The main aims of public health are to improve the health of the nation, this has many benefits as it reduces the amount of illness and disease in the population, reduces the cost of healthcare provision to the NHS, it improves life expectancy, and also educates individuals to take responsibility for their health. Another aim of public health is to reduce health inequalities, this is done by targeting those who are vulnerable and ensuring that equal/improved access to health support is provided, and also that factors that affect health are identified and addressed.
The public should also be protected this is done by specific programmes such as immunisation, which means being vaccinated against infectious diseases, this is important to help diseases spreading within the population. Children are vaccinated the most against things like MMR, the elderly commonly receive flu vaccinations. A vaccination is a small dose of the disease which is given to the patient, once this has been done, the body will then produce anti-bodies against it.
Another specific programme for protection I am going to cover is health and genetic screening programmes, the purpose of screening is to identify a disease as early as possible in its development to then begin treatment which is likely to be more successful in providing a cure. The earlier a disease is detected, the more likely it is to respond to treatment (such as breast cancer). Some people may not experience signs and symptoms in the early stages of a disease so may not even realise that they have a health condition which needs treating.
Disease prevention Communicable diseases- Sexually transmitted disease ‘’National Chlamydia Screening Programme’’ A communicable disease is a disease that can be spread from one person to another. Chlamydia is a type of bacteria that is frequently transmitted sexually between partners or from an infected mother to her new born child, this is the most common sexually transmitted bacterial disease. The national chlamydia screening programme was launched in 2003 as part of the Government’s national strategy for sexual health.
The purpose of this campaign is to reduce the spread of STIs by more rapid detection and treatment, and to also increase chlamydia screening. Things like online adverts, leaflets, TV adverts, sexual health clinics, and sexual health sessions in schools are provided as the targeted audience is sexually active males and females ages 15-24. Non-communicable diseases- Bowel cancer ‘’be clear on cancer-bowel cancer’’ A non-communicable disease which is not contagious disease, which cannot be spread from one person to another.
They are of long duration and generally slow progression. The be clear on cancer campaign was launched in January 2012 to run for 9 weeks, this was the first national NHS campaign to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of Bowel cancer. Most cases of bowel cancer first develop inside clumps of cells on the inner lining of the bowel. These clumps are known as polyps. Factors that can lead to bowel cancer are family history, diet, smoking and obesity. The methods used to deliver information on bowel cancer are, TV, leaflets and posers, and bus adverts.
The purpose of this campaign is to increase public awareness of symptoms, and to encourage people to visit their GP. Symptoms of bowel cancer can include blood in faeces, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, constipation, and unexplained weight loss. Environmental protection From hazards: Control of food preparation ‘’Healthy tums in Brum’’ Environmental protection is a practice of protecting the natural environment on individual, organizational or governmental levels, for the benefit of the natural environment and humans. Healthy tums in Brum was launched in September 2006 by Birmingham city council’s food safety team.
The purpose of this campaign is to increase the awareness of food safety and hygiene in the younger population, and to encourage entry into the Birmingham school chef competition. Using a competition to teach the pupil’s food safety is a way that they will want to get involved and a chance to win prizes, the competition involved pupils to design a healthy meal on a ? 10 budget, they were judged on their food hygiene practices. P6… ‘’National Chlamydia Screening Programme’’ Health trainers, such as a school/college nurse can help to provide health education for young people who go to college.
A school nurse can visit the school/college during the week so that any students can ask about anything that is related to chlamydia. To prevent the risk of chlamydia become more common, students could be educated whilst in school on the signs and symptoms of chlamydia, and also be informed on how it is caused, this should be done so that the number of cases of chlamydia can be reduced within young people. To control the risk of chlamydia, the school/college nurse should provide condoms, this would control the risk of people catching chlamydia off people who may already have it.
These methods will be appropriate for young people, as it will give them information on the dangers of STIs and they will be informed on the dangers of STIs whilst at school, and will have the nurse to talk to if they feel they have any other questions to ask about chlamydia, and other STIs. ‘’Clear bowel cancer’’ Health education activities can help to provide information on bowel cancer can help to provide information for the target group which is adults, as they are the most likely to develop bowel cancer.
Bowel cancer can be prevented by taking part in healthy lifestyle activities, which can involve changing your diet, exercising more, stopping smoking, bowel cancer is less likely to develop if you can maintain a healthy lifestyle. When controlling bowel cancer it is likely that surgery will be an option in able to control the tumour. Other activities involved are things like chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. Information should be provided for the target group on leaflets as well.
The methods that are used to prevent and control bowel cancer are appropriate for the target group, as most adults will have some sort of idea, they do not need teaching anything, they can gain their information from leaflets. Doing activities to maintain a healthy lifestyle should already be part of their daily lives which I think is appropriate. M3 When promoting and protecting public health, the target group needs to be considered. To promote public health knowing how to interest the public is the key aspect. If people cannot access or see information on what they may need then they will not be interested.
For example, if an elderly woman was receiving text message updates on her own health care, this would not be an appropriate method to use, as she may not be able to use a mobile phone or be able to see the screen easily. Different methods will need to be used for different people. Promoting public health can also be done by showing advertisements on buses, or on television that pretty much everyone can see, advertisements could include showing the dangers of smoking and influencing people that this lifestyle choice is not a good option, advertisements will be seen by young people, and older people in their daily lives.
When protecting public health confidentiality must be maintained, when the public seek health care, they will not necessarily want other people to know. Certain health campaigns will have set up an online website, where people at home can access information without anyone else knowing that they have any sort of health worry at this stage. D2- The health campaigns which I looked at were the National Chlamydia Screening Programme and Be Clear On Cancer-Bowel Cancer.
The Chlamydia screening programme uses methods which I think are suitable for young people, which is who their target group is. I looked on their website, and I noticed that they have a button on the page which says ‘hide’ when you press this button it returns to Google. I think that this method is very good for the teenagers who are looking at the page who don’t want anybody else to see what they’re doing, as STD’s are known to be quite embarrassing diseases that are usually kept private.
Text messaging is one of the methods that the National Chlamydia Screening Programme provide, after the chlamydia test has been completed, they will send you a text message with results, instead of sending home a letter that members of the family could easily open. The text messaging is done so that confidentiality can be maintained, and also because it is a popular form of communication among teenagers. The bowel cancer campaign is designed for adults and generally older people, they have produced a leaflet which provides all the information on bowel cancer which includes the signs and symptoms, and how to get treatment.
Leaflets are an effective way to get older people to look into bowel cancer as they do not have to discuss it with anyone else whilst reading a leaflet. The campaign also includes the stories of others who have/had bowel cancer, these stories can be reassuring for the public to know that they are not alone, and have some sort of idea on what to expect. This campaign wants to make people aware of bowel cancer, and a method they have used to do this is by showing advertisements on television that everyone can see.