Define public/community health. The term “public/community health” often brings to mind sparkling clear clean water and fresh clean air. The reason for that mental image is that both are required in order for one to have good public/community health. In actuality, the term “Public Health” has been defined as “the protection and improvement of the health of the public through community action, primarily by governmental agencies” (Public Health, 2016). However, public health includes any and all actions taken to maintain and improve the general health of a community. Government health programs provide most of the public health services. In addition, many voluntary health agencies receive contributions to battle specific diseases, such as HIV and cancer. These agencies not only provide medical services, they campaign for health legislation, and make important contributions to health education. In the United States, the Public Health Service administers the government’s public health programs. State and local health departments also provide a wide range of …show more content…
Diagnosing and investigating health problems and health hazards in the community. Informing, educating and empowering the people about health issues. Mobilizing community partnerships to identify and solve health problems. Health assessments also develop policies and plans that support individual and community health efforts. They also enforce laws and regulations that help protect health and ensure safety (Thivierge, 2016). Assessments link people to needed personal health services and assure the provision of health care when otherwise unavailable. Public health assessments can help to assure the public of the competency of the public health and personal health care workforce. These assessments evaluate effectiveness, accessibility and quality of personal and population-based health services (Thivierge,
Frieden, T.R. (2010). A Framework for Public health action: The Health impact pyramid. American Journal of Public Health. 100 (4). 590-595. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.185652
According to Allender, Rector, and Warner (2014), public health is a combination of both an art and a science (2014). The mission of public health nursing is to promote health, prevent disease and ultimately prolong life (Allender et al., 2014). In order for this to occur an assessment must take place. An aggregate or community assessment begins with a collection of data. This includes: the community’s health needs, risks, environmental conditions, financial resources through local census data, and a windshield survey (Allender et al., 2014). Through public health nursing, communities can collectively come together to help promote an overall better health standing.
Ingram, R., Scutchfield, F. D., & Costich, J. F. (2015). Government, law, and public health practice: Public Health Departments and Accountable Care Organizations: Finding common ground in Population Health. American Journal of Public Health, 105(5), 840-846 7p. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302483
The most important distinction between medical care and public health is public health comes down to prevention and promotion. Medical care comes down to the treatment after the fact. Medical care deals with the individual patient, while public health takes the community and populations into consideration. Public health is much broader of a concept when it comes to comparing it with medical care. Medical care works with the illness once it occurs while public health prevent illness before it even happens through educational programs, policy changes, and research. According to cdcfoundation.org, “a large part of public health is promoting healthcare equality, quality, and accessibility.” Treatment is also a big component to the distinction of medical care and public health. Medical care treatment is from doctors, nurses, etc.; “treatment” in terms of public health is through legislation, laws, and agencies like the Cdc. Public health treats the community through the promotion of healthy lifestyles. Another big distinction comes from the involvement of politics. Public health has correlations to politics. This is because to have prevention
The ruling by the government has changed over the years. President Obama reintroduced a bill to amend the Public Health S...
A community can be defined as a group of people, who live, learn, work and play in an environment at a given time. (Yiu, 2012, p.213) There are many factors that may influence the community’s development and health status. These can include resources available, accessibility, transportation, safety, community needs etc… These influences may combine together to form community strengths and as well as community challenges or weaknesses. As a community health care nurse, it is significant for us to assess and identify these strengths and challenges within the community in order for us to intervene and provide the appropriate needed health care services for the community members. This individual scholarly paper will explore and focus on one challenge issue identified from our group community assessment.
Population health management is the organization of health care delivered across a population with an aim to improve quality of care while managing cost (McAlearney, 2003). The intent of population health management is to improve the health by addressing a broad range of factors that impact well-being on a population-level, such as environment, social structure, and resource distribution (Kindig & Stoddart, 2003). A significant step in achieving success is by reducing inequities in health among the defined population group (Kindig & Stoddart, 2003). Population health programs include the ability to assess the health needs of a specific population, implement and evaluate interventions to improve the health of that population, and provide care for individual patients in the context of the culture, health status, and health needs of the populations of which they are a member (Association of American Medical Colleges, 1999).
In week five we discussed program planning and management and why public health core functions are a critical factor in implementing community initiatives. “The essential functions of public health include assessment, policy development, and assurance” (Chamberlain, 2018, p. 1). In order to have community programs and initiatives, there must be an evaluation of the community in its current state. The second step would be the “development of plans and policies to address prioritization of health needs of the community”(Chamberlain, 2018, p. 4). The final step would be assurance. Assurance “evaluates effectiveness, accessibility, and quality of personal and population-based environmental health services” (Centers for
Edwards, N. C., Etowa, J., Peterson, W. E., & Kennedy, M. A. (2012). Community health
Public health as it is implicated in the lives of the community – it is important to conceptualise what this might mean. Moreover, public health has seen as a multidiscipline perspective in which it can be defined on many levels, and I find that it could be elusive to understand its meaning. By simple understanding of public health, I refer to an approach derived by Winslow (1920) and Baggott (2000).
Disease and chronic illness are infiltrating our communities. As a country, if we don’t do something now,” by 2025, chronic disease will affect an estimated 164 million Americans. “. In 2010 the Department of Health and Human service (HHS) launched 10-year plan aimed at creating” high-quality, longer lives, which would be free of preventable disease, disability and premature death and would do this by creating social and physical environments that promote good health for all “. Since launching this program the CDC health insurance companies, YMCA and many other community leaders have jumped on board to partner with HHS in making this a reality. Through managed care programs, and community initiatives we have been able to make strides in population
Edwards, N. C., Etowa, J., Peterson, W. E., & Kennedy, M. A. (2012). Community health
A community assessment is “an effort to identify and prioritize a community’s health needs, accompanied by collecting and analyzing data, including input from the community” (Clark, 2015, p.357). Community assessments are important in planning to improve and promote health in the community. This community assessment focuses on the community of Lake Andes, South Dakota.
Taylor P., (2003), the lay contribution to public health in: Public health for the 21st century. Buckingham Open University Press, Buckingham, 2003, pp 128 – 144.
Public Health is the science of preventing disease and promoting health through many different ideas and functions by informing society and different community-based organizations. The idea behind Public Health is to protect and serve; it helps improve the lives of countless individuals through promoting a healthier lifestyle, education, research, prevention, detection, and response management. From the beginning, the idea of Public Health has become a stepping-stone that is essential to the longevity of humans and the environment. As society progresses and new advents are created or modified, Public Health