THE ROLE OF HEALTH AGENCIES IN THE PROMOTION OF HEALTH TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGES
Title page i
Certification ii
Dedication iii
Acknowledgement iv-v
Table of content vi-vii
CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Health Agencies in Institution of Learning 1
1.2 The Role of the School 1-7
1.3 The role of the Teacher 8-9
1.4 Home and Community 10-16
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 National health Agencies 17-24
2.2 Ministry of Education 24-29
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 International Health Agencies 30-32
3.2 Red Cross Society 32-33
3.3 The World Health Organization (WHO) 33-35
3.4 UNICEF 36
3.5 The role of other UN Agencies 36-38
CHAPTER FOUR
4.1 The important of Health in the World today 39-43
4.2 Summary 43-44
4.3 Conclusion 45
4.4 Recommendation 45-46
Reference: 47
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE ROLE OF HEALTH AGENCIES IN INSTITUTION OF LEARNING
Hydeno (1992) opened that institution of
learning are regarded as factories that manufacture ideas for the
present and future use of an individual who might be fortunate enough to
have found himself in any of the institution of learning.
Agencies have found it very ideal to
inculcate into student the various facets of health. According to World
Health Organization (WHO), “Health is three integral parts. They can
be defined separately. However, it should not be inferred that health
is visible. Each of these parts, together with the spiritual well being,
is closely related to an independents on the others for its proper
functioning. If one part is altered here is immediate reaction in the
other parts” (Hydeno 1992). He stated that the health agencies in
institution of learning have helped each individual to know the state of
his or her health through the school, the teacher, home and community.
1.2 THE ROLE OF THE SCHOOL
He classified that the school has been
made to imbibe and inculcate into its students those learning
experiences in health. To teach the variety of experience for purpose
of improving attitudes, knowledge and practices relating to health. To
teach the students the importance of health and to all intelligently in
conformity with its awareness.
The school has been made to realize that
the school age is the crucial and formative age of the child, an age
when it is easier to cultivate habits than when older, realizing too the
magnitude of the effect of poor health on the pupils learning output,
and realizing more over that the child tends to spend more of his life
in the school, it therefore becomes imperatives that both the school and
the teacher must accept fully the responsibility for the health of the
pupils placed under them.
Udoh (1991) contended that the health
agency in institution of learning includes the school officer and his
assigned main duties are:
- He is charge with the responsibility of developing and supervising the total school health programme.
- He co-ordinates the school healthy programme with other health
agencies in the community including family doctors, and local medical
society.
- Interprets to teachers the result of student’s, medical, dental, or psychological tests.
- He ensures that students needing medical attention in schools where
there are no school doctors are refereed to doctors in general hospital.
- He ascertains that student recommended for special programmes,
especially those placed on restricted activities in physical education
are given adequate attention and their programme implemented as
prescribed by either a family or school doctor.
- He checks students returning to school after illness or injury and
determines that students participating in extra-curricular activities
can do so without damage to their health.
- He sources publicity for the school health programme and sees that all staff member are award of the services available to them.
- The checking of the sanitary environment of the school is his responsibility.
- He arrange in-service course, workshop and seminars for teacher
especially the auxiliary health instructors. He stated further that the
composition of the school health team and their main duties are as
follow.
The success of school health agencies
depends upon the efficiency of the school health teams. The school
administration is responsibility for finding the programme and
recruiting qualified personnel for the programmes. The health committee
gives guidance and leadership to the health education programme within
the school and cooperates with the community health council through duly
– appointed representative.
The school doctor function as the
school’s medical adviser. The physical educators, because of their
strategic position, observe children health behaviour and offer
counsels.
The physical educators also five health
instructions to student on variety of topics. The nurse in school
provides essential school health care to the sick student in the absence
of a medical doctor, and conveys the injured and sick students to the
nearest hospital for treatment. The nutritionist ensures balanced and
nourishing diet for the students, where food is provided by the school,
and well coordinated team work of those concerned with the
implementation of school health programme is the key to the success of
the programme.
He stated forward that a health agency
is of paramount importance in our institution of learning. With
agencies, the school realizes the need for health inspection and
examination, the need of training pupils in simple health skills and
healthful school environment.
(1) THE NEED FOR HEALTH RECORDS:
Health record for pupils are very
essential. The use of charts, graphs, and histographs would be found
very indispensable. Regular recording of the pupils, age weight and
height, is very essential as a useful way of observing their growth
habits. The teacher should endeavor to put in more effort to chart out
the growth and or development pattern of each child, and put up such
charts on a health display board. Pupils themselves tend to derive
pleasure and knowledge by themselves observing and interpreting their
own growth curves or patterns.
A prompt report by the teacher to
parents about any abnormal growth pattern of their children would quite
of the meet with satisfying professional reward. Besides this reward,
such health records would form a useful basis for the accurate forecast
of the pupils possible academic output, and thus facilitate the
teachers, the teachers’ pedagogical and remedial approaches. Health
records help to build up care history for the pupils which are very
invaluable for diagnosis of latter health hazards.
(II) THE NEED FOR REGULAR HEALTH INSPECTION AND EXAMINATION:-
The detective and diagnostic values of
daily routine health inspections are so immense that the school
timetable must be made to accommodate a few minutes for daily health
inspections. The routine is most valuable in guiding the pupils to
cultivate good health habits. It is importance that the pupils be
inspected in a single file in the morning by the teachers before the
day’s work or lesson commence. With the aid of health agencies, pupils
have been made to put up healthful look and to adhere to health habit
and regulation. They have helped to establish.
A sort of routine inspection like, routine medical check-up which must be organized by the school.
There is the routine medical dental
examination for school children. Similarly, routine X-ray may be needed
to eradicate or prevent some infection diseases.
(III) THE NEED FOR TEACHING PUPILS IN SIMPLE HEALTH SKILL:-
Taking advantage of the formative and
creative potentials which usually dominate this stage of pupils’
developments, pupils would respond very favorable to training in
carrying out simple health skills. They may be exposed to simple first
aid techniques by encouraging the formation of such organization as Red
Cross, scouting e.t.c health skills acquired through this process have
a far reaching effect on the future citizen for the society.
(IV) HEALTHFUL SCHOOL ENVIRONMENT
Health school living or environment is
defined as everything that is being done “to Provide at school,
physical, emotional and social conditions which are of benefits to the
health and safety of teachers are the school children. The school and
the teacher are to recognize their crucial position amongst agencies
that must being about an urgent and lasting change for better in our
society. Pupils must be encouraged to organize voluntary clear-up
companies. Pupils in top classes can organize the voluntary building of
public incinerators. By doing this, the teacher and the school are
leading the pupils to acquire the vital spirit of public health.
The teaching of physical education in
school is very essential, in that it is a means of ensuring physical
health of pupils, which is indisputable in educational practice, yet no
educational practice is as the teaching of physical education (Udoh
1992).
1.3 THE ROLE OF THE TEACHER
It is a known fact that a teacher is a
person who imparts moral value, academic teachings, both physically,
mentally, socially, emotionally and spiritually into an individual for
the proper development and systemic growth of an individual in any
institution of learning. There is power in examples and “examples, are
better than precept” they say.
Quite often, it is said that “Those who
preach the gospel must always live by the gospel” these two axioms must
emphasize and point to the fact that the teacher must possess and
practice good wealth attitudes and habits in order to show and
demonstrate example to his pupils one of the very basic ability that is
often exhibited by school pupils, in the power of imitation. Pupils are
easily damaged or ruined through imitation of every bad habits or bad
practices, hence the teachers who fail to positively utilize the
opportunity of such love for imitation by showing good health habits.
Teachers who display poor habits like dirty and shabby dressing, un kept
hair and beards, bad table manners, poor toilet habit, un kept finger
nails, spiting carelessly, before his pupils are negative and very
damaging too, his personality and responsibility to the pupils, parents
and the society at large.
He contended that, it is however the duty of the school through the headmaster via the teacher and the health agencies to :-
- Understand each child’s health need and interest for the development of high level health for each child.
- Prevent defects disorder and provide continues appraisal of each child’s health status.
- Provides special health services for the disabled and optional children.
- Develop in the child a positive health awareness and reduction in the incidence of communicable and non communicable diseases.
- Develop and application of destintic factor as relate to health a huge level of self-esteem and social adjustment in each child.
- Develop healthful personal practices and whole some health attitudes.
- Provide emergency measure, mentally-hygienic school environment and maintain sanitary practice and surrounding.
He stated forward that the objectives of
the school health programme cannot be achieved unless the various
organs that constitute the health team function smoothly and
effectively.
1.4 THE ROLE OF THE HOME AND COMMUNITY
Hosstrup (1989) stated that the roles
played by the parents and health agencies and in the promotion of school
health cannot be overemphasized. In the homes, the primary
responsibility for the health of a child rests with the parent. The
mother is usually the first teacher and all the basic health habits are
learn at home even before the child starts school. The parents should
be taught either through the Mass-media or adult education, the
important of sound health of their children. There are numerous
desirable health practices which parents should know and inculcate into
their children, such as:-
- Sanitation of home and its surrounding including access to water supplies, if the main source of H20
is well or spring, it is necessary that the water is boiled before
drinking, people disposal of human waste refuses and garbage is
essential and usually habit of throwing refuse around in the compound or
street is undesirable. Optional use should be made of existing
environment sanitary conditions.
- To take appropriate steps for the prevention of home accident.
(a) Do not put medicine within the reach of children
(b) Keep children away from the kitchen
(c) Do not use electrical appliances that are faulty
(d) Do not improvise but repairs things that are repairable and keep sharp knives away from toddlers.
- To arrange for the best possible hygienic sleeping conditions and to avoid overcoming.
- To keep the immediate environment free-from rodents and insects.
- To wear clothing suitable for the prevailing climatic condition.
- To eat an adequate balanced diet in order to ensure full working
capacity, correct Weight control and to fulfill dietary requirement
which will enable the body to fight against diseases and to avoid
disease due to malnutrition.
- To teach the children to wash hand after defecation and before handling food.
- To bath regularly and brush teeth in the morning and before retiring to bed at night.
- To make appropriate use in the care fullness of the modern service
available and to seek routine medical examination and supervision as
indicated of age and development.
- To ensure that children obtain communization as recommended by health authority.
- Parents should know how budget and know what priority to be give to each items such as food, clothing, shoes. House etc.
- Parents must ensure that children wears shoes to school to avoid nail puncture.
He stated further that, it should be
emphasized that parents at home should be able to learn more about their
role in health promotion of children and hope that their effort will
lead to improvement in health promotion of children and propagation of
lives and that of the children to a degree greater than any previous
ages have seen. Prevention is better and cheaper than cure and as such
parents should work together to build a strong and healthy nation.
It is of contributory fact and know that
must Nigeria lives in every thing from house – boast to free house and
from poorly made huts or sheds to mansions-few like the isolation of the
desert hut or the mountain sheds while other love to have their
apartments in the city. Whether rural suburbau, and urban living, all
have their advocates within the community. Costly their house as they
purpose (an buy” is an American saying which simply mean that a good
home is worth what it costs. What you can afford to spend you should
spend, for the good home pays dividends far beyond its value in
shelter. The enjoyment of community living, the pleasure of gracious
entertainment, and sheer physical comfort are but a few example, the
benefits to be gained from life in a superior, clear and hygienic
dwelling. Home and community as health agencies have to see to the
proper health development of their environment so as to be conducive
enough for habitation.
- For comfort: - a good home must go a step-further by providing
comfort and protection. Cross ventilation is a must for comfort during
dry seasons and when the eat is great. There must be prevention against
unpleasant Odors. A highly personal cleanliness must be reach by the
community.
- Proper lighting: - Every occupied room, bathroom, included should
have at least one window providing the greatest possible illumination
and this should be as much as possible without glare or shadow.
Direct sunlight is often advantageous
particularly for the ill or invalid: Direct sunlight is physically and
psychologically stimulating and a remarkable source of VITD in a house
with children, space is as much a matter of comfort as of health.
- For mental health: -Rooms should be shared only by persons of the
same sex, for sleeping, young children should be separated from their
parents early and certainly by the age of four. Toilets, bathrooms and
bedrooms should be directly life provides those social contracts
expected in the home and in the community people cannot be mentally
healthy without them. A suitable dwelling should have a living room or
family room, one or more gathering places, place a kitchen, dining room
or area and whatever bedroom and bathroom the family man need and can
afford. The need for companionship as well as for privacy can thus be
satisfied to keep the family happy.
- Cleanliness and Orderliness: - The mentally healthy well-adjusted
person can abide with extremes of cleanliness and tidiness for short
periods and can put up with disorders and disarray when necessary
cleanliness demands water in plenty at the right places, much of it
under proper pressure. What so supplied makes the home a different
world from one where water must be carried. Plenty of water inevitable
means cleaner people in a cleaner home. Where no harm can come from
getting dirty con however bring health danger.
- Control of contagious diseases:- contagious and infections disease
play major role in Nigeria life. The kind of home, people live in,
their size, designed and quality have a great deal to do with the amount
of illness cause by communicable diseases. It is of important that
home be built in a way that gives bitter protection than just building a
house with poor quality and with bad material.
- Safe water and proper sewage disposal:- Adequate good and safe water
is a priceless heritage for a nation and a treasure in any home. The
water therefore, must not be subject to contamination by free of
objectionable tastes, odors and chemicals. The greatest threat to a
good water supply is raw, untreated sewage-in many part of our
community, like the industrial estates of Lagos industrial wastes run a
close second as a threat. Sewage and industrial wastes therefore should
be carefully collected and treated before being discharged into our
water ways, water should be given adequate treatment before being used
for domestic purpose. All domestic water supplies whether pupils or
private should be tested periodically for purity.
- For the sake of safety: Home safety implies a sound structure,
measurable fire resistant and not likely to collapse under the impact of
the locality’s, most community, town planning. Authorities ensure that
building codes and observed to ensure those condition (Hasstrup 1989).
He classified that, at home, we have
more accidents that there are in industrial and high ways. Some of the
worst home hazard are:-
- Poor lighting
- Narrow stairways, too steep
- Winding stairways with inadequate tread on the inner side of the curve.
- Yoys Stools, Chairs or ladder out of place
- Low window sills that lead to falls by careless children,
- Bathroom with slippery floor and inadequate holds or grape-bars.
- Two way swinging dross
- Sharp turns that can lead to collisions
- Carbon monoxide from inadequate stove, water, health or fire places.
- Burns from endless number of causes
- Explosions, and
- Poisonings.
Save living and maintaining good heal involve flu same basic principles whether one lives in the city or in rural area.