Collaborative Working to improve health and wellbeing - Essay Example

COLLABORATIVE WORKING TO IMPROVE HEALTH AND WELLBEING Contents Sr. # Topic Pg Introduction 2 2. Approaches for promoting and protectingpopulation health 3 3. Tackling Health Inequalities and Working in Partnerships 5 4. Project Evaluation Strategies 9 5. Political, Ethical and Risk of doing harm 10 6. Current Contemporary Health Promotion / Protection Activities 11 7. Skills Needed to Effectively Lead a Multi Professional Working Group 13 References 14 1. Introduction The concept of Public health is centered on promoting and improving public health and prevention of diseases in populations or communities as a whole, rather than that of individuals. The underlying essence of a collaborative approach towards public health lies in identifying and ascertaining of a geographic boundary i.e., a country or a territory irrespective of its level of authority such as local, national or regional levels within a society. The public health practitioners are assigned to these geographically defined territories to focus and enhance the health of individuals suffering from any particular illness or disease. Public health can be defined as: "The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts of society"1 The scientific foundation of community health practice lies in the discipline of epidemiology, which is frequently explained as the study of the allocation of ailments in the prescribed geographical segment or population. With the development and emergence of medical science during the 19th century, the consciousness regarding the existence and hazards of the fundamental causes of illnesses, particularly, epidemics and contagious diseases among the population increased. This further led to the growth of the Public Health Movement and the subsequent passing of laws and regulations regarding collaborative working as a means to approach and ensure matters related to public health and wellbeing2. This paper aims to analyze, study and investigate into the various aspects related to collaborative working for public health and well being, discusses the various approaches for promoting and protecting population health, the aspects related to inequalities as well as working in partnerships, strategies that may be applied for project evaluation, the current contemporary health promotion activities as well as the skills required for effectively leading a multi professional working group. 2. Approaches for Promoting and Protecting Population Health The World Health Organization defines Health as: “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease, or infirmity"3 While the term population health is defined as: "The art and science of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private; communities and individuals"4 The primary objectives of “population health” is protecting the well-being of populations; as well as averting the spread of diseases, sickness and harm to the health and welfare of populations. The various approaches that can be adopted for addressing population health include: prevention strategies, population strategy as well as unified approach (Rose, 2008, Pp. 48 – 49). One of the most effective techniques of avoiding the occurrence and prevalence of health related problems among individuals, according to Rose (1992) is through implementation of policies aimed at reducing the risks of contracting such diseases among the individuals. Such an approach calls for a population wide implementation of strategies. A multi strategy approach can be implemented to address and improve health and well-being of a given population. This includes, imparting education, conducting screening, providing immunization and other similar interventions5. Figure 1: Community Health Protection and Prevention Model6 The preventive approach entails imparting of knowledge and education to create awareness regarding the steps and measures that can be implemented to avoid harm to individual health. The population approach, on the other hand, takes into consideration the health benefit of the entire population through public services such as water supply, ensuring the adequate implementation of environmental measures such as legislative control of air pollution, health education by mass media, immunization etc. Such an approach is directed at the entire population irrespective of the fact that an individual who is a part of the population is at risk or not. A unified approach or the clinical approach is directed at the treatment of individual health concerns and disregards the fact that the entire population might be at a high risk of contracting similar diseases or health problems7. 3. Tackling Health Inequalities and Working in Partnerships The concept of health inequalities is used to describe the widespread disparities in health experience as observed among the minority populations and ethnic groups in Britain, and have been viewed and reported in the UK since decades. It is defined as: "the virtually universal phenomenon of variation in health indicators (infant and maternal mortality rates, mortality and incidence rates of many diseases and so on associated with socio - economic status and ethnicity"8. Interventions aimed at reducing the inequalities in health can be classified as upstream - downstream, and Universalist - selectivist policies. The upstream policy is designed to address the essential causes of inequalities through national, social and economic policy while the downstream policy aims at working directly with underprivileged and deprived individuals and communities with a view to deal with their pressing socio - economic and health problems. The universalist policies strive to ascertain that every individual is entitled to receive similar standards of health care as received by the other individuals within a given population. The selectivist policy on the other hand seeks to ensure that the health services be made available to those individuals who are at the greatest risk of an illness or disease or have the most urgency to receive medical care. Such widespread disparities can be addressed through implementation and adoption of a wide variety of policies and approaches such as lobbying, working in partnerships, community development, promoting healthy behavior and improving access to health care. The medical health practitioners may influence the manner in which national policy addresses and approaches the upstream determinants of health inequalities by lobbying ministers, MPs and other regulatory bodies and decision makers such as the UK Public Health Association, Health Visitors Association and the Faculty of Public Health9. The initiative of providing effective health care facilities through formation of effective partnerships has been a persistent premise in the field of health care delivery. W.H.O. in 1978 declared that all individuals have a right and a responsibility to contribute in the planning of their health care - individually as well as collectively suggesting the need for establishment of a partnership with the clients, by the health care professionals based on their involvement and contribution. Several researchers and theorists have stressed on the relevance and significance of working in partnerships as a means of enhancing population health measures. According to Goodwin (1991), proposals nurturing affiliations with parents and private self reliance are likely to be relatively more successful in improving child health rather than the routine and habitual efforts of the health visitors. Tones and Tilford (2001), suggest that the patient - nurse relationship is crucial in fostering the development and improvement of health outcomes among individuals. Martin et al, (2000) claims that in terms of psychotherapy there is substantial evidence which points towards the success of the worker - client relationship as an efficient means of achieving and maintaining healthier lifestyles. However, despite mounting evidence that stresses on the importance of working in partnerships as a means of achieving better health outcomes, the approach has been persistently and categorically neglected in the UK till recently. The DfES in its study on Every Child Matters: Next Step has accepted and acknowledged the advantages of interagency partnerships and collaborative working10. The concept of working in partnerships is today, widely appreciated and proposed in several UK government policy documents. In the context of provision of health services the term working in partnerships is defined as: “a respectful, negotiated way of working together that enables choice, participation, and equity within an honest, trusting relationship that is based in empathy, support and reciprocity"11 Figure 2: Family Partnership Model for Health and Well Being Source: Cowley, S., Mawle, A., Adams, C., (2007). Community Public Health in Policy and Practice: A Sourcebook, Elsevier Health Sciences, Pp. 31 The fundamental characteristics involved in working in partnerships include: participation of health professionals and clients alike, existence and possession of complementary expertise i.e., comprehensive knowledge and skills; power sharing which entails sharing of decision making power amongst the health practitioners and the clients regarding provision of services; working towards the predetermined goals and aims; existence of mutual trust and respect; free flow of communication between the parties involved which includes negotiations regarding the services provided and benefits derived. 4. Project Evaluation Strategies The strategies that can be implemented for evaluating public health promotion projects include: elaborating on the concise definitions of public health, interviewing the health care practitioners, clients as well as physicians and use of appropriate models of health as a framework for reference to study the disparities in perspectives sought and those implemented; ascertaining the difficulties and setbacks encountered during promotion and prevention of public health activities, seeking appropriate measures for disease prevention and framing strategies for maintaining and retaining health; defining and analyzing the extent and scope of community health promotion programs and understanding the indicators of a specified population or community; developing and framing effective nursing care plans and frameworks ; implemeting of an integrated model for community health promotion and prevention policies for seeking population wide health benefits; and considering the role and significance of collaborative efforts through use of partnership models for achieving positive health outcomes at the school, public, occupational and private health care levels. 5. Political, Ethical and Risks of Doing Harm According to Weiss (2007), several quick ethical tests can be applied once a plan of action is developed after analysis. These ethical steps include12: The Golden Rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This rule entails that one must abstain from intentionally causing harm or injury to others. The Intuition Ethic: This rule suggests that individuals are aware of the things that are right and carry a sense of morality, principles and ethics within them and hence they must adhere to these principles and choose right over wrong. The Means – End Ethic: Individuals may opt for deceitful yet effective means to reach the desired goals, however they must bear in mind that the same has been done to ensure meaningful outcomes. The test of Common Sense: This rule entails application of logic and reasoning before taking any decisive measure. The test of Ones’ best self: This rule proposes that the actions taken must be in sync with ones own moral beliefs and principles. The Test of Ventilation: The decisions must be taken through discussions and incorporating the recommendations of other knowledgeable individuals and not in isolation, to derive appropriate results. The Test of Purified Idea: This principle suggests that one must understand the significance of acing on a suggestion and recommendation and not react haphazardly on the recommendation of others who are in a relatively dominant or authoritative position. 6. Current Health Promotion / Protection Activities The Department of Health13 has been currently focusing on various health related issues targeted at enhancing and improving the population health. These include: The anti - smoking campaign: aimed at teenagers who are worried about their parents smoking habits whereby the parents are urged to give up smoking and understand the health hazards on themselves as well as their families and loved ones. Stroke Act F.A.S.T campaign: This campaign is designed to generate awareness among the health care professionals as well as the general public regarding the signs of stroke as well as educate them about certain essential life saving facts such as prompt availability of emergency treatment is likely to reduce the risk of death and disability. Such a strategy is developed in order to encourage the people to gather knowledge about such strokes and the range of options available to them that can help prevent occurrence of any casualty or risk of life. Change4Life: This campaign is supported by the Department of Health and is aimed at improving the dietary habits of the children as well as the levels of activity with a view to reduce the threat to their future health and happiness and ensure their well being. Its primary objective is “to make every family in England eat well, move more and live longer”. Know Your Limits: This alcohol awareness campaign helps the targeted population in understanding the hazards of alcoholism and excessive drinking and the potential threat to the life of other individuals on account of such limitless consumption of intoxicating drinks. Also there are other campaigns such as the Hepatitis C awareness campaign aimed at generating awareness about the disease. Currently there are approximately 100, 000 people in England who are unaware about the existence of such a disease which puts them at greater risk since the virus is attracted through activities such as tattooing, or injecting drugs. The antibiotics campaign strives to generate awareness among the people regarding the issues related to the use and effectiveness of antibiotics as sources of medicinal relief. The Condom Essential Wear policy which is being advertised across U.K, is a part of the Adult Sexual Health Policy, developed with a view to reduce the percentage of sexually transmitted infections by generating awareness among the adults between the age group of 18 - 34. 7. Skills Needed to Effectively Lead a Multi Professional Working Group Recent reformation and advances in terms of provision of health care facilities has progressively championed the significance of multi professional teamwork in order to guarantee that the customers are provided with synchronized packages of care that portray the complete assortment of suitable services obtainable by them14. The key skills required by such multi professional teams of health care workers include: the ability to devote adequate time in analyzing the scope and extent of the value positions of each profession or discipline and discuss the collective anxieties and concerns to achieve the team’s shared vision or goals. It also requires the creation of proper opportunities for the teams to acknowledge and internalize their own competence to gain adequate knowledge regarding the various methods of avoiding separateness so as to ensure adherence to team policies, develop an improved sense of accountability among the staff, and overcome obstacles faced; clearly establishing the role and scope of rights and duties of the team leader who in turn must be able to provide enabling tasks to the team members and ensure its full compliance. The skills can be nurtured through encouraging the team members to actively participate in decision making, embracing diversity and empower team members to utilize the benefits of the multi professional working for the benefit of its clients i.e., families, patients and others15. References (in alphabetical order) Allender, J. A., Spradley, B. W., (2004). Community Health Nursing: Promoting and Protecting the Publics Health, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Pp. 35 Cowley, S., Mawle, A., Adams, C., (2007). Community Public Health in Policy and Practice: A Sourcebook, Elsevier Health Sciences, Pp. 28 - 36 Ewles, L., Simnett, I., (2003).Promoting Health: A Practical Guide, Elseiver Health Sciences, Pp. 26 Frost, M., (2005). Health Visiting: Specialist Community Public Health Nursing, Elsevier Health Sciences, Pp. 49 Ghaye, T., (2005). Developing the Reflective Healthcare Team. Wiley - Blackwell Publishers, Pp. 100 Mullarkey, K., Playle, J. F., (2001). Multiprofessional Clinical Supervision: Challenges for Mental Health Nurses, Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Pp. 205 Orme, J., Powell, J., Taylor, P., Grey, M., (2007). Public Health for the 21st Century, McGraw Hill International, Pp. 156 - 163 Rose, G., (1992). The Strategy of Preventive Medicine, Oxford University Press Rose, G., Khaw, K., Marmot, M., (2008). Roses Strategy of Preventive Medicine, Oxford University Press, Pp. 48 - 49 Watkins, D., Edwards, J., Gastrell, P., (2003). Community Health Nursing: Frameworks for Practice, Elsevier Health Sciences, Pp. 29 White, B. D., (2007). Drugs, Ethics, and Quality of Life: Cases and Materials on Ethical, Legal and Public Policy Dilemmas in Medicine and Pharmacy Practice, Informa Health Care, Pp. 53 Young, T. K., (2005). Population Health: Concepts and Methods, Oxford University Press, Pp. 1 Department of Health (2009). Current Campaigns, viewed: April 13, 2009 from: Read More