The Major Aims of the Public Health

Questions: Describe about the Major Aims of the Public Health? Answers: Introduction All the organized measures that are implemented in order to prevent disease and their spread and promoting health and prolonged life among the people as a whole, is referred to as Public Health. The major aims of the public health are to provide the population with the conditions that ensure health and focus on the entire populations and not just on those who suffer from any particular disease or the patients only. The three main functions of any public health are- assessment and complete monitoring of the populations and communities who are at a risk, formulation and implementation of the public policies that are designed to solve the local and the national issues (health problems) that have been identified and lastly to assure that all the populations, irrespective of their caste, age, gender, race, etc. will have access to appropriate and more importantly cost effective care, including the promotion of the health and the services related to the disease prevention. This paper aims at highlighting the basic and essential features of the local and governmental agencies that aim in promoting public health and work in this direction. The readers are expected to dwell into the details provided in this paper and gain knowledge about the working and functioning of the some common and most powerful health agencies like WHO (World health Organization), Department of Health and the other Local Authorities (WHO a 2014). The main responsibility of these agencies is to identify the needs of the people/ population and maintain the PH and identify the health and needs of the community members. The agencies aim to develop a comprehensive policy that should target the needs of the people and then assure the public provision of efficient services (Seltzer 2010). WHO, World Health Organization, is a coordinating and directing authority that prevails in the United Nations system. WHO is based in Geneva, Switzerland, with 150 offices spread across various countries. The main responsibility of this organization is to shape the health research agenda, provide leadership on the matters that are related to health and are global in nature, establishing the standards and norms, evaluating the evidence based policy options and assessing the trends in the health. The constitution of WHO came into force on 7th April, 1948 and this day is, ever since, celebrated as World Health Day. WHO has six major core functions like the provision of leadership in the critical health related matters and therefore, engaging the partnerships where joint action is required, shaping of the research based agenda and therefore ensuring generation, translation and simultaneous dissemination of all the important knowledge, setting the standards and the norms and assessing and evaluating their implementation, providing for ethical-evidence based options for policies, provision of technical support along with building of sustainable institutional capacity and lastly continuous monitoring of the health conditions and the varying trends in the health (WHO b 2014). Another agency for public health promotion is the Department of Health, which is a ministerial department that is supported by around 23 agencies and public bodies. The total number of staff members that the agency employs from all over the world is approximately 2160. DH is responsible for providing better life to the people and caring. Helping and supporting people. Their main responsibilities include- creation of national policies and the legislations that help in providing long term visions and ambition to meet the challenges, support of the integrity of the system by assuring the continued services and proper delivery of services, supporting the innovation and research based activites by encouraging honesty, transparency and openness and lastly encouragement of the staff in every care and health organization. The priorities of DH are to introduce reforms in the social care, integrate heath and care services, improving the care services for the senior citizens, those aged above 7 5 years of age, incorporating and encouraging the use of technology in improvising the health care system and establishing a parity of esteem between physical and mental health (Department of Health 2014). When the health and care issues are to be dealt with on a local scale, the role of local authorities becomes essential. The local leadership for the health of public is the new heart of the public health system. The upper tier and the unitary authorities have taken up their new responsibilited to improve the health of their populations. The head of the local authorites is the director of the public health and he is also the statutory chief officer. The role of local authorities is to champion health across the whole of the authority business by encouraging promotion of healthy lifestyles. The local authorities can also challenge the NHS after proper scrutinization and take actions for better health reforms and address the threats to health care practices. The key roles of local authorites are to lead the joint strategic needs assessment (JSNA) in order to ensure the coherent and coordinated commissioning strategies, supporting the local voice and allowing the patients to exercise the ir choice, promoting joint commissioning of NHS services, heath care and social care and lastly, leading on local health improvement and prevention activities. Apart from the public health functions, as mentioned under the Public health (Control of diseases) Act 1984, the local authorities are also entitled to carry out other functions that fall into the domain of health care, health improvement and health protection. The local authorities like the local counsils and the health care organization play a very important role in identifying the levels of disease and health in the communities. Their responsibility is to assess anyone who appears to require the community care services. All the local authorites work in organization and cooperation with nearby groups to apply wellbeing advancement and ailment counteractive action procedures suitably. GP centers instruct and help SUs to comprehend work-life equalization, depict the negative impacts of smoking, liquor, poor eating methodology so they are engaged to take care they could call their own wellbeing. Drug stores give safe sex and travel advices; jungle fever prophylaxis and travel inoculation; flu and pneumococcal immunization for high hazard bunch; and so on. The epidemiology of any disease is the study about its distribution and the other determinants of the disease and the health, the disabilities, etc of the population. Epidemiology plays an important role in providing a clue to the changes. If we consider the case of Tuberculosis, which is an infectious disease that results due to viral, fungal, bacterial infection, change in lifestyle, etc, its epidemiology study is very important to identify its course of progression (Schaaf et al. 2009). For proper monitoring and identification of TB cases, it is important to educate the people about the most prominent symptoms and conduct blood tests, skin tests and also give vaccinations known as the Bacillus Calmette-Guerin. According to the data provided by NHS, around 10% of the people who get infected by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, are prone to develop active TB (NHS 2014). Another study has shown the the likelihood of dying from TB increases if the patient is suffering from HIV or if the pat ient belongs to a very young age group. In UK the spread of infectious disease like TB is huge. Around 8751 cases have been reported in London (fig 1) and this number is followed by West Midlands (fig 2). As far as the epidemiology of a non infectious disease is considered, coronary heart disease or CHD is the most common cause of death in UK (ABPI 2013). According to the stats provided by BHF (2013) around 74k people die every year from this disease and 200 people each day at an average. 2.5 million people are living with this disease and research has shown increase in this disease with age. Fig 3 shows the incidence of CHD among men and women and the death caused, based on the age and sex. The strategies like screening, surveillance, education, social welfare, immunization, etc can be used to control the incidence of disease related cases. There are three basic level of prevention: primary, secondary and tertiary prevention (Lundy and James 2009). Immunization comes under the primary method of prevention. In order to ensure defence at the primary level itself the NHS should ensure that the professionals who come in contact with the TB patients are already immunized with TB vaccine (NICE 2014). UV rays and ventilation can be used to preven occurrence of TB as well. At the secondary level, it is important for the NHS professionals to identify the target population who have been infected by M. tuberculosis and are suffering from latent TB. The final and the last tertiary prevention aims towards treatment of TB after the diagnosis of TB and helps in reducing the pain and symptoms. Research has shown that there are no proper measures to improve the treatment, prevention and control of TB in UK and therefore the NHS professionals have to work in coordination in order to raise awareness about the causes, the symptoms and the distribution and spread of TB. To decrease the commonness of coronary danger figures and diminish imbalances, NHS tries to ceaselessly create, actualize and screen arrangements to enhance way of life. Change4Life is a social showcasing crusade dispatched in 2009 planning to lessen weight, elevating physical exercises and to decrease heart ailments. Change 4Life game club teaches youngsters how to be all the more physically dynamic. According to the Youth sport Trust (2014) the number of children who feel active and are positive about it is more than 105k (Youth Sports club 2014). However, some research based studies have also shown that the effect of Change 4Life is negligible on the vulnerable groups of people. The current scenario of the agenda of the health care agencies is to perform analysis of the diseases and therefore extract information regarding the mortality rate and the loss of health in case of injuries in any form, serious and complicated diseases and other dominating risk factors. All these factors are essential to be evaluated in order to determine the exact requirement of priorities of the health care agencies so that they are able to provide better and efficient services. WHO ensures that all the people have equal and continued access to the health and social care services (HSC services). This includes proper distribution and access to drugs and vaccines, proper care and treatment for the pregnant women, disabled people and chronically ill patients. In order to determine the provisions for HSC the government of UK has initiated DALY program. DALY or Disability-adjusted life year is a program that measures the gap between the current status of health and the ideal status of health which ensures that the populative lives longer, disability free and free from any illness (WHO c 2014). The major risk factors that contribute to ill health are consumption of tobacco, high blood pressure, poor diet, mental disability, alcohol abuse and physical inactivity. This call for the topmost priority to be prevention of diseases. Research evidence shows that this was the main priority for the year 2013-14 (PHE 2013). The focus of attention of these agencies is the number of diseases that can be prevented by taking some useful precautions and maintaining good health. These diseases include cardiovascular disorders, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorders, mental health, backache and cancers. Being the leading causes of death in UK, they are most vulnerable to be attacked by the agencies. The approaches used by the government to prevent thses diseases are spreading awareness and educating the people about the prevalence of diseases (DH 2014). Some of the diseases require incorporation of lifestyle changes on order to prevent their occurrence and prevalence. The diseases that fall under this category are CHD, respiratory disorders, cardiovascular diseases and cancers. UK experiences high requirement of education of importance of maintaining a healthy diet and also implementing a healthy and active lifestyle. The government should encourage the use of bicycle or force the people to walk to their destinations instead of taking public or private nmode of transport. They should also make gyms available to all classes of people and the cost of the gym should vary according to the income of the population. Simultaneous actions are necessary to implement early interventions that prevent the conditions before they take a chronic For an instance, it is important to carry out regular screening and check up routines to identify cancer in an early stage. Interventions of use of technology and other measures for rapid diagnosis and treatment of heart related diseases, prevention of blockage of coronary arteries, etc is equally important. By following all these measure th e government is able to keep a track of mortality rate and count the number of death that have been affected by the measures that have been followed (Cohen, Hasselbring 2007). There exists a solid connection between understanding the disease that grips a person and the kind of health and social care that is being provided to him/her. Two major components of any research based health care are resource allocation and greed priorities. If these two components are assessed properly the PH and services being provided, improve significantly. If the statistics provided by the Cancer Research UK (2014) are taken into account it can be seen that the incidence of breast cancer in UK increased by 7% and this rate is increasing exponentially. This survey has put pressure on the quality and type of HSC services that are being provided and demands more efficient and regular services to the people. Simultaneously the requirement of radiologists, pathologists, breast cancer surgeons, radiation and medical therapists is increasing as the majority of cases result from the breast cancer. Research has shown effective use of evidence based practices for carrying out breast can cer treatment and diagnosis. This calls for proper communication among all the professionals and efficient collection of the previous data related to breast cancer surgeries and treatment methodologies including the dosage and type of drugs that were used. A cumulative evaluation of all the data can help the professionals in establishing a standard which can be used as a base to proceed with a particular treatment plan. Another point of concern is the prevalence of mental health problems which are a result of por lifestyle adaptation. Yet again the research evidence has shown an increase of 68% in the admission of young people into the hospitals. The reason behind their admission has mostly been self harm or mental disability (Youngminds 2011). Lifestyle choices play a major role in determining the course of ones health and longetivity. Indulging in poor dietary habits, smoking, substance or alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity, improper sleeping habits and lack of relief from stressful schedules, can all contribute in the initiation and progression of preventable diseases like CHD, respiratory syndromes, cardiovascular diseases, cancers, etc. Research evidence has shown increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in people who have poor diet. Even they suffer from obesity and type 2 diabetes (HSCIC 2014). Lack of physical activity also causes obesity and diabetes, even arthritis. The chances of stroke, among the people who are physically active, are reduced by 25-30%. The chances of colon cancer and CHD are also reduced (C3 Collaborating for Health 2011). The greater parts of preventable malady kept on climbing, demonstrating that the UK populace is settling on terrible way of life decisions and this brings a negative effect on future HSC administrations. The general practices (GP), NHS, private, nursing, psychological wellness administration, recovery focuses will need to be prepared to face and react to future increment in wellbeing and social needs. The health and well being of a person have been defined differently by everyone. WHO has a different definition while other researches have a different version for it. Diener et al. (2009) has defined health as the overall evaluation of one;s ability when considering the physical, mental, intellectual and social aspect. The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA) is one such program or initiative that caters to the needs and the well being of the local authorities as well as the local populations. It collaborates with the clinical commissioning groups (CCGs). They are involved in the identification of the topmost priorities of the communities and some of the issues that require immediate attention are safety and security, intellectual, emotional and social needs, diet, mobility and hygiene. UK has been reported with most number of teenage pregnancy cases and therefore it has become vital for the health care service providers to ensure that such teens are mentally healthy. For this th ey provide intensive social and emotional support and also encourage the parents to do the same. Support in terms of financing, counseling, housing and caring for the baby are also provided. This helps the patients to cope with the overall stress and anxiety. It is also important start a programme like the healthy Schools programme which aids in sex promotion education in schools and thereby educates the young mind about the precautions and other important things. More youthful youngster folks tend not to request help when they confront challenges with kid minding, in light of the fact that they would prefer not to be judged as unequipped for dealing with their infants. Some adolescent folks did not have any chances to meet with other young folks and have lost contact with numerous companions and they get to be socially separated (Community Links 2011). For service provision to be effective, it is important as well as mandatory to evaluate each and every component of the health care facility being provided. Some of these components are the complaints policies, quality of provision, involvement and participation of friends and family members, working partnerships, etc. Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints (England) Regulations came into force in 2009. Since the health agencies that come under NHS are restricted beneath legislative rules and contractual and professional obligations, it can be assumed that the level of satisfaction of the patients is automatically high and the feedback and the collective information that is received for improvising the existing facilities and services is very useful (Medical protection Society 2009). The quality of the standards of HSC are governed by the Care Standards Act of 2000. The Act provides minimum standards for the national as well as private sector residenti al and nursing care homes, the personal domiciliary services, etc. The body responsible for carrying out inspection of the services being provided by CSA is CQC (). It is responsible for evaluating and assessing only the services being provided for a specific duration (CQC 2014). Change is the necessisity of time. A lot of changes can be made to improve the existing healtha and well being of the individuals. Some of the major changes should occur in the field of education, physical fitness, counseling or guidance, exercise regime and feedback from therapists and specialists. Education can help in disease prevention and early detection of symptoms by spreading awareness about the major diseases. WHO promotes education of all in all the regions of the world, irrespective of age, gender, caste, etc. The nurses those who are involved in the general practices can also help in making the public known to various preventive measures for the common diseases like breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases and many other. Their role is immense in making the women realize the importance of monitoring their bodies for any changes that need special and immediate attention and could be a trigger for breast cancer (Cancer research UK 2014). Apart from this, the sex education sho uld also be implemented in schools as the most number of illegal or unprotective sex cases arise among the young school going children. Simultaneously mothers should be made aware of the importance of breastfeeding and volunteers should be recruited from all domains of life to promote health education and establish a care setting. Lastly, the role of physical exercises should be stressed upon as it not only helps in maintaining physical health but also helps in promoting mental growth and development.The government of UK should collaborate with such organizations that allow sports facilities and leisure centres at reduced and economical prices. The UK government keeps on advancing and support good dieting and physical action, yet corpulence keeps on playing devastation the nation over, "fuelling" health awareness costs. This emerges criticalness of assessing the adequacy of the national arrangement crusades. One such activity is the Change 4 life programme. This initiative is aimed at helping the families and the adults who are somewhere in their middle ages, to incorporate important and vital changes in their diet, alcohol consumption and levels of activities. The impact of this program was so vast that 80% of the mothers decided to link their diets with exercise and reduction in consumption of alcohol. The budget of the program has been reduced by haves in the recent years (Bradley 2013). Conclusion It is essential for all the health care professionals and the experts to understand the importance of public health, its maintainance and service delivery. Public health not only means treatment of diseases or their diagnosis but it is combination of life improvement strategies, mitigation of premature death and reduction in the mortality rates. The statistical analysis of the dataset from the previous studies helps the researchers and the health experts to draw conclusions and identify the factors contributing in the ovrall increase in the death rate. Evaluation of the policies, strategies and the system helps in improving the service that is provided to the patients and increases their life expectancies significantly. 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