Health Promotion Theoretical Issues - Essay Example

Topic: Health Promotion The world confronts health challenges on reducing the risks posed ten leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Globally, the top leading causes of death of the century are atherosclerosis (heart disease and stroke), cancer, septicemia or neonatal infections, tuberculosis, diarrhea, dementia and alzheimer’s disease, accidental injuries, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, respiratory tract infection, cancer and heart diseases. Some of these illnesses are related to obesity, loss of oxygen, nutrient supply, and of aging. Health experts reported that the world has 150,000 death rate per day, most of whom came from industrialized or advanced nations. Other leading causes of death around the globe are malaria, diabetes and disasters brought about by unpredictable climate changes. It’s bit odd that in highly urbanized country where medical facilities are accessible, many persons die at early age still. This happened albeit how medical experts posit advancement in managing illnesses and death using advance medical technology. Health advocates have also criticized how industrialization brought deterioration of sanitation which is further aggravated by pollution, thus, posing more health risks and vulnerabilities (Brunello, Fort, Schneeweis, & Winter-Ebmer, 2011a, pp. 1-23). Amid these challenges, the world needs to advance its health awareness while government departments for general welfare must promote health education to transform lifestyles and advocate for better living (Brunello, Fort, Schneeweis, & Winter-Ebmer, 2011a, pp. 1-23). Factors that can be attributed to health risks are unbalanced and non-nutritional diet. Many teens and children prefer processed foods which are mixed with some preservatives that are unhealthy as intake. The increasing pollution from industries and companies has also contributed to lung cancer and respiratory tract infection. As urban zones featured not only of modern villages but of ghettos where urban poor dwellers thrive, hence contagious lung diseases and sexual diseases also increased and are widely spread. Moreover, unpredictable patterns of climate devastated communities in affected regions thus, increasing toll of death. This wanton destruction of our ecosystem due to incessant logging and mining operations reap us off of the protective layers from extreme heat of the sun and the consequence of unpredictable tilt as earth rotates in its axis. These factors affecting ill-health and diseases truly necessitate strategic measures to transform adult and children’s behavior to reduce premature death, illnesses, and abuses. The latter is attributed to the fact that modernized people adapted liberal lifestyle immersed oddly with vices and drugs. Healthy lifestyle should therefore be promoted vigorously through education, policy formulation and stringent enforcement with quality monitoring of health programs (Christensen, 2004, pp. 223-243). Health education Health education remained a pivotal strategy to introduce a shift of perspective among people. It should be acculturated to them that health is primarily caring about body and thus, demand the significance of healthy food and a good sleep at night. Some biological reactions and changes are undertaken mostly when people are rested, thus, workloads should be sensitized to body-clock too. Nightlife should be discouraged as an unhealthy lifestyle. Health education should be undertaken using strategic approaches to empower community to make healthy choices and accord to them the necessary tools or facilities to address concerns pertaining to their health-related needs (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). Public health should also therefore educate people about the use of organically produced vegetables as alternative to constant eating of meat and alcohol, hence, concrete answers to malnutrition. Children at homes and schools should be also monitored for vaccination and healthcare (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). Parent should likewise be taught of responsible parenting to exact obedience and discipline to children and youths. Educating their young minds on right food to eat will also assist in keeping them within the tract of healthy living (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). As part of the strategies, reading material, books, billboards and leaflets promoting health and better living should be produced and distributed in schools and communities (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). Rewards and incentives should be provided to healthcare units who are actively engaged in promoting health education within the community. More support should however be focused on improving health and reducing health inequalities as well as developing transparency for people to see the results they needed to achieve (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). Anent to health education, access to health providers and healthcare should be wielded as a significant component in revolutionizing the changes for peoples well-being. This can be done if government health departments undertake strategic policy advocacies and performance management to improve health services, especially in remote and worst affected regions (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). All these should be supported by stakeholders within health industry using pro-active partnership with other health sectors. Health programs should be tailored with medical mission too to encourage communities to access medical supports, especially on cases \needing expert care (HM Government, 2010, pp. 1-85). Health promotion and aspects of epidemiology Glass (2000) asserted that epidemiology is significant for health promotion and disease prevention focused on investigative understanding of health problems and of etiologic explanations for issues especially those from a biological perspective (p. 136). Glass asserted that epidemiology enriched sources of methods, concepts, and information that can be integrated for healthcare management from the purview of medical geography perspective (p. 136). Epidemiology likewise deals on acute public health phenomena and about the required investigation from varied perspective that implicate specific agents thus, providing an ecologic perspective on learning the patterns of disease and in underscoring the significance of cultural-environmental interactions that leads to thriving of diseases and events (Glass, 2000, p. 136). Recent studies proved that the utilization of medical geography in the acquisition of knowledge in a spatial context on health-related issues under epidemiologic process assisted in bridging the distinction between medical geography and epidemiology (Glass, 2000, p. 136). This happened especially when environmental epidemiology changed the focus from disease-outcome to exposure-centered study. Experts posit that such changes is significant to the need of providing necessary attention for chronic, degenerative diseases due to the fact that their etiologies are generally multifactorial and dose dependent and it essentially need substantial technologic improvement to measure environmental contaminants (Glass, 2000, p. 136). Glass (2000) likewise posited that environmental epidemiology likewise help in assessing the exposure of populations within a specific region affected by the phenomena of illnesses authored by environmental conditions. For instance, in an urban ghetto where persons with un-medicated tuberculosis and sexual transmissible diseases are living, there is high probability that this will fastly affect or spread to a number of persons due to their close residences and constant interaction at the community. Thus, epidemiology is an approach that can hasten the understanding of issues using medical geographic approach whilst evading many difficulties in arriving at high level analysis. The acquisition of desired outcome in health promotion, indeed, requires some methods and context that are present using epidemiology as a process. Deeper contextual analysis can be derived from this process and responses can therefore be strategized by health departments or of healthcare units. Through this, solutions are determined empirically and contextually, thus hoping to address the problem at the roots. This will also inspire government officials to develop communities in a fashion that is sensitive to integrated healthcare management. National plans will therefore be more adaptive to paradigm that aligned actions under transformational program. Indeed, health promotion is not an easy task. The department on health should utilize all educative measures which is not only focused on deliberately teaching communities to adopt good lifestyle and good health but also promote transformational program toward a stronger local community which partners with public and private stakeholders of health for the realization of integrated health system. Establishment of community-based health centers and maternity clinic should also b part of the package in according more access for medical attention and advise. Through partnership, more health programs can be integrated in the community for quality service for diverse clients with varying illnesses or issues. Children’s health should likewise be prioritized into reduce their exposure to risks and increase their protection from illnesses especially so that they are constantly in an interaction with other children in school. Children’s protection should be a significant component for health promotion. Of course, promoting good health needs to be complemented with government’s programs that aimed at reducing poverty which is consistent to the United Nations dream for the year 2020. Government must still sustain tackling the reduction, if not eradication, of poverty so that families themselves can provide to their needs and thus, lessen government’s accountability in supporting vulnerable families through intensive intervention models. Afterall, health is primarily a family concern and thus, government’s economic agenda and program should support the well-being of families and their children. Development would be insignificant, if health protection is not translated within the confines of every home. References Brunello, G., Fort, M., Schneeweis, N. & Winter-Ebmer, R.The Causal Effect of Education on Health. Economics Series 280, Institute for Advanced Studies, Padova, Italy, 2011; 1-23. Brunello, G., Fort, M., Schneeweis, N. & Winter-Ebmer, R. The Causal Effect of Education on Health: What is the Role of Health Behaviors? IZA Discussion Papers 5944, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Italy, 2011; 1-25. Christensen, P., The health-promoting family: a conceptual framework for future research. Social Science and Medicine, 2004, 59(2), pp 223-243. HM Government. Healthy Lives, Healthy People: Our Strategy for Public Health in England, State of Heath. Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Health, UK, 30 Nov. 2010, pp. 1-85. Glass, G. Update Spatial Aspects of Epidemiology: The Interface with medical Geography. Epidemilogic Reviews, John Hopkins University School of Hygience and Public Health, USA. 2000, vol. 22, no. 1 Read More