Ethics of Health Education

Because of the importance that health education plays in our society, a health educator carries a significant amount of responsibility on their shoulders. Being a health educator is not a profession that can be done carelessly, you must be willing to give your all to the people that need you. What many people are unaware of is the fact that there is a code of ethics that a health educator must abide by, just so they never lose sight of how important health education is. Not putting in the effort as a health educator will not only reflect poorly on yourself, you will be failing the students that look to you for a thorough health education. Below you will find the main points that a health educator must follow in their code of ethics while providing the public with health education.

1. Responsibility to the public – Being a health educator, you are the bridge between the public and good health. You are able to change the lifestyles of your students and guide them toward good health. The health education that you are providing will contain information that they will be able to use for the rest of their lives, so this responsibility is definitely something that should be taken seriously. If you feel that you would not be able to handle this type of pressure, maybe being a health educator is not the profession for you.

2. Responsibility to the profession – The health education you provide to your students will affect many people other than yourself. When people see that a health educator is doing a great job, that is going to reflect well on your employer, the entire school or company you are working for, and the entire health education field. On the other side of that coin, if you are not putting your all into your position as a health educator, people will notice. You do not want people to lose faith in health education because you were not doing your job as well as you could have been. The most important thing here is that the public is provided with useful knowledge.

3. Responsibility in research and evaluation – These are very important parts of being a health educator. There is new information coming out in this field all the time and you need to make sure that you stay on top of it. Research must be done to see what is out there, what your students need, and how you can best impart your knowledge. Also, you need to evaluate yourself and how effective your approach to health education is. There is nothing wrong with changing the path you are on to better help your students.

This code of ethics is not there to scare anybody away from this occupation. It serves as a reminder of just how important this position is, and the responsibilities that come with providing the public with an education.

Get Health Education

Education and health go hand in hand. If you use health education to know more about your body, how it works, and how to keep it a smoothly running machine, you will start becoming a healthier person, that is the bottom line. Okay, so now that you have decided that you want a health education, where are you going to go to get it? There are many education and health services all across the country that have dedicated themselves to providing the public with health education, you just have to know where to look. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the education and health services available to you, below you will find a list of avenues you can choose for your health education. We have now realized the deep connection between education and health, the public just needs to reach out and grab the information that has been made available to them.

1. School – This is where we get our first taste of health education. We learn the basics of how our body works and what we can do to keep it healthy. We learn about brushing our teeth 2-3 times a day, bathing daily, and flossing regularly when we are young. When kids get a bit older they learn about the different organ systems, genetics, and sex education and health effects that unsafe sex can cause. There have been debates about whether health education should be a part of a school’s curriculum, but it is simply too important to get rid of.

2. Nutritionist – While your body is resilient and able to bounce back when you are younger, watching what you eat is still very important. Education and health information about your diet is essential to staying healthy when as you get older. A great way to receive health education regarding your diet is to speak with a nutritionist. They will be able to tell you exactly what types of food you should eat, how frequently, and at what times to keep your body strong.

3. Internet – There is a bevy of education and health facts that you can read about on the Internet. If you take a look at credible websites on the net, you will be able to find diets that you can use, any information about the human body you would ever need to know, and anything else your heart desires. The only thing that you need to make sure of when receiving health education from the web is that you avoid the misinformation out there. Find which websites (WebMD for example) are highly credible and respected so that you do not get stuck with inaccurate information.

As mentioned earlier, education and health are tightly connected. If you want to be healthier and would like to take steps to do so, a health education is going to be the best way. Your health education will provide you with lasting knowledge that you can one day pass on to your own children.

Sex Ed

In a previous article, we discussed the importance of fully understanding both sides of an argument. In this case the subject happens to be including sex education in school health education classes. Previously, we discussed the benefits of having sex education as a part of a health education program (along with many other aspects of health education). Now we will go further into why parents are against having school health education programs, and sex education in particular. Although religious families are the majority when it comes to being against health education in school, it is important to understand that they are not the only ones. Below you will find the top reasons why parents of all races and religions are against school health education programs.

Sexualization of the youth – Many people believe that exposing children to sex at an early age through a health education class will cause them to have sex earlier than they should. This argument does have some merit, and that is why there should be boundaries set about at what age school health education classes should start sex education. Many children have the same urges that adults do, they just do not know what they mean. Providing an eight year old with in depth details about sex in a health education class is not a route we should be taking.

Contraception – This is something that will most likely only apply to religious groups. There are religions that do not believe that any type of contraception should be used during sex, and that is a major part of sex health education. Parents do not want their children to learn things that are contradictory to their religion in school health education programs, especially when the issue of sex is still taboo in so many families. This same reason is actually why many people advocate school health education, they do not want the beliefs of a parent to negatively affect their child. Whether or not that type of decision is the parents’ decision to make is still under debate.

Parent’s choice – It is the view of many people that the parents should have the right to teach their children about sex if they choose and it should not be the responsibility of the schools to provide a sex health education class. While this may seem like a good idea, many parents do not have the resources or knowledge necessary to teach their children about sex the way that school health education can. This notion has been carried out partially though. If a parent does not want their child to attend a sex health education class, they can write a note to get them out of it. This may make the child feel left singled out and cause other kids to ask questions though.

Both sides of the school health education debate have been laid out more or less at this point. Now it is up to you to decide whether learning about sex belongs in a health education program.