Republic of the Philippines

BULACAN STATE UNIVERSITY

City of Malolos, Bulacan
Tel/Fax: (044) 791-0153

Designing a
Health Education
Plan for a
Specific Age
Group:
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WEEK 5
 INTRODUCTION
Determining the patient's age and developmental stage is
essential to providing appropriate patient education. To do
this, you will be evaluating the patient's physical maturation
and abilities, psychosocial development, and cognitive capacity.
Psychologist Jean Piaget’s work on cognitive development is a
useful guide in knowing what teaching approach to take for
teaching infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers, school aged children,
and adolescents.
LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENTAL TRANSITIONS
Preschoolers (3-6 years): Young Adulthood(21-39 years):
Develop the ability to relate to peers and Focus on career selection, adapting to life
initiate social interactions. with a partner, and starting a family.
School Age (6-12 years): Middle Adulthood(40-65 years):
Interests expand beyond immediate family to Emphasis on establishing oneself in marriage
the wider world. and maturing in career choice.
Begin to relate to others as individuals, showcasing Begin facing physiological changes associated with
increasing maturity. maturity.
Adolescence (Puberty): Older Adults:
Characterized by the onset of puberty and a period Navigate challenges of decreased physical strength,
of intense personal exploration. declining health, and retirement.
Late Adolescence (18-21 years): - Adapt to reduced income and
decreasing
Culminates when the individual demonstrates
independence.
readiness for full financial, emotional, and social
independence. - Confront losses of loved ones, including
spouses, siblings, friends, and ultimately, self.
Infant
From birth to the first 12 to 18
months of life
Totally dependent on others
Teaching parents of
infants
Time of rapid growth and development
New parents may misinterpret many
normal aspects of infant development as
deviation from norm
Development does not occur at the
same
 Infant
Normal infant Infant
development and development
range of individual teaching
Need for immunization
differences. Infant stimulation
relieves unnecessary anxiety Infant feeding
Safety tissues
Teething
 Toddler
classified as childrens who are in the age of 18
months to 3 years old.
Characteristics of a toddler
Currently gaining language skills
Demands autonomy (freedom)

Nurse assistance to Parenting

a toddler
Nurses' role in this stage is guiding the new parents how to
child proof their home, teach parents about safety hazards,
guide parents with the behavioral expectations with the
toddler and others.
During this phase the parents/guardians are teaching the
toddlers how to potty train. The nurse’s approach should be
calm, warm, and matter of fact.
 Toddler
Health teaching for infants and toddlers is
primarily directed toward parents.
Enhancing Involving parents in patient care helps alleviate
separation anxiety.
Infant and Establishing a consistent relationship with one
Toddler nurse is beneficial for the child and family.
Reading stories and using visual aids like
Health through pictures, dolls, and puppets stimulate learning.
Parental Health teaching should occur close to the time
of relevant events due to the child's limited
Involvement sense of time.
Keep teaching sessions brief, ranging from two
to five minutes, considering the child's limited
attention span.
PRE-SCHOOL CHILD
has limited reasoning abilities; it is not helpful to explain
in any detail the purpose of a procedure
most of them fantasize and are quite vulnerable to fear of
pain and bodily harm
Teaching Pre-school Children
teaching children about procedures to be done should
be a routine part of interacting with pre-school children.

EXPLANATIONS TEACHING TOPICS FOR

PARENTS:
should be understanding the importance and role
simple and of play
matter of fact dealing with sexual curiosity
beginning school adjustment
handling eating
sleeping problems
 Pre-School Child
Preschooler's Parental Support and
Introduction to the Involvement:
Outside World:
Preschoolers are just beginning to Parents are crucial participants in
explore the larger outside world. the teaching-learning session.
Offer limited choices (no more Play, active participation, and
than two or three) to avoid sensory experiences are effective
overwhelming them. for this age group.
Use simple choices like showing Physical and visual stimuli are
pictures about a test or showing more effective than verbal ones
their doll about the test. due to limited language ability.
 School Age

Characteristics of School
Age Children
The school age children ranges
from ages 6-12 years old
Commonly, the people within this
age are capable of logical
reasoning.
 School Age
It is also where parents need to know
Before the procedure that may about common problems in this group,
affect the school age children, such as learning disorders,
whenever possible, it is important hyperactivity, behavior disorders, and
that they are included in the patient enuresis. Any of these disorders might
education process. affect the child and the family because
Explain the procedures and the of the stress it can cause and requires
reasons behind it in a simple and extensive teaching to manage the
logical way, you should also explain problem.
it with confidence and optimism. Whatever stage of childhood the
Plan to spend a considerable time patient is in, it is necessary to keep the
teaching the parents of the school child's development in mind to foster
age children. the child's growth despite having
limitations that may be caused by
illness.
Adolescents
Teaching Adolescents
Adolescence is a distinct stage marking the transition
from childhood to adulthood.
Adolescents possess abstract reasoning abilities and
are a major focus of teaching due to their
independence.
Developmental tasks for adolescents include forming
their identity, separating from parents, and adapting to
bodily changes.
Bodily changes, especially during puberty, may lead to
a strong interest in appearance and sexual adjustment.
Adolescents may struggle to imagine sickness or injury,
contributing to risk-taking behavior and poor
compliance with medical recommendations.
 ADOLESCENTS
Health recommendations perceived as Involving the family can enhance health
interfering with independence may be teaching effectiveness and support
resisted by adolescents. understanding of adolescent behavior.
Significant teaching about sex Parents should set realistic limits while
education, contraception, alcohol/drug allowing adolescents to become
abuse, and general health measures is increasingly responsible for their health
essential. care.
Teaching about sexuality requires Children of all ages should be included
sensitivity, respect for privacy, modesty, in teaching, with parents typically
and understanding. supervising treatment adherence.
Health education is more effective when Nurses must establish rapport with both
nurses establish trust, show empathy, child and parents, adapting teaching
and answer questions honestly. approaches based on unique parent-
Patient teaching should be in the form child relationships.
of guidance over lecturing, with nurses The focus is on using existing
as advocates, not just representatives of relationships as a starting point for
parents. teaching rather than judging them.
 Adults
Teaching Young Adults
The developmental tasks of young adults include
establishing and managing a home.
Changes can be sources of stress.
Health teaching topics that the nurse may become
involved in include:
stress reduction
health maintenance and promotion
and for some young adults
marital adjustment
prenatal teaching
and child-rearing
practices.
 ADULTS
Teaching adults in midlife
The nurse should concentrate on teaching Midlife serves as a transition period between
young adults who are getting ready to become young adulthood and later years.
parents about the normal physical and Many individuals reach the peak of their
emotional changes that come with being careers
pregnant, having sex while pregnant, getting during middle adulthood.
ready for the baby, diet counselling, getting Recognition of personal physical changes and
ready to be a parent, and the birth process, parental health decline is common in midlife.
which includes the procedures involved in Increased awareness of personal goals, values,
labour, delivery, and the postpartum period. and mortality during this stage.
Important nursing activities for young adults Different people in this stage react differently
include teaching risk factors for future disease. to
Teaching how to alter lifestyles to decrease mortality awareness: some may be more
risk. motivated to follow advice, while others may
Finding opportunities for health promotion in reject or give up on healthy habits.
During this period, nurses can clarify
the many types of settings where nurses work misconceptions about menopause for both
with young adults. women and men.
Individuals in this age group frequently
have an
open mind to learning about reducing their
Older Adults
Teaching Older Adults
One of the greatest challenges about health promotion is the misconception
about older adults. Older adults are not too old to stop smoking, start
exercising, or change their diets.
It is important for nurses to understand normal psychological changes that occur with
age to adapt teaching strategies for normal aging changes.
A majority of health teaching about illness and disease management should be taught
as chronic diseases become more prevalent after the fifth or sixth decades of life.
It is important to interact with each elderly patient as a unique individual as they are
often coping with varying types of loss.
Patient teaching should be delivered with enthusiasm and conviction while teaching
them about their interests such as sexuality and aging, exercise, nutrition, and other
topics related to preventing illness and promoting quality of life.
Assess barriers to older patient’s independence to teach ways to maximize their
strengths and promote independence by providing information, considering patients’
individual needs, and building awareness of community services.
Use a shorter session and slower pace in teaching strategies, as their capacity to learn
and absorb information is reduced with age.
 OLDER
ADULTS
Learning capacity at an efficient level usually
remains well into the 80s, inability to absorb
new information may be an indication of
subclinical disease. As the ill elderly learn
An example of this issue is:
A 69-year-old patient was discharged home after
demonstrating step by step daily dressing changes from
healing burns on his lower legs. When the patient
with difficulty and many older people require returned to clinic visits, the burns were not healing as
no modification in teaching strategies, it is expected. It was then learned that he had no plumbing
important to give all older learners a chance in his home and no access to a bathtub. Obviously,
to show their inquisitiveness and lifelong everyone assumed that the patient had bathing facilities
experiences. and that if he did not, he would tell them.
Assessing learning needs for the older Teaching strategies to consider for older
adult
Nurses should address not only medical issues but adults
Due to old age, using specific teaching techniques when providing
also common functional and psychosocial problems health teaching is necessary because some elders have increasing
in old age during teaching-learning stages. difficulty understanding complex sentences, are less proficient than
A comprehensive social history can identify younger people in drawing inferences, and have problems with motor
potential problems with the home environment, tasks by presenting new information at a slower rate than you do for
younger patients to let them comprehend the information.
support systems, financial resources, and various The implications for patient teaching suggest a need for increased
stresses that may be contributing to the medical teaching time and delivery of educational materials in small
problem. increments for better integration. Something that will help are:
Personal resources, such as support, finances, Speaking in a low tone of voice and allowing enough time for the
patient to assimilate and integrate conceptual material.
transportation, and a safe home environment, are Group teaching can enhance elderly patients' health-related problem-
crucial for advanced age individuals in healthcare solving abilities, but it's crucial to consider their cautious nature when
 OLDER
ADULTS
Compensating for impairments that interfere with learning
If the elderly patient has impaired vision, use adequate diffused light, and avoid having
the older patient face a direct source of light.
If the patient has prescription glasses, make sure they are being worn, and use large
An older person is more likely
to remember information he or
she hears than information
print for labels and instructions. that he or she reads.
To compensate for hearing loss, use a low-pitched voice, speak clearly and slowly, and To increase learning for a patient
face the patient while talking. Encourage the patient who has a hearing aid to use it.
To compensate for limited endurance, keep teaching sessions short-no more than 10 to with memory loss, repeat the message
15 minutes-and schedule them to allow the patient rest as needed. frequently, and question the patient
During the teaching of any activity or skill, the pace must be set by the patient. regularly to determine the level of
Never rush the older person and do not set time limits on task performance. retention.
Return demonstrations are crucial for elderly patients to ensure independent Pay particular attention to the
psychomotor skill performance. language you use. Select clear,
Lack of return demonstration can lead to issues, such as a patient not removing the simple, terminology, and talk on the
inhaler cover or a caregiver being unable to assist with a car-to-wheelchair transfer. patient’s level.
Provide older patients and their families with information on obtaining health Some elderly patients are highly
resources, including websites like AHRQ, Administration on Aging, Caregiving, and educated and will prefer that you use
Medicare. and explain medical terminology;
Consider age and developmental level when planning health teaching, assessing others will prefer that you keep
cognitive and psychosocial development in children, and focusing on physical changes interactions short and simple.
and psychosocial factors in adults. Be sure to avoid making assumptions
Assess physical skills, past experiences, and feelings about manipulative competencies about terms, and help the patient
to determine the practice needed for psychomotor skill mastery.
Despite challenges in teaching the elderly with multiple health problems, careful problem solve what to do if
assessment and age-appropriate strategies can lead to effective patient education and instructions can’t be followed for any
support. reason.
 PRESENTED BY:
N A GUSTIN , Alliy ah Nico le N.
John Strauss C. SA
JUNTILLA,
rk Angelo B . SANTOS, Ansel Christian M.
LITONJUA , M a
Ann R. SANTOS, Genelle Ishi C.
MABILIN , J ersey
h am e lle V . SANTOS, Yumi Rey T.
MALLAR I, H an a S
ou ise M . TAN, Bianca G.
MUG A, P a tr ic ia L
o re en B. TANDAYAG, Shiela Mae S.
NUG UID , S o p h i a N
a r l Ju s ti n e V . TING, Leona Mei S.
PAITAN , P e
T. TOLEN T N
I O, L s
oi e Camille .
P
D an ie lle G w y ne th
PUNZAL,
Jo h n C. VENTURA, Kaizer B.
RAM IR EZ , R hed
ZAMORA, Mikyla A.
REYES, Angelica B.
CDALAN, Joyce Anne
SA