Definition
Health education is defined in the context on health promotion as follows: Health education comprises consciously constructed opportunities for learning that involve some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including improving knowledge and developing life skills that are conducive to individual and community health (WHO 1998).
Basic Characteristics
Health education deals with mediating health information that influences social, economic, or environmental related determinants of healthy lifestyles, health promoting behavior, and use of health services. Health education aims primarily at learning experiences and the voluntary actions people can take, individually or collectively, for their own health, the health of others, or the common good of the community. Defining health education as any combination of learning experiences designed to facilitate voluntary actions conducive to health emphasizes the importance of multiple determinants of behavior...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
BzgA (Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung) (ed) (2003) Leitbegriffe der Gesundheitsförderung. Fachverlag Peter Sabo, Schwabenheim a. d. Selz
Green LW, Kreuter MW (1999) Health Promotion Planning: An Educational and Ecological Approach, 3rd edn. Mountain View, Mayfield
Health Promotion and Education (ed) (2002) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Lester Breslow, Gale Group, Inc., eNotes.com. 2006. http://www.enotes.com/public-health-encyclopedia. Accessed 18 Oct 2007
World Health Organization (WHO) (1998) Health Promotion Glossary. Geneva http://www.enotes.com/public-health-encyclopedia. Accessed 27 Jan 2008
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2008 Springer-Verlag
About this entry
Cite this entry
Fuchs, A. (2008). Health Education . In: Kirch, W. (eds) Encyclopedia of Public Health. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1410
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-5614-7_1410
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-5613-0
Online ISBN: 978-1-4020-5614-7
eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine