Health education communication point model

(Baonghean) -With the goal of raising awareness and changing people's behavior, in 2011, Nghe An Province's Center for Health Education and Communication built a pilot model of health education and communication in Dien Dong commune, Dien Chau district.

As the first commune in the province to be selected to build a pilot commune model for health education communication, since the beginning of 2011, Dien Dong Commune Health Station has advised the Party Committee and the People's Committee of the commune to develop a plan to implement comprehensive health care for the people; established a primary health care committee of the commune to operate the pilot model, and at the same time clearly defined the role of health, especially focusing on improving the capacity of the medical staff in villages and hamlets... The health station has implemented the model according to plan, ensuring progress and goals with the participation and supervision of the Provincial Health Education Communication Center and Dien Chau District Health Center.

To provide people with knowledge on disease prevention and control, the Provincial Center for Health Education and Communication has provided propaganda materials, directed health stations to regularly write news and articles on preventing and controlling dangerous diseases, instruct people to wash their hands with soap properly, and disseminate propaganda on the commune radio station; distribute leaflets, brochures, and posters to families. Dien Dong Commune Health Station has developed a plan to organize communication campaigns on the following topics: preventing and controlling dangerous epidemics such as influenza A/H5N1, acute diarrhea, food hygiene and safety; preventing and controlling malnutrition, population work - family planning, expanded vaccination, environmental sanitation, HIV/AIDS, etc.

Since its implementation, the village health team has provided health consultations to 1,738 people; written disease prevention communication articles on the commune loudspeaker 60 times (an average of 10 articles/month) - This is truly an impressive number that the village and commune health teams have achieved.

After nearly 2 years of implementing the model, Dien Dong commune's health care has changed significantly. If before the model was built, the rate of families using hygienic toilets was only over 30%, by 2012, the number of households with hygienic toilets had increased to over 50%; the rate of malnourished children decreased from 19.5% in 2010 to 17.1% in 2012; people's knowledge about self-care, health protection, and disease prevention has improved significantly. Mr. Nguyen Van Nam, a resident of Hamlet 3, Dien Dong commune, said: "Before, my family only had a rudimentary toilet, but after health workers came to my house to propagate and understand the benefits of disease prevention, my family decided to build a solid and clean toilet...".

Doctor Le Thi Tam - Head of Dien Dong Health Station said: "To communicate more effectively, we have applied information technology to direct health education communication, which is much more effective than other forms of communication, because when communicating, people not only participate in exchanging, learning and sharing experiences, but also through vivid images that create interest, they are more receptive and pay more attention to changing awareness and changing behavior"...

With the initiative of using information technology in direct communication in the absence of computers and projectors, the health station proactively contacted local schools to request computers and projectors for propaganda activities. Thanks to the construction of a pilot model, Dien Dong has boldly taken the lead in applying information technology in direct communication in the community, bringing high efficiency. This pilot model of health education communication will be replicated in the near future.

Xuan Tien