How Important is Health Education

Health education develops awareness, skills and healthy attitudes in students. Health education teaches physical, mental, emotional and social health. It helps students improve and maintain their health, avoid illness, and reduce risky behaviors. Health education and training programs help students develop the skills to make good decisions in their lives. It is important for students to strengthen their awareness and healthy habits. Health education is not just about being healthy. It also focuses on emotional, psychological and social well-being. Teaching students the value of being positive builds their motivation. Therefore, they aim to promote good health, prevent disease and avoid dangerous behavior. Instilling the value of health in school helps students make healthy decisions as they get older and continue to do so throughout their lives. Understand the importance of health education below. 

The importance of health education

Health education is very important in schools. This makes them aware of the dangers of drug use, smoking and drinking. It helps prevent death, diseases like obesity and diabetes, and sexually transmitted diseases. Parents and students should really understand the importance of school health education. It inculcates skills, knowledge and the right attitude in students. Health education programs in all schools and colleges should include mental health, social health, physical health, and mental health. All this is very important. The WHO (World Health Organization) promotes school health programs as an important way to prevent serious health risks among young people and to involve the education sector in an effort to change the educational situation, something Social, economic and political factors affect risk. All schools should recognize the importance of health education. These schools can also be called health promoting schools. These things are very important because they:

  • Promote health and learning using all available methods 
  • Involves health and education staff, teachers, teacher unions, students, parents, health care providers and community leaders in efforts to make schools a safe place. 
  • Committed to providing a healthy environment, school health education and school health services 
  • Make plans and actions 
  • Works to improve the health of school staff, family and community members, and students 

Why health education?

Now that you know what health education is, it is important to understand why it is important. There are many areas to focus on in schools in different parts of the world. But the need for health education is great. For some reasons such as those mentioned below, students should be educated in health school. 

  • Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among school-aged youth 
  • One in two young people who start and continue to smoke will die from tobacco-related diseases 
  • Worldwide, 5% of deaths among young people between the ages of 15 and 29 are due to alcohol consumption. 
  • In some countries, up to 60% of new HIV infections are among 15-24 year olds 

Schools that have health education in their curriculum focus on certain things. This makes the students of this school aware of their health. They understand all types of health and how to stay healthy. These schools focus on: 

  • Take care of yourself and others 
  • Make good decisions and take control of life 
  • Creating a good environment for health 
  • Creating capacity for peace, housing, education, food, finance, sustainable ecosystems, equity, social justice, sustainable development. 
  • Prevention of the main causes of death, disease and disability: helminths, smoking, HIV / AIDS / STDs, ordinary life, drugs and alcohol, violence and injuries, unhealthy food. 
  • Affects health-related behavior 

The purpose of school health education 

Schools and colleges should set certain goals. In this way, they can teach their students about health. Some of the goals these schools should set are: 

  • Educate students about health problems and their importance 
  • Improve students’ lifestyles by instilling in them the right health mindset and ethics with the ultimate goal of enabling students to make the best choices for overall health and wellness. 
  • Improving the school and family environment 
  • Strengthen the role of students in communicating health information to the community and supporting national health programs that their communities can start at that time. 

Each school will prioritize certain aspects of its program. Developed countries may have different priorities than developed countries. Check out some of the highlights in different parts of the world.

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