Practitioners Influence Public Involvement - Essay Example

Practitioners Influence Public Involvement PRACTITIONERS INFLUENCE PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT Practitioners Influence Public Involvement: Strategies thatencourage the public to take more active roles in public health Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 2 Public Health in the UK is an important and vital in educating, preventing and containing outbreaks of contagious disease and providing many types of health services to its population. A 2005 Workforce Survey by the Faculty of Public Health identifies fewer specialists in 2005 than 2003 in “consulting and primary care posts.” The reduction by 17 percent and 20 percent, respectively, is confirmed by reduction in numbers of students attention medical schools. Restructuring of Primary Care Trusts is one explanation. Also noteworthy is the 40 percent reduction in recruitment that has been planned for 2006. As the number of health practitioners decreases, it is only logical that they are more challenged than ever to provide public health services effectively. While Primary Care Trusts in all countries believe they are lacking in ability to effectively deliver health care programs, the numbers are highest in England, with only “36 percent believing they have sufficient capacity and capability to deliver health effectively” (Faculty of Public Health). Though current initiatives that focus on increasing numbers of providers exist, there are opportunities for practitioners to increase public awareness and involvement in health services. Practitioners do not necessarily devise public policy, though they are in a position to become advocates of public health through communication with the public. Practitioners should and can encourage those receiving care to voice their concerns, and the concerns of the general population in which the practitioners serve. They can encourage public involvement by representing themselves as advocates for the public and their health in general. By creating an environment of open communication, practitioners encourage public awareness of services and functions of public health. They also can encourage information sharing when adequate communications are established with the public. There are many avenues in which practioners can reach the public with their knowledge to encourage more involvement. Involve is an advisory group funded by the National Institute for Health Research “which aims to promote and support active public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.” The group believes that involving the public leads to more reliable and applicable research, which can be utilized by public health practitioners to better serve the public. The Department of Health encourages practitioners to reach out to the public in the communities in which they serve and practice. Recent changes in structure and function of local patient forums call for moving from “NHS trust to LINKS” systems which will expand patient and public involvement, “which will cover an area rather than be tied to a Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 3 Specific organization”(Department of Health, 2006). Because people are involved in making decisions about their own health care and that of those they are close to, practitioners can be instrumental in identifying the needs of the public in which it serves. Goals of the new system are to develop a “health and social care system planned around the needs of individual people and those of the community,” create services that are “ flexible, responsive, open to challenge, accountable to communities and constantly open to improvement,” and lastly, “assign decision making to the local level”(DH, 2006). Practitioners provide a vital service then, in developing services that address the needs of the public. They can go farther in ensuring needs are met by encouraging public involvement in forums provided, attend forums and review information provided to them, utilize resources in the best manner possible to achieve goals of meeting public needs. Practitioners should encourage and collaborate with educators locally to provide health topic information to the youngest of the public population who will one day become the leaders and major influence in the lives of others. Even at the youngest levels, children are capable of absorbing and processing large amounts of information. They should become knowledgeable regarding information that is provided in educational materials such as leaflets published by health service organizations. They should also ensure that educators provide children with accurate information. Older Children need truthful accurate information also, to make positive, informed choices regarding habits and lifestyle which affect health. NHS published much information on topics such as sexual behavior and alcohol consumption. Older children need to be aware that, for instance, NHS recommends “1 to 2 drinks three or four times weekly for women,”(NHS) and slightly more for men. Some actions practitioners can take to make sure children receive and understand information provided, are forums within educational institutions, private conversations with children who come to them for services and widespread campaigns to distribute relevant information. Scheduling of health forums with educational staff cooperation in a non-judgmental, open environment encourages children to ask questions and even share personal experiences. Providing information to children who receive services in a similar open manner further encourages them to make healthy choices. Practitioners can call upon children who they come into contact with to distribute leaflets and other written health topic information. Children of all ages feel a sense of accomplishment when they are given tasks that assist educators and practitioners, whose jobs they feel Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 4 are important to the public and community. One forum or place for health services that is becoming increasingly common is the workplace. The public is generally aware of job stress, health and safety risks and general employment practices that are unhealthy. Practitioners can also encourage local employers to become involved in the health education process, as an integral part of the public that employs those the practitioner serves. Practitioners can visit jobs and employers to provide forums and services for those who may be unable to reach local clinics, either due to work schedules or other issues. They can work with employers to and their employees to find out what types of health issues are common within the particular workplace. Practitioners can then make recommendations for changes in processes or policies that encourage better physical and mental health, fewer workplace injuries and less time taken from work. Practitioners should be open to workplace complaints that those they serve provide. They can become advocates by addressing such complaints to employers if necessary, rather than relying on the individual who may not be able to influence the employer. Practitioners should keep their education and knowledge current. They should also stay abreast of the newest developments in health care processes, which may include diagnostic tools developed to assist them. This is a great way to influence the public and involve them in decision making processes. Allowing residents of a particular geographic area to decide what processes and tools will serve them best requires accurate factual information. The Department of Health published a game for up to 28 players which has shown to be extremely useful in obtaining public opinion and assessing needs of the public and their health care. In the scenario given, a community is faced with combining three of its health facilities into one new health centre that will offer the latest in processes and procedures, while combining resources. Though fictional, the game focuses on feelings and actions of the community. Among the players are patients or potential patients, practitioners, nurses and clerical workers. Interestingly, in the scenario a nurse voices her opinion that “It would be nice to have better facilities but I’m worried about the patients. How will they get here?”(DH, 2004). A patient who attends one of the clinics claims “it’s a daft idea. They should spend the money on improving what we’ve got. If they come around asking me I’ll tell them where to put their new health centre.” Obviously there are concerns about access to the new health centre by current health care staff, who are often most in tune with challenges Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 5 many patients face. The game emphasizes the need of practitioners and all health care professionals to stay in touch with needs of the communities in which they serve. While physicians and managers in the game feel strongly that the combined health centre will best serve the community, the residents of the community do not necessarily embrace similar views. The game entitled Trust Me I’m a Patient gives a perfect example of why practitioners should become more involved in a particular communities needs and openly welcome views and opinions of the public. The example of the game clearly shows that practitioners involved lack insight into how the community can be best served. Two aspects of health care services are clearly overlooked in the example. First, continuity of care in receiving services in the same location from the same providers is important in maintaining trust and confidence in the public in the particular community. Second, accessibility is an issue in some communities. In areas where patients might face challenges in traveling further to the new health centre, health services will alienate some, rather than serve them more efficiently. While it is important for practitioners to keep abreast of current health information and procedures, it is equally important for them to obtain a thorough understanding of health service network structure and function. In the 2005 Summary Report by the Public Health Resource Unit, several key skills are identified. Those areas include: “better understanding of public health networks and their capabilities, better understanding of network structures and more thorough understanding of political and organizational dynamics the health networks need to work with. Understanding of network structure allows physicians to identify areas in which the networks do not fully utilize services, communications and processes. Such understand helps physicians relate concerns of the public population it serves into processes that more completely meet their needs. “Public health medicine has a potentially important role in influencing national health policy,” according to Dominique Florin. A 1998 study of public health and its influence on prevention of coronary heart disease identifies weakness in linking public health with policy makers. Therefore, better understanding of how policy is enacted allows public health practitioners to more effectively influence areas in which it can better serve the public. Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 6 There are many steps physicians can take to encourage the public to be more active in public health. Providing professional, knowledgeable and confidential services is one step that will encourage the public to seek care and encourage others to do so. Such actions also foster a sense of trust. Trust encourages open communication and public health forum involvement. As a voice for the public and their health needs in general, practitioners can foster respect and provide more optimal care by encouraging public opinion. The practitioner is then better able to make improvements or changes to health services that are tailored to the specific needs of the community it serves. The public become more integral in developing relevant health services. Practitioners Influence Public Involvement 7 References The British Medical Association, 2006, Policy group: Public Health and Community Doctors, Retrieved on 12/30/2006 from http://www.bma.org.uk/bmapolicies.nsf Department of Health, 2006, A Stronger Local Voice, retrieved 12/31/2006 from http://www.dh.gov.uk/ Department of Health, 2004, Trust Me I’m a Patient: A Patient and Public Involvement Game, retrieved 12/31/2006 from http://www.dh.gov.uk/ Faculty of Public Health, 2006, The Specialist Public Health Workforce Survey 2005, pp 2-20. Florin, D 2006, Influencing national policy; public health medicine and coronary heart Disease prevention by general practitioners, Oxford University Press, Vol1, pp. 80-85. Involve database, retrieved 12/31/2006 from http://www.ino.org.uk/allprojects- consumer.asp National Health Service Brochure, 2006, How Much is Too Much?, pp 2-14. Pencheon, D 1997, Will You Blossom in Public Health Medicine? bmj.com, Retrieved 12/31/2006 from http://www.bmj.com/careerfocus/7057cf.htm Public Health Resource Unit, 2004, National Public Health Action Learning Set Programme: Summary Report, pp.1-12 The Wellcome Trust, 2004, Public Health Sciences: Challenges and Opportunities, pp.5-32 Read More