Introduction to Community Health

Introduction to Community Health

Community health focuses on individuals and the role they play in the preservation of their Health as well as the Health of other people. Community health assurance is aimed at maintaining, protecting, and improving the status of Health among various groups and communities. Community health determinants encompass socioeconomic and environmental factors influencing mental and physical Health. This paper seeks to analyze the factors affecting community health. Hire our assignment writing services in case your assignment is devastating you.

Physical factors affect the Health of communities to a much greater extent than other factors, in my opinion. Factors associated with the physical environment, such as water, air, workplaces, and housing, have been implicated in community health to a greater extent. Community health assurance will require safe, clean drinking water, air free of toxicants, and tranquil workplaces free of disturbances. Housing that is safe and free from potential health threats and promising infrastructural developments. Alterations in these states, such as air pollution, poor roads, poor housing, and lack of clean water, have been implicated in various human diseases and sufferings (Rhodes et al., 2017). Such cases as disease outbreaks and the development of respiratory pathologies have been linked directly to a lack of clean water and air pollution. These reasons justify the significance of the physical environment in assuring public Health.

Community refers to a social construct with similarities in terms of religion, identity, norms, customs, or values and exhibits a higher degree of interpersonal relationship among themselves. These social constructs or units may be situated in a particular geographical location, such as in the village, town, or just neighborhoods, or may be situated apart but have a commonality platform. On the other hand, community health entails the socioeconomic and environmental resources that maintain physical and emotional well-being among the community members in a manner that satisfies their needs and aspirations. Public Health, however, refers to the science concerned with the protection and improvement of people’s Health as well as the Health of their communities (Lohr et al., 2018). Public Health entails disease detection and prevention, response to infectious disease outbreaks, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle that promotes healthy living.

Personal Health entails individualized initiative in their Health. It sums up all efforts by an individual to promote their health and prevent disease. Such actions as proper nutrition, exercise, safe foods and clean water, and avoiding health risks represent personal health maintenance (Pirbaglou et al., 2018). Community health, on the flip side, entails the contribution of other individuals in the prevention of disease and promotion of Health. It involves any individualized action that promotes the entire community’s life. Such actions as good hygiene maintenance, health education, provision of fresh foods and clean water all promote the Health of individuals and their communities and represent community health maintenance.

Community health practices encompass all actions by communities that affect their Health. Several community practices produce positive results in attaining and maintaining healthy communities. Such activities as maintaining proper hygiene, consumption of fresh food and clean water, and health education promote healthy living.

Proper hygiene is an individualized responsibility that entails adequate disposal of wastes and has stretched benefits of preventing an outbreak of diseases that may translate to health devastation among the communities. Clean water and fresh foods are also crucial in preventing disease outbreaks that may otherwise affect entire communities (Austin-Evelyn et al., 2017). All these community practices are particularly beneficial in promoting Health and should be highly regarded among all communities.

Health disparity refers to inequalities in the process of healthcare providers and the access to healthcare services that occur across different groups. These groups are either racial, socioeconomic, or ethnically stratified. The hallmark of health disparity is expressed as an incomparable treatment to some stratifications. It has been evident in low socioeconomic groups, ethnic minorities, and preferential treatment of some races. Health disparities have been attributed to several causes. These causes can either be patient-related or provider-related. Provider-related factors include patient labeling, language barriers, racism, and provider bias. Patient-related include lifestyle behaviors, self-care behaviors, language and literacy levels, and sensitivity toward race. Other factors have been linked to the healthcare system. These include a lack of a diverse workforce, and systematic variations in quality have also been implicated. Health disparities have been involved in several problems. Health disparities impede the provision of quality services and the government’s initiatives to offer care to all Americans (Gollust et al., 2018). It is, therefore, essential to solve health disparity issues to prevent limitations in the gains gained so far in offering quality care to Americans.

The healthcare system is a social determinant of Health that remains to be of great significance to communities. Aspects of the healthcare system that are of interest include health coverage, provider ability, quality care, and provider linguistic and cultural competency. Healthcare systems have always been subject to several policy reforms and modifications. The landmark reform of 2010 that conceived the Affordable Care Act provided significant benefits that shaped the healthcare system landscape of America (Joseph, 2016). This provision considerably increased the number of Americans with insurance coverage and laid down initiatives that ensured quality improvement in healthcare delivery in Medicaid-registered hospitals.

Community health focuses on the individual factors that affect their Health. It is a significant component of public health but differs from general Health in that it focuses on the individuals, while available Health focuses on communities. The physical environment plays a vital role in the Health of individuals within the community and has been implicated in various health problems. However, different community practices have positive effects on community health. Such factors as proper hygiene maintenance and consumption of clean water promote the Health of individuals within the community. Health disparity represents inequalities in the treatment of individuals across different backgrounds. It impedes the quality provision of care and government initiatives to avail care for all. Health care coverage, a social determinant of Health, has received much government attention with the formulation of policies and policy modifications that enabled its expansion to reach many Americans.

 References

Austin-Evelyn, K., Rabkin, M., Macheka, T., Mutiti, A., Mwansa-Kambafwile, J., Dlamini, T. and El-Sadr, W., 2017. Community health worker perspectives on a new primary health care initiative in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. PLOS ONE, 12(3), p.e0173863.

Gollust, S., Cunningham, B., Bokhour, B., Gordon, H., Pope, C., & Saha, S. et al. (2018). What Causes Racial Health Care Disparities? A Mixed-Methods Study Reveals Variability in How Health Care Providers Perceive Causal Attributions. INQUIRY: The Journal Of Health Care Organization, Provision, And Financing, 55, 004695801876284. DOI: 10.1177/0046958018762840

Joseph, T., 2016. What Health Care Reform Means for Immigrants: Comparing the Affordable Care Act and Massachusetts Health Reforms. Journal of Health Politics, Policy, and Law, 41(1), pp.101-116.

Lohr, A., Ingram, M., Nuñez, A., Reinschmidt, K. and Carvajal, S., 2018. Community–Clinical Linkages With Community Health Workers in the United States: A Scoping Review. Health Promotion Practice, 19(3), pp.349-360.

Pirbaglou, M., Katz, J., Motamed, M., Pludwinski, S., Walker, K. and Ritvo, P., 2018. Personal Health Coaching as a Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Self-Management Strategy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. American Journal of Health Promotion, 32(7), pp.1613-1626.

Rhodes, R., Janssen, I., Bredin, S., Warburton, D. and Bauman, A., 2017. Physical activity: Health impact, prevalence, correlates, and interventions. Psychology & Health, 32(8), pp.942-975.

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Assignment Overview
Understanding conceptually a community is critical to understanding this course. After reading the appropriate articles and websites on the Background page, you should understand what a community is and some of the differences between community health and public Health.

Introduction to Community Health

Case Assignment
In responding to the questions below, I want you to immerse yourself in this course and try to think “out of the box.” Research points or questions you may not understand running critical words through Google or another search engine. Remember, we don’t require examinations at TUI University, but we do want you to demonstrate through the written word that you understand the key concepts presented in the course.

Please briefly answer the following questions:

Which factor do you believe most affects the Health of the community? Generally, these factors are classified as physical, social, cultural, community organization, and individual behavior. Please justify your response.

Define community, community health, and Public Health. Discuss the domains of personal and community Health within the community context.

Discuss and explain community health practices and their relationship to promoting a healthy community.

Explain health disparity and its causes. Identify the problems related to health disparity.

Discuss and explain a Social Determinant of Health that you consider the most important that can be improved by changing or modifying public policy as Richard Wilkinson and Michael Marmot described in the WHO (2008) “Closing gap in a generation.