In order to spread health education and disease prevention in the African countries PEN-3 model was developed and this model has been successfully used as the child survival intervention in several African countries (Airhihenbuwa,1995). There are different phases developed in the application of this model. Under Phase I it is the objective of the planner to to determine whether he should focus the provision of health education programs on the individuals.
He should also consider the programs to be concentrated on the extended family or on the neighborhood as a whole. This can precisely be the point of entry for intervention in addressing the culture-based health problems faced by the community. For arriving at the decision on the center of focus of the health education, the phase II of the model helps the planner. In the second phase, the planner uses the techniques of surveys or interviews. By doing this, the planner is able to identify the beliefs and practices which are related to the perceptions, enablers and nurturers. This phase is designated as the Education Diagnosis of Health Behavior.
This phase enables the planner to formulate the strategy for deciding the point of entry for appropriate health interventions. Once this phase is crossed, the planner would have formulated the ideas on the point of entry for health interventions in the community. While the planner undertakes the third phase of Cultural Appropriateness of Health Behavior, it becomes possible for the planner to decide on the methods, which need to be adopted for handling the interventions successfully. Since the third phase involves the actual categorization of inherent beliefs and practices, as either positive, exotic or negative beliefs, this phase is appropriate for designing the methods through which the interventions can be attempted (Missisipi State University, 2001).
According to Airhihenbuwa & Webster, (2004), an individual’s identity is not shaped merely by the individual characteristics he possesses in the context of race, gender or ethnicity. The social/cultural context encompassing one’s family or extended family and/or neighborhood or community also play a critically important role in shaping the individual’s identity and beliefs and practices. Therefore, it becomes essential that this context be considered by the planner to decide on the appropriate point of entry for an intervention to meet the challenge of providing the health education.
Depending on the intensity and extent of the beliefs and practices, the planner would be able to group the beliefs and practices into,
- identified health beliefs which are deep rooted in the cultural patterns and lifestyle of the large community and,
- health beliefs and practices which have been newly developed having only ties with the cultural patterns and lifestyles of the community which are superficial in nature.
The planner would face a challenge in identifying and segregating the positive beliefs and practices that are supportive of the individual, extended family or the neighborhood. Therefore, it follows that the planner should decide about the point of entry for the intervention basing his judgment of the segregation of the health beliefs and practices into the above two categories and form an idea as to which particular segment is most influenced by the beliefs among the individual, extended family or neighborhood.
In cases where the beliefs and practices are deep-rooted, the planner may begin the intervention at the neighborhood level through discourses and meetings. In cases where the beliefs are superficial, he may decide to start with either the individuals or the extended families by following the method of interviews and personal communications.
References
Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (1995). Health and Culture Beyond the Western Paradigm. Thousand Oaks California: Sage Publications.
Airhihenbuwa, C. O., & Webster, J. D. (2004). Culture and African contexts of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and support. Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS Research Alliance , 1 (1), 4-13.
MissisipiStateUniversity. (2001). Health Education Models:HEALTH EDUCATION PLANNING MODELS — A REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE – PART II. Web.