Through planned, organized and systematic social education activities, health education urges people to consciously change unhealthy behaviors and related factors affecting health behaviors, eliminate or reduce risk factors affecting health, prevent diseases, promote health and improve quality of life.
The core issue of health education is to urge individuals or groups to change unhealthy behaviors and lifestyles, especially organizational behaviors. It is true that changing behavior and lifestyle is an arduous and complicated process. Many bad behaviors are not personal responsibility, nor can they be changed by personal will.
Because many bad behaviors or lifestyles are influenced by social customs, cultural background, economic conditions and health services, broader behaviors involve living conditions, such as living conditions, eating habits, working conditions, market supply, social norms and environmental conditions. Therefore, in order to change behavior, we must also strengthen the related factors that are beneficial to health.
For example, access to adequate resources, effective community leadership and social support, and self-help skills. In addition, we should adopt various methods to help people understand their health status and make their own choices to improve their health status instead of forcing them to change certain behaviors. Therefore, health education must be a planned, organized and systematic educational process in order to achieve the expected goals.
Up to now, many people equate health education with health promotion. There is no doubt that the dissemination of health knowledge is very necessary, but individuals and groups need to be supported by healthy and friendly policies, material, social and economic environment, master self-care skills and obtain certain health services when making health choices.
Otherwise, it is difficult to change behavior. Therefore, health promotion that simply spreads health knowledge is an important means of health education, but it does not mean health education. Health education should provide knowledge, skills and services necessary for behavior change, so as to promote behavior change of individuals, groups and society.