Challenges in health education practice

Health education (patient education and health promotion) as an integral part of medical care is in its adolescence. This paper clarifies current definitions in health education in order to emphasize the increases in sophistication and accountability that characterize the state of the art. The trends and pitfalls that are representative of current practices are reported, in order to challenge practitioners to move forward. This paper was a keynote address to the Third National Conference on Patient Education on March 31, 1982 in Pensacola, Florida.