Before we learn about appropriate methods of communication to nutrition and with education it is essential to know what is communication? and what is its role in nutrition and health education?
"Communication means sharing of ideas, information, attitudes, values or instructions with individuals or with groups to facilitate progressive change in knowledge. attitudes and practices. It involves both giving and receiving information."
Persons involved with nutrition and health education must have the skills to educate but also to evaluate the education, research information and popular claims. They also must have the communication expertise to translate information into forms appropriate for the community so that behaviour may be affected in a positive manner. A unique synthesis of skills neither widely available nor utilized in the past is required.
Communication plays an important role in the nutrition field at several stages. It is important for the nutrition scientist as well as for the nutrition educator. Communication is a key element in efforts to inform the public about nutrition and therefore, it is a vital part of preventive health strategies. It is an integral part of projects designed to improve the nutritional status and living conditions of people of low-income groups both in the developed and developing world. At the community level, education about foods. nutrition and health is needed, not only to enable individuals to use foods wisely and economically but also to enable them to reorganize inaccurate and misleading statements and claims about linkages between, Food, nutrition and health.
A variety of group communication methods are used by nutrition educators for imparting information as well as to change the behaviour of learners such as lecture, discussion. demonstration etc. There is no end to the number of communication methods. An effective teacher might invent one or more methods given sufficient time and creativity. Since we are interested in nutrition and health education, the methods relevant to nutrition and health education, can be classified broadly into two categories-information-centred and behaviour-centred. Let us read about these methods in detail.
No comments:
Post a Comment