Education for Health
A Role for Physicians and the Efficacy of Health Education Efforts
- Council on Scientific Affairs
Abstract
Health education efforts have grown dramatically over the past decade and seek to improve the health of individuals by providing them with information that will lead to behavioral changes and thereby result in improved health. There is now substantial evidence to support the idea that health education activities can alter health behaviors, even though the mechanisms by which health education efforts succeed are largely unknown. Physicians could add to the success of health education efforts by incorporating preventive services into their patient encounters, particularly patients in high-risk situations. There are many examples of successful physician-based interventions, and a new emphasis on preventive services in primary care is emerging.
(JAMA. 1990;263:1816-1819)
Footnotes
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This is a shortened and substantially revised version of a report that was presented to the House of Delegates at the American Medical Association's Annual Meeting, June 1989, as an informational report of the Council on Scientific Affairs.
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This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all of the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the views of scientific literature as of April 1989.
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Reprint requests to Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, 535 N Dearborn St, Chicago, IL 60610 (William R. Hendee, PhD).
