Primary Health Care (PHC) and Health Promotion are important for a quality health care system to allow equity, social justice and empowerment. To explore Primary Health Care and Health Promotion and its value within the health care system, one must first distinguish what health is. There are many varying opinions of health depending on personal context, although the most commonly referred to definition is from the World Health Organisation (WHO), which defines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (World Health Organisation, 1948). Primary Health Care is a multidimensional concept that can involve both philosophy and in practice. The philosophy of primary health care is derived from the 1978 Declaration Alma-Ata which states that primary health care incorporates curative treatment by the initial health professional, together with health promotion, education to prevent further issues and rehabilitation services provided by a collaboration of multiple health professionals in interdisciplinary teams (Australian Medical Association, 2010). It is intended to rectify inequalities in health by understanding that health is not solely dependent on the illness but also a broad spectrum of social, environmental, economic and political factors (McMurray & Clendon, 2011). The three main principles regarding Primary Health Care are empowerment, equity and social justice. Equity implies fairness, social justice is the promise to equity and empowerment refers to the process of allowing individuals and communities to participate in a way that enhances their lives and attains social justice (Talbot & Verrinder, 2014). Along with the empowerment, equity and social just... ... middle of paper ... ...are: A Framework for Transition. Agenda(27), 21-26. Jirojwong, S., & Liamputtong, P. (2009). Population Health, Communities and Health Promotion. (S. Jirojwong, & P. Liamputtong, Eds.) Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press. McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2011). Community Health and Wellness: Primary Health Care in Practice (4th ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia. Talbot, L., & Verrinder, G. (2014). Promoting Health: The primary health care approach (5th ed.). Australia: Elsevier. World Health Organisation. (1948). WHO definition of Health. Retrieved March 2014, from World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html World Health Organisation. (1986, November 17th-21st). The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Retrieved March 2014, from World Health Organisation: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/
Tannahill, A., Tannahill, C., & Downie, R. S. (1999) Health Promotion. Models and Values. Oxford University Press.
This report has been written to explore what the context of healthy communities is. The defined community will be introduced and a geographical map included. Gathered information of the specified community will be evaluated, data’s and statistics will be presented in tables. The focus will be on the health and social care needs of that community. Viewpoints of the residents of the chosen community will be summarized and discussed. Recommendation about observed issues will be implemented. Furthermore, theories and sociological aspects of diverse authors regarding notion communities will be included as they can support the findings.
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.
Mary Louise Fleming, E. P. (2009). Introduction to Public Health. Chatswood, NSW, Australia: Elsevier Australia.
Health promotion is a multifaceted movement with a core value on respect, empowerment, equity, inclusion and social justice (MacDougall 2002). Aims to achieve holistic health, while it is influenced by medical and social determinants. These determinants which aids to deter...
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).
To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to wellbeing. Health promotion goes beyond health care. It puts health on the agenda of policy makers in all sectors and at all levels. It directs policy makers to be aware of the health consequences of their decisions and accept their responsibilities for
...on, race, and political belief, economic or social condition. Improving the poor health of disadvantaged individuals and reducing health gaps is important but not enough to level up health through socioeconomic groups. The objective of tackling health inequalities can be changed to local needs and priorities of a community allowing wide-ranging partnerships of support to be organised. However it needs to be made clear that what can be done to help improve the life chances and health prospects of individuals living in poverty may not come close to bringing their health prospects closer to the average of the rest of the population or prevent the gap living on throughout the generations. Being clear about what is trying to be overcome and achieved needs upmost importance in the development and delivery of policies that will promote health equality across the population.
Edwards, N. C., Etowa, J., Peterson, W. E., & Kennedy, M. A. (2012). Community health
There are six principals of Primary health care. To begin with, the first principles are Accessibility Equality and Social Justice. It is the first and most important key to primary health care. Health care service must be equally distributed and shared by all people of the community irrespect...
The five principles of HP include building healthy public policy, creating supportive environments, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services (McMurray & Clendon 2015). The first principle aims to incorporate health into all public policy decisions beyond the health system so that living and working conditions become conducive to health and equity (Germov, Freij & Richmond 2015). According to McMurray & Clendon (2015), multi-sectoral collaboration is required among different sectors, such as education, industry and social welfare, with the reciprocally influential policies that guide the community health. The second principle emphasises the socio-ecological approach to health that promotes sustainable environment and broader social support systems that encourage a safe and satisfying life (Germov, Freij & Richmond 2015; McMurray & Clendon 2015). This principle requires to acknowledge the significance of conserving the physical or social resources that allow people to maintain health (McMurray & Clendon 2015). The third principle focuses on information and learning opportunities that enable communities to make knowledgeable choices for better health (McMurray & Clendon
Introduction Primary health care (PHC) refers to "essential health care" that is based on scientifically sound and socially acceptable methods and technology, which make universal health care universally accessible to individuals and families in a community. It is through their full participation and at a cost that the community and the country can afford to maintain at every stage of their development in the spirit of self-reliance and self-determination". In other words, PHC is an approach to health beyond the traditional health care system that focuses on health equity-producing social policy. PHC includes all areas that play a role in health, such as access to health services, environment
As the largest force in health care, nursing profession is considered to be in a unique position to facilitate health promotion and disease prevention. Nurses spend considerably more time with patients in comparison to other healthcare professionals and as such, they assist patients in managing their own health. The fundamental requirement in providing this care is to ensure that individuals remain as independent as possible through encouragement and empowerment. There are number of factors to be considered in delivering this care effectively. In view of cultural, socio-economic and educational diversity amongst us, it is difficult to define “health” or indeed “illness”. As our perceptions differ, so do our interpretations and possible meanings of those words. The World Health Organisation (WHO), 1948, states that “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”. Although positive, the def...
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.
This is a community profile that aims to identify a specific health improvement issue within a geographically local community. A community profile is an attempt to describe a particular community or neighbourhood. It uses a variety of different techniques to build up a picture of the community from a number of perspectives’ (Barnardos.org.uk, 2004) including several components of a community such as its demographic characteristics, patterns and trends i.e. its epidemiology in order to make comparisons between different localities to determine areas needful of specific health improvements with the goal of improving local people’s health and reducing health inequalities. A core definition of community as distinguished by Macqueen and Mclellan et al (2001) is ‘a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and engage in joint action in geographical locations or settings’. The purpose of community profiling is to identify and understand health-related issues, inequalities and needs within a community; with the intention of determining the factors that influence people’s health and wellbeing within that given community in order to highlight gaps in provision to contribute towards making positive health improvements and improving the quality of life of the community.