Spiritual_Wellness_Holistic_Health_and_the_Practic

80 Philosophical Foundations of Health Education
how one accomplishes this (philosophy) will determine the place of health education
now and in the future.
Over the past twenty years there has been persistent, continuous outcry by the
leaders in health education for the need to define a philosophy for the profession
(Oberteuffer, 1977; Balog, 1982; Rash, 1985; Timmreck, Cole, James, & Butterworth,
1987, 1988). Some professionals have indicated that a clearly stated
health education philosophy would help guide the profession in its activities
(Landwer, 1981; AAHE Board of Directors, 1992). Yet as health
Philosophical
inquiry will be
educators perform a multiplicity of roles in a variety of settings, a single
philosophy of health education does not seem possible or even particularly
desirable. Rather, what the health education profession needs is a
needed to move us
clear delineation of the major existing philosophies and an analysis of
to our rightful place current trends in health education philosophies.
as an instrument
BACKGROUND
for improving the
Numerous accounts of personal philosophies of health educators exist
health of the nation (Beyrer & Nolte, 1993). Yet very few health educators have attempted to
decipher overall trends of health education philosophical options (Russell,
and its people. 1976; Shirreffs, 1988; Kittleson & Ragon, 1993). Russell (1976) presented
Shirreffs, 1988, p. 38 six philosophical positions represented on three continuums: decision
making versus specifi c behavior, behavior change versus behavior reinforcement
, and functioning versus rule following . Shirreffs (1988) contended
that the health education profession has three major philosophies: information - giving,
behavior change , and social change . Kittleson and Ragon (1993) concurred with these
three and added a fourth: decision making .
Certain threads of congruency are noted within health education philosophical
discussions. Cognitive - based philosophy is historically the most well - rooted (Shirreffs,
1988). This approach allows a large base of knowledge to be transferred relatively
quickly and is viewed as a foundation upon which other philosophies can be built
(Creswell & Newman, 1989; Kolbe, 1982). Decision - making philosophy became a
prominent force in the mid - 1970s as an alternative to cognitive - based philosophy
(Dalis & Strasser, 1977). Decision - making philosophy is viewed as a systematic
approach to education, designed to equip learners with certain skills which enable
them to make self - satisfying decisions. Green, Kreuter, Deeds, and Partridge (1980)
legitimized behavior change as an appropriate ways and means for health education.
Examples of successful behavior change philosophy in all types of health education
settings have inundated professional journals for the past fifteen years. In 1975, Russell
defined functioning as a viable health education philosophy. This philosophy of health
education is interested in how people function totally, despite some practices not generally
correlated with health. Greenberg (1978) reiterated these beliefs, establishing a
health education philosophy that he entitled freeing . Finally, the social change philosophy
developed by Freudenberg and advocated by O ’ Rourke (1989) was identified as