Personal Philosophy of Health And Practice of Health Education

One can say that personal values are developed over the course of life. They can be influenced by what we see, hear, experience, read and think about. We must be mindful of the impact it can have on our personal lives as well as our health professionals. “Philosophy may be defined as a statement summarizing the attitudes, principles, beliefs values and concepts held by an individual or a group”. (O’Rourke) My philosophy of health education is one that comprehends the importance of actively promoting wellness while remembering and respecting that an individual and their communities are influenced by society.

A health educator should have qualities that will encourage the uppermost physical and emotional state of an individual and their community while respecting the individual’s choices they make. We have to consider that society and cultural diversity can be negatives and challenging factors to overcome while promoting a healthy lifestyle. “Charles Darwin was one of the first renowned scientists to acknowledge the need for studying the human organism in relation to its environment. Not only was he concerned with the complete essence of man, but he also was interested in the overall environment including natural and manmade elements.” (Smith) Socio-economic, physical, lifestyle, and health needs have to be reflected and incorporate into health education, in order for an individual and communities to adopt and maintain healthy behaviors.

Empathy, patience, tact, and respect are all utmost importance when promoting wellness. We, as health educators have to grasp that we do not have the ability to control someone thoughts or behaviors; but we can change the path of someone’s life by exerting a positive influence and promoting wellness. Wellness is more than physical health, fitness or a well-balanced diet. It is a mixture of the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of an individual and their communities. If we want to influence other people’s behaviors, then we need must engage in mutual respect while developing trust. We can lead people on a path that could take them in an entirely different pathway from their habits and daily customs, by providing good guidance and direction.

The impact you make in an individual wellness can depend on the approach you take to deliver the information. My strategies for promoting health are educating people about the benefits of physical and mental wellness is by leading them by example and providing them reassurance, motivation, and a positive influence. You have to be able to demonstrate that the things that you are recommending them to change are the thing that you can effectively do yourself. When you lead by example your accomplishments can help as a source of motivation. Promoting individuals to change their health behaviors can be established by encouraging short-term daily goals that will eventually lead them towards their long-term goal. Their trivial accomplishments can serve as a foundation for transmitting wellness and promoting health education for other people in their environment.

You must be able to provide reassuring and deliver supportive feedback, not just by simply congratulating someone accomplishments and merits obtained in their path towards well-being, but rather by recognizing their abilities to maintain and continue in their course towards a healthier lifestyle. A health educator must be conscious of using positive and negative feedback as a tactful tool to help people meet their goals. Positive feedback is respected in health promotion because it provides encouragement and maintains people more dedicated towards the set goal; however, negative feedback can be as valuable as positive feedback in obtaining the set goal.

Negative feedback is particularly respectable for stimulating folks to make an extra progress, it can be used to remind the person of the requirements to meet the set goal. It delivers a progression of the requirements need it to reach the goal. Guiding and promoting health education to someone it’s not only beneficial to the individual but also valuable to society. Many “health educators have focused on changing the unhealthy habits of individuals through behavior modification techniques”,(Smith) because it can establish habits that can be helpful to the individual but also easily adapted by others in their environments.

They can inspire family members, friends, and co-workers to adapt to their changes; influencing behavioral change in the people around them can lead others to establish healthy habits in which aids the long-term goal of a healthier and more wellness conscious society. Wellness in our communities is an important factor in health education because it shapes our society. “Health education and promotion are not only exclusively synonymous with lifestyle modification” (O’Rourke) of an individuals but seeks also the importance of contributing to the common welfare of our communities. As an individual becomes more physical, emotional and spiritual well-being, it impacts society.

Physical health can lead people too discouraged the consumption of drugs and excessive alcohol, emotional health can help a person effectively cope with stress and spiritual health allows an individual to open to beliefs and to seek meaning and human existence. As an individual becomes socially well, their influence in society becomes more noticeable, “results of decent standard of living, a safe environment, a good education, and meaningful employment in a society that values collective responsibility, promotes solidarity and rejects social Darwinism, encourages its citizens to care for one another, while respecting individuals contributions” (O’Rourke). Health education is important because its ultimate goal is not only to aid the individual but to establish a relationship between an individual and society to create wellness in our communities.

Work Cited

Smith, Becky. J. (2006) “Connecting a Personal Philosophy of Health to the Practice of Health Education”. The Health Education Monograph Series, 23(1), 11-13

O’Rourke, Thomas. (2006) “Philosophical Reflections on Health Education and Health Promotions: Shifting Sands and Ebbing Tides”. The Health Education Monograph Series, 23(1), 7-10