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Essay / Importance of Health Education - 1280
Individuals, media and government have paid great attention to health education. There is no doubt that a “health literate” population is important for the sake of “public health as a whole and, therefore, public finances” (Tappe 2013) (Younghee 2013). Many countries, including the United States, have realized how big a problem this has become. (Younghee 2013) Unfortunately, the ability to understand basic health information, with or without health education, as well as access and process services, is possessed by only "50%" of the American public, which leading to escalating health care costs. as well as poor health care decision-making. (Mancuso 2011) Yet the fact is that over the years, at the local, state, and institutional levels, health educators have advocated very successfully to influence smoking regulations, safety seat policies for children, nutrition policies and many other health policies and regulations. Surprisingly, “98.0%” of them report “barriers to political activity.” (Bliss 2013) I do not think the issue of health education is a government issue, however, I believe it has become one. Obesity, for example, even with all that has been studied on this issue, little is known about the true underlying predictors. (Flores) And the number of consumers who search for health information on the Internet is extraordinary, but the proportion of users who can actually assess the accuracy and reliability of the information assimilated is very low, posing a potential threat to general health. (Younghee 2013) The problem is also compounded by the fact that state and local laws and regulations for comprehensive school health education fluctuate widely depending on...... middle of paper ...... ls, 36(2), 406-413. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2013.08.01011. Ramirez, R. (2013). Embrace change, please: Counteract America's children's health crisis with local foods in schools. Duke Forum for Law and Social Change (DFLSC), 5129-147.12. Scherr, RE, Cox, RJ, Feenstra, G., & Zidenberg-Cherr, S. (2013). Integrating local agriculture into nutrition programs can benefit children's health. California Agriculture, 67(1), 30-37. doi:10.3733/ca.v067n01p3013. Tappe, M.K. and Galer-Unti, R. (2013). US School Health Education Policies: Opportunities for Advocacy at the Local, State, and National Levels. Health Promotion Practice, 14(3), 328-333. doi:10.1177/152483991347562414. Younghee, N. (2013). The development and performance measurements of educational programs aimed at improving consumer health information (CHI) literacy. Quarterly Reference and User Services, 53(2), 140-154.