Health Promotion

Introduction

Health promotion plays an important role today. Numerous individuals and groups devote their attention to this issue. This paper will discuss the role of the community, government, and individual. Persistent efforts of all these sides could significantly improve the health status of the nation. At the same time, health promotion has some negative effects, so it does not benefit all the people.

The Use of Recommendations from C-Span Video in the Community

The C-Span Health Promotion video (2011) contains few recommendations that could be used in my community. First, people should be provided with more information about healthy choices. These resources should be practical and easy-to-understand. For example, it is reasonable to spread information about the ingredients of popular kinds of food and their effects on health. Individuals should realize their responsibility for this aspect. Second, it is necessary to create a safe community environment to prevent the development and spread of diseases. Third,   the number of preventive services should be increased in the community. Thus, the community should first determine the needs of people and then offer necessary preventative care (e.g. cancer screening). Finally, it is necessary to carry out research concerning health disparities in the community and reduce their amount.

The Importance of Health Promotion

Health promotion plays an important role. It enhances the health status of individuals, the nation, and the world (Snelling, 2014). Health promotion also improves the life quality of all individuals. The number of premature deaths also becomes lower. Finally, health promotion diminishes the costs as individuals, insurance companies, the nation, and the world have to spend fewer financial and human resources on treatment (Snelling, 2014). These facts demonstrate that health promotion has a great impact on the nation and the world. If it is effective, the health status of the nation and the world improves. The improving of health statues reduces the expenses on medical treatment, which means that the nation and the world could spend these resources on the development of other areas. For example, the healthy nation could use this money for improving the education system or science. Healthy people demonstrate greater productivity at work, which is good for the nation’s economy. Besides, healthy individuals are able to actively participate in the community life.

The Role of the Government in the Health

Protection of health is viewed as one of the major functions of the government. However, actions the of public health department are sometimes too annoying and inappropriate. Nevertheless, some initiatives have proved their effectiveness, and the government should continue to offer them. One of such effective actions is spreading free and clear information. This initiative helps the individuals to make healthy choices. For example, restaurants are encouraged to provide calorie labeling (Frieden, 2013). Tobacco producers are forced to locate graphic warnings on the packs of their products. Government is also engaged into anti-tobacco advertising, which is necessary for reducing the impact of the tobacco industry’s marketing initiatives (Frieden, 2013).

Second, government must protect citizens from preventable damage provoked by other individuals or organizations. The state authorities are responsible for both natural health risks (e.g. mosquito invasion) and the health risks caused by humans. For example, some Americans believe that the government should prevent sales of unhealthy food and medications as well as protect individuals from industrial toxins (Freider, 2013). In some cases, the government is the only power that can regulate this issue. Thus, only state authorities can restrict the promotion of tobacco and alcohol, which allows decreasing consumption, raising productivity of the labor force, and diminishing health care costs (Freider, 2013). Other examples of the public initiatives include the removal of artificial trans fats from food (these fats might cause cardiovascular disease) and ignition interlock devices in cars (protects from drunk drivers) (Freider, 2013).

Third, the government should protect and promote health by initiatives that cover a significant amount of people, which make them more effective than single individuals. The list of the actions to be taken includes fluoridation of water, immunization, and iodization of salt (Freider, 2013). Therefore, the government should be engaged into health issues on the regular basis. Its main responsibilities are spreading information, creating activities for a big amount of people, and protecting individuals from harm caused by other people or groups.

The Role of an Individual in His/Her Health

However, the efforts of the community and the government would be useless without participating of an individual in his/her health (Snelling, 2014). Thus, the person needs to take control of his/her health status. Most of people realize which food is unhealthy but they continue consuming it because they got used to it. They need to make effort to change their eating habits. The same concerns physical activity. Individuals normally understand that sport can make them healthier but they lack self-control to exercise on a regular basis. Stopping smoking or drinking alcohol also requires taking control of one’s own desires. The government can continue to make numerous anti-tobacco campaigns but it will not help without the individual’s desire to take responsibility of hi/her own health. Therefore, the government, organizations, and individuals can not only provide information about the healthy choices but also make a final decision.

Investing in Preventive Care or Medical Treatment

It is more effective to invest in preventive healthcare than in medical treatment due to several reasons. First, this allows avoiding some diseases or indentifying them on the early stages, which reduces costs of treatment. For example, regular cancer screenings require less spending than treating this disease on the last stages. Another example is obesity. It is more reasonable to invest into campaigns that encourage healthy food and physical activity than spend money on treating obesity and other related health issues. Second, investment into preventive healthcare is better for economy because healthy workforce works more efficiently than unhealthy one.

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