Understanding Health Priorities and Inequalities in Western NSW Local Health District (LHD)
This reflection is based on an occurrence that happened to me when we were given a task to do by our lecturer. We were given an opportunity to choose whether to work in a group or individually. I decided to work in a group because I felt that the task would have been performed better in a group through sharing of responsibilities and widening our scope of thinking (Detels, Beaglehole, Lansang & Gulliford, 2011). Little did I know the numerous challenges and bad experiences that were awaiting me in the group discussion. Out of the eight members of the group, only one member arrived on time to a meeting that we had scheduled. Four members did not show up while the rest came an hour late. When I made inquiry on where they were, one of them told me that she had gone home and the others gave vague excuses (Gillespie, 2012).
I was very much annoyed with what had happened to me. I wish I had not joined that group discussion. I felt that much of my time had been wasted by working with people who were not serious with their academic work. I had put much expectation in the group discussion but they were all shut down with the experience that I encountered. From the experience, I realized that at times working in a group can be very frustrating. I always feel that, when given an opportunity to choose, working individually on an assignment is the best option that I can choose (Eades, Ferguson & O’Carroll, 2011). Working individually helps me set my own deadline on when to finish an assignment or a task. It also gives me an opportunity to determine the quality of work that I need to produce. Finally, it helps me to determine the grades that I want and therefore put in place the mechanisms of achieving it. I will always work alone unless the lecturer requires me to work in groups (Hay, Mond, Buttner & Darby, 2008).
Residents of Bourke, which is found in Western New South Wale Local Health District (WNSWLHD), are faced with several health related challenges and risks. Majority of these risks are brought by the lifestyle in which they lead. Residents of Bourke need to be informed of the risk that is associated with the lifestyle that they are leading. They should be informed on how their eating habits has contributed to increased obesity especially in female. They should also be informed that obesity leads to health complication and diseases like diabetes (Jorm, 2012).
Effective Communication Strategies for Different Audiences
Once the people of Bourke are made aware of the problem, they should also be informed on how the risks can be mitigated and prevented. They should also be informed on the role in which they are going to play in the prevention process. The community should finally be informed on the benefits of practicing healthful lifestyle (Kingsley, Townsend & Henderson?Wilson, 2009).
The health practitioner wants to know the role they are going to play in the health promotion. They are also interested in knowing how the health promotion is going to contribute to the achievement of the goal of improving the health of the community (Keim, 2008).
Communication forms a basis for action. People can only take action if only they know the basis upon which they are to act. The health promotion officer should consider several factors when communicating to the general public. He should understand the social and the cultural beliefs of the people in which he intends to communicate to, in the current case, the people of Bourke. Understanding the culture of a given group of people enables one to know how best to communicate with them. It also enables one to know the cultural boundaries in which one is not supposed to pass. Community at Bourke needs to be made aware of the health status in their place, the risk which is facing them and the possible solutions. Receptivity of the community will depend on how effective communication is made (Cochran et al. 2008).
The community at Bourke is composed of diverse people with varying literacy level. Therefore simplicity in the message disseminated is crucial. It will enable the people to easily understand the message. Information presented to the general public should be balanced, that is, it should give both the positive side and negative side of the actions to be taken. The mode of communication transmission to be adopted should be in a position to reach the maximum number of audience possible. It should be easily accessible to large audiences (Paradies, Harris & Anderson, 2008).
Information communicated should be repeated to the general public. Repetition creates emphasis. This will ensure that the general public does not forget the content of information. The general public should be informed the part they are going to play in the upcoming campaign. This will make them feel part of the program. Inclusion will also help them own the program and also adhere to the requirement of the program.
Health Risks and Mitigation Strategies
Implementation of the health program will require support and effort of different parties. One of the key implementer is the health workers in the WNSWLHD. Therefore communicating to them concerning the health promotion program is inevitable. Information given to them should be sufficient enough to enable them to make a decision of either supporting the program or not. As opposed to communicating with the general public, communicating with professionals requires use of professional language. It also takes a more formalized structure.
The communication provided to the professionals should be evidence-based. This means that the proposal to be adopted or to be voted in is based on scientifically proven data. Professionals reasons scientifically and professionally. They should therefore be provided with information that convinces them fully.
The overall objective of health is to promote well-being of humanity. Health care workers are always ready to adopt any intervention that is geared towards improving the well-being of humanity. It is necessary for the health promotion officer to highlight how the promotion program is going to assist in achievement of the overall objectives. He should also explain how the program is going to assist in dealing with some of the challenges that the hospital is going through (Kohl 3rd et al. 2012).
References
Cochran, P. A., Marshall, C. A., Garcia-Downing, C., Kendall, E., Cook, D., McCubbin, L., & Gover, R. M. S. (2008). Indigenous ways of knowing: Implications for participatory research and community. American Journal of Public Health, 98(1), 22-27.
Detels, R., Beaglehole, R., Lansang, M. A., & Gulliford, M. (2011). Oxford textbook of public health. Oxford University Press.
Eades, C. E., Ferguson, J. S., & O’Carroll, R. E. (2011). Public health in community pharmacy: a systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views. BMC public health, 11(1), 582.
Gillespie, L. D. (2012). Interventions for preventing falls in older people living in the community.
Hay, P. J., Mond, J., Buttner, P., & Darby, A. (2008). Eating disorder behaviors are increasing: findings from two sequential community surveys in South Australia. PloS one, 3(2), e1541.
Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental health literacy: Empowering the community to take action for better mental health. American Psychologist, 67(3), 231.
Keim, M. E. (2008). Building human resilience: the role of public health preparedness and response as an adaptation to climate change. American journal of preventive medicine, 35(5), 508-516.
Kingsley, J. Y., Townsend, M., & Henderson?Wilson, C. (2009). Cultivating health and wellbeing: members’ perceptions of the health benefits of a Port Melbourne community garden. Leisure studies, 28(2), 207-219.
Kohl 3rd, H. W., Craig, C. L., Lambert, E. V., Inoue, S., Alkandari, J. R., Leetongin, G., … & Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group. (2012). The pandemic of physical inactivity: global action for public health. The Lancet, 380(9838), 294-305.
Paradies, Y., Harris, R., & Anderson, I. (2008). The impact of racism on Indigenous health in Australia and Aotearoa: Towards a research agenda. Cooperative Research Centre for Aboriginal Health.
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