Communication in Health Education: A Community Setting Analysis

This essay, completed for HLTH2031 at a university, delves into the critical role of communication in health education within a community setting. It examines oral, written, and non-verbal communication strategies, referencing theoretical concepts and case studies. The essay explores the responsibilities of healthcare professionals in health education, including assessment, planning, implementation, and advocacy. It then analyzes the bio-psycho-social factors influencing consumer participation, drawing on the bio-psycho-social model to explain the interplay of biological, psychological, and social elements. Finally, it proposes intervention strategies for two case studies: an elderly man experiencing social isolation and a teenager struggling with alcohol abuse. The interventions are supported by theoretical frameworks and aim to improve patient outcomes through effective communication and holistic care.

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Professional Communication to Work in the Health Industry
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The topic: Communication processes in the development of health education in a
community setting
Introduction
Communication is the process by which individuals exchange information with each other
through verbal, written or some other mediums. In the healthcare setting, communication is the
most useful and important in improving patient care and health services. The improved health
outcome needs to be obtained with the consent from the patients by speaking to them, solving
their health issues and proactively advocating patient safety. Health communication was defined
by both National Cancer Institute (NCI) and Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
as the utilisation and study of the different communication strategies for the enhancement of the
health care decisions within a facility (CDC, 2019). Verbal, as well as written communication
strategies, are utilised to influence and empower individuals, communities or a population to
make improved health choices. As per the World Health Organization (WHO), communication is
essential in changing behaviours during health interventions (World Health Organization 2014).
In this essay, communication in healthcare education will be addressed through community
setting. The three mediums of communications; oral, written and non-verbal will be discussed
using theoretical concepts and case study instances. The bio-psycho-social factors that contribute
to the participation of the health interventions will also be highlighted. The analytical
intervention strategies will be provided in response to the provided scenario.

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Task 1: Role of healthcare professionals in health education. Impact of Communication in
health education.
It is essential as a healthcare professional makes an assessment regarding the community needs
for health education. The assessment of the patient’s condition can be done to determine the
underlying health problems (World Health Organization 2016). The careful collection of the data
and be assessed to determine the community level statistics. Thereafter the studies and policies
can be planned to address the community-level impact. The healthcare professionals also need to
conduct research relating to the health issues and evaluate the outcomes for the patient or
community (World Health Organization 2016). The study and statistics can also be obtained
from pre-existing survey data; government reports to identify the common problems within the
particular community. In response to provided case study 2, it could be said that teenage drinking
is a common problem in international healthcare. The doctor can perform certain diagnostic tests
to determine the impending health issues that might arise in future. The possible damage of the
liver and the other ill effects needs to be assessed in order to provide improved health outcome
for Sally.
The second responsibility of healthcare professionals is to plan education strategies and
intervention programs for promoting health education. Depending on the need of the patient, the
goals and objectives can be set for the patient to help them overcome their detrimental health
(Greenhalgh et al. 2014). This can be shown in the case of the provided case study 1, where
Henry, the patient needs to be made aware of his condition of social isolation. The patient needs
to be referred to a therapist to help him overcome his depression post-retirement (Culph et al.
2015). The activities that might help Henry overcome his mental health condition would be to
socialise with people his age, meeting extended families, visiting his daughter Carla etc., The

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goal for Henry needs to be promoting outdoor activities that would allow him to regain his
fitness. In the case of Sally, the patient's GP needs to use different methods of communication to
determine the severity of her condition. Communication is important in this scenario since the
detrimental health effects would negatively influence the patient's life. In order to promote health
education, the doctor can provide the patient with different educational content against the use of
alcohol.
The third responsibility is the implementation of those education and intervention strategies
effectively within the community. The healthcare professional needs to understand the priority of
the patient to provide improved health (Hale et al. 2014). In addition to this, a wide range of
educational methods and techniques can be used to promote health education both for Henry and
for Sally. An intervention strategy for Henry would be, determining the inconsistency in his
lifestyle to address his social isolation. In the case of Sally, a positive body image
encouragement would help her overcome the depressive condition (Tylka and Wood-Barcalow
2015). Her intervention strategies should include self-esteem boosting therapies and
discouraging any such behaviour that would inhibit the social interactions. For both cases, social
eating can be suggested to encourage relationship building, both the families of the patient can be
encouraged to promote better nutrition and socialise with another. In the case of Henry, mobility
assessments need to be done to ensure that the underlying health issues are identified.
It is also a responsibility of the healthcare professional to provide his or her services as a source
of health education towards individuals and the community. In order to establish consultative
relationships with the patients as well as their families, it is important to incorporate the
knowledge and the resources within the care regimen (Shen et al. 2015). APHA recognises the
importance of healthcare professional to be involved in health education for promoting better

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lifestyles (American Public Health Association 2016). Outreaching programs can be developed
to help more patients enrol in health services for mental illness. The healthcare professionals
handling both Sally and Henry would need to make sure that they utilise all forms of
communication to educate their patients. The ill-effects of alcohol abuse for Sally, as well as
seeking psychotherapy for Henry needs to be properly informed (Shen et al. 2015). The better
participation of the patient would require the involvement of their families within the care
regimen. The patient Sally in provided case study 2 is a minor for which parental intervention in
overcoming alcoholism needs to be included within the treatment. She also requires therapy
regarding positive body image perceptions as opined by Tylka and Wood-Barcalow (2015) to
help navigate her lifestyle in a healthier manner. Written communication can be used to contact
her parents and commence rehabilitation therapy. As for Henry, healthcare professionals can
refer to other therapists and his daughter to visit him personally.
Lastly, it is essential that healthcare providers advocate and communicate with individuals for
promoting wellbeing and health education. Effective communication is the pursuit of a good
patient-caregiver relationship (Shen et al. 2015). Healthcare professionals can utilise both verbal
and non-verbal communication to understand the need of the patient. Non-verbal communication
needs to be analysed by the health care professional to evaluate the underlying discomfort and
needs of the patient. Verbal communication needs to be utilised to translate the scientific
languages into simplified information for making the healthcare needs easier.

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Task 2: Explain the bio-psycho-social factors that impact on consumers receiving and
participating in health education.
George Engel suggested that a better understanding of medical conditions within individuals by
introducing the concept bio-psychosocial model in health in 1977. The theorist's idea not only
helped to determine the biological factors for health issues but also considered the social and
psychological factors that contributed to the delinking health (Babalola et al. 2017). The
biological factors are mostly the physiological and pathological condition that led to the poor
health outcome within the individual. The psychological factors included the emotional distress,
behavioural implications and the mental distress that affected the individual. The social factors
included the environmental, economic and cultural factors that imparted pressure on the
individual (Babalola et al. 2017). Initially, the model was used to describe chronic pain, which
was originally beloved to be psychological as there was no possible treatment. The perspective
provided in this model helps healthcare professionals understand why some patients are more
prone to mental illness that others (Iheanacho et al. 2014). It also helps to develop understanding
the underlying mental health distress and diagnose those conditions in patients who apparently
seem healthy. It is commonly observed that the individuals who are mentally healthy engage in
special bonds, have positive energy and maintain a disciplined as well as a healthy lifestyle. The
biopsychosocial contribute in understanding that the interaction between the genetic construct of
the individual along with the mental health issues experienced by the individuals along with the
socio-cultural beliefs determines the experience of mental health (Babalola et al. 2017). The
variations in the impacts of toxins, hormones, nutrition, physical trauma, infections and genetic
construct influence the mental health of an individual. The psychological issues within an
individual relating to the cognitive development and the behavioural outcomes determine the

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mental capability of the individual. Behavioural patterns namely lack of self-control, emotional
outbursts and negative thinking, highlight the psychological aspects of mental health (McDonald
et al. 2016). Sometimes stressful events originating from cultural and social encounters will
affect the mental health and wellbeing of the individual differentially. The interaction between
all the three components needs to be considered to understand the reason for the distress within
the individuals (Iheanacho et al. 2014). The degree of influence by one of the factors that might
result in poor health outcome cannot be determined through the model with this model. The
perspectives provided with the biopsychosocial model would be effective in treating mental
health patients (Iheanacho et al. 2014). The illness of the patients can be analysed by health care
professionals with respect to all aspects of their respective lives. This might help to make the
patients suffering from mental health self-aware of their conditions. The overall understanding of
patients with mental health through different entities can be used to function together for the
treatment procedure. The stigmatisation that accompanies the mental health and care seekers
within a community can also be reduced with the help of the biopsychosocial model.
In the case of case study 1, Henry seems to be suffering from fall and other locomotive
disability. The underlying reason for his deteriorating condition is depression after retirement.
Henry was suffering from a detrimental self-image that might render him with disability in future
(Neff 2016). Healthcare professionals need to make him understand the importance of self-
acceptance in order to affect their wellbeing positively (Culph et al. 2015). The family
interactions would also be affected if Henry's depression were overlooked. Henry needs to be
made self-aware of his actions and direct his energy towards different aspects of life. The
computer Henry's daughter bought him could be something that promotes the positivity. This
would facilitate the lifelong learning ability for the patient and provide a sense of empowerment.

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Another important aspect would be socialising with people suffering from similar situations.
Therefore, in this regard, group therapy sessions might be beneficial for Henry to speak
uninhibitedly with similar experiences. This would, in turn, help Henry to socialise, make new
friends, and exchange interests.
In the case of the provided case study 2, Sally, the biopsychosocial reason for her alcoholism
would be her negative self-image (Neff 2016). The self-consciousness Sally developed lack of
self-confidence for which she uses alcohol as a motivator. Sally's habit of consuming alcohol to
overcome her lack of confidence became a habit and then into full-blown alcohol addiction. She
concealed it from her parents and only binged when she was alone. This could be in fear of
rejection or negative reinforcement from her parents. The counselling program, as well as the
involvement of her parents, would be effective in overcoming her alcoholism (Hernandez et al.
2015). In addition to this, body-positive therapy and youth counselling will also be needed for
improving her confidence in a social context.

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Task 3: Propose interventions in response to Sally and Henry’s case
The heterogonous nature of the older men requires the consideration of different ethnic and
socio-cultural sensitivity to utilise a multi-dimensional approach of health intervention to
overcome social isolation. Neville et al. (2018) showed that the social-relationship intervention
strategies are effective in lowering the depression and subsequent social isolation among the
elderly men. Community-wide health programs can be promoted to allow post-retirement men to
engage them in social activities. The community-wide activity program would also provide
patients like Henry with a sense of purpose and reduce loneliness effectively (O’Rourke et al.
2018). Psychosocial activity is one such intervention strategy that makes use of different
activities that stimulate the psychosocial wellbeing of the participants. The utilisation of
therapeutic writing, group therapy, discussions and art can help the participants suffering from
social isolation overcome their inhibitions and direct their energy for better mental health
(Milligan et al. 2015). These intervention exercises that result in the formation of newer
friendships, coping group and ultimately contribute to the treatment procedure. The participants
would be able to help each other in realising their self-value, awareness and mindfulness
(Milligan et al. 2015). Even chronic disorders can be overcome with these intervention strategies
as it focuses on health education, stress management, improving social skills, coping skills and
reduce loneliness (O’Rourke et al. 2018). The involvement of the patient with different support
groups helps in the improvement in health outcome. Peer support, education and bereavement
support groups can also provide the necessary interventions to help overcome mental illness. The
characteristics of these support groups aim to reduce the loneliness or self-confidence and
effectively improve the inhibitions of the participants. The specific support groups solving
specific issues in a more concise manner provide better results within the participants.

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Intervention in teenage drinking could include environmental-level interventions in reducing the
opportunities that might be effective. The increasing penalty for teenage drinking and the
policies to strengthen the minimum drinking limits would be effective in reducing the alcoholism
(Green et al. 2015). Individual-level interventions are usually aimed for the development of
knowledge, expectations, attitudes, intentional and motivations of the patients to focus their
skills towards positive aspects. The resistance of the youth towards the negative stimulators
would be reduced when the intervention is multi-dimensional. The educational interventions that
are based on social influence form an idealistic model for the patients (Cushing et al. 2014). The
inclusion of the norm-set for the patient to overcome their addiction. The healthcare
professionals need to address the social pressures and ensure that the patients are aware of the
circumstances. The cultivation of the skills for resisting peer pressure for drinking would be
effective (Botvin and Griffin 2014). The components need to be led with the help of sober peers
to help approach the patients like Sally, who are essentially minors. It would be helpful for sally
if the people included in the support group are close to her age. The training of the educators
needs to be provided to handle and educate Sally against alcohol abuse. Inconstant interaction
with verbal as well as non-verbal communications, would be effective (Hale et al., 2014).
Similarly, Family-based intervention programs might be effective in the management of alcohol
dependence among teenagers (Hernandez et al. 2015). The control of the parents is much more
effective in creating an intervention against underage drinking. Enforcement of the rules for
abstinence, monitoring the behaviour of the child and the direction to make better life choices.
The education of the parents in regards to the ill effects of alcoholism would be promoted
through family interventions.

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Conclusion
The role of healthcare professionals is critical in surrounding the improvement of patient
condition. The quality of the public health is determined with the efforts of the healthcare
professionals in identifying, planning, implementing, educating and communicating with
patients. The essential services provided by the healthcare professionals inhibit physical, mental
and emotional health and wellbeing of individuals. Prevention of the ill-health condition,
delivery of the services, the involvement of the families and the community engagement process
improves the overall health of the patents. The biopsychosocial aspects of health are effective in
influencing the treatment decisions for care providers. Addressing the needs of the patients
through a triple-level approach provides a better understanding of the health implications. The
condition of Henry as well as Sally required the involvement of the community, psychotherapy
and families to improve their health outcome. The strategies and responses towards the
management of the patients would ensure better physical as well as mental health outcomes. The
empowerment of the patients throughout the mental illness services needs to be provided to
improve their cognitive skills.

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References
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Botvin, G.J. and Griffin, K.W., 2014. Life skills training: preventing substance misuse by
enhancing individual and social competence. New directions for youth development, 2014(141),
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