Facilitating a self-care practicum experience in consumer health education

There has been an increasing public interest in health care issues such as wellness, self-care, and the importance of taking personal responsibility for one's health. In addition to learning preventive health lifestyle measures, this growing consumer interest involves decisions regarding the purchase and use of health products and health services. There is a significant need for effective consumer health education in the schools that focuses not only on transmission of information, but on the development of decision-making skills and on opportunities for practical application. This paper describes an approach to facilitate the development of a self-care practicum experience in consumer health instruction, making use of the resources and expertise of both the school health educator and the school nurse. The approach describes how a planned practicum can move consumer instruction from an information-receiving experience to a participatory experience that facilitates the development of consumer decision-making skills.