Introduction
Health promotion refers to allowing individuals to exercise control over their health to improve it. Most governments have prioritized this concept in the community to ensure universal medical care. Medical Insurance schemes have been utilized in addition to offering affordable services and medication. In this context, the term community can refer to individuals with similar health needs. The paper provides an argument for and against health promotion.
Strategies to Implement Health Promotion in the Society
Many strategies can be adopted in the community to ensure health promotion. Most importantly, maintaining hygiene in all aspects is critical in reducing the number of patients in hospitals. I will educate the locals on how to dispose of waste products that pollute the environment is essential. For instance, plastic products that do not decompose quickly should be recycled for future use. Further, precautions such as throwing litter in the dustbin should be a daily routine in the workplace, schools, and homes to create a clean environment where disease infection is low.
Additionally, parents should implement a balanced diet plan in every family. Eating foods that supply the required nutrients to the human body should be encouraged for disease prevention. Fruits and vegetables should be consumed as they are rich in fiber. This occurs due to increased immunity in the body, making it resistant to some typical illnesses. I will encourage the community members to exercise regularly to keep their bodies fit. This helps break down excess calories, which accumulate in the body and become toxic after a long period.
Importance of Health Promotion
Health promotion is essential in the community as it ensures people’s well-being. Taking preventive measures protects individuals from being vulnerable and helps develop robust immunity systems which fight diseases. Patients with some conditions, such as diabetes, learn how to manage their health, thus expanding their life span. People know to take control of their health by making decisions concerning their lifestyles (Jeoung, 2022). Education programs in society lead to skills acquired by individuals, which are helpful in daily life. For instance, first aid skills learned can be applicable during emergencies before visiting the hospital to increase the chances of survival.
Impact of Health Promotion to the World and Nation
The impact of health promotion on the nation and the world is realized when they spend less money on the health sector. It plays a role in supporting health promotion activities enabling individuals to have control over their health. Availability and improvement of healthcare services are realized since they focus on programs like an immunization to the citizens reducing risks of communicable diseases. The government should play a role in health promotion by providing affordable medical schemes to sick individuals. Further, it should aim at universal health coverage to ensure all citizens access healthcare services. Individuals should have complete control of their health since it is their responsibility to protect themselves. They should not expose themselves to risky environments with the view that they will receive free medication but rather adhere to the set guidelines and policies.
It is a more effective strategy to invest in preventive healthcare rather than treating sickness and disease. This is because less money is spent during the preventive stage since immunity is boosted when compared to medication and diagnosis. Programs like educating the public on the importance of sleeping under mosquito nets reduce the cases of admitted patients. Routines like check-ups, screening, and patient counseling are utilized by patients to maintain preventive strategies. Illnesses, when detected at an early stage, can be treated to avoid spreading to other body parts. Healthcare givers encourage patients to follow these guidelines and most patients recover faster from their conditions. Some lifestyle diseases require a meal plan and healthy routine exercise. They offer the most appropriate guidelines, which reduces the burden of treating sicknesses.
Challenges Faced by the Government in Promoting Health
Difficulties to Adopt the New Lifestyle
The concept of health promotion has some challenges facing individuals and the government. In the attempt to educate patients and the public on matters of health prevention, some find it challenging to adapt to the new lifestyles. They are forced to lie about their behaviors for uniformity and to fit in society. Some feel that their privacy is interfered with when matters of individual lives are discussed openly. In some cases, they are required to reveal the activities they do privately, like drinking alcohol and smoking. This approach becomes a challenge, and some people who find it difficult to follow it suffers in silence. Following simple rules like keeping the environment clean becomes a problem for some people. They pollute the environment without knowing that the impacts will affect them directly. Plastics are thrown all over, creating breeding sites for mosquitoes and other disease-causing agents.
Reluctance of Individuals to Follow Set Guidelines
The efforts made by the government to ensure universal health care have experienced many challenges. Some individuals become reluctant to follow government guidelines and requirements concerning health matters. For instance, some parents fail to take their children to hospitals for immunization, and the effects burden the government. Similarly, precautions emphasized to prevent the spread of emerging diseases like COVID-19, when ignored, increase the number of patients admitted.
Inadequate Health Facilities
Insufficient health facilities create a barrier to access to medication in emergency cases. This leads to high death rates, and the overall effect is felt in the health sector. Hospitals lack the equipment to offer specialized treatments to patients with diabetes and high blood pressure. Medication supply from the government is insufficient, making most patients spend more money purchasing them from private sellers (Rahmat et al., 2021). Those who fail to afford them end up losing their life due to some cases of ignorance.
Insufficient Finances
The financial crisis is another barrier to effective medication from the government. As the health sector faces many emerging diseases, there is a need to provide preventive equipment, which is very expensive to purchase. The money allocated to the sector becomes insufficient posing challenges and worsening the health status. Patients suffering from the HIV-AIDS pandemic get free medication which is the government’s initiative. Increased cases lead to high expenditure rates, which create strain on budget allocation. High poverty rates pose a challenge to medical services access due to the absence of medical cover schemes. They are accorded to the working individuals who are few in most governments.
Resistance From the Locals
Implementation of some community programs faces resistance from the locals, who are unaware of their importance. For instance, some programs aim to establish health clinics to increase access to medication for all individuals despite their physical location. This occurs due to high illiteracy levels, which require alternative approaches to prevent the barrier. In some situations, community volunteers are required to offer door-to-door education programs to change people’s attitudes. It becomes more time-consuming and ineffective as few individuals freely participate in such activities.
Conclusion
In summary, health promotion is a critical concept in the health field. Individuals learn to take control of their health status, making it easy for the government to offer other critical services. Practicing healthy lifestyles and exercising regularly boosts human immunity and controls conditions like diabetes. Most importantly, creating awareness to the public on the need to prevent disease plays a role in reducing the number of patients admitted to the hospital.
References
Jeoung, B. (2022). Quality of life and health-promoting lifestyles for parents of children with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Journal of Exercise Rehabilitation, 18(6), 361–368. Web.
Rahmat, T. E., Raza, S., Zahid, H., Abbas, J., Sobri, F. A., & Sidiki, S. N. (2021). Nexus between integrating technology readiness 2.0 index and students’ e-library services adoption amid the COVID-19 challenges: Implications based on the theory of planned behavior, 1-16. Web.