ABSTRACT
The chapter describes the history of health education, the nature of present activities, influences on health education and future trends. First initiatives were aimed at improving sanitation and the control of disease following the ‘Asiatic cholera epidemic’ of 1850. Health education has been recognized as important since the turn of the century and there has been increasing health knowledge since that time. In 1926, the Bureau of Health Education (BHE) was formed, initially with very limited resources. With increased resources and activities, it was responsible together with other agencies for many initiatives from 1945 to 1956. In 1956, the Jamaican Medical Department amalgamated with the Ministry of Health. The two main components of this system were medical services and public health services. During the 1960s, health educators’ role shifted from being providers of information to being facilitators and enablers of other health and allied workers. The many developments since 1974 are documented and future trends are outlined.
