HEALTH education programmes can be applied to numerous groups within a nation's population but they can only be effective if based on knowledge of the sociological structure of the audiences and of the individuals within the groups.The correct assessment and appreciation of the audience aspect is fundamental in making decisions on planning, methods, communications and content of programmes.Planning for health education therefore pre-supposes familiarity with the structure of social class. In Great Britain the population is divided by the Registrar General into five social classes: Class I-Higher professional, etc., Class II-Intermediate, Class III-Skilled, Class IV -Partly skilled, Class V-Unskilled.In discussing community characteristics and attitudes in relation to health education Dalzell-Ward defined a community as an &dquo;aggregate of individuals, between whom is an interdependent relationship that forms the basis of a way of life. Some kind of co-operation exists, but in industrial societies this is largely on a commercial basis. The community has a well-marked pattern in its way of life whereby it can be stratified, and there is evidence that behaviour and attitudes to health can be explained by this stratification&dquo;.1 A programme is based on the health needs of the group for which it is planned and relates to age and sex, taking into account habits, attitudes, beliefs, customs, traditions, education, environment, economic circumstances and resistance factors. It is the inter-relationship of all these elements which create the audience for health education. * The first of a series of four articles by Mr. William Frame; other aspects of health education to be covered in forthcoming issues will be concerned with content, communication, and planning and evaluation.
