Promoting the Health of Populations, Essay Example

The public health sector provides a number of opportunities to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals who require screenings, care, treatment, and monitoring for a variety of conditions. It is the responsibility of public health workers and experts to work with different populations in order to achieve successful healthy outcomes and to promote improvements in health and wellbeing across a variety of areas. The responsibility of the public health sector towards assessment requires an examination of different health concerns, both existing and emerging, and the overall development of new perspectives that are likely to influence how health concerns are evaluated by nurses and other healthcare providers. Assessment requires continuous monitoring of the causes of disease, the latest and most effective treatment methods, and the ability to disseminate important information to the masses as a primary educational tool for different populations. This approach is instrumental in shaping how the public health sector responds to existing problems and emerging threats in a professional and timely manner.

Based upon the use of the Public Health Intervention Wheel, assessment is largely associated with disease and health event investigation, as these two concepts coincide in an effort to determine the cause of disease or illness and the threat to different communities (Nies & McEwen, 2015). This process is instrumental in shaping how public health concerns are evaluated and managed by experts, as well as what is required to facilitate a coordinated response that will positively impact the affected populations who may face a greater risk of disease for different reasons. Therefore, a successful assessment strategy will support the continued growth and development of an environment where threats of disease and subsequent investigations are taken very seriously in order to prevent large-scale public health problems or epidemics across different communities that will influence a variety of population groups (Nies & McEwen, 2015).

2)Based upon the principles of Healthy People 2020, the determinants of health play a critical role in the development of factors which support healthy lifestyles for individuals and a variety of population groups. The determinants of health are categorized into different primary areas, whereby issues such as social factors and individual behaviors have a definitive impact on human health and wellbeing (HealthyPeople.gov, 2015). To be specific, individual behaviors are of critical importance in shaping the health of individuals on a variety of levels and are likely to impact how these groups are able to manage the perception and reality of risk within one’s lifestyle (HealthyPeople.gov, 2015). From this perspective, primary factors to consider include physical activity, diet, hand hygiene, and the use of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol, among others (HealthyPeople.gov, 2015). With the continued rise of obesity and related health concerns in the United States, it is of critical importance that public health experts are able to recognize patterns of behavior and to be proactive in working with communities to make a significant difference in the lives of others.

It is believed that when there is a viable method in place, there is likely to be a greater understanding and acknowledgement of the needs of a given patient population and the overall development of strategies that will recognize the value of education regarding individual behaviors. This process will examine behaviors that are high risk and determine what steps might be taken to promote greater prevention of these high risk behaviors in favor of making greater positive choices. The development of healthy habits will play a significant role in shaping health and in supporting promotional activities and education to improve healthy decision-making and lifestyles. These practices are likely to have a positive and lasting impact on outcomes and the behaviors that are likely to occur among different population groups that will contribute to positive and lasting results.

References

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2015). Community/public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (6th ed.). St. Louis: Saunders/Elsevier.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2014) HealthyPeople2020: About Determinants of Health. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/foundation-health-measures/Determinants-of-Health