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264
SECTION VII
MISCELLANEOUS
HEALTH EDUCATION SERVICE
Seeing that it is the purpose of health education to communicate
and that all actions carried out by the Service are with this end in
view, the Health Education Officer can perhaps be described,
briefly, as a public relations officer for health.
Such an officer endeavours to provide communication through
the whole range, beginning with person to person contact in the
form of leaflets and small groups using teaching apparatus to mass
media techniques such as displays, exhibitions, poster publicity
and news items. Moreover, in order to take advantage of the latest
developments, the communications field must be continually
appraised for, to compete in the savage world of modern advertising heavily backed by consumer research and motivation, health
education must be equally sophisticated in its approach.
Basically, everyone should be interested in maintaining and
improving his/her health but that this is not so is evident by the
increase in tobacco consumption, the rise in obesity, drug addiction
and other forms of self-immolation. Clearly, comparative research
is needed to establish the underlying causes for such malpractices.
Unfortunately, at present, motivation research is beyond the means
of local health authorities but it is hoped that, with the inauguration
in 1968 of the new Health Education Council, such projects will be
undertaken in order that future priorities may be determined.
Meanwhile, local health education resources must be evenly
distributed over the entire field including not only the dissemination
of information concerning health and its enjoyment but also
indicating the types and availability of health and welfare services.
In the circumstances, therefore, our Health Education section has
had to rely on the tried and tested methods. These included
assistance to field staff and others having personal contact with the
public, a positive programme of health education to local organisations by way of film shows, talks and displays, and use of mass
media and information on latest developments.
A substantial progressive step in the work of the Section during
1967 was marked by the innovation of film making (in this instance
a coloured production on the training of mentally handicapped
children) and, an expansion of health education and provision of
general information on health topics to local schools was another
significant advance.