Promoting Public Health: Skills, Perspectives and Practice - Coursework Example

of essay’s assignment is due Promoting public health: skills, perspectives and practice Introduction I am involved in promoting metal health among older people and military personnel coming back from combat. Promoting the mental health of older people is becoming an activity of increasing importance. In the incoming decades, there will be an increase in the number of older people. There will be fewer young people and young adults. In the year 2050, 30 percent of the people will be older than 65 years of age, while 11 percent of the people will be 80 years old and above (World Health Organization 2007). The words ‘old age’ have no agreed upon definition. In most countries, people retire at an age of 60 to 65 years. This is considered the age when one becomes an older person. According to the World Health Organization (2007), there are three age groups that older people can be divided into. The first group is older workers from the age of 55 to 64 (World Health Organization 2007). The second group is older people from the age of 65 to 79 years while the third group is 80 years and above (World Health Organization 2007). These older age groups are the most diverse in terms of education, attitudes, family background, social background, hobbies, preferences and political attachments. Mental health problems in military personnel returning from combat operations are substantial. Studies conducted on the issue indicate that the personnel with the highest rates of mental health symptoms in post combat are also the personnel which perceive the greatest stigma related to seeking services for mental health, making them the least likely to seek treatment. I identify strategies to minimize the impact of military issues so as to save money, training time and ultimately, the lives of good soldiers. From the first learning guide, I have selected activity 35 that deals with developing good communication skills and identifying communication barriers. Listening is an active and basic process that involves not only taking the content of the person speaking by looking at their body language and listening to their words, but also being perceptive. Good listening skills are shown by attending behaviour that is practiced by establishing eye contact, maintain a relaxed posture and sending appropriate messages to the helpee through gestures (Douglas et al. 2009). Attending behaviour works well in that it encourages the helpee to verbalise their feelings and ideas freely. During listening, the helper paraphrases the words of the helpee in fewer words so as to make sure that the helper understood what the helpee wants. Paraphrasing is an important part of listening because it exposes and clarifies any mixed or double messages sent when the helpee fails to make a direct statement. The third part of listening is clarifying. Clarifying goes beyond paraphrasing with an intention of bringing vague material into sharper focus. Perception checking is an effective part of ensuring accuracy of a communication because it is a method of giving and receiving feedback from the helpee. When helping older people and military personnel returning back from combat, I can say that I had effective listening skills. I made a point of listening to what the older people and military personnel told me and I made sure that when they were talking, I made them feel comfortable and showed that I was interested in what they were saying. Leading is a communication skill that encourages the helpee to respond in an open communication so as to invite verbal expression (Lloyd et al. 2007). The helper slightly anticipates what the helpee is thinking and where those thoughts are headed. In anticipating these thoughts, the helper leads the helpee so as to stimulate the communication. Leading encourages the helpee to retain primary responsibility for the direction of the communication and helps them to be active in the process. Leading also encourages the helpee to explore and elaborate on their feelings. One of the tools used in leading is using open questions that can be answered by more than just a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’. Choosing appropriate questions lead to clarification for the helpee. Another tool used in leading is by being indirect when leading the helpee. Indirect leading keeps the responsibility of keeping the communication going on the helpee. Indirect leading allows the helpee to control the direction of the communication and protect their ideas. Direct leading on the other hand specifies a topic and the helper uses suggestions to direct the helpee. Direct leading is important in elaborating, clarifying and illustrating what the helpee has been saying. In the case of a helpee who has multiple problems or is vague, focussing is an important aspect that should be used in leading the communication. Focussing is ways that emphasizes on a certain idea or feeling and helps the helpee get in touch with their feelings. I did not use leading skills when communicating with older people and military personnel returning back from combat and this is a skill I should use in the future. I will enhance my abilities in leading skills by using open questions that will encourage the helpee to share their ideas and feelings freely. From the second learning guide, I have selected activity 49 that deals with who to ask and how to ask questions during survey. When conducting studies I am confident in my well-designed use of data collection methods, assessment tools and efforts to control extraneous variables. My studies consist of anonymous surveys administered to soldiers from post combat support units and include scales on psychological symptoms, perceptions of leader behavior and unit cohesion, and items assessing stigma and barriers to care. However, I discuss but fail to define these terms, which creates a lack of clarity in the results. I administer these surveys to soldiers who are three months post-deployment. A threat to the internal validity of the studies is that all of the assessments are not carried out on combat arms units, which are more likely to be exposed to serious and threatening situations while in combat, thus more likely to suffer mental health damage. This ultimately threatens the external validity of the results. I test and use all measurement tools in prior research and include measurement of stigma and barriers to care that consists of items on a 16-item Likert-type scale, mental health measurements using established clinical scales including a 13-item Helpee Health Questionnaire (PHQ) and the 17-item Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist (PCL), and leader behavior and unit cohesion Likert scales of four and three items, respectively (Douglas et al. 2009). The total number of survey items is a reasonable number, thus limiting concerns about participants becoming exhausted by the survey. The reliability of the four key constructs ranges from adequate to excellent with confirmatory but no disconfirmatory testing, which poses an additional threat to validity. I obtain written informed consent, I explain the process and I conduct the administration of surveys in accordance with human use protocol approved by Institutional Review Board of the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. There are ethical considerations that might need contemplation. The soldiers who participate in studies may not feel fully free to excuse themselves from participation and I think this is an ethical concern. Additionally, I am concerned that asking this population to participate in an anonymous survey about their mental health concerns might actually help to reinforce the message that mental health concerns should be hidden. While I am unsure how to resolve this problem, this may still be an ethical issue that requires attention and crafty resolution. From the third learning guide, I have selected activity 83 that deals with the challenges of implementing healthy public policy. In society today, there exists a negative and depreciating attitude towards older people. In a recent survey carried out by the World Health Organisation (2007), it was found that 29 percent of people had suffered age discrimination when compared to other kinds of discrimination. This survey also found that by the age of 55 years, age discrimination was twice as likely to have been experienced as opposed to other forms of discrimination (World Health Organization 2007). Moreover, it is believed by 30 percent of people that there is more age discrimination today than there was five years ago, and this trend is likely to get worse (World Health Organization 2007). This survey also found out that the demographic shift towards a society with older people than younger people will make life worse in terms of education, security, health, living standards and jobs. In fact, one of the respondents from this surveys said that they viewed those who were 70 years old and above to be incapable and incompetent (World Health Organization 2007). While ageism affects all age groups, it is found to be more profound with older people. Ageism exists in politics, consumerism, media, voluntary life, crime, design, civic life and many other area of life. Age discrimination is an abuse of human rights that causes personal hardship and suffering and economic and cultural problems (Lloyd et al. 2007). It is therefore necessary for policy makers to ensure that a change in human rights is implemented for the sake of older people. There must be no tolerance whatsoever to any kind of discrimination. In promoting mental health, it is especially important to ensure that age equality is promoted. Older people have the right to fully participate in the political, social, economic and cultural decision making processes of their societies. To promote respect and understanding between the young and older people, I could use intergenerational activities (Lloyd et al. 2007). I should conduct training and education for employees who serve the public on how to respect and value the older people that they have direct contact with. From the fourth learning guide, I have selected activity 101 that deals with barriers to communication. While communicating with older people and military personnel returning back from combat, the physical environment did not pose as an obstacle. However, my discomfort as a helper was an obstacle when communicating with older people and military personnel returning back from combat. This discomfort originated from death and dying in general and I dealt with this discomfort by thinking that it was not my responsibility to communicate with older people and military personnel about hospice care and prognosis. My desire to maintain positive thoughts in the older people and military personnel and their relatives, friends and care givers was also an obstacle. I would put off discussions with the older people and military personnel about bad news until I felt that they could handle that conversation. In the future, I will initiate communication on prognosis and hospice care without thinking it is too much trouble. I will also control fear that emerges after telling the helpee bad news. The helpees can also be an obstacle to effective communication when they are unwilling to accept prognosis or hospice care. This unwillingness that was evident in the older people and military personnel usually ascribed to their non-acceptance of current physical and mental limitations. In helping the older people and military personnel, I encouraged them by letting them know that I would be there to help them and listened to them. Because this worked well, I will continue being an encouraging factor for future helpees. Cultural and social issues did not act as an obstacle while I was communicating with the older people and military personnel. For instance, during Christmas, I gave the older people and military personnel Christmas presents that facilitated communication. Conclusion Helpers play an important role in communicating with helpees because they are always in close contact. A helper-helpee relationship is improved by communication and as such, having effective communication skills is an important factor and a priority for every helper (Lloyd et al. 2007). I must develop my skills further in leading, confronting and summarising by participating in training activities. By participating in learning activities, I can develop strategies and acquire new skills as well as effectively employ those skills. Another strategy I will use is practicing key skills with actors and simulated helpees because I will be able to control the nature and complexity of the task. Lastly, I must use the communication skills acquired in practice. We are all affected by wellbeing and mental health in later life. The reasons why I should pay attention to issues surrounding mental health in old age are economic, social and humanitarian in nature (Douglas et al. 2009). Each one of us benefits from good mental health and wellbeing in later life because we are ensured that we will be able to lead long healthy lives that are fulfilling and enjoyable. Good mental health promotion for older people is a means by which I can maximise older people’s valuable contribution to economy and society. The costs that arise from poor mental health care are minimised at the same time. References Douglas, J, Earle, S, Handsley, S, Jones, L, Lloyd, CE & Spurr, Sue (ed.) 2009, A reader in promoting public health, 2nd ed, SAGE Publications Ltd Lloyd, CE, Handsley, S, Douglas, J, Earle, S & Spurr, S (ed.) 2007, Policy and practice in promoting public health, SAGE. World Health Organization 2007. Definition of an older or elderly person. Viewed 18 August 2010, . Read More