The idea of the project was born from several main premises. Firstly, the rapidly growing demand for medical services, the growing popularity of activities related to health, a healthy lifestyle, and healthy nutrition, including the use of natural data and their sources, resulted in the search for new paths of professionalization that met these needs. Secondly, there was a lack of educational offers that organized highly dispersed knowledge in the field of supporting the organization of health processes in the family, including physical activity, diet, mental health, and relationships, which became even more important in situations such as a pandemic.
How is the Family Health Adviser?
The Family Health Adviser was a person with professional knowledge in the field of a healthy lifestyle (e.g., eating behavior, eating disorders, addictions), the basics of herbalism/gardening, dietetics, and dietary supplementation, combined with high advisory and communication skills (e.g., conversation, motivational dialogue, psychosocial support). They also had knowledge about the family, its development and functioning, as well as medical, legal, and healthcare support issues (information on diseases, possibilities of obtaining support, etc.). A Family Health Adviser was able to provide direct counseling support, as well as assist in obtaining it and redirecting the family to the appropriate specialist. They had basic and varied knowledge that allowed for advisory and informational activities.
Project Goals
The project goals were achieved by developing:
- A detailed work methodology for the Family Health Adviser, including the scope of tasks and activities, the adviser's competences, and defining the limits of competences (particularly in relation to the medical services sector).
- A model training program for Family Health Advisers (FHA) (educational content, curriculum, course modules, learning outcomes) and the FHA quality management and professional development system.
- An FHA competence profile, taking into account various dimensions of its functioning.
- Analyses of the conditions for implementing the activities of Family Health Advisers in family support systems in partner countries.
