Health information and quality of life

These basic assumptions are emphasized in order to point out the importance of the receiver's active role and participation in the learning process leading towards a more knowledgeable and responsible population in health questions. Today's health programmes have generally been based on the assumption that when people are better informed greater savings of public means could be achieved. However, it has become clear that the existing information campaigns are often rather ineffective [4]. We have come to realize that health education is not something that automatically affects people, if they are subject to a rich stream of information. Health-promoting knowledge is created within a learning process taking place in the interaction between the offered information and the receiver's cognitive apparatus. Therefore, the quality of the knowledge thereby created depends both on the quality of the information (offered and received) and on the quality of the learning process itself. The resulting knowledge is always a highly personal and unique construction. Interest in health questions is today greater than ever before both among decisionmakers and citizens all over the world. The social–political strategies of today generally stress 'sustainable development' as one of the most sought-after global and national goals, and also a healthy population as a decisive presupposition in order to achieve this goal. In most countries the population of today lives much longer than before, but the length of life becomes an improvement in life quality only if accompanied by good health. Intensive work is therefore being carried out by official health administrations in order to draw up a programme which would improve people's knowledge about health risks and about factors influencing health. The European countries, for instance, present a great variety of cultural, economic and social patterns, but they are all united in their efforts to offer their citizens an equal, humane and economically justifiable healthcare [5]. Investments in activities increasing people's health become understandable considering that unwholesome foodstuffs and unhealthy lifestyles are responsible for approximately half of the national health costs [6]. The interest in health questions is also emphasized today because health risks seem to be growing. As a result of powerful globalization , we are all, whether we want it or not, in a rapidly increasing tempo, confronted with health problems regarding the entire population Studies among health professionals indicate that existing health information programmes directed to the public do not have the desired effect on people's …