There are various formal and informal ways in which health education messages are transmitted to the target audiences. The important thing to remember is that effective health communication is seldom achieved through the use of one method alone. Nearly always, a combination of techniques is needed to achieve behaviour changes. Both effectiveness and costs must be considered in choosing a combination of techniques. Besides, selection of local media is appreciably useful.

Individual Health Education Methods

Counselling is one of the approaches most frequently used in health education to help individuals and families. It is a person-to-person communication in which one person explicitly and purposefully gives his time to assist another individual to increase in understanding, ability and confidence to find solutions to own problems. This service could be given to patients at the health centre, to pupils at the school, to families during a home visit.

Purposes of Counselling

• To help individuals increase knowledge of self.
• To encourage individuals or families to think about their problems and understand the causes.
• Help people commit themselves to take action on their will to solve the problems.
• Help individuals to choose, but not forcing them to do so.

Principles in Counselling

• Counselling requires establishing a good relationship between the counsellor and the client.
• Counsellors should assist people to identify their problems.
• Counsellors develop empathy (understanding and acceptance) not sympathy for person's feelings.
• Counsellors should never try to persuade people to accept their advice. Rather help people to think about all the factors involved in their problems and encourage them to choose the solutions that are best in their particular situation.
• Counsellors should always respect the privacy of the people they are helping. They never reveal information without specific permission.

Approaches to Counselling

By using the 'GATHER' approach, you can conduct an effective counselling. However, the word 'gather' is an abbreviation created by taking the first letter from each six steps, and it does not to mean 'collecting'.

• Greet the individual/client by name: show him respect and trust, and tell him that the discussion is always confidential.
• Ask about problems as well as how he believe that you can help him.
• Tell him any relevant information that he needs to know.
• Help him to make his decisions and guide him to look at various alternatives.
• Explain any misunderstandings. Ask some questions to check his understanding of important key points and repeat those key points in his words if necessary.
• Return for follow-up and make arrangements for further visits, or referral to other institution. If a follow-up visit is not appropriate, then you should give him the name of someone he can contact if he needs help (Figure 7.1).

A good opportunity/place for you to conduct counselling is a home visit--- a strategy by which the real background or behaviour of a family/client is observed and a good opportunity for a client to discuss even sensitive issues with a health extension worker.

The Advantages of Home Visits

• When people are in their home, they usually feel happier and more secure. You may find that people are more willing to talk in their homes than when they are at the clinic.
• It also gives an opportunity to see how the environment and the family situation might affect a person's behaviour; thus, making observations and any necessary suggestions for change right there.
• Keeps a good relationship with the people and their families.
• Encourages the prevention of common diseases.
• Enables detecting and improving troublesome situations early, before they become big problems.
• Enhances checking on the progress of a sick person, or on progress towards solving other problems.
• Motivates the family on how to help a sick person in which their participation is needed.

Group Health Education Methods

When people get together to identify, define, and solve a problem, they have much more resources than when they work individually. A group could be defined as a gathering of two or more people who have a common interest. For example, a family, a health committee, a class of school students, a youth club, a gathering of patients at a clinic, people riding together on a bus, etc.

Types of Groups - There are two main kinds of groups

Characteristics of Formal Group

• Has a purpose or goal that everyone strives to achieve together.
• There is a set membership, so people know who is a member and who is not.
• There are recognised leaders who have the responsibility of guiding the group towards the achievement of its goals.
• There are organised activities such as regular meetings and project.
• The group has rules that members agree to follow and works towards the welfare of the members.

Characteristics of Informal Gatherings

• May have some features in common, but no special goal that they are trying to achieve together E.g. People riding together on a bus
• No special membership or feeling of belonging.
• People come and go at will.
• No special leader selected, no special rules apply.
• Usually, no special activity is planned by the people themselves E.g. People coming to watch a football match.
• There is usually more concern for self, and less for the welfare of the other people.