FAR EASTERN UNIVERSITY

Institute of Nursing
Nicanor Reyes Sr. St., Sampaloc, Manila
______________________________________________________________________________

Bartolome, Zandhreen | Galano, Crystelle Jade D.

Bautista, Lemuel Glenn C. | Soriano, Donna Stella B
Cecilio, Rohanna Pauline M. | Vacante, Precious Chriza L.

Health Education Perspective

1. Historical Development in Health Education
1.1. Ancient Greek
In ancient Greek medicine, illness was initially regarded as a divine
punishment and healing as, quite literally, a gift from the gods. However, by the
5th century BCE, there were attempts to identify the material causes for illnesses
rather than spiritual ones. This led to a move away from superstition towards
scientific inquiry, although, in reality, the two would never be wholly separated.
Greek medical practitioners, then, began to take a greater interest in the body itself
and to explore the connection between cause and effect, the relation of symptoms
to the illness itself and the success or failure of various treatments (Cartwright,
2018).
As mentioned by Tountas (2009), it is evident from medical and
philosophical documents of the sixth to fourth centuries B.C. that the ancient
Greeks were the first to break with the supernatural conceptions of health and
disease that had so far dominated human societies. With this, the ancient Greeks
developed the physiocratic school of thought, realizing that maintaining good
health and fighting illness depend on natural causes and that health and disease
cannot be dissociated from particular physical and social environments nor from
human behavior. Moreover, the Greeks defined health as a state of dynamic
equilibrium between the internal and the external environment. After that, they took
under consideration the physical and social determinants of health, they empowered
individuals and communities through new democratic and participatory
institutions. Ancient Greeks gave emphasis in health education and skill
development because they recognized the importance of supportive environments
and of healthy public policy and they re-oriented medicine toward a more
naturalistic and humanistic perspective.
All health related stuffs were conceptualized by Philosophers that believes
in different ways and perspective. Theories were also created and later on
developed and became more detailed as the different philosophers adds things to
the term health. Books were also published by them having its content to have
claims regarding to health. Homer's Iliad is composed with mention of medical
treatment in Greek warfare. Empedocles put forward the idea that all natural matter
consisted of four elements: earth, water, air, and fire. This idea of four elements
prompted ancient Greek doctors to establish the theory of four humors or liquids.
These four humors were blood, phlegm, yellow bile, and black bile. The idea then
developed of keeping these four humors in balance as a necessity for good health.
The four humors includes yellow bile, black bile, phlegm, and blood.
Hippocrates of Kos lived from 460–370 B.C.E. As the founder of the
Hippocratic School of Medicine, he made major contributions to medicine that
persist today. The teaching at his school revolutionized medicine and established it
as a profession and a discipline in its own right. Until then, medicine had been a
part of philosophy and the practice of rituals, incantations, and the casting off of
evil spirits.
Two physicians by the names of Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) and
Galen(129-210 A.D.) were the first to point out, merely by their powers of
observation, the prophylactic as well as therapeutic value of exercise. The
magnitude of their discovery was such that their teachings dominated medical
education and thought for almost 15 centuries ( Klissouras, 2017).
Klissouras (2017) has mentioned that the universally honored as the father
of medicine, Hippocrates was the first to introduce the revolutionary notion that
diseases arise either from excessive food or too much exercise, and when the two
are balanced this leads to good health. In Book 1 of his On Dietetics (Περί Διαίτης),
he notes: “Eating healthily by itself will not keep a man well; he must also have
physical exercise."
Although the scientific basis for the indispensability of regular exercise for
health and well-being is a relatively recent development, knowledge of this
fundamental link dates back to the ancient Greeks. Two physicians by the names of
Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) and Galen (129-210 A.D.) were the first to point out,
merely by their powers of observation, the prophylactic as well as therapeutic value
of exercise. The magnitude of their discovery was such that their teachings
dominated medical education and thought for almost 15 centuries.
Greeks were the first to take precautions on diseases and treatment.
Physicians started to develop scientific approach for medicine.The Ancient Greeks
are the source of most medical knowledge until (and including) the time of the
Roman Empire. Early Greek medicine focuses largely on spiritual beliefs. The
Greeks establish a cult and erect grand temples to worship Asclepios, the god of
healing. The Greeks understand sickness to be both psychic and physical. To heal
the psyche, worshippers listen to music and have their dreams interpreted while
staying in the temple. Alcmaeon, a Greek philosopher and physician, also
popularized the theory that the brain perceives sensations and is responsible for
 thought and memory. Cult leaders use local vegetation to make ointments and other
herbal remedies. They also prescribe regular exercise, baths, and nutrition regimes
that include social interactions. These prescriptions are seen as an important part of
the religious healing process. Many of them are practiced as late as 400 AD. Greek
medical practice may have included errors, perhaps many and probably even fatal
ones, but Greek practitioners had started the medical profession in the right
direction.
A key factor for the achievement of skills and community development is
the empowerment of people – both as individuals and in communities – which is
achieved mainly through health education and supportive environments. Although
the term “empowerment” is not mentioned in ancient Greek philosophy and
medicine, the Greek intellect in general was very much centered around the
individual’s emancipation from the clutches of ignorance and superstition, leading
people towards “self-sufficiency” – which, as a concept, is very close to
contemporary ideas of empowerment.

1.2. Romans
In Romanian time, they publicized a health education in which they call it
as a “public health system” wherein they teach the Romans all about public health
because during their time, it was very hard to find a natural source of freshwater
where most of it were used for drinking. The public health system was their way to
prevent pollution around the city and to avoid further damages on health problems
of the people.
The Roman Empire was around the 800 B.C.E. and almost existed for
around 1,200 years and they were very advanced in medical knowledge and
practices that gave them progression in many areas. They built public health
facilities in the whole city and for their medicine that was used to cure soldiers in
the battlefield was influenced by the Greeks, wherein they also adopted the Greeks’
point of view in health education.
According to the United Nations of Roma Victrix, “Roman society
maintained reasonably good health throughout its history.” Before, Romans were
limited by scientific knowledge and they mainly rely on their religious beliefs. Once
they adopted the teachings of Hippocrates and Greek medicine, they incorporated
his teachings with Roman mythological and spiritual ceremonies in hopes of greater
success since they believe that the Roman gods and goddesses have healing
abilities. By then, Roman gods that they worshipped became an eminent role in
their practices of ancient medicine.
The Romans were considered as the “Pioneers of Public Health” at that
time. Although they were greatly influenced by Greek medicine, they had their fair
share of contributions to medical practices through famous works from experts
 Galen and Celsus. Not only the professionals were inextricably linked to the Roman
army using efficient healing methods but even in large households, there were
countless practitioners within the great number of staffs who had their own take on
medical knowledge that they contributed as well to the history of medicine through
their literature which was often passed down and recreated by others to increase its
efficacy and to have a wide range of options in aiding their patients back to health.
Thus, medicine became a much more easier subject to access.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION

18th Century
The Enlightenment

The 18th century witnessed the advent of new ideological directions, which are
usually summarily referred to as The Enlightenment. It marked the beginning of
deterioration of the feudal governance in Hungarian Kingdom. Respectively, the interest
in world cognition had grown. This was being reflected in escalated development of
natural sciences, including the medicine.
The Enlightenment manifested most significantly in everyday life only in the
second half of the century, thanks to the innovative reforms of Maria Theresa and Jospeh
II. It also brought new opinions on the social importance of healthcare. The most
significant document of the respective healthcare reforms was the general medical
ordinance named „Základné zdravotnícke pravidlá“ (Generale normativum sanitus,
General norms of sanitation), which was issued by Maria Theresa on 17th September
1770 – it provided the general code of conduct for whole monarchy (Augustínová, 2006,
p. 55 – 57).
The health edification activities were directly dependent on: economical, social,
cultural, national & other circumstances.
These determined the level and condition of general healthcare and of the social groups of
the population. As stated by M. Beniak (1993, p. 13), this status is the source of the content,
methods and ways of educational character. The interest in people’s awareness rising was
transformed into practice when Slovakian intelligentsia began to carry out awareness-
raising campaigns with the focus on enculturation and education. The authors of original
health edification literature in the Enlightenment period were Juraj Fándly with his healer’s
handbook Zelinkár (The Herbalist), where he presented the advice verified by practice and
warned against superstitions. Another author, Ján Cherney, focused on various medicine
and health issues. The promoter of the medical science in eastern Slovakia in this period
was Michal Sztanyik, the protestant priest and awareness-rising activist that translated
awareness-rising and edificational works.
 Samuel Tešedík was a promoter of the new scientific findings, especially those
connected with the rationalisation of farming. He found of utmost importance, he also
engaged in the health prevention activities, which he carried out in form of discussions,
public speeches and sermons. Some of these were later published, the most significant
include: „O príčinách chorôb, O správnom upotrebení ľudského rozumu, O pijanstve“
(On the cause of disease, On the appropriate use of human reason, On drunkardness).
In his speeches, he opposed the confessional and nationalistic hatred (Franková, 2007, p.
150). Another important author of the awareness-rising and medical publications was Juraj
Fándly with his healer’s handbook Zelinkár (The Herbalist), where he presented the advice
verified by practice and warned against superstitions.
Another author, Ján Cherney, focused on various medicine and health issues. The
promoter of the medical science in eastern Slovakia in this period was Michal Sztanyik,
the protestant priest and awareness-rising activist that translated awareness-rising and
edificational works. Samuel Tešedík was a promoter of the new scientific findings,
especially those connected with the rationalisation of farming. Apart form the people’s
awareness-rising activities that he found of utmost importance, he also engaged in the
health prevention activities, which he carried out in form of discussions, public speeches
and sermons. Some of these were later published, the most significant include: „O príčinách
chorôb, O správnom upotrebení ľudského rozumu, O pijanstve“ (On the cause of disease,
On the appropriate use of human reason, On drunkardness). In his speeches, he opposed
the confessional and nationalistic hatred (Franková, 2007, p. 150).
The people’s awareness-rising program was especially focused on progress &
rationalisation, on public health, on struggle against superstition and prejudice, on
spreading of the basic education (Kipsová, Vančová, Gešková, 1984, p. 28).
The era of the Enlightenment and national renaissance witnessed an obvious
breakthrough in history of health edification and education. In the 2nd half of the 18th
century, numerous members of Slovakian intelligentsia began to feel the partial
responsibility for the low erudition of the people. With their works and activities, they
strived to increase the level of people’s culture and improve their living standards. One of
the most important representatives was Matej Bel, who published the first literary work of
this tendency named „Flos Medicinae“ (The Flower of Medicine). Among the urban
physicians, Bratislava´s physician Justus Ján Torkos being the most renowned. In 1745, he
published the first Hungarian pharmacopeia, where he states the names of the medication
in various languages. Unfavourable health conditions and increasing number of physicians
had made the ruler create the „Kráľovská zdravotná komisia“ (The Royal Healthcare
committee), established in 1738. The task of this committee was to oversee the health
problems of the country. Prešov´s physician Ján Adam Reymann left his mark in the
history, when he utilised the so called variolation technique during the vaccination against
smallpox. The Enlightenment efforts of 18th century Slovakia found its application also in
the health edification, which is in return valuable contribution to the historical and medical
values of Slovakian ethnicity.
The Enlightenment activities are highly regarded from a medical standpoint, and
also from the standpoint of the development of the human education and awareness-rising.
It is important to mention that as the development moved on, so did the spiritual values of
the scientific nature. J. Perhács (2006, p. 7) comments that the development of the
edification and education of adults can be attributed to the outcomes of extensive people’s
awareness-rising traditions of Slovakia. It is the main and most important part of cognition
with its rich heritage formed by educational associations and institutions for the adult.“

19th Century
The term “people’s awareness-rising” began to be used in virtually every country
of that century. However, the term didn’t encompass the whole reality of adult education.
The typical feature of the great development of medicine was the establishment of medical
facilities, clinics, medical institutions and associations. New medical fields were
introduced, and also new science discoveries, which created the frame of the development
and cognition of 19th century and became a significant impulse for its future direction.
The development of medicine was also boosted by the physiology and experimental
medicine. The experiment in this century becomes one of the basic methods of cognition.
E. Augustínová (2008, p. 79-83) refers to Ján Bijacovský and Gabriel Pávai-Vajna as the
most prominent authors of medicine literary works. These works were published in
Slovakian and Hungarian language. The low health awareness and level also required the
publication of works of a different character. Apart from many texts about the public
healthcare system, there were also many publications on personal healthcare, lifestyle and
hygiene.
Physicians tried to supplement the lack of staff engaged in awareness-rising with
their own activities. They clarified various treatment processes mainly during the
tuberculosis occurrence, but also therapeutic procedures processes of home care. The first
aid handbook and obstetrics literature made a huge contribution in life-saving. The most
significant authors include Ján Ambro, Teodor Kežmarský, Beno Farkaš, and Koloman
Demko.
During this period, the medical literature was written in many forms and genres,
among the most frequent were documents, handbooks, textbooks and monographies. The
important part of households was the educational calendars. The people’s awareness-rising
activities were receiving new content and forms of work with objective to uplift the
spiritual and material level of people. It was predominantly focused on increasing the level
of the culture and erudition. Based on the experience from other European countries, the
representatives began to promote and support the founding of people’s awareness rising
institutions, the so called Sunday schools, which were also expanded with people’s
libraries. Sunday schools, people’s libraries and other awareness rising institutions were
also associated with the introduction of reader’s clubs. The members of these clubs were
bound to carry out awareness-rising among the people. The struggle against alcoholism
was becoming a forefront of people’s awareness rising. The antialcoholism and temperance
movements began to expand in form of temperance and moderation societies (Institutum
temperantiae) (Pasiar, 1977). The renowned founder of such society established in 1845 in
Horná Súča, Slovakia was Michal Rešetka. As stated by several authors (Pasiar, 1977,
Junas, 1990 and others) people’s awareness-raising staff received the support for their
temperance activity in the form of treatise and sermons on harmfulness of drinking. The
sermons spread through a printing press became well-known.
E. Augustínová (2008, p.163-166) states that Gašpar Fejérpataky – Belopotocký
repeatedly stressed that people preserve the language for state and society “ and according
to his opinion, people must be assisted and led towards the language“. His edification
activity was related to the book publishing and activities of various nature. Many literary
works were focused on the people’s health, personal hygiene and advice on the healthy
lifestyle that led to harmfulness of the alcohol. The Healthcare Bill of 1876 had a great
impact on the public healthcare system, as it modernised the health protection in Hungarian
Kingdom. The development of the healthcare and clinical medicine was also boosted by
the hospitals construction and activities of experts associations. Several regional societies
were active on Slovakian territory in this period. The name of the almanac was „A Szepesi
orvos – gyógyszerész egylet évkönyve“ (The Almanac of Spiš county’s physicians and
pharmacists). The Society of Gemerská župa county began to publish its almanac in 1888
under the name „A Gömörmegyei orvos – gyógyszerész egylet évkönyve“ (The Almanac
of Gemer county´s physicians and pharmacists) (Pekařová, 2007 p. 116). Physician Pavol
Blaho contributed with a number of lectures and articles aimed to increase the health
awareness of the population. Vavro Šrobár wrote health edification articles and works, e.g.
„Ľudová zdravoveda“ (People’s medical science), published in Martin, Slovakia in 1909.
His book meant a great contribution for Slovakian health edification. The book was
published in several editions; it included medical science, firs aid handbook and some parts
were dedicated to the prevention and treatment of communicable diseases, sexually
transmitted diseases, poisonings and injuries (Takáčová, Hegyi, 2004b). The Great War
slowed down the development of the health edification and education, as it had a great
impact into everyday life of the whole nation.
The change in a particular field was about to be brought by the creation of the
common Czechoslovakian state. According to the historians, the 19th century was fruitful
in many spheres of the development of the medical publishing. Publications and articles
focused in content on health questions formed one of the most important parts of the
Slovakian literary production.
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Cartwright, M. (2018, April 11). Roman Medicine. Retrieved from

https://www.ancient.eu/amp/1-12317/

Hays, J. (n.d.). HEALTH CARE IN ANCIENT ROME: MEDICINES, DOCTORS,

TREATMENTS AND HEALING TEMPLES. Retrieved from
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Klissouras, V. (2017, January 5). Fitness and Health in Ancient Greece. Retrieved from
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