Health Models for the Youth - Essay Example

? Health Models for the Youth of the of the Health Models for the Youth Introduction Whether we like to it or not,we often take our health for granted. Man in the present 21st century is very fortunate indeed, for he stands at the height of the scientific and medical revolution. Many of the diseases that were once the scourges of humanity like smallpox, polio, plague etc. have been systematically investigated, defeated or held in abatement. While it is true that many diseases and ailments do not discriminate between the age or sex of the individual, quite a few diseases have been found to be age or sex related. For example, prostate cancer is an ailment affecting middle aged and elderly males, while breast and ovarian cancer is exclusively a disease affecting women. Similarly, diabetes, gout and obesity are diseases affecting the sedentary population. Likewise, there are also some diseases which society regards specifically as the diseases and ailments of the youth- the foremost among them being drug abuse, alcoholism and AIDS, to name a few. It is therefore imperative that the youth of a society or a country be cared for under a national initiative like health policies for the youth. This paper will explore the history and relatively recent efforts made by the Department of Health UK and other ancillary organizations in the last decade towards promoting the health, safety and security of our youth population in the UK. We will be looking at three models of youth care and intervention-the biomedical model, the political model and the quality of life model, describing each and comparing and evaluating which one is the best to use in the UK for the purpose of protecting the health and stability of our youth. Identifying Key Issues within Youth Health Care It has been estimated that as much as 20 percent of the population of the world comprises its youth. In the UK, the National Health Service (NHS) is the name of the public health service while the Department of Health (DOH) is the Government based organization entrusted with matters regarding public health policy. It also issues warnings about disease prevention and control, makes health information commonly available and undertakes other initiatives as needed for the safety and protection of the general health of the UK population. Recently the DOH has started an initiative that makes its services more user friendly towards the youth. Specifically this covers ten different areas, namely accessibility, publicity, confidentiality and consent, environment, staff training, skills, attitudes and values, joined-up working, young people’s involvement in monitoring and evaluation of patient experience; health issues for young people; sexual and reproductive health services, and specialist and targeted child and adolescent mental health services. This initiative has started in the backdrop of the successful Getting It Right for Teenagers program run for doctors and hospitals in practice. The hospitals and health centers have been directed to undertake a self review and evaluate themselves in terms of readiness or completeness in meeting the above criteria. Importance of the Health Needs of Young People According to a report published in 2007, youth and adolescents in the UK are engaging in risky behaviour that compromises their own health and well being to a disproportionately high level when compared to youth in other countries. The incidence of UK teenagers risking their health through smoking, drug and alcohol use, unsafe sex and becoming parents in their teenage years if taken together far surpasses that of any other country in the developed world. In particular, sections of the youth under the age of 15 having been drunk or having had sexual intercourse frequently without the use of a condom are the highest in the UK. It is not surprising that children born to young women between the ages 15 and 19 happen most frequently in Britain relative to other developed nations. Although these figures only represent part of the picture of youth health in the UK, such behaviours and outcomes pose an immediate and long-term risk to the health and well-being of adolescents and are also likely to affect the lifestyle and future of these unfortunate souls (Brannen, 1995). It has been seen that the development of attitudes or understanding about health and risk is largely influenced by aspects of an individual’s social environment. Young people in the UK today are faced with a number of messages (Robb, 2007) from their families, schools, communities, peers and the media that form their perspectives about their social lives and the actions that they take- including those impacting upon their health. Analysing the Health Needs of the Youth in Respect of Every Child Matters ‘Every Child Matters’ was a UK Government initiative launched in 2003. This initiative was groundbreaking in that it outlined the responsibilities and duties of each member of the community- parents as well as children and youth in being responsible for health. Every able bodied and mentally competent person up to the age of 19 and up to the age of 24 years if they were disabled was covered under this initiative. The children were guaranteed a safe and healthy environment in which they could achieve and enjoy themselves, making a positive contribution to society and achieving economic well being. This also led to the Children Act 2004 and has been adopted in schools and communities across the UK, but the austerity measures of the new coalition government have seemed to halt its progress (HM Government, 2007). The NYA Strategy towards Supporting Health in Youth Work The National Youth Agency is an independent charity that works for the promotion of youth issues and finding solutions to them. They are passionate about the youth of the UK and believe that young people should have a voice in everything that affects them. NYA believes that young people have the energy and potential to improve their own lives and those of the community as they grow up into responsible citizens and families. The NYA partners and supports Government, local authorities and businesses in the formal and informal sector to deliver and administer programs and policies for the youth in the UK. The NYA not only promotes the voice and influence of youth in society, but advocates for youth work and youth work methodologies, as well as improves the delivery of work with young people through development of non-formal curriculum, workforce skills and training. As per the perspectives of the NYA, the main purpose of youth work is the personal and social development of young people and their inclusion as part of society. In this way youth work helps young people learn about themselves and others in society through non-formal educational activities that combine challenge, enjoyment, learning and achievement. Youth work methods can be applied in a vast range of situations by a wide range of professionals, support staff and volunteers. The NYA is committed to helping people understand and use different approaches in getting their work and skills recognized (www.nya.org.uk). Other Initiatives & Institutions The Youth and Policy website is another that has been active in assessing employment opportunities and providing the same to youth in the UK. Its messages deal with empowering the youth and making them useful and productive members of society. In this manner they are also spared from becoming victims to smoking, drinking and other social evils (www.youthandpolicy.org). Other sites like Infed cite the virtues of taking another route to economic development if capitalism is not working. For instance a recent write-up on the life and work of Colin Ward, a self professed anarchist shows that through his books, he was involved in making children recognize the connections and linkages between home and community. Taking this linkage forward would help the children recognize the need for living, working institutions for the purpose of economic development (www.infed.org). A Synopsis of the Three Health Models I am now going to present three distinct and separate health models that can be used to measure the relative health and well being of a community and its individuals. The first is called the political model after present day politics seen as affecting most decisions. The second is called the biomedical model, which is only concerned with dealing with the eradication of disease and symptoms of ill health from society. The third is called the Quality of Life model, which as its name implies, is an all encompassing and wide ranging idea comprising the whole lifestyle not only of individuals but communities and countries. It uses measures and ideas like the Human Development Index, the Physical Quality of Life index and the Happy Planet index to compare nations’ quality of life and relative well being (HM Government, 2006). The Political Model The political model of health tells us that the health polices and principles practised in a society are determined by its politics. The process of policy creation and response to health matters follows a well established pattern. It all begins with the identification of a health problem or issue, after which there are calls for Government action. Following this, there are formulations of policy proposals by various parties and stakeholders like committees, think tanks and special interest groups. Then follows the selection and enactment of policy, also called policy legitimization. In the final step, there is implementation of the chosen policy and its evaluation (Roche, 2004). The political model has been regarded as too linear and simplistic. In reality we see a group of diverse stakeholders who may affect or be affected by the passage or failure of a health policy. Issues in the context of youth relate to smoking, drinking and drug use which has been lobbied by different medical companies at different times. The Biomedical Model According to the biomedical model of health care, health is taken to mean the freedom from disease, pain, or defect. The human being free from disease would be considered as healthy. The biomedical model thus focuses on the physical processes such as the pathology, the biochemistry and the physiology of a disease. It does not take into account the role of social factors or individual subjectivity. The biomedical model also overlooks the fact that the diagnosis which will affect treatment of the patient is the result of a meeting and evaluation of symptoms as described to the doctor by the patient. Even at first glance, the biomedical model appears to be very limited in its purview. By not taking into account the health and safety of society in general, the prevention of disease cannot be achieved, which is a worthwhile goal. Meanwhile, it has been noticed that many of the modern diseases affecting people in developed countries nowadays, like heart disease and type-2 diabetes are very much dependent on a person's own actions and beliefs about the need to maintain good health through proper and regular diet and exercise. The Quality of Life Model The quality of life model of health is one of the most modern concepts and encompasses the idea of holistic health in all its dimensions- the metaphysical, spiritual, biological, interpersonal, environmental and societal domains and all their requirements. Body and mind fitness experts can work with able bodied people of all ages to enhance their overall health in all the above identified dimensions. The most commonly used international measure for quality of life is the Human Development Index, which combines measures of life expectancy, education, and standard of living to quantify the options available to individuals within a given society. Other measures that have been suggested are the Physical Quality of Life Index based on infant mortality, life expectancy and educational literacy, as suggested by Desmond Morris in the 1970s, and the Happy Planet Index which began to be measured since 2006 according to which Denmark was rated to have the happiest population in the world. Why I Would Rank the Quality of Life Model as Most Suitable for the Youth I would definitely rate the Quality of Life index to be the most suitable index to be used for the youth of any place to measure their health and well being. Specifically the HDI or Human Development Index which has been used by the United Nations organization for some time now could serve as a well regarded means of comparison concerning the relative health and well being of a nation’s population vis-a-vis the other countries of the world (Babones, 2009). Conclusion Just consider what we could do with the youth of the world if we could channelize all their surplus energy into productive and economically rewarding pursuits. The youth of any nation are renowned for their strength, exuberance, faith and belief in themselves as being agents of change (Anand & Sen, 2006). We cannot let all their energies and efforts go to waste or lie idle and unutilized. Let us resolve then to use the power of youth across the world as a positive force that will make the needed changes to effect a better quality of health and well being for all mankind. References Anand, S., Peter, F., & Sen, A. (Eds.). (2006). Public health, ethics, and equity. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. Babones, S. J. (Ed.). (2009). Social inequality and public health. Bristol, England: Policy Press. Brannen, J. (et al). (1995). Young People: Health and Family Life. Open University. Health Section of the Website of the National Youth Agency. Getting It Right for Young People. Accessed on 19 May 2011 at www.nya.org.uk/targeted-youth-services/health-yw4h. HM Government (2006). Youth Matters: Next Steps- London. HM Government (2007). Aiming High for Young People. London. Robb, M. (Ed) (2007). Youth in Context: Frameworks, Settings and Encounters-London: Sage/Open University. Roche, J. (et al) (2004). Youth in Society. London: Sage/Open University. Website of the National Youth Agency. Getting It Right for Young People. Accessed on 19 May 2011 at www.nya.org.uk. Website of the Youth & Policy. Accessed on 19 May 2011 at www.youthandpolicy.org. Website of the Encyclopedia for Informal Education. Accessed on 19 May 2011 at www.infed.org. Website of the Department of Health, UK. Accessed on 19 May 2011 at www.dh.gov.uk Read More