HLTH 6110/HLTH 8110: Week 1: Introduction to the Profession Paper

HLTH 6110/HLTH 8110: Exploring Health Education in the 21st Century | Week

Resources

Mirghani, H., Jung, A. C., & Fakhry, C. (2017). Primary, secondary and tertiary prevention of human papillomavirus-driven head and neck cancers. European Journal of Cancer, 78, 105-115. doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2017.03.021

Discussion: Defining Health Education

Is there a standard definition for the practice of health education?

Most definitions that apply to the field of health education agree that in practice, health education comprises a combination of learning experiences that target both individuals and communities to improve health by increasing awareness and influencing behaviors or attitudes. These elements of a definition for health education may certainly apply to individual health educators. However, as it concerns the study of health itself, there exist multiple perspectives and considerations that are central to the promotion of health behavior that may serve to differentiate one health educator’s definition of their profession from another’s.

For this Discussion, review the media piece, Belize: Health Overview and the Learning Resources for this week. Consider how the definition, as well as the profession of health education has evolved and changed. Think about a population and health issue that you would be interested in working with and reflect on how you might design and implement a prevention program for this population and health issue. Review the levels of prevention and how they may relate to your health issue of interest.

Note: In grading every required Discussion posting, your Instructor uses a Discussion Rubric, located in the Course Information area. Review the Rubric prior to completing your Discussion.

This Discussion will be available from Day 1 through Day 7 of this week. You are required to submit your initial post by Day 3. You are encouraged to post early. Once you have submitted your initial post, start responding to your colleagues. You must begin responding to your colleagues by no later than Day 5 and should continue to interact frequently with your colleagues through Day 7. Part of what makes a discussion a discussion and not a lecture is the back and forth, in-depth, animated interaction of at least two people. If you start a topic and none of your peers are responding to your post, consider what you can do to get the conversation going. Include something that would elicit further thoughts and different opinions from peers. Validate your opinions with references and links to the sources that you used so that your peers can read it for themselves. See your Discussion Rubric in the Course Information Tab for specific grading requirements.

By Day 3

Post an explanation of how you would define health education and why. Briefly describe what population and health issue you would address if you were assigned to design and implement a prevention program. Be sure to include what level of prevention (primary, secondary, or tertiary) you would select for this program and explain how this level of prevention will address the health issue described. Be specific and provide examples.

By Day 5

Remember to begin interaction with your colleagues in the Discussion and continue engaging through Day 7 and suggest an alternative level of prevention not described by your colleagues. Explain how this level of prevention might impact the population and health issue that your colleagues described.HLTH 6110/HLTH 8110: Week 1: Introduction to the Profession Paper