Healthy People Program - Essay Example

Health Need Overview ’Healthy People’ is determined to be a program which offers science-based national objectives for a period 10-years with the aim of improving the health status of all Americans. Health People 2020 program has its specified vision, mission and goals. It delivers strengthened objectives and goals which are used in local, state and national levels. The program also focuses on variant sectors to take measures for powering the policies and enhancing the practices. Correspondingly, it can be ascertained that Healthy People 2020 program is very much resourceful for the health development of Brooklyn community in the United States (US). One-third of this community comes under below poverty line (BPL) so they are attached by various health diseases (Kaufmann, 2013). In Brooklyn community, adults are mostly affected by diabetes, tuberculosis and pneumonia. Whereas, children suffer from sickle cell disease, asthma and lead poisoning. There are also huge amount of death caused by AIDS, homicide and drug dependence. Hence, these areas require health improvement which can be fulfilled through Health People 2020 program (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2014). With this concern, the key problem faced by the community is to deliver proper local healthcare services to deal with the mentioned health conditions because of shortage of introducing effectual community outreach based programs. Thus, in this paper relevant goals will be framed along with identifying community resources to initiate the health development project. Problems in the Community There are various problems that exist in the Brooklyn community such as a significant proportion of people live below poverty line (BPL), along with low income generation and high illiteracy rate which result in various health problems. In this regard, low income people cannot afford high cost for treatment and health care services. A lack of education in people deviate them from acquiring health awareness programs. There also exist behavioral issues for those having problems in managing home, school or in community such as depression, abusing, marital problems and stress associated problems. There are issues of homeless children having no guardians. The low poverty & high illiteracy also generate health disruption issues such as heart disease, malignant neoplasm (Cancer), AIDS, pneumonia & influenza, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, homicide, drug dependence and cirrhosis liver (The Brooklyn Hospital Center, 2014). Segment of Population in the Community Most Affected Field investigations and concerned group surveys have captured a prudent overview about the segment of population in the community which is not facilitated by required healthcare services. Community people completed over 600 surveys and found that a considerable section of Brooklyn residents including young, disabled individuals and Spanish individuals obtaining mental related services, immigrants, men aged 18-35 and 45-55, senior people, pregnant women and LGBTQ people is affected by a lack of adequate healthcare services because of deficiency in community outreach based programs (The Brooklyn Hospital Center, 2014). Benefit to the Community Healthy People 2020 program focuses on developing local health care services through outreach based programs. This program will be very much helpful to the Brooklyn community people to address the specific needs to the local residents regarding quality healthcare services especially for the individuals in low income & poverty level. They do not have sufficient wealth to afford medical expenses of high class hospitals. They cannot even afford the minimum intensive care required for the patients. This program can remove the hindrances of Brooklyn community such as lack of resources, high cost affordability and insurance coverage. It can also provide medical insurance, drug insurance, clinical prevention measures, primary care provider (PCP), practicing doctors & nurses among others. These benefits can be termed as profound and beneficial for Brooklyn community individuals. Affect to the Community if the Issue is Unresolved With reference to the derived understanding, it is apparent that Brooklyn people are affected by concerns such as poverty and illiteracy. These two problems in general may generate various health issues as discussed earlier. Moreover, if the issue of proper local healthcare services remains unresolved then it can lead to the creation of depression, stress and drug addiction among others. These issues also may result in the origination of theft, robbery, physical & sexual assault which ultimately can affect the social and cultural boundaries of the nation. Political & Community Efforts to Resolve the Issues The New York state & federal level authorities have focused on advancing primary care; enhancing coordination on care, delivering severe disease management and reducing needless healthcare materials and inefficiency of the provider. It focuses on enhancing healthcare systems of six hospitals including Brooklyn Hospital Medical Center, Brooklyn Hospital Center, Interfaith Medical Center, Kings Brook Jewish Medical Center, Long Island College Hospital and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center (Berger, 2011). On the other hand, on 15 March 2012, the Brooklyn Hospital Center formed the Community Health Planning Workgroup (CHPW) which consists of myriad community stakeholders, healthcare providers and community planners. The work of this group is to find and address healthcare needs within the community (The Brooklyn Hospital Center, 2014). Expectation of the Community It is believed by the community that Healthy People 2020 program can provide all the essential healthcare measures and facilities to this community. Proper focus on the concerned health service development program corresponding to Healthy People 2020 program objectives can aid the community people to have the essential health requirements in an affordable manner. Community Goal & Its Three Behavioral Objectives The main goal of this community health development initiative is to provide overall affordable health care services to the Brooklyn community through the Healthy People 2020 program objectives. Whereas, three behavioral objectives in concern to this goal are as follows: Provide advanced quality health service to the community to prevent from disease, premature death and injury Generate social and physical surroundings for overall better health Generate quality of life, health improvement and awareness towards all cycles of life Provide Advanced Quality Health Service to the Community to Prevent From Disease, Premature Death and Injury The primary level strategy or intervention would be to focus on surveillance, laboratory services and epidemiology strategies to be applied to this community through the Healthy People 2020 program. The secondary level strategy or intervention would be take help of local and state public health services. These may include community groups and hospitals which provide full intensive health care services to poor people of the community. The tertiary level strategy or intervention would be to focus on global impact in concern to health before it crosses the nation’s borders along with identifying the particular disease or infection in the Brooklyn community to address by local healthcare services. Generate Social and Physical Surroundings for Overall Better Health The primary level intervention would be providing awareness within the people about keeping the surrounding clean through practical health informative shows. The secondary level intervention would be creating health welfare groups and communities which provide quality health care services. The tertiary level intervention would be to setup meetings with higher officials i.e. health officer, charitable trust or societies, welfare organizations and at large the government. Generate Quality of Life, Health Improvement and Awareness towards All Cycles of Life The primary level intervention is providing awareness programs through health checkup campaigns. The secondary level intervention would be to take support through community groups & healthcare centers. The tertiary level intervention would be to augment support for programs from higher authorities i.e. health organizations. Community Resources to Launch the Health Care Services Through Outreach Program The list of community resources within the category of personnel which is required to be taken into consideration to progress this program includes Bedford Stuyvesant Family Health Center which provides services in HIV, nutrition, primary care, men’s and women’s health along with substance abuse evaluation. Besides, Cabs Health & Caribbean House Health Center needs to be involved which provides services regarding HIV testing and checkups along with Dr. Betty Shabazz Health Center which provides health medicine, HIV, mental health and school checkups. Moreover, Mobile Health Vans – Community Health Network can also be a valuable resource which provides mobile vans for patients for taking them for HIV testing (New York City Free Clinic, 2014; Brooklyn Community Pride Center, n.d.). The medical equipment and materials required for the concerned health care program are cotton gauzes, roller bandages, syringes, forceps, scissors, knifes, general sickness capsules, tent arrangement for camps, mobile vans, movable beds among others. The estimated overall costs would be around US$100,000. Criteria to Measure the Effectiveness of Plan and Interventions In order to measure the effectiveness of the determined plan and interventions, periodic reviews need to be conducted by surveying the local residents about the improvement of provided healthcare services. The primary, secondary and tertiary level objectives also need to be evaluated by the health officials to ensure that they are being met. Accordingly, new revised objectives have to be included to alleviate the concerns of especially poverty driven and illiterate who are struggling to deal with various diseases and health issues. References Berger, S. (2011). At the Brink of Transformation: Restructuring the Healthcare Delivery System in Brooklyn. Redesigning the Medicaid Program, 1-88. Brooklyn Community Pride Center. (n.d). Resources. Retrieved from http://www.lgbtbrooklyn.org/resources Kaufmann, G. (2013). ‘The New Public’ on Poverty and Education. Retrieved from http://www.thenation.com/blog/177108/new-public-poverty-and-education# New York City Free Clinic. (2014). Free & low-cost health resources in Brooklyn. Retrieved from http://nycfreeclinic.med.nyu.edu/information-for-patients/health-resources/health-resources-brooklyn The Brooklyn Hospital Center. (2014). Community health planning workgroup update. Retrieved from http://www.tbh.org/community-outreach/community-health-planning U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014). About healthy people. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx Read More