1-5
THE TEACHING ROLE OF HEALTH WORKERS
Early during training, be sure to have health workers think about the range
of opportunities they will have for sharing and exchanging ideas in their
communities. After discussing the many possibilities, they might post them on a
wall as a reminder:
OPPORTUNITIES FOR SHARING AND EXCHANGING IDEAS WITH PEOPLE
IN OUR VILLAGES
We health workers can look for ways to . . .
Help families of sick
persons find ways to care
for them better and to
prevent similar sickness in
the future.
Help organize village
meetings to discuss local
problems. Encourage
others to become ‘health
leaders’.
Help mothers find ways to
protect their own health
and that of their children.
Exchange ideas and
information with local
midwives, bone setters,
and traditional healers.
Interest school children
(and those who do not go
to school) in learning to
meet the health needs of
their younger brothers and
sisters.
Talk with youth groups
and farmers about
possible ways to improve
their crops or to defend
their land and rights.
This list is only a beginning. Your group may think of many other possibilities.
Also, try to get the group thinking about the different ways people learn. In their
village, there may be many people who have never gone to school. They may not
be used to classes, lectures, or ‘health talks’. Traditionally, people learn from stories
and play, by watching, copying, and helping others work, and through practical
experience. Ask your students what are the customary ways of learning in
their villages.
Encourage your students to think of ways that they might adapt health education
to people’s local forms of learning. Here are some possibilities, which we discuss in
the chapters indicated.
• story telling, Ch. 13
• songs, p. 1-26 and 15-15
• play (learning games), Ch. 11,19. and 24
• make-believe (learning by imitating), Ch. 24
• role playing (acting out problems and
situations!, Ch. 14
• popular theater and puppet shows, Ch. 27
• apprenticeship (learning by helping someone
more skilled), Ch. 8
• practical experience, Ch. 6 and 8
• small group discussions, Ch. 4 and 26
• solving real problems, Ch. 8, 10, 14, 17,25,26,
and 27
• trial and error (finding things out tor oneself),
• Ch. 11, 17, and 24
• building on the knowledge, skills, customs, and
• experience that people already have, Ch. 7
• and 13
We health workers need to adapt our teaching to people’s traditional
ways of learning—ways they are already used to and enjoy.