Communication plays a very critical role in making patients and victims understand the medical information. Technology has made a lot of information available and accessible to people. However, there should be clear and well thought initiative directed at health behaviors such as excessive consumption of alcohol, lack of physical activity, and poor nutrition among others. In this paper, I focus on the health behavior that concerns poor nutrition and two communication initiatives directed towards the behavior.
Research has it that most of the deadly diseases that affect mankind and destabilize their state of health find their way through the mouth. In other words, the eating habit of people affects their lives positively and negatively. The current generation breeds people who like fast foods, do not take time to cook and love sweet things that may not be good for health. No wonder obesity, cancers and other conditions continue rising. Even though there have been a lot of inventions in the field of medicine and health, the eating habits of people continue to worsen, thereby making life a very expensive adventure indeed (Berkman, Terry & McCormack, 2010). As such, there is a need for initiatives directed towards a paradigm shift in terms of people’s mindsets with regards to nutrition.
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"Health Behavior and Communication Initiatives".
The first communication initiative aimed at changing the eating habits is the use of the available media platforms to create awareness on the importance of good eating habits. Those who are charged with the responsibility of providing healthcare must take it upon themselves to communicate the need for balanced diets through televisions, newspapers, radios, cinemas and even the internet. The use of social media has gained popularity and should be exploited to communicate this importance information to a global audience. Health information sometimes confuses. Some people believe that healthcare is a preserve for the providers. However, the truth is that the initiative to change one’s state of health is a personal affair. The communication, therefore, needs to be clear in order to help people better understand and act on their health with respect to nutrition.
Another communication initiative that can successfully help in improving the nutrition of people is organizing seminars and practically demonstrating the dangers of poor eating habits. People get to learn better when they see than merely hearing. The dangers associated with poor eating habits can easily be demonstrated not to instill fear among people, but to remind them that those dangers are real and avoidable (Robinson et al, 1998). This communication strategy will even deliver effective results when people effectively participate in the demonstrations.
The power of communication is immense in delivering behavior change and eliminating avoidable health issues that arise as a result of poor eating habits. Good eating habit does not require a person to be rich. There are many wealthy people in many parts of the world whose eating habits are very pathetic. It takes personal initiative to change to the healthy eating habits cheaply and conveniently. The two communication initiatives must clearly and precisely inform people on what types of foods are healthy and those that are unhealthy. They have to stress the need to adopt these habits in the most convenient ways.
The stakeholders in healthcare should take the leadership role and promote clear health communication through these initiatives. They also need to collaborate with nationally and internationally recognized experts and organizations to develop solutions and effective tools to improve communication between the healthcare providers and patients. Poor eating habits ought to be eliminated at all costs. The communication initiatives should aim at clarity and ambiguity avoidance.
- Berkman, N. D., Davis, Terry, C., & McCormack, L. (2010). Health literacy: What is it? Journal of Health Communication, 15(1), 9–19. doi 10.1080/10810730.2010.499985. Retrieved from http://www.informaworld.com
- DiClemente, R. J., & Crosby, R. A. (2011). Health Behavior Theory for Public Health: Principles, Foundations and Applications. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
- Robinson, T. N., Patrick, K., Eng, T. R., & Gustafson, D. (1998). An evidence-based approach to interactive health communication. JAMA: the journal of the American Medical Association, 280(14), 1264-1269.
