In a community there are various different aspects that can have an effect on one’s health status, such as the physical, mental, social, sexual, spiritual and emotional dimensions. I will be focusing on the physical Dimension of Health, which is defined as the feeling of well-being in one’s body and the absence of discomfort and pain and the ability to utilize motor and sensory functions optimally in order to perform one’s daily activities of living (Sanders, et al., 2014:41). More specifically, I will be concentrating on a health issue that has had an underlining effect within my community, the epidemic of Swine Flu.
The Background of My Community
In Cape Town we have a very rich culture and heritage, starting as early as the Khoisan era and leading up to the liberated society that we are today. South Africa has progressed through many different trials and tribulations throughout the years, conquering numerous noteworthy feats such as slavery and the Apartheid struggle (Bray, 2008). “South Africa is democratic developing country where everybody has the right to vote so that their voices may be heard” (Smith, 1999).
Apartheid has had a negative, long-term effect on the over-all health of all the people residing in Cape Town. This has therefore greatly inhibited the quality of education, employment, economic status and financial longevity (Bray, 2008). Apartheid has had a ripple-effect on all South Africans that is still evident in today’s society, emphasized by the high unemployment rates, prevalent inequality and discrimination, elevated crime and increase in mass poverty.
The general quality of health, predominantly in Cape Town, is regarded by the Department of Health as considerably above standard (Qukula, 2013). Most of the...
... middle of paper ...
...ivate schools that have been established within the past few years such as Sunningdale Primary School (Sunningdale Primary School, 2012). Many of the current schools already established are constantly expanding and growing to accommodate for more students such as CBC St. John’s, who have recently expanded their school across the road to have access to more classrooms (CBC, 2014).
Economic Conditions
The economic conditions of levels of income in Cape Town are seen as mostly lower upper class. Cape Town is known to be South Africa’s second-richest city preceding Johannesburg. Most of Cape Town’s economic activity is steered by small, medium and micro enterprises (City of Cape Town, 2014). Other economic drivers include; finance, insurance, real estate and business services and business services; manufacturing; wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation.
The focus of public health has been shifted according to events and particularly a community making it hard to define. However this makes it crucial to determine the situation under the recent public health, such as health needs assessment, in order for action to be taken with the economic situation, epidemiological transitions related with stigma, demographic status, health literacy and life course approach, and facilitating day-to-day activities (Wilson and Mabhala, 2013).
South Africa was positively affected in the way that before the Dutch and British, South Africa had been split up into many different tribes, who though they were free were not united. Through the centuries of hardship South Africa came out of apartheid very strong and the ANC has maintained a popularity of 60% popularity for all the elections since 1994. Economically South Africa has blossomed and is the 2nd largest economy in all of Africa and has managed to triple its GDP even though it has been less than 30 years since it has left apartheid, established democracy and freed itself from many international sanctions. South Africa’s economy still has many issues though for it is still an underdeveloped country which suffers from lack of education, employment, and crime. Socially South Africa remains strong as it is united under one goal of making its nation once again great, and it has maintained its heritage and culture. In fact, a quick look at a South African site will show many articles and memorials, of days in the past remembering the struggle for freedom. Politically, South Africa has remained strong and united with the ANC still carrying the vast majority of the votes and uses a governmental system quite similar to ours with a separation of powers and a thriving democratic system. Luckily, political diversity has also started to appear with many other groups appearing making the most out of South Africa’s democracy and all of which pledge freedom and are led by native
There are people in the world who see the actions of Apartheid, the results within the actions of the people while apartheid’s control, and overall their existence as a rare point in history. This idea is not only false but there are also several other governments and actions of the people that have had respectively similar actions. By having a social class system in South Africa where whites are on top and Blacks on the bottom shouldn’t sound unfamiliar; America had a similar racial discrimination from the 50’s all the way to the 80’s, with some arguing that the situation in Africa was worse off for their people than in America. In south Africa the African people that were deemed “lower class citizens” just as Germany’s treatment of Jews during
For many decades, Americans’ health has been greatly impacted by many social, economic and environmental determinants (Plough, 2015). These social, economic, and environmental determinants include income, education, ethnicity, natural and built environment. These factors create the health disparities in the health care system. The culture of health has changed over the last several generations. Health is viewed as not just needing to seek health care, but rather to recognize all aspects of people’s lives that support an active and healthy lifestyle and environment. The aspects can be their work, families and comminutes (Plough, 2015).
Slavery was a barbaric practise but as forbidding as it was, it is a testimony of the resilience of the spirit of the slaves which is why more than three hundred years later, we still honour their contributions to Cape Town
As discussed, it is clear that when it comes to public health the lines are often quite blurred. The Biomedical Model and the Lifestyle Theory Model both have their advantages however a common theme throughout both models is that they are both too reductionist in their approach to health. They failed to consider other health models viewpoints, or incorporate external factors such as the social gradient into their reasoning behind the cause and effect of bad health. Therefore instead of trying to categorise health into definite ‘health models’, health needs to be accepted more for what it is - a forever changing and adapting concept.
The dimensions of health make-up and create an image of our overall health. This paper will refer to the dimensions of health in relation to myself, and what health change within one dimension would be beneficial to my health as a whole. Health, as defined by the World Health Organization (2014), is a state of total physical, mental and social well-being, not just when disease, illness or injury are absent (p. 1). My definition of health focuses on feeling well enough to perform everyday tasks and to perform these tasks to the best of my ability.
Introduction: For this essay I am going to critically discuss the biomedical model as well as the social model of health and how they both relate to the lay perspectives on health and illness.
Since the introduction of the Ottawa Charter in 1986, health promotion across the world has taken a more preventative, or “upstream”, approach. This was done through the enlightenment of the socioenvronmental approach that focused less on lifestyle choices and immediate medical intervention, but instead the factors that directly and indirectly influenced health (Cohen, 2012). In this revolutionary charter, the socioenvironmental approach introduced key predictors to population health, which are now known as the social determinants of health (Cohen, 2012). These determinants range from income to race and gender, and encompass all of the effects that these factors have on individual and population health. Mikkonen and Raphael perfectly summarize
The health of an individual and their communities is affected by several elements which combine together. Whether an individual is healthy or not, is determined by their circumstances and environment.1 To a greater extent, factors such as where an individual lives, their relationships with family and friends, the state of their environment, income, genetics and level of education all have significant impacts on health, however the more frequently considered factors such as access and use of health care facilities regularly have less of an impact.6 Determinants of health is a term which was introduced in the 1970s as part of a broader analysis of research and policy on public health. Researchers argued that there was a lot of attention and too much expenditure on health being dedicated to individuals and their illnesses, and little or no investment in populations and their health. It was decided that public health should be more concerned with social policies and social determinants than with health facilities and the outcomes of diseases.7 The determinants of health include social and economic environment, physical environment and an individual’s behaviour and characteristics. The environment of an individual determines their health, holding responsible an individual for having poor health or acknowledging them for good health is inappropriate. Individuals are not likely to be able to control several of the determinants of health. These determinants that make individuals healthy or not include the factors above, and numerous others.6
Physical, emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, spiritual, and environmental wellness are all considered the six dimensions of wellness with occupational wellness being the possible seventh. But what are these exactly? And how do they apply to me and my health and wellness?
The purpose of this community profile is to discuss a particular health improvement issue within a chosen community. A community can be defined using many different terms. You can belong to a community through religious beliefs. Through shared experiences or interests. You can belong to a political community where all involved share the same political interests. A community can also be defined as ‘a family’ a small village where many have lived most of their lives who share the same desire to belong to that community.
...ellent policies, 5) the Constitution had come into existence through the working together of various groups that had composed South Africa, 6) South Africa's political and economic institutions are well established, 7) and that South Africa is by far the most developed country in Africa. However, there are still avenues that can impede further progress, more so economically then politically. Primarily the lack of foreign investment, especially when South Africa's gold and diamond reserves are emptied as other parts of economy are not as developed. Secondly, the economic gap between whites and blacks that was stretched during the time of apartheid needs to be tightened or else it could become dangerous to the stability of the political system. However, due to the leadership of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s current government structure exists to solve these issues.
It can be easily stated that the apartheid movement bestowed cruel and unusual punishments upon the people of South Africa, in order to execute its purpose. However, apartheid could have not been carried out if they were not individuals who believed in its principles. In order to understand the National parties ideologies regarding the issue of apartheid, it is essential to acknowledge the history of Boer soc...
It is therefore an indispensable component of democracy (Tshabalala & Lombard, 2009:397). Local government should therefore be concerned with democratising development (Maserumule, 2008:439). The reason for the continuing dissatisfaction and protests by the communities because of poor service delivery eighteen years into democracy is an indication that the local government in South Africa has not been able to provide effectively for local participation (Mathekga & Buccus, 2006:11). In the South African context, community needs cannot be isolated from structural causes, so participation is incorporated into the social justice perspective (Patel,