Targets of health education

As a health professional you will use health education activities to promote healthy behaviour and practices in the community you work in. Each individual and every community needs to think about what will bring them a healthy life. There are different risk factors in each locality that expose people to unhealthy conditions and lead to sickness and disease. Health education activities are expected to reduce these risk factors and maintain the health of your community.

Every stage of life, each and every individual or social group in your community and all occupations are appropriate targets of health education programmes. The following sections cover the main target groups for health education programmes. It is important for you to adapt your health education methods and activities to fit the group or audience you are targeting.