1.1 Introduction
Health education is the process of educating individuals about health. This field deals with environmental, emotional, spiritual, and physical wellness. The process by which individuals and groups learn how to behave in ways that promote the growth, maintenance, or restoration of health is another approach to characterize health education. Health education is the process of incorporating educational opportunities with the aim of supporting people and communities in improving their health via raised awareness or changed attitudes.
This chapter will address the background information that motivated this study, the challenges that prompted it, its aim, and its objectives as a preface to subsequent sections of the study. Additional factors include the study's significance, scope, limitations, research questions and hypotheses, and the definition of technical terms.
1.2 Background of Study
Health education has been a key component of health promotion strategies over time, with the goal of assisting people in acquiring and using skills that would improve their health. He goes on to say that another useful strategy for enhancing health in underdeveloped countries is health education. In addition to teaching preventive and fundamental health information, it also instills concepts that alter the daily routines of those leading unhealthy lives in developing nations (Stressbusters, 2001). Health education is described 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 by the Joint Committee on Health Education and Promotion Terminology (2001).
According to the World Health Organisation (2000), health education consists of intentionally created learning opportunities that involve communication in order to enhance health literacy. This includes knowledge enhancement and the development of life skills that are beneficial to both individual and community health. Health education has many different aspects, including family, community, and individual health education, among many others. Teaching members of a particular family about health is known as family health education service. Children and young people can get the information, comprehension, and skills necessary to manage their life through a structured learning programme called personal health education.
In particular target populations inside the community, community health education is a theory-driven practice that improves health and avoids disease. The World Health Organisation (2004) states that the goal of community health education is to raise rural residents' knowledge of health issues. The study of and efforts to enhance the health features of biological communities are the focus of the field of community health. Although there is no strict definition for community, community health often concentrates on regions rather than individuals who share similar traits.
Primary health care encompasses interventions such as hand cleaning, immunization, and circumcision that are directed towards the person or family. Medical experts and other professionals, such as cardiologists and urologists, who typically do not have first contact with patients, provide secondary health care services (National Hospital for Neurology, London 2012). On the other hand, hospital-based procedures like IV rehydration and surgery are referred to as tertiary health care (Johns Hopkins, 2004). The evaluation of health care concerns, community research, evidence-based practice, treatment of disorders, prevention of health problems, promotion of health, and provision of rehabilitation are some of the components that make up community health.
Supports for individual, organisational, and community activity in health promotion include social, educational, and environmental aspects. It aims to inspire people, local groups, and organisations to alter their behaviour or policy in ways that affect health (Wall, 2009). The necessity for health prevention will become apparent at the basic, secondary, and tertiary preventive levels in the context of social health.
Primary preventive measures for mental and social health might include individual stress-reduction techniques like exercise and meditation, as well as educational programmes to improve people's mental health in the workplace and in schools. Staffing a crisis hot line by neighbourhood institutions like the health department or mental health centre might be a secondary preventive technique (Brown, 2004). Tertiary prevention, according to Stressburts (2001), might be provided by nearby medical and mental health professionals, as well as healthcare facilities, through individual and group therapy and rehabilitation.
The primary goal of health awareness is to educate individuals about health issues so they can avoid and treat sickness (Brown, 2010). Through the prevention of illness and injury, improvement of health, and enhancement of quality of life, community research and evidence-based practice have contributed to the promotion of healthy lives in communities (Graml, etal 2010).
Therefore, in Nigeria where the research was carried out, the activities that was conducted is to know the Impact of Health Education on Community Health Awareness.
1.3 Statement of Problems
Investigation revealed that the profession of teaching people about health is widely acknowledged as being in the field of health education. It is also understood to include any set of organized educational activities founded in reliable ideas that provide people the chance to learn about their health and how to make decisions about it. Despite the fact that health education has historically been implemented in urban areas rather than in rural areas, it is evident that a higher death rate is associated with rural areas due to a lack of health sensitization and awareness among the populace (Institute of Medicine, Washington, 2003).
Thus, the goal of the study was to determine the problems with community health as well as how much health education is applied in the Agbarho community regarding related health issues.
1.4 Aim and Objectives of Study
The aim of the study is to examine the Impact of Health Education on Community Health Awareness. In achieving this aim, the following specific objectives were laid out as follows:
- To explore the people's perceptions on the influence that health education has on health promotion awareness;
- To determine the perceptions on the influence of health education on treatment techniques awareness; and
- To ascertain the perceived influence of health education on the knowledge of health concerns and preventative strategies among Agbarho Community Members.
1.5 Research Questions
The study came up with research questions so as to be able to ascertain the above stated objectives. The specific research questions for the study are stated below as follows:
- What are the people’s perceptions on the influence that health education has on health promotion awareness?
- What are the perceptions on the influence of health education on treatment techniques awareness?
- What is the perceived influence of health education on the knowledge of health concerns and preventative strategies among Agbarho community members?
