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38
HEALTH EDUCATION & HOME SAFETY
Health Habits
Basic health habits should become second nature. They are
far more likely to be acquired and followed when there is a full
understanding for the need for them. A knowledge of the broad
facts about the structure of the human body and its working
machinery—and everyone should know something about it—is the
foundation upon which health instruction should be built, as an
example, First Aid training gives a splendid background.
During the last century when sanitary reform came into being,
it was the lack of education and the apathy which went with it,
that were the greatest obstacles to better health. This lack of
interest—there was often great opposition—was widespread: not
unexpectedly, it was greatest in that section of the populace which,
being under the worst possible conditions, suffered most for want
of it. The health of a nation is the history of that nation: better
education precedes social reform, which in turn raises the standard
of health and brings prosperity.
The main principle underlying the activities of those whose
concern is the public health, is HEALTH EDUCATION. They
have a duty to keep the public informed, and to engage in health
propaganda, but as will be seen, their task does not end there.
The public health service is designed for this purpose, but it
is by no means the only service that should engage in this work.
All members of the Health and Social Services participate, and so
do the Churches, Schools, Youth Organisations and Community
Centres. The National and Local Press can be great allies, together
with radio and television, with their nation-wide audiences.
The close contact which the members of the staff of the Local
Health Authority have with the public gives them many opportunities
for health teaching and propaganda. It provides the public
with a ready source of information and guidance. The Doctors,
Health Visitors, Health Inspectors and Home Helps attached to
the local Health and Welfare Department are well qualified to
perform this service, and so are the Welfare, Children and Housing
Officers, together with other Social Workers. A feature of their
work is the practical assistance they can give, and the fact that they
work as a team.
Education of the Young
At no age is health teaching more rewarding and necessary
than in childhood and youth. It is then that the description of life
must be learned together with an understanding of personal responsibility,
and the need for care of the body and the maintenance of
physical fitness.