Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Health & Beauty Health Promotion Health Promotion Health by definition is the complete physical, mental and social well-being (Burch, 2001). In the past health has been defined as the absence of disease. Health promotion enables people the ability and resources to improve and control their overall health. Being able to adjust and adapt to various social and physical environments in day-to-day activities is a trait of a healthy individual. Health promotion is not just the responsibility of those individuals in the health field. An individual’s well-being reflects whether or not that person has a healthy lifestyle. Therefore health promotion becomes an issue for employers, retailers, sports and policy makers among others because issues such as safety and environmental factors will have an influence on the well-being of an individual (Ottawa Charter, 1986). Collaborative and coordinated efforts to provide safer goods and services, and a cleaner, more enjoyable environment should be the goal for all. The goal of all involved should be to provide a healthier environment that will provide a better well-being for the population. Promoting health requires the detection of any barriers that would hinder the health promotion process and removal of them. Promoting health is, also, educating the public to current health issues. There are various aspects of health promotion. Health promotion can be applied to any group or environment. A few of the more popular places and populations we see health promotion being addressed more often are the workplace, community, among adolescent, and the elderly. However, I believe the most effective and important place to begin health promotion is within our school systems. Promoting a healthy lifestyle, bettering quality of life, and preventing disease and illness of the future are three of the main goals for health promoters (CDC1, 2001). Educating our youth is what I feel is the most effective way to accomplish this. Neglecting our older population for the younger population is not what is being implied. The “baby boomers” are now becoming the elderly population and need to be addressed. Addressing the younger generation now will hopefully lessen the pressures as they become older. The United States population has tripled since the 1900’s. Adults ages 65 years and older have increased from 3.1 million in 1900 to 33.9 million currently. At this rate by 2030 the number of older Americans will be more than 70 million (CDC1, 2001). One in every 5 Americans will be a senior citizen. This increase in the elderly population will affect health care cost and health promoting techniques. As more of the American population gets older, it becomes necessary to educate them and provide them with resources now. Americans need to know where they can go to get the proper treatment. They should be aware of what resources are available outside of a doctor’s office and hospital. Chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and arthritis, will be the most problematic among older Americans. There is an Arthritis Self Help Course available that educates the public on arthritis and the management of pain and minimization of symptoms. Adults are taught how early diagnosis and appropriate treatments are important in the management of arthritis. The Arthritis Self Help Course is proven to help adults reduce arthritis pain by as much as 20%. Those adults who enrolled in the self help course were better able to understand arthritis and physicians visits declined by 40%. However this wonderful program reaches less than 1% of the population despite its positive outcomes (CDC1, 2001). Community education and outreach programs in most areas are nonexistent or lack resources to educate the public on what is available to them. Those who are in charge of these programs lack the training and expertise to find the resources for what is available to their community. These same leaders are not fully aware of what the community needs due to the lack of communication with the constituents. Treating chronic diseases in the early stages can save lives and reduce health care costs. Health care providers realize the importance in prevention. For example, Medicare will cover screening for breast and colorectal cancers. However, 20% of women aged 65-69 have not received a mammogram within the past two years. Only half of all Americans 65 and older have received the recommended blood stool screening test for sigmoidoscopy or colonoscopy (CDC1, 2001). Most Americans do not realize these screenings are needed. If adults are aware that they should have the screening, most choose not to because of fear of cost. Americans are unaware of what health procedures are covered and those that are not. Health care even at its most basic is hard for the average person to understand. No person is ever trained on his or her health care policy. Most people are given the manual and documents that are supposed to explain the coverage and left to figure it out. This is apart of health promotion that isn’t effective now but needs more work. Letting this growing number of adults know what resources are available is important. Most have passed the primary stage of prevention. Adults have crossed to secondary and tertiary stages. Educating the public on what resources are available and how to go about allocating those resources is important for the older age group. As for the next generation, if we can educate them now maybe we can catch them before the secondary and tertiary stages. The current adult population grew along with the American industry. Technology, fast food and unhealthy diets all come into being during the adult’s youth. The elderly Americans did not have the education on the unhealthy effects foods can have on your body. Research was not as predominant in the past as it is today. Technology has kept most of the “baby boomers” from going outside and enjoying physical activity. Elderly Americans didn’t have physical education to show the importance of physical activity in everyday life. Physical activity is a treatment that two thirds of Americans can use to treat physical or mental ailments and do not (CDC1, 2001). Physical activity is the cure all. Yet it is the most neglected medicine that Americans use. Many people have the misconception that if they are thin that there is not need for physical activity, this is a very ignorant view. A healthy lifestyle is prudent to avoid the decline and deterioration associated with aging. It has been proven that physical activity can aid in the prevention of illness and disease. Some benefits of physical activity are shown below. Reduced risk of coronary heart disease. Reduced risk of colon cancer. Reduced risk of diabetes. Reduced risk of high blood pressure. Reduced risk of alls. Reduced risk of anxiety and depression. Maintains a healthy body weight. Maintains joint strength and mobility. After knowing these benefits there is no reason for not being physically active. One would argue that smokers know the risk of smoking, yet 25% of Americans still smoke (CDC1, 2001). Adults do not fully understand the importance of physical activity, and the role it plays in maintaining good health. This point is not stressed enough in school. Physical activity is essential. Just as the body needs the correct vitamins and minerals to be healthy, it needs the right amount of activity to function properly. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) can provide public health leadership and coordination in establishing a national framework to promote health and an improved quality of life (CDC2, 2001). The CDC wants to establish a foundation of prevention. However, the CDC realizes that they need to build on what currently is in place and what is known to work. Working collaboration with Administration on Aging, National Institute on Aging, Health Care Financing Administration, AARP, National Council on Aging, Erotological Society of America, American Society on Aging, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation the CDC can join forces to promote health and well being among the aging population (CDC1, 2001). Research is constantly being done. Factors such as race, ethnicity and location are areas that need to be further researched concerning death, disease and quality of life (Manson, 1997). The combination of various expertises is essential to finding the solution to complex health issues. Networking among universities allows for shared information on key research issues in the health field. Now that we have an idea of what steps can and should be done for those in secondary and tertiary stages, lets view how primary prevention can be better accomplished. Preparing people for all phases of life is essential. This will enable them to cope with chronic illnesses and injury enhancing their life skills. Educating adults provides a certain personal and social development allowing for interpersonal growth. Education is key in schools but must be facilitated at home, work and in the community as well. Educational, professional, commercial, and voluntary bodies must take action to promote well being among individuals. “Schools could do more than perhaps any other single institution in society to help young people, and the adults they will become, to live healthier longer, more satisfying, and more productive lives.” The Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development made the statement, this is how health promotion should work (CDC2, 2001). Fifty-three million students attend nearly 117,000 schools across our nation each day. School health programs are one of the most effective mans to shape our nations future health and well being (Healthy People, 2001). The size and accessibility alone should be enough to prove the effectiveness that educating our youth could have. Table 1.2 shows the different results that health promotion has already had in various schools around our nation. Planned sequential health education resulted in a 37% reduction in the onset of smoking among seventh grade students. Prevalence of obesity decreased among girls in grades 6-8 who participated in a school based intervention program. Students who participated in school based life skills training program were less likely to use tobacco, alcohol, or marijuana than were student not enrolled in the program The Ottawa Charter for health promotion states there are certain prerequisites for health that must first be met before improving health status. These prerequisites are peace, shelter, education, food, income, a stable ecosystem, sustainable resources, social justice, and equity (Ottawa Charter, 1986). To begin to improve ones health an individual must have met all of the above to provide a solid foundation for health improvement. The CDC will assist states in providing the information, skills and training needed to teach avoidance of risk behaviors. Yet less than ½ of the states are receiving that funding (CDC2, 2001). This is why we need an integrated, collaborative approach to school health. Health is not a state issue, it is a global one. ARCAFLKYME MAMIMNMTNC NMNYORRISC SDTNVTWIWV Those states that are funded by the CDC are provided with the resources that insure the curricula are available nationwide for state and local education agencies interested in using them. Right now it is up to the schools to decide which curricula best meets their students needs (CDC2, 2001). Each community’s needs are different. Issues in one community may not be the same problems as another community. For example maybe smoking is more a problem in Tennessee, where as in West Virginia teen pregnancy is a problem. However, there are certain issues that should be addressed nationwide. Diseases aren’t blind to just one state. Nationally, we need to decide what health issues should be addressed to everyone, and then break those issues down, and teach them at the community level. There are eight components of a coordinated school health program that should be addressed in some form or fashion (CDC2, 2001). Eight Components of a Coordinated School Health Program As with every type of educational program there must be some way to evaluate and determine if the information being presented is understood and comprehended. Evaluations must be done before and after the implementation of any program (Harrison, Learmonth, Speller, 1997). After the programs have been implemented these questions should be addressed: Was it applied in the manner intended, what did the participants think about the process (Manson, 1997). Various sources of data from different areas and a variety of people should be used. A program that works in a rural community might not work the same in a more populated area. When implementing a new school program the administration and community should try to predict any barriers that may be a problem. Various researchers have noted the following problems to consider when implementing a new school health program. - Lack of support from education departmental staff - Poor in-service training of teachers regarding health promotion. - Perceived lack of administrative support and commitment. - Competing demands on teacher time and energy. - Competition with other curriculum areas, timetabling and resource issues. Everyone in the community has to want the program. Constituents need to fully understand the benefits. Perhaps an educational workshop for the community is needed before implementing the program. Hunter Region Health Promoting Schools Project provided some guiding principles they used for implementing health promotion in secondary school communities (Manson, 1997). GUIDING PRINCIPLES1. Strong support from school communities is crucial in the initial stages. 2. Credibility must be established.3. Providing school communities with a school-specific, data-based profile of the health status of students and current health promoting actions represents an important vehicle for demonstrating the need for intervention.4. Identifying key individuals or “gatekeepers” which facilitates the process of initiating health promotion actions. And carry out health promotion actions. This enables teachers to view important parts of their role and not as an additional task.5. A set of minimum actins should be developed along with supporting resources.6. Actions and accompanying resources should be introduced to schools one at a time.7. Schools should be provided with feedback on their progress. A comparison of efforts across schools also can be used to motivate individual schools.8. Regular contact with the school liaison.9. A range of supplementary activities across all schools, including running workshops, providing regular newsletters and quarterly reports, and information resources such as touch screen computer interactive programs. This schools project involved having presence in school communities by providing skills training and resources. The school implemented and evaluated the schools health programs. Questions that should be asked after implementation are: a. How effective is the approach in bringing about positive health behavior change? b. If significant improvement occurs, what is the cost in terms of money? Even if the monetary cost is great, in the long run, the money and time saved in the end will be worth it. If there is not full commitment the first time, chances are extra money will be spent in the long run trying to go back over what was neglected or what was not done correctly. However, if everything is done correctly in the first attempts then money and time will be saved for everyone. The goal should be to find the most effective way to promote a healthy lifestyle in our school systems. This cannot simply be done in one or two years, this is a continuing process. For the adult population a goal should not only be to educate but to maintain a high standard of health and quality of living. Continuing education is key in providing high standards of living. The presence of quality health education in schools will help future adults to be more self-reliant in the health care arena. Bibliography: References Burch, D. (2001). Health Promotion. The Lancet, 358, 9285, 936. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from Expanded Academic Index ASAP database. Harrison, D., Learmonth, A., Speller, V. (1997). The search for evidence of health promotion. British Medical Journal, 315, 7104, 361. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from Expanded Academic Index ASAP database. Manson, S. M., (1997). One small step for Science, one giant lead for prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 25, 2, 215. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from Expanded Academic Index ASAP database. 1Center for Disease Control, (2001). Healthy Aging: Preventing Disease and Improving Quality of Life Among Older Americans. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/aag-aging.htm 2Center for Disease Control (2001). School Health Programs: An investment in Our Nation’s Future. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/ataglanc.htm Healthy People, (2001). http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/ Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986). First International Conference of Health Promotion. Retrieved October 1, 2001 from http://www.who.dk/policy/ottawa.htm Word Count: 2581
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