Chapter 1
Health Education: Health Education as a Discipline/Health Instruction
Course: Health And Physical Education Content Knowledge 5857
Subject: Health And Physical Education Content Knowledge5857
Chapter: Health Education Health Education Content
8. Reducing and preventing health risks
Reducing and preventing health risks requires both individual responsibility and coordinated community or school-wide strategies. At the individual level, students can be taught to identify risky behaviors such as smoking, vaping, poor nutrition, lack of sleep, reckless driving, and unsafe sexual activity. Reducing these risks may involve substituting harmful behaviors with healthier alternatives, for example, replacing energy drinks with water, or choosing walking or biking as a form of transportation rather than relying entirely on sedentary modes.
Prevention is often categorized into three levels. Primary prevention focuses on actions that stop health risks before they occur, such as vaccinations, nutrition education, physical activity promotion, and helmet use for cyclists. Secondary prevention includes screenings and early interventions, like school nurses conducting vision tests or health teachers organizing mental health awareness programs to identify issues early. Tertiary prevention seeks to manage and reduce complications from existing health conditions, for example, asthma education programs where students learn to manage inhaler use and avoid triggers.