Education formally is a social science that encompasses teaching and learning specific knowledge, beliefs, and skills. Good teachers in a given field use a variety of methods and materials in order to impart a knowledge of a curriculum to the students. Informally, teaching is the process of learning how things work including numbers, reading and language that are taught by parents and other members of the student's culture. There has been a plethora of journals, magazines, books, and digests in the field of education that addresses these areas. Such literature addresses the teaching practices, with subjects that include lectures, game playing, testing, scheduling, record keeping, bullying, seating arrangements, interests, motivation, and computer access. However, the most important factors in any teacher's effectiveness is the interaction with students and the knowledge and personality of the teacher. The best teachers are able to translate knowledge of a subject, good judgment, experience, and wisdom into a significant knowledge of a subject that is understood and retained by the student. It is their ability to understand a subject well enough they can convey its essence to a new generation of students that is needed by all teachers. The goal is to establish a foundation of knowledge base that allows the student to build on as they are exposed to different life experiences. The passing of knowledge from generation to generation (see socialisation) allows the student to grow into a useful member of society.

Overview

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It is widely accepted that the process of education begins at birth and continues throughout life. Some believe that education begins even earlier than this, as evidenced by some parents' playing music or reading to the baby in the hope it will influence the child's development.

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Health Education Research - current issue

Expanding the value of qualitative theories of illness experience in clinical practice: a grounded theory of secondary heart disease prevention
Ononeze, V., Murphy, A.W., MacFarlane, A., Byrne, M., Bradley, C. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
Qualitative theories of illness experience are about the individual interpretations of the psychosocial and cultural aspects of living with illness. Thus, they contribute to a better understanding of health and health care provision. In this paper, we examine how a grounded theory (GT) of heart disease experience can inform secondary prevention. In-depth interviews of individual experience of heart disease were conducted with 26 patients, using GT iterative data collection and analysis framework. A GT was compiled from data and examined within a sociocultural framework to ascertain how experience influenced health behaviour. Despite individual contextual variations, the theory of ‘keeping it going’ describes the study sample’s common attitude to living with heart disease. The theory was adequate in explaining secondary cardiac behaviour, because it identified the aspects of patients’ beliefs and attitudes which are key to effective secondary prevention. The assessment of the impact of illness experience on health behaviour within a sociocultural framework helped to articulate the strong influence of social and contextual factors. The study offers an appropriate explanatory framework for encouraging health behaviour change. It emphasizes the importance of interventions being relevant to individual perceptions and interpretations. It provides a framework for designing and evaluating cardiac interventions and the theoretical principles which underpin them.
Effects of episodic variations in web-based avian influenza education: influence of fear and humor on perception, comprehension, retention and behavior
Kim, P., Sorcar, P., Um, S., Chung, H., Lee, Y. S. Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
In order to provide empirical evidence on the role of a web-based avian influenza (AI) education program for mass communication and also ultimately help young children learn and develop healthy behaviors against AI and all types of influenza, an education program with two episodic variations (i.e. fear and humor) has been developed and examined with 183 fifth-grade elementary students. A quasi-experimental design was employed to find potential differential effects on the context-specific risk perception, AI knowledge acquisition, retention and behavior. The study results reveal that the fear appealed AI web-based education program was much more effective than the humor-based program in improving risk perception and educating the students about healthy behaviors (i.e. against influenza infection). However, a significant behavior change or improvement of health practices was not apparent on the post-tests (i.e. 1 month after the treatment) in either episode of the program.
Developing the IDEFICS community-based intervention program to enhance eating behaviors in 2- to 8-year-old children: findings from focus groups with children and parents
Haerens, L., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., Barba, G., Eiben, G., Fernandez, J., Hebestreit, A., Kovacs, E., Lasn, H., Regber, S., Shiakou, M., De Henauw, S., on behalf of the IDEFICS consortium Thu, 14 May 2009 00:00:00 -0000
One purpose of ‘identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants’ (IDEFICS) is to implement a standardized community-based multi-component healthy eating intervention for younger children in eight different countries. The present study describes important influencing factors for dietary behaviors among children aged 2–8 years old in order to determine the best approaches for developing the dietary components of the standardized intervention. Twenty focus groups with children (74 boys, 81 girls) and 36 focus groups with 189 parents (28 men, 161 women) were conducted. Only in two countries, children mentioned receiving nutrition education at school. Rules at home and at school ranged from not allowing the consumption of unhealthy products to allowing everything. The same diversity was found for availability of (un)healthy products at home and school. Parents mentioned personal (lack of time, financial constraints, preferences), socio-environmental (family, peer influences), institutional (school policies) and physical–environmental (availability of unhealthy products, price, season) barriers for healthy eating. This focus group research provided valuable information to guide the first phase in the IDEFICS intervention development. There was a large variability in findings within countries. Interventions should be tailored at the personal and environmental level to increase the likelihood of behavioral change.

Public Health News From Medical News Today

Research4Life: Research Output In Developing Countries Reveals 194 Percent Increase In Five Years
Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700
The partners of Research4Life have announced at the World Conference of Science Journalists 2009 that a new research impact analysis has demonstrated a dramatic rise in research output by scientists in the developing world since 2002. By comparing absolute growth in published research before (1996 - 2002) and after (2002 - 2008) the advent of the Research4Life programmes, the analysis has revealed a 194% or 6.4-fold increase in articles published in peer reviewed journals.
33,902 Swine Flu A(H1N1) Cases Including 170 Deaths In USA
Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) informed in its weekly update on Friday evening, 3rd July, 2009, that the total number of confirmed human cases of swine flu A(H1N1) infection stands at 33,902, including 170 deaths. In a Swine Flu conference held today in Cancun, Mexico, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that the virus' spread is now "unstoppable".
Total Swine Flu A(H1N1) Human Infection Cases Reach 7,447 In The United Kingdom
Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:00:00 -0700
The Health Protection Agency (HPA), UK, informed yesterday 3rd July, 2009, in its weekly update that the total number of confirmed human cases of Swine Flu A(H1N1) infection has reached 7,447. British health authorities estimate that the figure will be over 100,000 by the end of this summer.

Public Health News Headlines from Johns Hopkins

Sightseeing Helicopter Crashes in Hawaii Decrease Following FAA Regulations
paffairs@jhsph.edu (Office of Communications) Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:00:00 -0400
An emergency rule intended to reduce the number of deaths and injuries associated with Hawaiian air tours was followed by a 47 percent reduction in sightseeing crashes, according to a new study by researchers from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health's Center for Injury Research and Policy.
Cost-Effective Measures Could Stop Child Pneumonia Deaths
paffairs@jhsph.edu (Office of Communications) Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:30:00 -0400
Implementing measures to improve nutrition, indoor air pollution, immunization coverage and the management of pneumonia cases could be cost-effective and significantly reduce child mortality from pneumonia, according to a study led by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Researchers found that these strategies combined could reduce total child mortality by 17 percent and could reduce pneumonia deaths by more than 90 percent.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Awards Dean's Medal to David Oshinsky
(Office of Communications) Wed, 20 May 2009 16:00:00 -0400
Michael J. Klag, MD, MPH, dean of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has awarded the Dean's Medal—the School's highest honor—to historian and Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Oshinsky. The Dean's Medal recognizes individuals who have made a significant contribution to the field of public health. Oshinsky was presented with the Dean's Medal on May 20 at the Bloomberg School of Public Health's convocation ceremony in Baltimore, Md. He also presented the convocation keynote address.

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