Health Education in Obstetrics

1. Promotion and protection of http://www.monografias.com/Salud/index.shtmlindividual and collective health2.

Make appropriate use of available services.3. Rehabilitation and lost social reintegration.4. Support in health
campaigns.5. Promote the development of personality and the formation of new habits.6. Collaborate in the
destruction of prejudices and barriers that prevent intercommunication.7. Bringing
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos28/aceptacion-individuo/aceptacion-individuo.shtmlindividuals and
communitieshttp://www.monografias.com/trabajos910/comunidades-de-hombres/comunidades-de-
hombres.shtml closer to scientific solutions that are becoming more prevalent in everyday life.

Components of the communication process

If we see Health Education as a communication process, we find that this process involves the transmission of
a message between a sender and a receiver, which are key elements in communication and which in Health
Education are represented by the health educator, the message and the people or groups to whom it is
addressed.

HEALTH EDUCATOR: Any person who consciously or unconsciously contributes to people adopting a
behavior that benefits their health. Here we must highlight the role of the family, teachers at educational
institutions and health personnel.

MESSAGE: Information based on scientific evidence and which must be appropriate to the learning capacity of
the person receiving it. The message can be transmitted directly or indirectly. Direct transmission is considered
when oral or written word and images are used; while indirect transmission is when it is carried out through the
example that is derived from the conduct and attitude of the health educator.

RECEIVER: The person or group of people to whom the message is addressed.

Once the individual receives the message and for the change in behavior to occur, it must reach three spheres
of consciousness:

1. Cognitive: Information.
2. Affective: that the message gets through.
3. Volutive: having the will to change.

Only if these steps are followed will change be achieved and for the change to be effective it must not be
sporadic but permanent and this is what gives rise to HEALTH HABIT.
Now that we know how effective communication occurs, we can understand why the media, propaganda and
dissemination do not produce a change in behaviour, but this does not mean that they are not useful in
reaching many people, even if only superficially.
Let us then remember that YOU DO NOT EDUCATE WITH PROPAGANDA.
Health education goes beyond information and is systematic and planned.

Health education as a communication process and educational

process

In the process of communicating Health Education, it is good to keep in mind that people's awareness does not
arise spontaneously; it must be fostered through spaces for discussion and reflection on the problems that
affect them. Therefore, Health Education must create these spaces and become an essential instrument for
the development of healthy lifestyles that allow the incorporation of healthy behaviors.
Furthermore, Health Education must be understood as a process of interpersonal communication that seeks to
generate change through an analytical, critical and reflective examination of health problems so that recipients
take responsibility for decisions about their behavior and that have direct or indirect effects on physical and
mental health, both individual and collective.
While Health Education as an educational process implies the existence of a teaching and learning process;
where TEACHING is defined as the activities that seek to develop individual faculties to achieve the objectives
of http://www.monografias.com/trabajos35/categoria-accion/categoria-accion.shtmlthe training
actionhttp://www.monografias.com/trabajos/adpreclu/adpreclu.shtml. In this TEACHING process it is good to
keep in mind that educational objectives are required, adapted to the characteristics of the people who will be
the recipients as well as to the availability of
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos4/refrec/refrec.shtmleducational resources.
Another component of the educational process is LEARNING, which is built on personal experiences and,
when significant, produces a lasting change in the way people act, think and feel. The educational
methodology must be related to the particular characteristics of the recipients. Within the activities,
participation, opinions and attitudes should be valued, interaction should be done, experiences should be
shared and they should be shown how they should act and apply what they have learned. For example, in a
talk about nutrition for pregnant women, the objective is for pregnant women to identify within a group of foods
those that they should consume. To do this, we use
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos12/dialarg/dialarg.shtmlinterpersonal dialogue as a learning technique,
allowing the participation of the group through their opinions. We listen carefully and, at the end, we reinforce
the information based on the established objective so that the knowledge of the people who had it is reinforced
or so that it is learned by those pregnant mothers who were unfamiliar with the subject.

Levels of health education

The levels of intervention in Health Education will depend on the health problem to be addressed, the people
to whom it is directed and the setting in which it will be executed or carried out. The scenarios in which it can
be developed are: school, health services, work, community, social media.
The contents that must be considered in a Health Education intervention are:
Inform individuals and the general population about health and illness, highlighting measures that allow them
to protect their own health. For example: hand washing or a natural and nutritious diet.
Motivate the population to change habits or lifestyles. For example, stopping alcohol consumption in order to
avoid risky behavior that could cause problems such as domestic violence or acquiring a sexually transmitted
infection.
Help them acquire health knowledge that will allow them to make changes to their lifestyle habits and promote
http://www.monografias.com/trabajos27/estilo-vida/estilo-vida.shtmla healthy lifestyle.
Promote changes and/or protection of the environment as part of the acquisition of knowledge in order to
facilitate their lives in the most appropriate conditions.
In order to have a comprehensive approach to health, it is necessary to promote actions aimed at promoting
health, preventing disease and curing and rehabilitating people with health problems.
This process of acquiring knowledge and modifying health habits and behaviors generally takes place in
informal interactions between individuals and their reference groups, such as: family, friends, the community
and mass media (radio, television).
The most commonly used levels of intervention are:
Mass Education.
Group Education.
Individual Education.
MASS EDUCATION: Health intervention used when it is necessary to change deeply rooted behaviors or
attitudes in the population.
The main objective of this type of education is to put into practice forms of education aimed at promoting public
health in an area, region or country, that is, the general population.
The educational resources to be used are brochures, posters, leaflets, murals, use of the media: press, radio,
television, Internet, in which short advertisements will be broadcast.
The media, when used appropriately in the field of Health Education, contribute to raising the level of
awareness of the population on a particular health issue, create a favorable opinion and contribute to the
promotion of health.
In conclusion, we can recall the importance of working together with the media when our target group is the
general population, since in addition to providing information, the socio-educational level of the population will
be raised. And to achieve this goal, communicators must be trained or joint work must be carried out between
health professionals and communicators.
GROUP EDUCATION: These are interventions aimed at homogeneous groups of people to address certain
health problems.
The goal of this type of education is to inform, motivate, exchange knowledge and induce behaviors and
attitudes in a certain population group in relation to health.
The work of educating is directed at educational institutions, communities, workplaces, health services, family
settings and organized groups.
Among the educational activities that can be used at this level of education are: Workshops, courses, talks, in
which various educational techniques will be used, such as: colloquium, video with discussion, questionnaires
and incomplete sentences.
INDIVIDUAL EDUCATION: This is the type of intervention directed at the individual with the aim of addressing
a health issue. The objective is to inform, motivate, exchange knowledge and induce behaviors and attitudes in
individuals in relation to health.
The scope of action will be in health services and the family setting.
To achieve this objective, educational activities such as conversation and professional advice may be used, for
which material such as brochures and leaflets will be produced.
At this level of education, there is the advantage of a closer approach by the health professional to the target
audience as well as an evaluation of the reception of the transmitted message for feedback if necessary.
The classification of education levels is not an indication of their individual use; on the contrary, an integration
of educational levels can be carried out so that the programs are continuous and complementary, which will
give them the opportunity to be more successful.
The different levels of Health Education are part of the essential axes of Comprehensive Care, they constitute
a means of the social construction of health and their execution must obey a specific education program or a
health promotion plan for the population to which it is directed.

Planning in health education

In Health Education it is important to plan programs based on the prioritization of community health problems.
Within this planning process, it is extremely important to keep in mind the Teaching-Learning process, which is
based on the knowledge of educators (health personnel) regarding how individuals teach and learn, as well as
the knowledge of the health needs of the people or population group to whom it is addressed, as well as the
usual practices and the socio-economic and cultural aspects.
Stages of Educational Program Planning:

When planning an educational program, the following stages must be considered:

1. Identification of Health Needs.

2. Preparation of General and Specific Objectives.
3. Definition of the Content of the Activities.
4. Define Methodological Strategies.
5. Material and Human Resources.
6. Evaluation.

Definition and Application of the Stages

CONCEPT DEFINITION APPLICATION

Each health team must have a local

investigation of health problems, a health
diagnosis, or a comprehensive analysis of It allows us to specify priorities
1. Identification of Health
the health situation, which allows it to and move on to designing the
Needs.
prioritize the main health problems for educational program.
intervention and the development of an
educational project.

2. Preparation of General and It makes it possible to adapt the

Specific Objectives. They are developed from the knowledge of tasks and functions of health
the personnel to the needs of the
 identified needs.
General objective: is what the population is
intended to learn, the object of the
intervention at the end of the educational
process. It must be expressed in observable
population, in relation to
and broad behavior.
knowledge, attitudes, and skills
Specific objectives: are the immediate
for teaching and learning.
learnings that the target population must
acquire in the intervention. It must be
expressed in observable, concrete and
measurable behaviors.

It is the information, the subject, Using lists

experiences that are transmitted to the of topics, systematization of
3. Definition of the Content of population through any method experiences, problems,
Activities. orhttp://www.monografias.com/trabajos11/m specific needs
etods/metods.shtml medium, to achieve the about what is going to be
proposed objectives. work, in an orderly manner.

It is the systematic and orderly way of doing

one or more activities to teach how to learn
something. Organization of
They are the learning situations or population groups and
4. Define Methodological
experiences that are designed in a way work oriented to the
Strategies.
systemic and orderly to incorporate new decision making
behaviors in people or communities to about health.
which can use educational techniques and
audiovisual resources.

People, equipment, materials and Coordination with the

5. Material and Human
infrastructure required to develop the population in the
Resources.
proposed content. space, schedule etc.

Determine the results, analyze

and discuss the steps
(results and process).
Analyze the data for
change or modify the
Determine the extent to which the program behavioral models.
objectives have been achieved, what effects Explain and check
6. Evaluation.
have been obtained, and what factors have the models of
contributed to achieving the results. behavior
Acquire and improve the
pedagogical skills
Let them know
participants that their
contributions are valuable.

Planning in health education

1. TEACHING PLAN
Definition of purposes, according to the WHO, is about equipping people with the knowledge and skills that
enable them to solve their health problems.
Goal setting. Objectives suggest ways to achieve stated purposes. Short-term interactions that are specific and
expressed in terms of the behavior that is expected to be obtained. (For example, a breast self-examination).
Determine the objectives of an educational action:
Facilitate the resolution and organization of content.
Provide guidelines to achieve the goals.
Assist in the evaluation of results

2. PLANNING THE TALK OR PRESENTATION

Introduction. Part that induces the central theme. Stimulates and motivates the learning process. It should be
brief, concrete and stimulating.
Content or central theme.
Development of the topic itself.
Conclusions.
Knowing the most difficult points to understand. Highlight the most important ones.

3. EVALUATION OF HEALTH EDUCATION

It is an essential component.
Indicate whether the objectives have been met after each health education program.

4. ADVICE

It is used in home visits.

There is a difference between individual health education and counselling: Health education is teaching and
learning directed by the educator and counselling is a process of guiding an individual and is a way of reaching
solutions to problems that they must solve themselves (the individual leads).
In counseling there is a relationship between the individual and the counselor, who helps the individual solve
his or her problems:
That he recognizes how to solve his problems.
Help the individual cope with the problem (work together).
The dependency that may be created between the individual and the professional must be avoided.
Do not make premature judgments without sufficient elements.
We must know how to listen and let the individual himself lead the conversation.

Role of the midwife in health education

The health promotion strategy aimed at achieving adequate living standards as well as improving quality of life,
encompasses as a concept a set of interventions that enable people to increase control and improvement in
their health.
It also involves fostering political, social and individual
responsibilityhttp://www.monografias.com/Politica/index.shtmlhttp://www.monografias.com/trabajos33/
responsabilidad/responsabilidad.shtml for the
maintenance and improvement of health and the environment.
Since 1995, the World Health Organization has emphasized that health is linked to development; to that
extent, caring and working for women's health is equivalent to caring for their development. In this framework,
health is assumed as a right of all, and as a joint construction that depends on individual, social and cultural
factors that are in permanent interrelation.
The previous medicalized and biological paradigm must be banished; health is no longer seen as the absence
of disease, but as well-being; therefore, the aim is to overcome the epidemiological approach to risk that, for
many years, directed public health policies basically towards the prevention of problems, prioritizing care over
promotion.
To achieve this goal, it is necessary to promote health in the different environments in which human beings
operate—the community, the family, school, health services, peer groups, work, among others—underlining
the fundamental importance of http://www.monografias.com/trabajos4/leyes/leyes.shtmlsociocultural norms
that promote healthy behaviors.
The promotion of women's health also http://www.monografias.com/trabajos11/lamujer/lamujer.shtmlconsiders
that women have resources that allow them to develop skills for self-care of their health, which in turn implies
strengthening citizenship in health. This strengthening is based on a vision of women as subjects of law, with
possibilities for active participation, and as social actors in development.
Looking at women's health from a development perspective also leads to a new way of understanding and
addressing sexual and reproductive health, which promotes the experience of sexuality as representing health
and well-being.
Health services are a fundamental component of the environment of women and men, and become spaces
that can contribute to satisfying certain needs of this population. Thus, it could be said that the creation of
healthy environments implies the existence of a health service that assumes its promoting role in this process,
generating synergies for community participation.
In this sense, Midwives have a central role to play, considering
Furthermore, when it comes to health, they are the main technical references in the community.
If, in addition, based on a development and health promotion approach, they are linked to friendly health
services, they can work both within themselves and in the community, thus transcending the walls of the
establishment.
Promote education and empowerment
Each person gains greater control over the factors that determine their health, which allows them to clearly
identify their needs, raise their demands and propose mechanisms to access them.
Promote self-care
Seen as an act of people, it allows them to become subjects of their own actions; it must be a philosophy of life
and an individual responsibility closely linked to everyday life and lived experiences. Self-care should be aimed
at promoting adequate supply of air, water and food, elimination and excretion processes, moments of activity
and rest, solitude and social interaction, health promotion, and accident prevention.