Health Issue Targeted in Health Promotion - Essay Example

Health Promotion Initiative Identification of setting The setting for the health promotion initiative is in Belle Glade in Palm Beach County, South Florida. Based on the United States Census report of 2007, the city had a population of 16, 739. The neighborhood area of Belle Glade is a slum region that is overcrowded. The sanitary conditions in the area are poor with many of the local population living in unhygienic conditions. According to demographic records, the racial make-up of the city comprises mainly of Black Americans and Hispanics. The Belle Glade community is generally poverty stricken given that the per capita income of a family in the area is approximately $26, 560, almost half of the national average. It should be noted that the area is crime prone and incidences of drug abuse are very common. According to records, a portion of the population shared needles from intravenous drug use and there is widespread homosexual promiscuity. Identification of health issue targeted in health promotion In the 1990s, the Belle Glade community had the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the United States. The AIDS scourge is widespread in the entire area cutting across all the major demographics of Hispanics and Black Americans. One of the reasons for the high AIDS prevalence rate is the sharing of needles used in intravenous drug injections. The high risk people include drug users who are also engaged in promiscuity. Lack of knowledge and information about AIDS contributes to the high prevalence rates in the region especially among the gay people. These high risk people are not equipped with the right information on AIDS and therefore inadvertently put themselves and the entire community at a high risk of infection. It is therefore important to undertake a health promotion initiative in Belle Glade community so as to curb the issue of HIV/AIDS. Notably, measures have to be put in place to ensure that new infection cases are eliminated and those that are infected get the right information to live in a healthy manner. It is also important to note that the use of drugs and high rates of promiscuity play a major role in the spread of HIV/AIDS in the Belle Glade community. Therefore, the health promotion is intended to cover the whole spectrum of HIV/AIDS spread and infection management. Health promotion concepts According to the Ottawa Charter (1986), health promotion is based on the social ecological factors that determine the health of the society. Health promotion initiatives aim at mobilizing resources for good health. It should be noted that health promotion is salute-genetic and it involves a multi sectoral approach. Based on the Ottawa Charter of 1986, health promotion is aimed at a holistic approach to all the determinants of health including social, cultural and environmental factors. Health promotion initiatives aim bridge the gap in equity of health. The key elements of health promotion include the following: Build Healthy Public Policy The issue health promotion comprises input from various sectors. There is need for consistent and focused policies that govern the implementation of health related issues. In essence, the decisions in various sectors should be made in a way that is cognizant of their overall impact in the healthcare system. In Belle Glade, the government has put policies in place policies to ascertain the real issues behind the high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates. As a matter of policy by the federal government and the local administration, the residents of Belle Glade who use drugs are required to obtain condoms from health centers. The condoms are availed free of charge. Also, the drug rehabilitation centers offer health education on HIV/AIDS issues to recovering drug addicts. It also helps to assist in encouraging safe sex hence contributing to the reduction of HIV/AIDS infections. Creating supportive environment Health initiatives cannot operate in a vacuum. The community is the main stakeholder and beneficiary of any health initiative. It is therefore important for the government and other health related agencies to foster a supportive environment in order to ensure that the health initiatives are successful (Ridde et al, 2007). In Belle Glade, the health promotion initiative has fostered a supportive environment by involving opinion leaders in the sensitization of the public. it should be noted that Bay Glade has great history in football. Therefore, the leading personalities in football have been brought on board to offer support in educating the local community on several aspects concerning HIV/AIDS. The participation of these public figures helps to demystify the issue of HIV/AIDS and also plays a great role in influencing the locals to take action. The initiative has also created links with the religious and recreational centers in the Belle Glade area to support HIV/AIDS health promotion. The local churches have fully fledged guidance and counseling centers which are tasked with promoting responsible sex behaviors. Sensitization events are also held in sports recreational facilities to educate the members of the community on the issues of HIV/AIDS. The supportive environment also includes the elimination of drug peddling by liaising with the local police to comb the streets and ensure that no drugs are available. It is also important to note that health promotion should be able to generate living conditions that are safe and healthy. In this respect, the health promotion in Belle Glade has partnered with various stakeholders to ensure that the crime rate is reduced and locals have employment opportunities for income. Strengthen community action The core element of health promotion is the empowerment of the community to take charge their health destinies. The community has to be involved planning and implementing strategies that are oriented towards promotion of health initiatives (Nugent & Knaul, 2006). Community participation is an important aspect of ensuring the local residents are in the loop and that the health initiatives are acceptable to them. Also, the involvement of the community in health promotion helps in taking advantage of the available human and material resources in the attainment of the targeted health initiatives. For instance, the members of the community can be marshaled to offer voluntary services to assist in providing the required manpower. Voluntary service by the local residents can lower the costs of the project and the funds saved can be channeled into availing more health interventions. It is also advantageous to involve the community members as they have a more intimate knowledge of the locality hence increasing the levels of operational efficiency. In the Belle Glade area, the strengthening of community action involved the creation of self help groups. The members of the community were organized into various groups based on their status. The people who were already infected were asked to create groups in which they could offer mutual support to each other. Group membership ensured that individuals were accountable to each other. This essentially meant that those who were infected supported each other in healthy living practices and other socio-economic activities. The health initiatives aimed at combating HIV/AIDS were also conducted in the local settings of the people involved. Public forums were held in churches to sensitize members of the congregation on the critical issues and also inform them of the safe practices. Informal engagements in street corners and bars were also held so as get all the people involved in the know. Develop personal skills Skill development is an important aspect of health promotion initiatives. It is important to note that the healthy living is as a result of concerted efforts from various perspectives. A person may not be in a position to live a healthy lifestyle if they lack the financial resources to acquire the right food and health services (Willis, 2009 p. 34). Hence, the imparting of life skills to people during any health initiative is vital to ensure its overall success. As noted earlier, one of the key elements of health promotion is to empower the community. The empowerment of the community begins with the empowerment of the individuals that form the society. Sometimes the high risk people in the community are hindered by economic constraints. In fact, research has shown that the people most of the people who get involved in the use of drugs and prostitution are led to the vices due to poverty. Hence, it is necessary to empower them with skills that can help to earn them some money and also keep them busy. In Belle Glade area, it was noted that most of the infections of HIV/AIDS occurred among the jobless youth and adults. This risk group lacked a substantial source of income due to limited education and the general economic turmoil in the area. In order to combat this, the health promotion initiative in the region also involved the imparting of life skills to those who were at high risk of the HIV/AIDS pandemic. For instance, the idle youths in the area were sensitized on safe sex practices as well as the dangers of using drugs. After the sensitization, the youths were given training on computer applications and given online data entry jobs so as to help them earn some income and also keep them busy. Youths are important elements for implementing social change. The empowerment of youths with life skills goes a long way in cultivating the spirit of working hard in the community. Reorient health services The implementation of health services is a multi sectoral venture that involves several components of the society. Health services go beyond the traditional mandate of clinical and curative measures. Treating a patient is just a small portion of the health care that is needed for a healthy society. In cognizance of this, health promotions have to go an extra mile and advocate for services that are sensitive to and recognize cultural needs of the local population (Willis, 2009). The community has to be at the center of health initiatives rather than being merely the targets of the same. The health services sector has the responsibility to open wider channels of communication with the community in terms of the broader components of social, political, economic and physical environmental factors. The health initiative in Belle Glade attempted to reorient the provision of health services by offering the education and sensitization program in the local languages. The Hispanic population was handled by professionals who could speak Spanish language in a fluent manner. These professionals were also better placed to understand the culture of the Hispanics and hence served their needs in a more comprehensive manner (Oneill & Stirling, 2007). The African American population predominantly used slang English and preferred semi informal meetings. The health promotion for this target group was conducted in sports arenas and street corners so as make the involved group feel at ease. Most of the health centers were also rebranded to indicate clearly the services they offered in respect to HIV/AIDS. Clear service charters were placed on the walls of the clinics and hospitals indicating the rights of the patients and the normal service durations. The community was involved in the setting up of the privacy rules and other services that they wanted to be offered. For instance, the treatment plans were adjusted to suit the needs of the community members who felt uncomfortable with the stigmatization of the society. Arrangements were made to ensure that patients who did not want to reveal their HIV/AIDS status in public were given the utmost privacy that they needed. In some cases, the medication for the patients was packaged in a discrete manner and delivered alongside other household goods (Oneill & Stirling, 1997 p. 86). This made it possible for HIV/AIDS patients to receive medication without necessarily having to let their status become public knowledge. It should be noted that one of the reasons why many people in the Belle Glade area shunned HIV/AIDS testing was due to the inadvertent social stigma that would accompany them if they tested positive. In order to avoid shame and discrimination, many people opted not to be tested and stayed in the dark about their status. Hence, ignorance of personal status inevitably led to more infection rates and this worsened the situation. However, the implementation of the privacy measures served to ensure that people’s privacy was respected. Evaluation measures In order to establish whether a health promotion initiative has had its intended effect, there is need to collect information on the outcomes of the initiatives. Changes in the population and the environment need to be recorded in a manner that can show their relationship with a given health initiative. The outcomes of a health initiative help to indicate the effectiveness of health initiatives and ascertain whether it met the targeted goals. The health promotion impacts differ depending on a particular program. Health literacy in regards to HIV/AIDS was one of the objectives of the Belle Glade community health promotion program. The social action and influence of the health promotion were also key elements in the evaluation of the program. Other desired impacts included healthier lifestyles and environment. Therefore, the evaluation of health promotion must be based on the set objectives. The measurement of the impact of health promotion programs may involve both quantitative and qualitative aspects (Keleher, 2007 p. 213). A simple survey can be conducted on a portion of the population to ascertain the impact of the health initiative. For instance, to evaluate the health literacy impact of a health promotion program a sample population may be asked to answer simple questions regarding the health issue. In the case of HIV/AIDS in Belle Glade, the survey may consist of questions to evaluate the person’s understanding of the causes and prevention measures. The information collected can be used to analyze whether the target population grasped the concepts of the health promotion program (Nutbean, 1998). Also, the outcomes of health promotion programs can be evaluated by observing the changes in lifestyles of the target population. For instance, a reduction in the rate of prostitution may indicate that the community has understood the risk of unsafe sex with multiple partners. The reduction in drug use and peddling is also a positive sign in the evaluation of a related health promotion program. Review of the health promotion program in Belle Glade The health promotion program in Belle Glade was targeted towards the HIV/AIDS scourge. The objectives of the program included educating the population on the prevention measures that are recommended to reduce the chances of infection. The other issue was to sensitize the high risk groups concerning the dangers of drug use and promiscuity. The goal of this objective was to reduce the case of HIV/AIDS infections related to the use of drugs. Also, the health promotion program had the objective of ensuring that those who were infected had easy and reliable access to the required medication (Oneill & Stirlling, 2007 p. 124). It is notable that the aspect of ensuring access to medication was fully attained. The implementation of privacy measures eliminated the issue of stigmatization. This meant that more patients were willing to come for drugs since their privacy was maintained. Also, those who tested positive during tests had the chance of directly obtaining medication. Overall, this meant that new and old cases of infections were treated and thus promoting healthy living. Drug use is a complicated issue that needs a multi sectoral approach. The health promotion initiative succeeded in educating the youths on the dangers of drug use. Notably, the provision of life skills played a great role in reducing the number of idle youths who were likely to engage in the use of drugs. However, the impact of the health promotion program among the adult drug users was not very effective. This is because the adults were more set in their ways and it was difficult to convince them otherwise. Social marketing strategies Social marketing involves all activities that are engineered to influence a change in behavior in the desired direction (Rootman et al, 2001). Most public initiatives inadvertently require the use of social media in order to influence the target population on the need to change to the desired behavior. Social marketing for health promotion may utilize various media. In the case of Belle Glade community health promotion program, the traditional media was used to reach a wide audience. Educative adverts were placed in television as well newspapers in order to sensitize the population on the issue of HIV/AIDS. Also, popular radio programs were used to deliver the message of the health promotion initiative. The social marketing for this program was successful as the promotion attained its objectives. Bibliography Keleher, Helen. 2007. Why Build a Health Promotion Evidence Base About Gender? Health Promotion International Vol. 19. No. 3 pgs 277-279. Nugent, Rachel and Knaul, Felicia. 2006. Fiscal Policies for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. Book chapter in “Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries”, 2nd Ed. New York: World Bank. Nutbeam, D. 1998. Evaluating health promotion – progress, problems and solutions. Health Promotion International, 13(1), 27–44. O’Neill, M. & Stirling, A. 2007. The promotion of health or the health promotion: Getting our concepts straight. Health Promotion in Belle Glade: Critical perspectives (2nd edition). Canadian Scholars Press Inc. Ridde, V., T. Delormier et L. Gaudreau (2007). Evaluation of Empowerment and Effectiveness: Universal Concepts? In press. Global Perspectives on Health Promotion Effectiveness. Volume I D. V. New York, Springer Science & Business Media. Rootman, I., M. Goodstadt, B. Hyndman, D. V. McQueen, L. Potvin, J. Springett et E. Ziglio, Eds. (2001). Evaluation: principles and perspectives, WHO Regional Publications. in health promotion European Series, No. 92. Rootman, I. 2007. Evaluation in health promotion: principles and perspectives. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office Europe. Wills, J. Naidoo, J. 2009. Foundations for health promotion: public health and health promotion practice London: Baillere Tindall. Read More