Extension Education and Health
The Extension Education and Health domain covers extension principles, teaching methods, communication, the adoption process and health education, including immunisation and first aid.
Extension education
Education for voluntary change; needs-based, democratic, two-way, with local leadership. Objectives: impart knowledge, develop skills, change attitudes, build leadership.
Methods
Individual - home visits, telephone advice, personal letters. Group - demonstrations, method demonstrations, meetings, exhibitions, field trips. Mass - radio, television, newspapers, social media, posters. Choose by audience size, feedback needed and cost.
Communication and adoption
Sender–message–channel–receiver–feedback; barriers include noise, language, illiteracy and prejudice. Adoption: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, adoption; adopters range from innovators to laggards.
Health
Health education covers hygiene, safe water, nutrition, immunisation and first aid. Under the Universal Immunisation Programme: BCG, OPV-0 and hepatitis B at birth; pentavalent and OPV at 6, 10 and 14 weeks; measles-rubella at 9 months; boosters at 16–24 months.
Worked example. Teach a group of mothers about complementary feeding. A demonstration with a locally available recipe gives feedback and practice, so it beats a poster alone; plan a follow-up visit to check adoption.
Traps. Extension is not propaganda; awareness is not adoption; and a mass medium cannot give individual feedback.