Unit 29 Health Promotion Campaign Assignment

Introduction

This Unit 29 Health Promotion Campaign Assignment is aiming to choose a specific community or socio economic group residing in UK and discuss their health promotion needs and identify the factors which might influence them. In this assignment any health related inequalities would be identified and barriers to the access would be evaluated. Further health promotion plans and objectives would be discussed and their impact would be evaluated. Socio economic group which has been identified for this assignment is African migrant population residing in UK which is a relatively low income group with less access and awareness about health care and health promotions.

Task 1

1.1 Explain the effects of socioeconomic influences on health.

African migrant population of UK is one of the lowest income group communities and mostly they are working on minimal wages or sometimes even less than that illegally. They migrated to UK because of civil unrest in home countries, lack of employment, low income and lack of education, health care etc.

UK is a preferred destination of migration for these population and they find it much easier to live a peaceful life in UK. However their continuous inflow creates a pressure on the resources of the country including their health care system. It is observed that there is a different in the awareness level and education of the community with the average standard of the rest of the population and it creates a significant impact on the occurrence and prevalence of the disease and their progress. For example in African population prevalence rate of HIV infections and AIDS is highest in UK because their lack of awareness about its spread and there is also less information about safe sexual relationship etc. similarly there are higher number of mal nourishment, large families and higher problem of drugs, habits and alcoholism in African migrant population. Socio economic factors like lack of employment, lesser income and supporting large families tend to make an impact on the health of families (Starfield, 1998). 

1.2 Assess the relevance of government sources in reporting on inequalities in health.

Government sources like annual reports of National health services, reports form CQC, WHO reports and reports of NGO like Red Cross etc. would be highly beneficial for assessing the current health status of specific community groups and populations. All though reports of government are reliable and major decisions are taken on the basis of these reports but reports from other agencies which are both government and non-government tend to provide a reference point for comparative evaluation. Government reports would be able to provide the itemized information about the education level, age groups, income levels and even gender differentiation when it comes to distribution of diseases and prevalence in different strata’s of society. Health inequalities could also be reported through geographical distribution of the socioeconomic groups. It is observed that most of the people who belong to low income group are residing in boroughs or sub urban or rural centres of the country while the middle and upper income group would be residing in geography with better access to health care services. This type of geographical distribution can be identified through government reports only and it is also observed that they can be used to form a solid base on which new research projects can be designed. One thing which has been cautioned by many authors and independent experts is that in government reports there might be some bias in presenting the health inequalities in their population because it becomes embarrassing for the government to accept that they are not able to provide proper social justice. Thus it is always recommended that health inequalities should be measured through independent agencies as well and it should be verified by conducting real time on the field testing and comparison (Andersen, 1995).

1.3 Discuss reasons for barriers to accessing Healthcare

Access to health care in a uniform and equitable manner is one of the fundamental rights of all citizens of a country and UK takes pride in ensuring that residents of their country have access to a quality health care services. However it is also observed that there are inequalities between different social groups and communities when it comes to access to the health care services. These inequalities are caused because there are many physical, psychological and perception barriers among different groups. First and foremost physical barrier is the geographical location of the population. As it is observed that low income group tend to live in remote location availability of clinics and doctors in those regions is low and there is less patient to doctor ratio in those populations. It is a vicious cycle because of fewer patients interested in getting health even private doctors and hospitals are not interested in working in these areas.

Second barrier in health inequality is the education level in general among the target population. Lack of education reduces their chances of getting a higher paying employment and less income would again turn into less disposable income to be spent on the health care. It is also observed that lack of education equates into lack of information about infectious diseases, life style disorders and unhealthy behaviour and choices that are being made by them with respect to their body (Ryan & Deci, 2000).

Third barrier in access to health care services is the rising cost of health care services in UK. Many immigrants and member of this socioeconomic group are either not residing in country legally or many of them do not have proper social security and insurance for themselves. Having a less than minimal wage job also results into no employee security or health care coverage thus further reducing their access to the health care users services. Private hospitals and clinics which require direct payment to the service provider are very expensive and this socio economic group would avoid visiting them. It is important that government should either make their legal status proper for getting health care services or there should be provision for even those people who are in a legal entanglement regarding their residential status that they should have access as well of health care system.

Task 3

Healthy population is a soul of any country. Government, various NGO’s, community welfare workers are trying hard to create awareness among the citizens towards the benefits of being healthy. In today’s world obesity is a biggest disease to fight for. Many community workers and NGO’s are working hard to spread the information about the various diseases which are born because of obesity like heart diseases, diabetes, osteoarthritis, breathing problem etc. The NGO’s, Community welfare workers, society welfare workers have started many programs like yoga classes, morning walk group, meditation classes etc. to help them control the increasing weight.

3.1 How health beliefs relate to health behaviour theories

Health belief model is related to the change in health and behaviour of a person and the impact on his psychology, whereas, health behaviour theories explains the reason behind the change in behaviour of a person during his illness. Both the theories are inter-related with each other, as one identifies the change in health behaviour and other answer to why it is changed. Health belief model’s study recommend about change in health problem, patients perception towards positive results, hurdles in getting treatment, lack of self-confidence etc. but health behaviour theories  focuses on the factors which lead to change in health behaviour like environmental , behaviour  or personal change etc. both the theories or models focuses on promoting and providing improved health services. Like in case of obesity patients, with the increase in weight and health related problems make patient feel bad about themselves, they become de-motivated and irritated, loses their confidence, and feel awkward in going out in public, reason for the change in behaviour of a patient suffering from obesity is society, work place. People don’t treat them equally, they make fun of them, wherever patient person goes, people start advising them or taunt them. Instead of blaming them people should start supporting them, make them feel that their families and friends are with them. Obesity patient should take care of themselves as there are many more diseases related to the obesity, if weight is in control, hen other diseases are also in control.

3.2 What are the possible effects of potential conflicts with local industry on health promotion?

Health is becoming a major issue in a person’s day to day life. To aware people about the health and wellbeing is the major requirement of today’s world as, a lot of diseases are spreading in the society at a fast rate. Life style and eating habits is the main cause for most of the disease like diabetes, hyper tension tec. Thus it is very important to take appropriate decision and measures to make improvement in the life style of the people. It is observed through studies and investigations that eating of junk food, oily foods and intake of higher calories is one of the major causes of increasing obesity in the society. To ban this impact Government and Non-government concept of organisations emphasizes to ban the food products which cause health problems in the society. But the companies have their view points and arguments like the ban on the companies and its production would make many employees who depend on these companies will become unemployed. To solve this problem certain harmful ingredients could be removed from the product and the proper list of ingredients and their nutritional value could be given on the packets to make the population aware of this thing. More over government should keep checking the food locusassignments.on regular basis which would limit the companies on the use of harmful products.

3.3 The importance of providing health related information to the public

 It is really important to spread the health related information to the public through various seminars, health session, pamphlets, TV shows etc. Our living standard, food habits, living habits, surroundings etc. have a great impact on our health, if a person eats oily food, frequent smoker, lives in a polluted environment etc., then person is more prone to get sick instead of getting better. People should know the consequences of not living in a clean surrounding, they can catch any infection easily, diseases are more likely to spread faster in such surrounding, and new diseases can happen, symptoms are rarely visible in some diseases (Bunton and Macdonald, 2002).

Many of the diseases are inter-related to each other, for example sugar or diabetes can lead to kidney failure, neurological diseases can destroy the liver but Obesity can give rise to many diseases like high blood pressure, heart related diseases, thyroid, arthritis, diabetes etc. People suffering from obesity should start eating healthy; less oily, exercising, attend yoga classes, join sports club etc.

If health information like what type of food to it, how a person’s surrounding should be, how to stay fit, what to do if a person is suffering from what type of disease etc. is not provided to the public then there are chances to get cheated  and with wrong lifestyle, health of a person keep getting deteriorate.

Task 4

4.1 Plan health promotion campaign to meet objectives of it.

Action with a vision can change the world and a successful health promotion campaign can change the lives of millions. The objective of any health promotion campaign is to create awareness about importance of health in public. In the busy schedule of life, people forgot the importance of health and staying safe. The advertising company and sponsoring company, society etc. create a layout of the campaign which would help the advertisers to create a successful campaign. The advertisers create a plan which includes:

• Clearing of the vision: need of the campaign, how it should look like, when they want it, and most importantly the topic or base of the campaign, all this points should be clear with the campaign operations management team.
• Design the idea: The creative team of health promotion campaign should create an idea. The idea should be clear and doesn’t hurt anybody’s sentiments. As it is the most important part of the planning process, it should be done with full concentration.
• Formulation and solution of the problem: while planning the health promotion campaign, management team should formulate and eliminate the future barriers. Though unseen hurdles can’t be eliminated but can be solved at that moment.
• Resourcing: the required resources should be first listed and then collected or generated for the successful campaigning. All the supportive equipment should be kept on standby if needed (Tones and Tilford, 2001).
• Implementation: the idea formed is now implemented. It requires all the strategies and intervention of the campaign which will make them successful in the market.
• Audience feedback: it is the last stage of planning, sponsoring company takes feedback from the audience about the campaign, and if the audience is satisfied and understood their basic concept then the campaign is considered successful, if not then campaign is failed.

4.2 How the health promotion campaign support health promotion strategies characteristics

Health promotion campaigns act as a base for the health promotion strategies. The main objective of health promotion strategies is to prioritise the importance of health in a person’s life. The feedbacks from the audience help to decide the further strategies for health promotion. Main motive of campaign is too aware the individuals and enable them to take the necessary measurement to control the obesity.
Health promotion campaign has already created the environment that supports the health care in persons’ life and measures which taken to maintain the health. Health promotion campaign includes the measures such as meditation and yoga campaign which helps in decreasing the stress level of the patients (National Centre for Health Statistics, 2000).

Conclusion

This Unit 29 Health Promotion Campaign Assignment could be explained as the processes which are adopted to motivate the people to be aware and conscious about the health care as it is said that health is everything and one could not live happily without sound mind and body. The main objective of health promotion is to help the population to achieve physical, mental and social wellbeing. Different health behaviour theories are also propounded by the authors to explain the response and attitude of the patients towards different strategies adopted for the health care. Health promotion campaigns are also organised by local, national and international agencies to motivate and involve people towards the health care (Lucas and Lloyd, 2005).

References

Andersen, R. M. (1995). Revisiting the behavioural model and access to medical care: does it matter? Journal of health and social behaviour, 1-10.
Bunton R, Macdonald G. (2002). Health promotion: disciplines, diversity, and developments (2nd Ed.). Routledge. 
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Hare, D. J., (2004). The health and social care needs of family carers supporting adults with autistic spectrum disorders. Autism, 8(4), 425-444.
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Lucas K, Lloyd BB (2005). Health promotion: evidence and experience. SAGE.
National Centre for Health Statistics, (2000). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among adults: United States. Available from: www.cdc.gov. Last accessed on 29 May 2015.
Newacheck, P. W. (2004). Implementing community-based systems of services for children and youths with special health care needs: how well are we doing? Paediatrics, 113(Supplement 4), 1538-1544.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68.
Starfield, B. (1998). Primary care: balancing health needs, services, and technology. Oxford University Press.
Tones K, Tilford S (2001). Health promotion: effectiveness, efficiency and equity (3rd Ed.). Cheltenham UK: Nelson Thornes.