Any patient would come to see a doctor or health care professional only if the patient takes their symptoms seriously. And how would a patient take their symptoms seriously? Enter- health awareness.
Symptoms of many diseases might go unnoticed only because the patient might not know that this symptom needs medical attention. For instance, many cases of Breast Cancer stay unnoticed because many women might not know that any lump in breast needs to be tested. Therefore, it is important to educate patients to some extent about health, worrisome signs, hygiene practices to avoid diseases as much as possible.
Benefits of patient education and awareness:
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More patients learn about healthy practices
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Patients can visit a doctor and avoid diseases as early as possible
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Patients do not indulge in irrational claims made by unethical practitioners or Quacks.
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Doctors can guide aware patients easily.
How to communicate health:
Various PHC centres in India conduct regular camps to educate the population on cancer causes and symptoms, family planning, diabetes, TB. Patients are educated by performing skits, presenting various diagrammatic posters for enabling a better understanding. Medical news and content forums help the literate population in providing clarity towards various health concerns and updates.
Role of social media in patient awareness:
Social media is a great tool for patient education as it is easily accessible to all. But sometimes it gets misused. Especially when creators who are not actually experts in the field advise patients about certain practices. Patients can consider that information as accurate while ignoring the right guidance provided by professionals. In this case, the correct health awareness matters a lot that helps patients differentiate what to follow and what not to.
So, communicating health and sharing health related knowledge shouldn’t negatively impact a Doctor’s practice. But instead motivate the patients to seek the right guidance at the right time.
What are your thoughts on this?