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HEALTH EDUCATION
The Medical Officer of Health and his staff continued
to make use of every possible medium for disseminating
information on matters affecting health, including
posters, pamphlets, bookmarks, films and film strips,
flannelgraphs and exhibitions.
Among the bodies to whom talks, film shows and
demonstrations were given during the year were a number
of schools, youth organisations such as Scout Groups,
women's leagues, women's fellowships, the League of
Co-operators, and old people's clubs. In addition,
arrangements were made, as in previous years, for small
parties of school children to visit the Town Hall and
the Disinfecting and Cleansing Station.
Many distinguished persons from overseas also visited
the Public Health Department to see different aspects of
the work; they included doctors from Yugoslavia, Canada,
the United States, Japan, Sweden, India and France.
Research
An enquiry into the public response to various methods
of health education was carried out in 1959, the results
of which were published in the Annual Report for that
year. A further enquiry was completed during the year
under review.
A random sample of households in the Borough was
selected and the householder asked to complete a questionnaire.
Questionnaires were also sent to selected schools.
A preliminary analysis of the results reveals some
interesting information.
Out of 339 households, there were only 49 without
television sets and of the remainder 270 had sets capable
of receiving both B.B.C. and I.T.V. programmes. One
hundred and fifty-two responders stated they regularly
viewed popular serials about doctors and hospitals and
other similar programmes. What impressed them most about
these programmes were 'realism' (22), 'interesting -
catches imagination' (23), and 'instructiveness' (20).
A large proportion of the people expressed a desire
to see more television programmes on health matters,
including general health, biology, child care, sex,
mental illness and the work of doctors and surgeons.