LAC UNIT 8
P5: What were the 2 approaches used to promote & protect public
health and wellbeing?
During the COVID-19 pandemic, two strategies were used to promote and
safeguard public health and wellbeing. The first strategy involves keeping an
eye on the nation's health, as seen by the daily briefings on COVID-19
numbers. These briefings, which are described on page 170, gave authorities
and the public regular updates on the number of cases, hospitalisations, and
deaths, allowing them to follow the virus's spread and make wise decisions.
The second strategy centred on identifying those who were most at risk of
developing a severe illness or COVID-19 problems. The list of those thought
to be particularly vulnerable to the virus is highlighted on pages 171 and
172. This includes people who are older, people who have underlying
medical issues, and several ethnic minority groups that have been
disproportionately impacted by the virus. These groups could be identified so
that targeted actions and protection-enhancing measures could be taken.
Organisations for health surveillance, such Test and Trace, were essential to
the overall response. These programmes, which were highlighted in relation
to health surveillance, included extensive testing to find instances and track
down contacts of affected people. Authorities sought to immediately identify
and isolate sick people using testing and tracking in order to break the chain
of transmission.
To lessen health disparities between people and communities, socioeconomic
assistance measures were put in place. Socio-economic support programmes
included initiatives like gasoline subsidies, food banks, and furlough plans
that intended to give money and basic supplies to those who were struggling
as a result of the pandemic.
, Various initiatives were launched to increase access to health and care
services. Online services were marketed to make it easier to reach healthcare
specialists and conduct remote consultations. To reduce the danger of
transmission in these settings while maintaining the continuity of important
care and services, limits on visiting healthcare facilities and prohibitions on
attending funerals were put in place.
The page 175 review on public health protection measures mentioned the
distribution of PPE to frontline employees as well as the free test kits that
people can use to test themselves at home. These steps were taken in an
effort to stop the virus's spread and safeguard both the general population
and healthcare professionals.
Environmental controls were used to stop the spread of COVID-19, such as
press releases and awareness campaigns. These actions intended to inform
the public of the value of adhering to rules, such as wearing masks and
participating in isolation from society to decrease transmission rates.
In general, these strategies and actions looked to keep tabs on the nation's
health, identify those who were at risk, implement health surveillance
programmes, offer socioeconomic support, increase access to healthcare
services, safeguard the public health through a variety of means, and enforce
reporting requirements. They came up with a comprehensive plan to advance
and safeguard the public's health and welfare throughout the COVID-19
pandemic.
M4: Research evidence of the success of any one approach. Assess that
success.
Creating the Test and Trace programme was one strategy that showed
promise during the COVID-19 pandemic. This strategy attempted to locate
COVID-19 instances by testing and tracking down infected people's contacts
in order to break the chain of transmission. According to research, Test and