There is a high prevalence of premature mortality and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours in Lower Silesia in Poland (regional capital is the city of Wroclaw). One plausible reason is low health literacy among this population. Health literacy is one of the most important elements of public health and health promotion endeavours. It can be conceptualised as abroad range of cognitive and social skills as well as knowledge needed by an individual to maintain good health, prevent or manage diseases, and effectively engage with healthcare professionals and resources. The Health Promotion Foundation (HPF), in collaboration with regional institutions and organisations, initiated in 2017 a broad initiative to improve health in this region. The overarching aim of the wider programme is to improve the quality of care among primary care patients. The project stream led by HPF aims to improve knowledge and health-related competences in the population of primary care patients in Lower Silesia. It involves (1) needs assessment based on the analysis of data on health status and neds from 50 participating primary care clinics, followed by (2) development of tailored face-to-face workshops that will be delivered by trained public health students, (3) who will be mentored using train-the-trainer approach. It is anticipated that the project will impact on three main areas in the long term. First, it will lead to creation of a package of workshops that could be delivered to other primary care patients. Second, it will create opportunities for students majoring in public health in the region to become directly involved in activities focused on health education and promotion. Three, it is anticipated that the project will lead to improvements in health and wellbeing among the participating patient groups. The present report describes the scope and method of the project.
This article discusses the results from surveys on knowledge, behaviours, and satisfaction from the meeting conducted during the Health Promotion Foundation's (HPF) seminars with health professionals and public health students. Both groups were trained by the Foundation to speak with primary health patients about prevention of non-communicable diseases in order to improve health literacy and healthy behaviours of the Lower Silesia population. Students were trained to conduct "health workshops" with primary care patients. The results of the surveys showed that both public health students and health professionals have sufficient health knowledge and have healthier lifestyles than the general population. The slight differences between students and professionals can be explained by the diversity in the professions (public health students versus medical doctors, nurses, etc.) and the stage of the carrier (students versus professionals). The first section of the article explains the objectives of the HPF's project and the health literacy concept. The next section presents the methods of the analysis (describes the surveys and participants of the project) and discussed the results of the surveys. In the discussion the authors consider the differences between health professionals' and students' health behaviours and knowledge, and the potential role of both groups in improving health literacy in their communities. The article concludes that students can be good health educators and a valuable help in implementation of prevention and health-promotion activities.
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