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Updated Nov 12, 2026 ## Key points - Three modalities: individual or family, group and collective. - Individual or family session: 20 to 30 minutes. - Group education: two cycles per life moment, each with 3 to 6 sessions over 1 to 3 months; sessions last 90 to 120 minutes. - Collective education: at least two cycles a year per priority group, with 9 to 12 sessions each. - Objectives in three domains: cognitive, affective and psychomotor. - Evaluate with teach-back or a return demonstration. ## What it is Health education builds people's, families' and communities' capacity to care for their health; it is a process, not a one-off talk. The nurse applies the teaching-learning process: assess the learners, define learning needs, write objectives, plan, carry out the session and evaluate. In Colombia, Res. 3280 de 2018 sets three modalities: individual or family education, group education in cycles by life moment (paid by the EPS) and collective education in settings and territories (paid by the territorial plan of collective interventions). Mass information campaigns are health information, not health education. ## What it requires - A learner assessment: readiness and stage of change, motivation, prior knowledge, culture, language and health literacy. - SMART objectives agreed with the group. - Active methods suited to the age and culture of the group. - A suitable place: spacious, well lit, quiet and ventilated, with movable chairs and work tables. - Place, content and timing agreed with the participants. ## Components - Assessment of the group and its needs. - Learning diagnosis: a knowledge gap or a readiness to improve. - Objectives, content, methods and materials. - Implementation with participation. - Evaluation and record. ## How it is applied (and why) - Assess the group: age, life moment, culture, prior knowledge and what they want to learn — teaching starts from real needs. - Check health literacy and language, and plan for interpreters or plain materials — information must be understandable. - Write a few SMART objectives covering knowledge, attitudes and skills — they guide the session and its evaluation. - Agree on place, schedule and duration with the participants — fits their work, school and family times. - Prepare simple materials suited to the group, and the room — good conditions keep attention. - Open with a welcome and the goals, and ask what people already know — connects new ideas with their experience. - Use active methods: questions, cases, demonstrations and practice — people learn more by doing than by listening. - Check learning with teach-back or a return demonstration — confirms each person can apply it. - Record attendance, content and results, and plan the next session of the cycle — continuity turns sessions into a process. ## In nursing practice - With families of young children, invite parents and carers and include the children in the practical parts. - With adolescents, consider virtual options with supervision and work on autonomy and life skills. - With older adults, the cognitive and emotional training cycle is led by professionals such as nurses, gerontologists or psychologists. - Avoid duplicating sessions that another programme already gives to the same group in the same setting. ## Common mistakes - Giving a lecture full of technical words instead of an active session. - Covering too much content in one session. - Never asking participants to explain or show what they learned. - Counting a mass information campaign as health education. - Not recording attendance and results. ## Test yourself Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it. ## What are the three modalities of health education in Res. 3280 de 2018? Individual (or family), group and collective education. ## How long does a group health-education session last in the route? Between 90 and 120 minutes. Group education is organised in two cycles per life moment, each with three to six sessions. ## What are the three learning domains to cover in the objectives? Cognitive (knowledge), affective (attitudes and feelings) and psychomotor (skills). ## Is a mass information campaign a form of health education? No. Res. 3280 classes it as health information; it can complement education but does not replace it. [Add to my cards (4)](https://durgical.app/estudiar/?add=/en/nursing/planning-running-and-evaluating-a-health-education-session-or-group/) ## Connections ## Related 2 - [Patient education and teach-back](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/patient-education-and-teach-back/) - [Health promotion models in nursing: Pender, the health belief model and stages of change](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/health-promotion-models-in-nursing-pender-the-health-belief-model-and-stages-of/) [← All of nursing](https://durgical.com/en/nursing/) Educational content for students; it does not replace your institution's protocols, supervised clinical training or a prescriber's order. Dose-calculation examples use made-up numbers: they are educational, not a clinical order. Sources: [Resolución 3280 de 2018: procedimiento de educación para la salud (numeral 16)](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/DE/DIJ/resolucion-3280-de-2018.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2018); [Nursing Health Promotion, 1.7 The Teaching/Learning Process (Open RN, CC BY 4.0)](https://med.libretexts.org/Sandboxes/a072766d-16cb-4dbc-9dd2-2f3c784c59e6/Nursing_Health_Promotion_(OpenRN)/01%3A_Teaching_and_Learning/1.07%3A_The_Teaching_Learning_Process) (Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN) / LibreTexts, 2023); [Resolución 276 de 2019, por la cual se modifica la Resolución 3280 de 2018](https://www.minsalud.gov.co/sites/rid/Lists/BibliotecaDigital/RIDE/DE/DIJ/resolucion-276-de-2019.pdf) (Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Colombia, 2019). ## **Spotted a mistake?** We are always improving for the community. Tell us what is wrong and our team will review it. 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