Priority: Working with communities to promote wide use of best practices to enable healthy living

Introduction

One of the national health priorities is to work with communities in ways which will ensure best practices for a healthy life. Community health is complex and requires several group innervations at different levels. There are several recommendations put across on what the federal, state and health organizations should do to promote the health of the community depending on their abilities. This study seeks to advance on the current recommendations to strengthen the responsibility of the three groups on community health.

Federal Recommendations

The report recommends that the federal government ensures that better health is shared across the country (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2017). It has the responsibility of promoting behaviors such as the ones free from alcohol and fostering an environment which supports healthy living. In one of the specific areas that the government is supposed to look into, there should be an increased number of clinics for preventive services. The clinics will immunize and vaccinate all children against any outbreak of or predicted disease. The strategy ensures that all children across the courtly are unified in terms of health because each area will receive a vaccine according to the prevalent diseases. The clinics are also crucial in screening illness not only in children but also in adults to enable early treatment before it gets out of control or spreads in the whole region (American Public Health Association, 2014). The report also recommends that the government make it easy for health care facilities to adopt evidence-based practices, which helps to improve the health of a given population. The intervention ensures that any disease arising is treated intensely with follow up to avoid reoccurrence.

On the case of adding more clinics for prevention and screening services, the government should also make it efficient for the supply of the vaccines to the local clinics. It will ensure that the detected diseases are controlled on the right time to avoid spreading to the whole community (Stewart & Cox, 2013). In the national vaccine plan, the federal government provides for efficiency in supply. The provision should incorporate local nurses at the community level together with state leaders to know exactly how and at what rate the clinics need the vaccines and other drugs. Nurses at the community level know better what kind of a health condition the communities they serve are suffering. The federal government should, therefore, be in constant communication with them to be able to supply specific drugs for specific localities.

The federal government should also ensure that there is continuous research in every community to ensure that there are updated records on what are the health needs of the public. The analysis should cover the current disease on the society as well as the need for updated vaccines. Different diseases arise in different communities, which the biologists may not be able to research and search for the right treatment (Gofin, Gofin, & Stimpson, 2015). However, it is easier for the government to engage the community, which can give reports on any changing health issues. The federal government should also work with the local clinics to get information on the diseases trends to be able to improve treatments through vaccine and another drug improvement (Stewart & Cox, 2013).

Financing community health workers, local clinics, state governments as well as researchers are also essential to help carry out health improvement services alongside research-based practices. One challenge, which faces health of communities, is lack of drugs, enough nurses and funds to continue carrying out health promotion services such as advice on the right nutrition (Stewart & Cox, 2013). Vaccine producing companies in the US, for example, reduced production in the 1980s because of making low profits among other reasons. The health of the communities is affected in such cases because drugs and medical services are expensive. The federal government should support financially, the various research agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on their activities. The support will enable them to carry out in-depth investigations into the communities and analyze the best practices to improve their health. The research institutes are in contact with the local communities, and therefore there will be the inclusion of every person in identifying the best strategies that can help improve community health.

State Recommendations

States should take the responsibility of bringing together the community-based organizations, personal healthcare providers and purchasers of health care drugs and tools to ensure a sensitive healthcare plan. Communities have specific health needs, which require special treatments (Stewart & Cox, 2013). By bringing the groups together, it will be easy to have a comprehensive plan, which will encompass all cultures in the provision of healthcare services. With the information, the state will be able to create facilities, which meets the needs of specific groups within the community. The plan, for example, may include construction of a mental care facility within a particular geographical area, which will make psychiatric care service delivery efficient. Such initiatives are only possible when the state collaborates with the groups mentioned which are representatives of the community.

Individual states should take the responsibility of carrying out model development and improvement to add to the current one, which caters for personal health. Such models should focus on the health of a population, which will ensure that some specific diseases do not go round the community (Gofin, Gofin, & Stimpson, 2015). The models include integration of community intervention in health with those of the state or local clinics. One such model is the Community Oriented Primary Care (COPC), which adds on community interventions towards healthcare (Gofin, Gofin, & Stimpson, 2015). Communities sometimes resist the routine health services provided in clinics with the claim that their traditional methods are better. The idea sometimes works, but there are some infections, which may not be eliminated with the interventions making the community continue suffering the same health complications for years. Having a model, which allows merges the cultural interventions and those of clinics will ensure the improvement of community health. The program allows the development of effective and efficient personal health, health promotion, and social support to all community members.

Another recommendation for the sates on health promotion for the community is to educate all the key players in health as well as the community on essential public health functions. People will not seek for help related to their health issues unless they know that they have the ability, right and where to ask for such services (Stewart & Cox, 2013). Sometimes, community members do not even know that there exist community health workers who are near in case of emergencies. Understanding the functions of the public health agencies is important towards health promotion of individuals. The state should launch campaigns to educate the community on the roles of the national and state governments as well as local organizations on health promotion (American Public Health Association, 2014). The information will help them to know where to seek health care and whom to look for in case of an issue related to health. The education should extend to management and prevention of diseases.

The state should take responsibility for mobilizing the communities on activities, which will promote their health. Such activities include engagement in the cleaning of public places and homes as well as sports. School curriculums integrate sports because they knew their importance in promoting not only children mental and physical development but also in their general health. The same concept should be adapted to adults. Some of the diseases, which activities like sports can eliminate, include obesity and even mental illness. Most of the adults who work in offices with minimal activities develop spinal cord complications and fat accumulation. Through the creation of tournaments and support of local matches, the state will ensure that people exercise to prevent common diseases, which results from poor eating habits, long sitting hours, and limited exposure to sunlight (Gofin, Gofin, & Stimpson, 2015).

Organizational Level

Healthcare organizations are the watchdog to ensure that healthcare providers carry out their functions in a professional manner. Also, there are other organizations which are directly involved in health promotion where some are state-owned like the community health workers attached to local clinics.  The organizations should monitor the community health status to identify any problem (American Public Health Association, 2014). In their monitoring, they should involve community members since they are on the ground level to know any health problem which people may have a challenge in reporting. Monitoring helps to identify in case of a disease outbreak early to control before it affects the whole community.

One of the challenges that face community health is lack of early identification and follow-up. Making follow-ups on patients is essential in ensuring quick recovery and prevention from spreading of the disease. Organizations should take the chance as a way of showing stewardship as expressed by the Saint Leo University. Ability to make follow up is only time-consuming which appears as a gift from God to serve those in need and without abilities (Saint Leo University, u.d). There are also some patients who are reluctant to visit hospitals because of their religious beliefs. Health organizations at the community level should take the initiative of identifying such cases and present them to local authorities for forced treatment to avoid spreading the disease to the whole community.

The health organizations should also ensure that communities are free from any harm (Gofin, Gofin, & Stimpson, 2015). Most people are illiterate to understand what can cause some complex diseases apart from the common ones like flu. Manufacturers set industries in any location exposing the surrounding communities to health risks. Also, the industries dispose of their wastes without management to the nearby community firms leading to the development of the complex disease. Making follow-ups such cases ensures that the community does not acquire health conditions, which people can prevent.

Conclusion

The health of the community requires collaboration between the healthcare providers and the facilitators. Communication may be difficult to flow from the low community level to higher government levels. There is, therefore, the need for the federal, states and health organizations to come to the ground level where they will be able to know and offer solutions to community health. The federal should fund and facilitate research on health issues together with the production of drugs. On the other hand, state governments need to create models, which will ensure whole population health in addition to individual care. Health organizations are in contact with the community members, and therefore, they should engage them in ensuring that there is no health hazard within their reach.

References

American Public Health Association. (2014). The role of public health in ensuring healthy communities. American Journal of Public Health, 86(3), 448-45.

Gofin, J., Gofin, R., & Stimpson, J. P. (2015). Community-oriented primary care (COPC) and the Affordable Care Act: an opportunity to meet the demands of an evolving health care system. Journal of primary care & community health, 6(2), 128-133.

Saint Leo University. (u.d). History & Mission. Retrieved from https://www.saintleo.edu/history-values-catholic-roots

Stewart, A. M., & Cox, M. A. (2013). State law and influenza vaccination of health care personnel. Vaccine, 31(5), 827-832.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2017). 2017 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Measure Specifications. Retrieved from https://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/wysiwyg/research/findings/nhqrdr/measspec-7.pdf

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