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45
HEALTH EDUCATION
Health Education is an essential part of any preventive service,
which will fall short of achievement unless supported by informed public
opinion.
In England and Wales this function is shared by the Ministry of
Health, mainly through the mass media of the press, radio, television and
posters, and by local authorities at local level.
Much of the work of the Council's Health Department is related
directly or indirectly to health education and those engaged in field work
have a unique opportunity to integrate education in their person to person
dealings with the general public.
In certain fields, however, this is supplemented by special programmes
as in the case of Mothercraft classes at maternity and child welfare
clinics and food hygiene talks to food handlers. Other priorities affecting
the general public are cancer education and dental health.
Talks are available on all aspects of health from a team of speakers
from all sections of the Department and audiences vary from school
children where specialist talks may supplement the school curriculum, to
old people's clubs who invariably present a most enthusiastic audience. In
between are youth organisations, women's clubs and church groups, all of
whom are often surprised to learn what can and is being done by the
various sections of the Department.
Attention is also given to in-service training and regular staff meetings
are arranged, often with invited speakers to keep personnel up to date with
developments in their particular field. An example is a most successful
course of 10 lectures on "Mental Subnormality" arranged by the Mental
Health Section for Doctors, Health Visitors, Nurses and Social Workers,
who, judging by their attendance figures, are only too keen to increase
their knowledge and to learn from the experience of other sections.
Student Health Visitors, Midwives and Nurses are also given an insight
into the working of the Department.
In November a most successful pilot Dental Health Scheme was
organised covering some 5,400 school children of the age groups from
infants to school leavers in seventeen school departments, the staff of
whom were most co-operative. A talk and demonstration with audience
participation was followed by a suitable film and question time. It was
revealed that many children were unaware of even the correct way to clean
their teeth and there is no doubt that such programmes have a considerable
impact especially with the younger children.