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48
HEALTH EDUCATION
I am indebted to the Health Education Officer, Miss Elliott,
for the following report:-
"We need from time to time to take a Look at the things that
go without saying to see if they are still going".
Carl Becker.
"During its recent meeting in Geneva the W.H.O. Expert
Committee on training of Personnel in Health Education of the
Public noted that health education is now recognised as an
essential element in all health programmes and that many health
services can obtain lasting results only if the people understand
and participate in them." (1).
This year while revising the Community Health syllabus for
schools, planning possible new health education methods for infant
welfare centres and even during the course of the difficult
smoking and lung cancer campaign we have tried to help our
audiences to understand the reasons for the health measures
which we are suggesting. We realised that to inform alone would
not succeed and that we must make even greater efforts to
interest and persuade. More and more members of this department
gave talks and asked for reference books, visual aids and advice
on technique for this purpose. There does seem to be an awareness
now that "At present what people are taught is fundamentally
less important than how they are taught" (2), although
it is also realised that as health educators the staff must earn
the trust of the public and the integrity of their propaganda
must be unquestionable. A few general practitioners also asked
for material for their surgeries and we hope that more will make
use of this service next year.
The smoking and lung cancer campaign continued, and as expected,
it was unrewarding and uphill work. In spite of several
reminders, only sixteen out of a possible thirty-five secondary
and technical schools co-operated by allowing one yearly illustrated
talk to be given.
The coloured filmstrip "The Problem of Lung Cancer - To
Smoke or not to Smoke" made in co-operation with the Chest and
Heart Association, Camera Talks and our own department, was completed
and is now being generally distributed. We are grateful
to Mr. Manning, Headmaster of Ashburton Secondary Modern Boys
School, his pupils and members of our own department for the
willing help they gave with this. Again working with the Chest
and Heart Association and Camera Talks, we will be taking part
in a colour film on the same subject and hope it will be completed
during 1959.