| Health education as such, is not an end
| |
| | smoking. There are at least two possible
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| in itself: it is a strategy for the
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| | reasons for this narrowness:
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| achievement of a much more important,
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| | Lack of breadth in the opinions sought in
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| over-all objective; the maintenance or,
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| | the exploratory stages. Health educators
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| where possible, the improvement in the
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| | need to get out more often and build a
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| community's welfare.
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| | more diverse network of collaborators. If
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| Health education is intended to motivate
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| | we take a complex problem to a surgeon,
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| a change in behaviour among a certain
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| | the surgeon is likely to find a surgical
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| target audience which will result in an
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| | solution and if we take the same problem
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| improvement in the community's welfare.
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| | to a physician, a psychologist and a
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| “Welfare” is a flexible term. It can
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| | sociologist, each is likely to find a
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| mean something as broad as “quality of
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| | different solution. While each solution
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| life” or some quite specific aspect of
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| | may be effective, the most efficient
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| this quality of life.
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| | solution might draw on elements from all
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| Health education strategies might be
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| | of these disciplines.
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| intended to bring about a reduction in
| |
| | While health educators are aware of the
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| morbidity and mortality due to some
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| | other aspects of the problem, these other
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| specific harmful behaviour, tobacco
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| | aspects are too far outside health
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| smoking for example, or a reduction in
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| | education's sphere of influence for it to
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| violence against women or the use of
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| | have a role. For example, in many
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| condoms to prevent the spread of disease.
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| | countries, the prevalence of tobacco
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| The current target
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| | smoking increases with socio-economic
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| Unfortunately, an objective as broad as
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| | depravation. Most anti-smoking activists
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| “to improve the community's welfare”
| |
| | regard the level of socio-economic
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| is too general, too imprecise and too
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| | depravation to be so far beyond their
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| complex to be really useful in strategy
| |
| | influence as to be regarded as a
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| generation. The first step is to reduce
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| | macro-environmental factor that is not
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| the general objective to more specific
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| | specifically addressed in strategy
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| sub-objectives or targets that are more
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| | development.
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| readily identifiable and measurable.
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| | At very least, do not cause harm
|
| These targets are both more specific in
| |
| | It is no longer acceptable for a
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| scope, and more immediate in timescale
| |
| | commercial organization to ruin the
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| than the overall objective. In an ideal
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| | health of its workers in the pursuit of
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| world, the targets are integrated and
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| | profit or for health educators to solve
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| aligned in such a way that a strategy
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| | one problem while exacerbating another.
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| towards the achievement of one such
| |
| | In Australia, health educators have
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| objective does not hinder and may even
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| | consistently attacked the spread of
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| help efforts towards any of the other
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| | melanoma among the population by
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| objectives and achievement of all the
| |
| | encouraging people to stay out of the sun
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| sub-objectives will lead to the
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| | and when exposure to the sun is
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| achievement of the overall objective in
| |
| | unavoidable, to cover their skin with
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| the most efficient way.
| |
| | clothing, hats, lotions etc. Since these
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| Very often there is a lack of consistent
| |
| | campaigns have been running, the
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| direction and coordination in health
| |
| | incidence of sun-related melanoma has
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| education's targets. There have been many
| |
| | fallen. Unfortunately, sunshine is the
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| fads or “hot topics” in health. Take
| |
| | best source of vitamin D which promotes
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| the treatment of tobacco products for
| |
| | calcium absorption, the principal defence
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| example. A long time ago, it was frowned
| |
| | against osteoporosis. As melanomas have
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| upon. Then more recently, it was
| |
| | decreased, osteoporosis has increased.
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| encouraged. By the time of the Second
| |
| | In a similar vein, a reduction in salt
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| World War, cigarettes were included in
| |
| | consumption was part of an attack on
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| ration packs to help morale and to help
| |
| | coronary and circulatory diseases. The
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| cope with wartime stress. Then it was
| |
| | predominant form of table salt previously
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| linked to cancer and in 1964, the US
| |
| | available in Australia and New Zealand
|
| Surgeon General declared it the single
| |
| | was iodized, it had iodine added. The
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| greatest cause of avoidable mortality and
| |
| | move away from salt and the switch to
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| morbidity in the USA. Since then, tobacco
| |
| | “pure” sea and rock salt may well be
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| smoking has been a consistent target for
| |
| | accompanied by an increase in iodine
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| health educators around the world.
| |
| | deficiency with its attendant impairment
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| "It is no longer acceptable for a
| |
| | of cognition and psychomotor development
|
| commercial organization to ruin the
| |
| | in young people.
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| health of its workers in the pursuit of
| |
| | Make the strategies fit the task
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| profit or for health educators to solve
| |
| | Another issue with many health education
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| one problem while exacerbating another."
| |
| | strategies is a tendency to generate
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| Other campaigns over the last 50 years
| |
| | “one size fits all” solutions to
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| have been less consistent. Older readers
| |
| | complex problems. This may be related to
|
| may remember campaigns against aluminium
| |
| | the over-simplification urge. For
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| in cooking utensils and antiperspirant
| |
| | example, in many countries, the same
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| deodorants as it was erroneously believed
| |
| | health-consequences campaign message is
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| to be implicated in the development of
| |
| | directed at addicted adult smokers trying
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| Alzheimer's disease. The regular updates
| |
| | to quit and young people at risk of
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| to the list of “known carcinogens”
| |
| | taking up the habit. Many analyses
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| may well be undermining public confidence
| |
| | indicate that reactions to these
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| in this branch of medical research.
| |
| | campaigns differ across genders and
|
| Often, it is a question of balance,
| |
| | smoking status. The efficient health
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| avoiding over-reacting to a particular
| |
| | educator will tailor the strategy to fit
|
| piece of research which might suggest a
| |
| | the problem and the audience.
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| new “target.”
| |
| | Health education will make the most
|
| Health educators need to get out more
| |
| | efficient contribution to a genuine,
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| often
| |
| | long-term improvement in communities'
|
| Sometimes it is a question of recognizing
| |
| | welfare when it attacks the right
|
| the interconnectedness of many health
| |
| | targets. Selection of the right targets
|
| issues. Failure to recognize this
| |
| | will involve broader consultation and
|
| interconnectedness might be due to an
| |
| | collaboration with other disciplines and
|
| oversimplification when selecting a
| |
| | recognition of the big picture. The
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| target to attack. Many, if not most, of
| |
| | strategies used to attack these targets
|
| the threats to a community’s welfare
| |
| | will be based on the best research
|
| are complex, multi-faceted phenomena but
| |
| | available and take advantage of
|
| there is a tendency to attack one aspect
| |
| | contemporary understanding of behaviour
|
| of the problem to discover “the cure”
| |
| | change.
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| for cancer, domestic violence or tobacco
| |
| |
|
