{{B}} Health Education{{/B}}
Health education is the part of health care that is concerned with promoting healthy behavior. A person's behavior may be the main cause of a health problem, but it can also be the main solution. This is true for the teenager who smokes, the mother with the poorly nourished (营养) child, and the butcher (屠夫) who gets a cut on his finger. By changing their behavior these individuals can solve and prevent many of their own problems.
Health education does not replace other health services, but it is needed to promote the proper sue of these services. One example of this is immunization(免疫): scientists have made many vaccines (疫苗) to prevent diseases, but this achievement is of no value unless people go to receive immunization.
Health education encourages behavior that promotes health, prevent illness, cures disease and contributes to recovery. The needs and interests of individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities are at the heart of health education programs. Thus there are many opportunities for practicing health education.
Health education is not the same thing as health information. Correct information is certainly a basic part of health education, but health education must also address the other factors that affect health behavior such as availability (可获性) of resources, effectiveness of community leadership, social support from family members, and levels of self-help skills. Health education therefore uses a variety of methods to help people understand their own situations and choose actions that will improve their health. Health education is incomplete unless it encourages involvement and choice by the people themselves.
Also, in health education we do not blame people if they do not behave in a healthy way. Often unhealthy behavior is not the fault of the individual. In health education we must work with families, communities, and even regional authorities to make sure that resources and support are available to enable each individual to lead a healthy life.