Relationship Between Public Health and Social Change, Coursework Example

Social change and empowerment intended to support health promotion in diverse populations are crucial in promotion of participation of community members in achieving social justice together with enhance quality of life in the community. Empowerment is an important catalyst in health promotion and is applicable as a vital framework in programs for prevention of diseases such as HIV targeting vulnerable members of the community whose choices as well as actions may be hampered by cultural norms, poverty as well as gender roles (Romero, Wallerstein, Lucero, Fredine, Keefe, & O’Connell, 2006).An intervention is imperative to teach such members of the community the best approach of controlling their sexual, economic as well as social lives. Any efforts of empowering such a group in the community will result in a social action that is ultimately influential to the larger society. Social change implies to enhancement of human as well as social condition through creation and application of ideas that potentially lead to the promotion of development for the person or community concerned.

Approaching empowerment is crucial which should involve posing a question and leaving the recipient to identify the solution through development of appropriate strategies for achieving change. Achievement of behavioral change is an important stepping stone to social change and consideration of its facilitation is imperative (Szreter, 2002). The primary medium for change involves intervention that involves empowerment of individuals towards behavior change. Behavior change can also be accomplished through implementation of policy. The principles that address empowerment along with social change play an important role in determining the success associated with the programs of public health. Evaluation of needs, identification of potential barriers, development of appropriate change strategies as well as designing an action plan are all positive catalysts to social change.

References

Romero, L., Wallerstein, N., Lucero, J., Fredine, H., Keefe, J., & O’Donnell, J. (2006). Woman to woman: Coming together for positive change Using empowerment and popular education to prevent HIV in women. AIDS Education and Prevention, 18, 390-405.

Szreter, S. (2002). Rethinking McKeown: the relationship between public health and social change. American Journal of Public Health, 92, 722-725.