PHILOSOPHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF

HEALTH EDUCATION






















OBJECTIVES:
Define the terms philosophy, humanism, wellness, and
symmetry and explain the differences between them.
Discuss the importance of having a personal philosophy about
life.
Identify and explain the differences between:
Behavior change philosophy
Cognitive-based philosophy
Decision making philosophy
Freeing/functioning philosophy
Social change philosophy
Eclectic health education philosophy
Explain how a health educator might use each of the five
health education philosophies to address a situation in a
scenario.
Create and defend your own philosophy of health education.

WHAT IS A PHILOSOPHY?

Philosophy comes from greek word and literally
means the love of wisdom or the love of learning
Statement summarizing the attitudes,
principles, beliefs, values, and concepts held by an
individual or a group.

WHY DOES ONE NEED A PHILOSOPHY?

This image helps shape the way we experience our
surroundings and act toward others in our
environment.

PRINCIPLES AND PHILOSOPHIES ASSOCIATED WITH
HEALTH

Humanism philosophy: It is a characterized by
a concern for humanity.
Holistic philosophy: All encompassing view
based on the knowledge of the nature, functions,
and properties of the components, their
interactions, and their relationship to the whole.
Wellness: the optimum state of well being
Symmetry Philosophy: in this approach health
has physical, emotional, spiritual, and social
components, and each is just as important as the
others.


PHILOSOPHICAL VIEWPOINTS RELATED TO HEALTH
EDUCATION OF SOME OF TODAYS LEADING
HEALTH EDUCATORS


Loren Bensley
She believe health education offers an individual an
invitation to be and to become- to affirm the self
and become committed to the development of
individual potential through decision making and
action
Joyce Fetro
She believe health education is an ongoing
processmeaning that something is going on.

Marian Hamburg
Beliefs about health education:
You cant plan everything.
She believe in mentorship.
She believe that effective health education programming
requires appropriate inter-sectoral cooperation, and that health
educators, regardless of the source of their professional
preparation, must be its facilitators.
She believe that we need to put more of our resources into
joint efforts and coalition building.




John Seffrin
He believe the most fundamental outcome of
health education is the enabling of individuals to
achieve a level of personal freedom. We need to be
resourceful and open to change.
Ways that do not violate certain basic
principles:
Appreciation for each individuals uniqueness
Respect for ethnic and cultural diversity
Protection for individual and group autonomy
Promotion and preservation of free choice
Intervention strategies based on good science
DEVELOPING A PHILOSOPHY

Philosophy was developed by people thinking about
the nature of truth, beauty, and reality.

PREDOMINATE HEALTH EDUCATION PHILOSOPHIES

Behavior change philosophy: involves a health educator
using behavioral contracts, goal setting, and self monitoring to
try to foster a modification in an unhealthy habit in an individual
with whom he is working
Cognitive-based philosophy: focuses on the acquisition of
content and factual information.
Decision-making philosophy: creating and analyzing a
potential solutions, the students develop skills needed to
address many health-related decisions they might face.

Freeing/Functioning philosophy: was proposed by
Greenberg (1978) as a reaction to the fact that he felt
traditional approaches of health education ran the risk of
blaming people for practicing health behaviors that were often
either out of their control or not seen as in their best interest.
Social change philosophy: emphasizes the role of health
education in creating social, economic, political change
benefits the health of individuals and groups.
Eclectic health education: conceptual approach that does
not hold rigidly to a single paradigm or set of assumptions, but
instead draws upon

IMPACTING THE DELIVERY OF HEALTH EDUCATION


Health educators must remember that every single
educational choice carries with it a philosophical
principle or belief. Educational choices carry
important philosophical assumptions about the
purpose of health education, the teacher, and also
the learner. Thus, health educators should take
time necessary for individual philosophical inquiry,
in order to be able to clearly articulate what
principles guide them professionally.