Lay epidemiology and the rationality of responses to health education

Health education has long been seen as an important component of primary care, and under the new contract has become routine. It is important to consider the likely impact of general practitioners' endeavours in the light of the experience of health education to date. Despite decades of efforts directed towards reducing the population's adherence to practices deemed harmful to health, it must be acknowledged that the impact of such activity has been disappointing. This paper considers some cultural origins of public scepticism to health education messages, and argues for a more balanced presentation of current knowledge concerning the causes of disease and the probability that individuals will benefit by changing their behaviour.