health.edu.tw).

Development the Eye Estimation Ability of Dietary Amount in Middle-Aged Men. II

This article describes a reflective, systematic, performance-based project resulting in the development of a digital story about a community health education field experience. The project is designed for preservice health education students at the college/university level. The primary benefit of the project is that it challenges students to engage in a personal reflection and professional product development process simultaneously for self-examination in relation to a professional health education environment.

A synopsis of the field of health education in Malawi

Health education can be defined as “any combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health”1. Health education is therefore a planned activity, it is not haphazardly done. There are goals and means. Planning is the best predictor of success and “planning mistakes is the best predictor of failure”2. Health education is subsumed under the broader term “health promotion” which itself is said to be “a combination of educational and environmental supports for actions and conditions of living conducive to health”.1 This definition is broader and encompasses social, economic, political and environmental factors that come into play in influencing health behaviour. The field of health education is said to have been primarily a practice-based discipline throughout its history. Its origins can be traced to three traditions defined by the settings in which they operated. These settings were schools, communities and hospitals. One theme that has characterised the development of the field has been the search for an identity. School health education for example “Struggled for a professional identity separate from physical education”3. More recently within the last two decades health educators have attempted to borrow, develop and apply social and behavioural theories to guide practice. Freudenberg et al. point out that four trends have changed the practice of public health in recent years. First the distinctions among chronic, infectious and “social” diseases have become blurred. Health is now seen in a more holistic perspective rather than in categories each requiring a different focus; they all relate to one another. The second change that has impacted public health is the gap in health status between the rich and the poor. Third, the increased multiethnic environments in which health education practitioners work in the west. This has meant that the increased plethora of cultural values related to health has led to the recognition of the need to appreciate variety in approach to dealing with health education related issues4.

Evidence-Based Practice in Early Childhood Music Therapy: A Decision-Making Process

The term “evidence-based practice” is now widely used in health care, education, and other fields. Yet there is no final consensus on its definition and application in the field of music therapy. Evidence-based practice allows practitioners to identify the best available interventions, strategies, and support for clients and bridges the gap between clinical practice and research. This article addresses the rationale for being an evidence-based practitioner, defines evidence-based practice, and proposes standards in related fields for consideration in early childhood music therapy. A five-step evidence-based practice decision-making process as proposed by the early childhood field in the USA is introduced, and ways it can be applied to a music therapy sample case scenario related to autism spectrum disorder. Knowledge, experiences, and values applicable to the decision-making process as well as finding sources for the best available research evidence and day-to-day applications for music therapists are discussed. Future directions and recommendation for the music therapy profession are presented.

Establishing Cause for Developing and Implementing a Broad-Based Marketing Effort for the Health Education Field

What exactly is health education? Professionals with advanced degrees in health education have most likely encountered questions such as these either during introductory coursework or from those inquiring about the field. These queries can prove quite perplexing when asked by individuals who are unaware of the health education profession. Because the act of marketing health education is crucial to the sustainability of the field, the purpose of this article is to (a) explore the issue of describing and promoting health education, (b) establish ideas that can facilitate the provision of coordinated marketing efforts, and (c) offer marketing management and implementation principles that can assist in marketing both health education and health educators. Based on this discussion, the authors suggest building mainstream consensus in regards to marketing message development and implementation to better position health education.

Models for individual oral health promotion and their effectiveness: a systematic review

There is a recognized need to deliver oral health information to people during clinical encounters to enable them to develop personal skills in managing their own oral health. Traditional approaches to individual oral health education have been shown to be largely ineffective and new approaches are required to address personal motivations for preventive behaviour. This systematic review aims to identify and assess the effectiveness of behaviour models as a basis for individual oral health promotion. Electronic databases were searched for articles evaluating the effectiveness of health behaviour models in oral and general health between 2000 and 2007. Eighty-nine studies were retrieved and data were extracted from the 32 studies that met the inclusion criteria. Thirty-two studies were identified in the fields of clinical prevention and health education, motivational interviewing (MI), counselling, and models based interventions. MI interventions were found to be the most effective method for altering health behaviours in a clinical setting. There is a need to develop an effective model for chairside oral health promotion that incorporates this evidence and allows oral health professionals to focus more on the underlying social determinants of oral disease during the clinical encounter. There is potential to further develop the MI approach within the oral health field.

A Primer on Quality Indicators of Distance Education

In the past decade, there has been an enormous growth of distance education courses and programs in higher education. The growth of distance education is particularly evident in the field of health education. However, the enormous potential of distance education is tempered by one overriding question: How does one ensure that distance education coursework and degrees are of high quality? To this end, the purpose of this study is twofold: to identify quality indicators of distance education and to provide implications of the identified quality indicators for health education researchers and practitioners. The results of the study reveal common benchmarks and quality indicators that all parties deem important in designing, implementing, and evaluating distance education courses and programs.

Les enseignants et les prescriptions institutionnelles dans le champ de l'éducation à la santé

This article intend firstly to analyze the official texts regarding health education in the French school system. There are a lot of different texts related to health education. We categorizes then in three main groups. The first one includes curricula (mostly in biology and physical education) ; a second includes general texts focused on empowerement and referred to health promotion ; the last one includes texts limited to «health themes » such as AIDS, nutrition, hygiene, tobacco, alcohol… Secondly, we analyse teachers’ relationship to these texts. Studies show very few teachers have a clear view of the curricula and other texts in the field of health education. When they include health education in there teaching practices it is based on their view of school and teachers’ mission and on the reference to values, missions, role but not to curriculum.

Alterations in the way of living of elderly people with cancer

Due to the new breakthroughs on health and the population aging, it has become important carrying out studies on the field of oncology. This research is of the case study type and qualitative character with the general objective of identifying the alterations in the way of living of elderly people with cancer in their domicile. Visits were made to fifteen elderly with cancer in their domicile when the semi-structured interview was utilized. The following categories have arisen: “Experiencing the Disease”, “Perception of the Elderly about the Disease”, “The Impact of the Diagnosis” and “Alterations in the Way of Living”, related to their respective themes. Studies like this contribute for the construction of knowledge in the field of health education and can help the elderly with cancer and their families to manage their care. In the clinical practice, they will contribute to avoid further hospital admittances and, consequently, to improve the quality of life of the elderly.

South Korean Study in a Public Health -Preventive Medicine and Sports Environment-

The aim of this study was to develop search filters able to retrieve the South Korean scientific output and relating the fields of public health, preventive medicine, and physical education, activity, fitness, exercise and sport in MEDLINE between 2000 and 2007. The search filters were constructed and applied in MEDLINE accessed through PubMed according to the affiliation and subject. The language and place of publication were identified and the evaluation of the geographical filter performance was done. The search format was successfully elaborated and applied, and the articles originated, published in Korea and/or abroad focusing on the fields of public health, preventive medicine, physical education, activity, fitness, exercise and sport, added to MEDLINE between 2000 and 2007 were retrieved. Publications in six languages originated in South Korea were detected. A geographic search filter determined the South Korean research output, and combined with additional filters focused on specific areas. The dynamics of the scientific output followed an increased evolution in all categories. Articles were written mainly in English/Korean. Further research is recommended on developing search strategies in order to retrieve precise and reliable information.

LA CONSTRUCCIÓN DE LA RESILIENCIA EN EL MEJORAMIENTO DE LA CALIDAD DE VIDA Y LA SALUD

Resilienceis concept has generated in the last few decades, great attention and extensive research in the field of social and human sciences. It recognizes this as a valuable prospect for their possible applications in the field of health care, prevention and education as well as a theoretical contribution to the development of strategies to be developed from the family, school and community, oriented to regain health, dignity and the human condition of children and adolescents caught up in situations of adversity. On these way to conceptualized recilience, emphasis is placed on resilience as a result of a dynamic process between risk and protective factors that can be built, developed and promoted from the family, school and community. The objective is to develop effective coping styles to difficult situations. It stresses the importance of stimulating, in the family and at school, resilience factors such as unconditional acceptance, self-esteem, creativity, personal resources, skills, humor and the ability to give meaning to the suffering. He also noted the importance of the system of social support networks and community solidarity to confront adversity and emerge stronger.

Development of an ESL Curriculum to Educate Chinese Immigrants About Hepatitis B

Chinese immigrants to North America have substantially higher rates of chronic hepatitis B infection than the general population. One area for strategic development in the field of health education is the design and evaluation of English-as-a-Second language (ESL) curricula. The theoretical perspective of the Health Behavior Framework, results from a community-based survey of Chinese Canadian immigrants with limited English proficiency, and findings from focus groups of ESL instructors as well as Chinese ESL students were used to develop a hepatitis B ESL educational module. This research was conducted in Vancouver, BC. Survey data showed that less than three-fifths of the respondents had been tested for hepatitis B, and documented some important hepatitis B knowledge deficits. Further, only about one-quarter had ever received a physician recommendation for hepatitis B serologic testing. The ESL curriculum aims to both promote hepatitis B testing and improve knowledge, and includes seven different ESL exercises: Warm-up, vocabulary cards, information-gap, video, jigsaw, guided discussion, and problem/advice cards. Our quantitative and qualitative methods for curriculum development could be replicated for other health education topics and in other limited English speaking populations.

Condições sanitárias e socioambientais em Iauaretê, área indígena em São Gabriel da Cachoeira, AM

To describe sanitary, social and environmental conditions that are significant for health of residents in the Iauaretê Indigenous Area in Brazilian Amazonia, notable for its population concentration. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used, with the action research method deployed mainly for qualitative approaches, through community meetings with tribespeople and researchers in the villages constituting the hub of the Area. Talking maps were prepared and interviews were conducted, together with studies of solid wastes disposal techniques, in addition to locating, sampling and analyzing the quality of water used for human consumption, in parallel to the use of geo-referencing techniques. Of the 65 water samples analyzed, 89.2% presented fecal coliforms, with no adequate sanitary solutions found for the disposal of solid wastes. From the public health standpoint, the sanitary practices of these indigenous peoples caused concern, clashing with their own relative knowledge. The specific set of problems associated with the way of life imposed by mainstream society requires the implementation of joint activities in the infra-structure and health education fields in order to solve collective health issues, stressing local community participation.

Meaningful Peer Review

The purpose of peer review is to uphold the integrity of the publishing journal, improve upon research activities and papers, and to further advance knowledge within the field of health education and promotion. This article provides an overview of peer review, some guidelines for accepting review assignments, and guidelines for conducting a thorough review that will serve the journal while assisting authors in making new knowledge accessible.

The Degree of Planning: An Indicator of the Potential Success of Health Education Programs

Evaluation is a major challenge in the field of health promotion and health education. Since the degree to which a project is planned often guarantees its potential success, the evaluation process should make it possible to answer different questions related to stages of project implementation. The goal of this study was to develop a planning tool to help health professionals and community workers judge the potential success of health education interventions based on the extent to which they are planned and to test the tool in real intervention evaluations. Educational interventions examined in this study were targeted primarily at the promotion and adoption of behaviour reducing the risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission. The conceptual framework of "intervention mapping" served as the basis for developing the tool. Experts were consulted to identify criteria that would make it possible to evaluate the extent to which different stages of the model were accomplished. The tool was tested for reliability. Data from 123 projects were then collected and analyzed. The process for the development of the tool made it possible to identify 40 planning criteria, broken down into the 19 tasks of intervention mapping model. Reliability test results were highly satisfactory. The overall average score for project planning was 12.7 out of 40. The degree to which different stages were planned varied considerably. For example, only 15% of projects had developed their objective matrices properly, whereas 80% were assured proper support for their implementation. Thirty-nine percent of the projects were satisfactorily available for evaluation. This exercise made it possible to construct an interesting tool for identifying strengths and weaknesses of intervention planning. Various promoters might find this tool useful for increasing the potential success of their initiatives.

Projeto de extensão universitária: um espaço para formação profissional e promoção da saúde

Abordam-se aqui aspectos teóricos e práticos que envolvem um projeto de extensão da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (Unifesp) intitulado Corporalidade e Promoção da Saúde, cuja principal finalidade é articular ações nos campos do ensino, assistência e pesquisa. Este projeto tem por objetivos: proporcionar aos alunos dos cursos de graduação e pós-graduação aprendizagem e vivências no campo da educação em saúde com adolescentes; promover a elaboração e confecção de tecnologias de ensino destinadas à orientação de adolescentes na temática; desenvolver atividades educativas junto a adolescentes e jovens que freqüentam equipamentos sociais e escolas da rede pública; desenvolver pesquisas junto aos serviços que revertam em novas práticas de ensino, intervenção e geração de conhecimento. Seu desenvolvimento ocorre no campo da promoção da saúde, por meio de ações com ênfase nas questões do corpo e sexualidade, direcionadas a adolescentes e jovens que freqüentam escolas de ensino fundamental e médio do município de Embu, São Paulo.

Entering the Public Health Genomics Era

Although the completion of the Human Genome Project will offer new insight into diseases and help develop efficient, personalized treatment or prevention programs, it will also raise new and non-trivial public health issues. Many of these issues fall under the professional purview of public health workers. As members of the public health workforce, health educators are being called upon to deal with genomic-related public health topics. Thus, we propose five arguments supporting the need for health educators to develop their genomic competencies and integrate public health genomics (PHG) into health promotion. These arguments highlight various dimensions of health educators' professional goals and range from professional responsibilities and competencies to the availability of funding for genomic-related research or interventions and opportunities for future employment. Alongside these arguments, we present key PHG terms to facilitate understanding and to establish a common set of meanings for readers. Moreover, we discuss the current efforts being made by the field of health education to integrate genomics into research and practice, as well as implications and next steps required to optimize this integration.

Práticas terapêuticas entre idosos de Porto Alegre: uma abordagem qualitativa

O estudo objetivou conhecer e compreender o uso de práticas terapêuticas entre idosos residentes em área urbana. Trata-se de uma pesquisa com abordagem qualitativa, realizada no município de Porto Alegre. Processou-se a caracterização sociodemográfica, dos 24 idosos selecionados aleatoriamente e entrevistados, e a análise temática das informações coletadas sobre o uso de práticas terapêuticas. Eram na maioria do sexo feminino, com média de idade de 68 anos e com quatro anos completos de estudo. A principal prática terapêutica referida foi a automedicação. Outra prática terapêutica referida foi a busca por um profissional médico. Considera-se que, por meio da análise e discussão crítica da temática, pode-se subsidiar a capacitação de profissionais no campo da Educação em saúde e do trabalho de Enfermagem em particular, favorecendo os processos de cuidado, autocuidado dos problemas da população idosa.

A Report on the 2004 SOPHE Publications Readership Survey

In the Fall of 2004, the SOPHE Publications Committee surveyed SOPHE members to solicit feedback on the three SOPHE publications: Health Promotion Practice, Health Education & Behavior, and News & Views. For each publication, members were asked to provide insight as to how they use the publication, to evaluate its content and application, and to make recommendations for changes or improvements to make the publication a more valuable resource. The SOPHE publication readership is, on the whole, a highly educated group with careful reading habits, thoughtful informed opinion of the publications, and a high level of experience in the health education field. The publications meet their readership’s needs, are respected as a valuable reference tool, and are a source and a forum for new ideas in the health education field. Recommendations for action are made to the publication editors and editorial boards and the SOPHE staff, board, and general membership.