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50
HEALTH EDUCATION AND HOME SAFETY
Miss D. S. Elliott, S.R.N., H.V. Cert., Dip. H.E.
Health Education Officer
"It is good to rub and polish our minds against those of others"
(Montaigne)
Health education is undergoing rapid change. During the year
those interested in it became increasingly aware that the imparting
of health knowledge alone was not enough to change preconceived
ideas, attitudes and behaviour. There was an increasing
appreciation of the need to learn more about the skills for
promoting discussion and practical action.
The Health Education Section, now firmly established and
well-equipped, was used by increasing numbers of public health
staff, teachers, general practitioners, youth club leaders,
students and others-
Inservice Training
The routine work of the section continued as before but much
more time was devoted to inservice training and staff meetings,
some of which were formal, others short and informal to avoid
disrupting services. The progress and effectiveness of health
education depends largely on the enthusiasm, attitudes and skill
of all field workers and continuous help and training for them
was felt to be a primary duty.
Multidisciplinary groups were popular and stimulating.
Active participation was encouraged.. The exchange of knowledge
and experience was thought to be valuable and particularly the
opportunity for individuals to communicate regularly and informally
with their colleagues-
Two examples of this work were:-
(a) Two voluntary courses on group discussion techniques given
by the Assistant Health Education Officer, The date, time
and number of sessions were decided by the staff attending
and resulted in some excellent work being done.
(b) As a form of revision and preparation for including some
simple applied physiology in the programmes for Toddlers'
and Parents' Clubs, three tutors from Mayday Hospital gave
two courses of eleven lectures to public health staff. These
were greatly appreciated and the two-way exchange also
helped to strengthen goodwill between the hospital and
health department.