Health Promotion and Prevention: Alcohol Misuse - Essay Example

Health Promotion and Prevention: Alcohol Misuse The aim of this essay is provide a comprehensive analysis of the health promotion and prevention policies and strategies that the National Health Service in the UK and Hillingdon employ to combat alcohol misuse as a public health issue. Question One One of the most significant public health problems in the UK is alcohol misuse, with more than 15million people consuming alcohol above the stipulated government guidelines. The National Health Service incurs significant expenses, estimated around ?2.7 billion every year. Statistics indicate that in 2006-2007, there were more than 811,000 hospital admissions related to alcohol, an increase of about 71%. Moreover, most of the casualties from weekend are alcohol-related (Hongston and Simpson, 2002, p. 97). In the prevention of alcohol misuse as a health condition, the patient, the healthcare professional, and the carer are responsible for ensuring that they achieve their goals. Initial responsibility lies with the patient by identifying their problems. A patient with the problem of alcohol abuse is responsible for identifying their problem to their carers and healthcare professionals in order to instigate treatment in the early development stages (NAO, 2008). If patients ignore their drinking problems, the result may be devastating since the problem may become predominant, necessitating the intervention of other individuals. The carers are responsible for ensuring that patients adhere to the requirements of healthcare professionals as well as monitoring the progress of the patients (Clarke, 2001, p. 93). In addition, the caregivers are crucial in assisting the patients to set goals as well as improving their health maintenance strategies. Empirical evidence indicates that collaborative goal setting provides the best results in positive behavioural change. Lastly, carers are responsible for developing strategies that links specific risk factor patients with the appropriate healthcare provider. The most important role of healthcare professionals is early intervention and treatment, treatment of the physical consequences of alcohol misuse, and assessment and referral. Other roles include the treatment of social consequences from alcohol misuse, rehabilitation of the drinking behaviour, and other community activities such as awareness (Dimond, 2005, p.137). Question two The roles of nurses in inter-professional treatment and rehabilitation teams play an important role in the success of the team. Consequently, the requirement for nurses effectively within the realms of inter-professional rehabilitation and treatment is increasingly becoming important in health care provision, especially in chronic conditions and diseases such as alcohol misuse (Elwyn et al., 2001, p.197). However, nurses often face job-shadowing problems, such that the nursing practise varies within and across different provider types. In some instances, nurses spend a disproportionate time attending to administrative work, while others primarily focus on providing patient care, focusing on the monitoring and assessment role. Statistics from a survey done by the Health Care Practise R&D in the University of Salford, UK, the roles interlinked roles of nurses inter-professional teams are six, including coordination and communication, assessment, technical and physical care, emotional support, therapy integration and therapy carry-on, and involving the family (WHO, 2012). Among the six roles, the most significant for nurses is the creation of an environment that supports and enhances treatment and rehabilitation strategies and processes. According to the findings of the report, some nurses are responsible for all of the six roles at any given time while others only involve in one or two areas of specialization (Freshwater and Bishop, 2004, p.164). Majority of nurses may express a strong desire some form of therapy into the care delivery, although their achievement of this goal varies. The central focus of nurses’ contribution in inter-professional teams for treatment and rehabilitation of alcohol misuse should be to maximize the choice of the patient in order to promote independent living in the future environment of eth patient. In the educational policy level, nurses must understand the models and principles to treatment and rehabilitation (Branon and Feist, 2003, p.124). At the practical level, the role of nurses must have recognition and value from the nurses themselves and other team members. Question Three There are numerous disease prevention strategies for alcohol misuse. Here, disease prevention refers to the measures to prevent diseases (alcohol misuse) and other injuries instead of treating their symptoms or curing them. Preventive medication is in scope with public health, as opposed to palliative and curative medication on an individual level (Robinson, 2002, p.161). The aspects of disease prevention occur in four levels: quaternary, tertiary, primary, and secondary levels. Therefore, we may compare and contrast the different approaches, strategies, and resources of preventive medication based on this levels. Worth noting is that term “primal prevention” refers to all measures that ensure fetal wellbeing and the long-term prevention of health consequences from gestational diseases or history (Nursing and Midwifery Council, 2004, p.50). Preventive care incorporates screening and examination tests customized for the individual’s family history, age, and health. For instance, a person with a long family history of alcohol misuse may require screening early. Primary prevention incorporates methods applied to avoid occurrence of the disease, including educating and sensitizing the community of the impacts of alcohol misuse. Most of the health promotion based on the entire population follows this type of prevention. Secondary prevention incorporates all the methods used to treat and diagnose extant diseases in the early stages prior to significant morbidity. Tertiary prevention incorporates the methods that seek to reduce the significance of extant diseases through restoration of function and reduction of disease-related complications. Quaternary prevention involves al the methods used to avoid or mitigate the results of extensive or unnecessary interventions in public health (Hinchliff et al., 2003, p.135). Question Four Government healthcare policies and the National Health Service are responsible for laying out policy platforms that determine the similarities and different of the various stages. The NHS is the primary public health care provider in the UK, with a formidable force in Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland. Implementation of majority of public health decisions and policies in the region occur through the body. The body receives its funds from British government. The NHS ensures that all treatments and appointments are free, as well as majority of the prescription drugs. In recent times, alcohol has become the most significant problem of the department, consuming about ?2.7 billion in 2008 alone. Consequently, the NHS Hillingdon identified the prevention of prevention of alcohol-related health issues as a priority within its 2008-2013 Commissioning Strategy Plan (HC, 2009). The NHS has spread out preventive strategies throughout the country, including educational and training awareness campaigns, including placing information in alcohol outlets and alcohol containers, national communication campaigns, local authority enforcement, increasing effectiveness and access of alcohol treatment, and brief, screening interventions. There are inequalities and differences between England and Hillingdon in terms of health. In some aspects, Hillingdon performs better than England (such as women’s life expectancy) and worse in others. Concerning alcohol misuse and related admission, the rates of Hillingdon are way above those of England. In fact, these figures have grown significantly over the years such that NHS of Hillingdon has prioritized initiatives to reduce the rate of alcohol misuse in the region. Consequently, the local authorities and the authorities have established the Local Area Agreement that focus on reducing the harms resulting from alcohol misuse in the region (Tadd, 2004, p. 94). Question Five The local heath organization in Hillingdon is NHS or the PCT. After the rise of alcohol-related illnesses and admissions, the PCT made prevention and reduction of alcohol-related illness among the principal priorities in their Commissioning Strategy Plan 2008-2013. Consequently, the organization collaborated with local authorities to form the Local Area Agreement and the larger Local Strategic Partnership Plan whose central focus is to lay out strategies that contribute to reduction and prevention of alcohol misuse in the region. The collaboration designed a Sustainable Community Strategy running from 2008-2018 with six major priorities (Hillingdon, 2009). Two of the priorities that relate to alcohol misuse are number one and number seven: improving health and wellbeing and making Hillingdon safer respectively. The two priorities incorporate measures that seek to address alcohol misuse effects o the citizens as well as the impacts on the larger Hillingdon community. In addition, the PCT has laid out a number of preventive plans and strategies to ensure that alcohol misuse in on the decline. These includes providing the Hillingdon society with important information regarding sensible drinking, including strategic placement of information on alcohol retail outlets and alcohol containers, as well as nationwide sensitization on the negative effects of alcohol misuse. The organization has also embarked on raising awareness through national communication channels to reduce binge drinking, including providing information to the public in non-healthcare and healthcare settings (AlcoholPolicy, 2012). Moreover, the collaboration with local authorities to enforce alcohol misuse regulations has also been effective in preventing underage drinking and compliance to legislation and practise code. Lastly, the organization has embarked on pilot projects for primary care and A&E, with the aims of identifying methods of reducing alcohol consumption in high-risk groups. Question Six Implementation of viable initiative, programs, and policies often faces multiple barriers and challenges. However, it is possible to design a tailor-made approach for implementation of these strategies based on the understanding to overcome them, as well as encouraging behavioural changes and ultimate implementation. Six significant barriers deter healthcare promotion, including knowledge and awareness, motivation, skills, acceptance and beliefs, practicalities, and external environmental factors (Naidoo and Wills, 2005, p.171). In healthcare promotion, it is imperative for concerned parties to have the knowledge and awareness of the need for change. Unfortunately, majority of healthcare professionals remain unaware and unfamiliar with the current evidence-based treatment and guidance approaches. Other provides perceive guidance as undermining their autonomy, preferring to ignore it altogether (Channel4, 2012, p.23). External motivational factors may encourage behavioural changes, through such mechanisms as incentives or penalties in regulatory check. However, internal motivational factors determine an individual’s desire and drive, hindering the ability to change. The manner in which people behave reflects their personal attitudes and beliefs. These beliefs may hinder the acceptability of certain policies based on healthcare providers. Some may be reluctant to embrace new guidance based on pervious guidance from other professional bodies and opinions. Moreover, the belief of a person largely determines the ability to change them (JAN, 2001). Skills are very essential in implementing healthcare changes, particularly the skills of delivering the best practise. Interpersonal skills and coping strategies also determine how individuals learn new skills. Practical barriers such the availability of personnel or resources also impose significant challenges to the implementation of new strategies and policies (Rungapadiachy, 1999, p.167). Lastly, environmental barriers, or barriers beyond control, include lack of payment facilitation by financial systems at the organizational level and non-alignment of required implementation changes and regulatory process and incentive mechanism. Bibliography AlcoholPolicy., 2012. National Alcohol Strategy 2012: Choice, Challenge, and Responsibility Confirms Minimum pricing for England. Available from: http://www.alcoholpolicy.net/binge_drinking/ [Accessed March 23, 2012]. Branon L., and Feist J., 2003. 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