Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 3
Now that you have completed this study session, you can assess how well you have achieved its Learning Outcomes by answering these questions. Write your answers in your Study Diary and discuss them with your Tutor at the next Study Support Meeting. You can check your answers with the Notes on the Self-Assessment Questions at the end of this Module.
SAQ 3.1 (tests Learning Outcomes 3.1 and 3.2)
Now that you are clear about the various health behaviours consider your own community as a whole. Write down some examples from your observations about these behaviours in your community:
- a.Preventive behaviours towards childhood illnesses
- b.Illness behaviours when children get diseases such as measles
- c.Compliance behaviours towards anti-tuberculosis treatment
- d.Utilisation behaviours in relation to antenatal clinics
- e.Rehabilitation behaviour after someone gets a severe injury following a car accident.
Answer
- a.Preventive behaviours towards childhood illnesses might include providing good nutrition for the child, taking the child for immunization and exclusive breastfeeding until six months.
- b.Illness behaviours towards childhood illnesses include taking the child to the health post, possibly taking the child to some traditional healers in the community (although these may be dangerous actions).
- c.Compliance behaviours towards anti-TB treatment include adhering to the instructions given by the health workers as to the frequency and duration of the treatment. In any community, some people with TB may adhere to the treatment while others may not adhere so well.
- d.Utilisation behaviours in relation to antenatal clinics are about the extent to which the service is used regularly by women before their babies are born.
- e.Rehabilitation behaviours may include using crutches or other artificial supports so that injured people can walk and attend to their farming or household activities.
SAQ 3.2 (tests Learning Outcome 3.3)
According to the Health Field Concept, what are the four determinants of health?
Answer
According to the Health Field Concept, the determinants of health include human biology, lifestyles, and the environment and healthcare organisations.
SAQ 3.3 (tests Learning Outcome 3.4)
List the risk factors relating to malaria in your community and note which are modifiable and which ones are non-modifiable.
Answer
Risk factors may include the seasons, the extent of marshy and swampy areas in the community, not using bed nets, age, poor nutritional status, sick people not being treated on time, resistance of the mosquitoes to the insecticides, resistance of the parasite to the drugs available, and so on.
The list of factors we’ve included above includes some factors that individuals may be able to modify by themselves, such as not using bed nets or poor nutritional status. Others are beyond the control of the individual, for example the seasons or the greater vulnerability of babies and very old people to die from malaria if they become infected.
If you cannot answer these questions fully at this stage, you will learn full details of malaria and TB in the Communicable Diseases Module, and heart disease in the Non-Communicable Diseases, Emergency Care and Mental Health Module.
SAQ 3.4 (tests Learning Outcome 3.5)
- a.According to the chain of infection model, what is the role of health education in disease prevention and control? Use the example of malaria in your answer.
- b.According to the communicable disease model, what will be the role of health education in disease prevention and control? Use the example of TB in your answer.
- c.According to the multi-causation disease model, what will be the role of health education in disease prevention and control? Use the example of heart disease in your answer.
Answer
(a) Health education has many roles in the prevention and control of malaria. Health Extension Practitioners have several responsibilities in the prevention and control of malaria based on the chain of infection model. Below are some examples in response to each component of the model:
| Component of the model | Examples of preventive measures | Role of health education |
|---|---|---|
| Pathogen | Taking effective anti-malarial drugs | Educating people to take treatment |
| Human reservoir | Reducing the infective period of the disease in each individual | Encouraging early diagnosis and treatment of sick people |
| Portal of exit | Applying mosquito repellents over the skin | Promoting and encouraging people to apply repellents |
| Transmission | Spraying insecticides inside households | Advising families to allow insecticide spraying of their houses |
| Portal of entry | Sleeping under insecticide-treated bed nets | Persuading families to utilise bed nets correctly |
| Establishment of disease in new host | Once the disease occurred, promoting early recovery | Encouraging good nutrition and adherence to treatment |
(b) According to the communicable disease model, the role of health education in reducing the occurrence and transmission of tuberculosis is summarised as follows:
| Component of the model | Role of health education | Advice to community members |
|---|---|---|
| Host | Providing health education in order to reducing the susceptibility of hosts through good nutrition | Please try to get good nutrition based on what is available at home |
| Agent | Facilitating the destroying of the pathogenic agents that causes tuberculosis | If you are a TB patient on treatment, please take your medication regularly |
| Host–agent interaction | Educating people on how to reducing their possible contact with the agent | Please cover your mouth while coughing |
| Environment | Persuading people to ventilate their households so that the environment in the houses is not conducive for the transmission of TB | Please ventilate your houses as much as possible |
(c) According to the multicausation disease model, heart disease is most likely to manifest itself in individuals who are older, who smoke, who do not exercise, who are overweight, who have high blood pressure, who have high cholesterol and who have family history of heart disease.
If you look at the list of risk factors, some of them are modifiable while the others are non-modifiable ones. Hence, your role will be to identify the modifiable risk factors and educate people on what they should do to modify those behaviours in a fashion that will be favourable for their health. For example, for those individuals who smoke you need to advise them to quit smoking and for those who do not exercise and who are overweight, you need to persuade them to do more exercise.
Summary of Study Session 3