Self-Assessment Questions (SAQs) for Study Session 4

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 4.1 (tests Learning Outcomes 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3)

Suppose that malaria is one of the most important health problems in your community. What would be the most important preventive measures to be applied at each level of disease prevention? What would be the role of health education in maximising the impacts of the preventive measures?

  • a.Primary prevention?
  • b.Secondary prevention?
  • c.Tertiary prevention?

You will find it helpful to think about what goes on in your own community and any health education you have received yourself, as well as knowledge you may have as a health worker.

Answer

  • a.Primary prevention includes those preventive measures that prevent the onset of illness or injury before the disease process begins. Some of the actions to be taken before a person gets malaria include utilisation of bed nets, allowing households to be sprayed with insecticides, applying insect repellents, etc. The role of health education will be to educate people to undertake the preventive actions.
  • b.Secondary prevention includes those preventive measures that lead to early diagnosis and prompt treatment of a disease, illness or injury to limit disability, impairment or dependency, and prevent more severe problems developing. Examples for secondary prevention of malaria include enabling people to recognise the symptoms of malaria and to get early diagnosis and treatment. Here health education can help individuals acquire skills of detecting malaria in its early stages and in persuading people to get treatment quickly.
  • c.Tertiary prevention includes those preventive measures aimed at rehabilitation following significant illness. In regard to malaria, severe and complicated malaria can sometimes cause severe physical and mental impairments and there is a need to rehabilitate and restore health to the damaged body parts. At this level health education would help in retraining, re-educating and rehabilitating the individual who has already incurred disability or impairment.

SAQ 4.2 (tests Learning Outcomes 4.1, 4.4 and 4.5)

Before identifying the most important determinants of a given human behaviour, there should be some kind of assessment conducted. In this study session four forms have been discussed.

  • a.Social diagnosis
  • b.Epidemiological diagnosis
  • c.Behavioural and environmental diagnosis
  • d.Educational diagnosis.

Which of these types of diagnosis is linked with the following methods? Match the letters with the numbers:

  1. Comparisons of individual behaviours with factors outside individual control
  2. Focus groups
  3. Analysis of predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors
  4. Statistical analysis.

Answer

1c, 2a, 3d, 4b.

You will have realised that all of these methods fit together. You need to know what people think in your community as well as understand any available statistical data. You also need to understand various local beliefs and environmental factors.

SAQ 4.3 (tests Learning Outcomes 4.1, 4.5, 4.6 and 4.7)

Assume that after conducting the epidemiological assessment you have identified TB as one of the priority health problems in your community. What do you think could be contributing to the transmission of TB in your community? Give your answer under these broad categories of factors.

  • a.Predisposing factors
  • b.Enabling factors
  • c.Reinforcing factors.

Answer

Factors that could be contributing for the transmission of TB in your community could include the following:

  • a.Predisposing factors might include lack of knowledge about modes of transmission, wrong beliefs about its treatment or even bad attitudes towards the management of TB patients at the nearby health centre, etc.
  • b.Enabling factors include accessibility of TB diagnosis facilities and the availability of free TB treatment in the nearby health centre, etc.
  • c.Reinforcing factors include influences from influential people, for example if the family of a TB patient influence him to go to a traditional healer. If he or she does not get cured from the disease promptly they may be responsible for a prolonged period of transmitting the infection throughout the community.

Summary of Study Session 4