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Unit 8- Promotintg Public Health: Sheffield geographical link
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Unit 8: Promoting Public HealthLearning Aim, A: Examine strategies for developing public health policy to
improve the health of individuals and the population
A1 The origins and aims of public health policy
Public Health is defined as the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life,
and promoting health through the organised efforts of society (Faculty of Public
Health, 2017). Public health became a concern after the second world war when most
people were left injured and left in unhealthy conditions. Only those who were wealthy
enough could pay for private health insurance to help support any medical bills they
had. This meant that those who could not afford health insurance or treatment did not
receive any medical help therefore they went without any proper care.
Sir William Beveridge was a social economist who was commissioned by the British
government, he was commissioned to help and investigate ways on how Britain can
be recovered from the second world war. From this he published the Beveridge Report
in 1942, the report highlighted that there was a need for radical change after the
world war. Within this report Beveridge identified five giants which need to be tackled
by society, these were want, disease, ignorance, squalor, and idleness. The report
also included on how inequalities can be reduced through comprehensive medical
services which are separated from financial benefits, and a social insurance scheme.
The report was a success and was welcomed by the public.
During 1940, measles were a common disease and became a notifiable disease in the
UK, this led to an epidemic which caused the public anxiety as it became a very
severe illness during the time, many individuals were diagnosed with measles and
many people died from not only measles but other diseases such as pneumonia,
tuberculosis, polio, cholera. It was clear that there was an immense need for
healthcare during this time.
It was identified by the government and public that action needed to be taken to
improve healthcare during the 1940s, the government first began to listen out to
recommendations and act upon these recommendations during 1945, they
successfully passed the National Health Service Act in 1946 which established
comprehensive health services for those in living in England and Wales. It was also
established that individuals would receive free healthcare no matter their income and
social status. Britain's National Health Service (NHS) completely came into action on
July 5th, 1948, this is the first system to offer free medical care to all individuals in the
population. This successfully was able to improve the health of many individuals.
,P1 Explain the strategies used to develop public health policy in order for
it to meet its aims.
Aims of the public health policy
Planning national provision of healthcare and promoting the health of the population
The government’s aim during WW2 was to ensure everyone's health was a priority.
The NHS ensured that everyone has access to health services, despite the area they
are in geographically, their circumstances, background, race, and belief. Everyone still
currently has the right to access health services as it is a part of the public health
policy to ensure that everyone's health and wellbeing is up to standards. They wanted
to make sure that the population of the UK received good healthcare regardless of
their geographical area and their social standing. To be able to plan and promote
health care of the population it is essential that they plan what changes need to be
made in situations where an outbreak has potentially been caused, or when a flu is
being spread. Thye must put out measures for this as it is a part of the public health
policy. They also have a role in providing information regarding general illnesses like
improving physical and mental health and the outcomes on individuals across the
country.
Identifying and monitoring the needs of the population
Over the years, the population’s needs have varied depending on situations or new
viruses, for example during the word war many people were left with health problems
this was identified by health officials at the time which led them to ration out food, by
monitoring this it had successfully allowed for the health of the population to improve.
Over this time, local authorities had also introduced Children’s and Mental Health
departments to support those who were affected by the war. Over the years, the
government have independent bodies such as the department of public health to
identify needs and monitor needs of the public. For example, Covid, during 2019 and
onwards has taken a drastic toll on the population by impacting their physical and
mental health, their income, and lifestyles. During the months of April 2020 and
February 2022 more than 44 million people had developed Covid, this had affected
every individual in a way. This would have been identified through data and statistics,
and it was the government’s role to identify this and place strategies to help the
public. Any outbreaks, illnesses, or issues such as obesity are all recognised through
strategies such as data, statistics, trends, the government aim to create campaigns to
raise awareness on issues such as smoking or obesity to stop it from affecting
individuals as this is something they identify and monitor as an issue.
Currently, in Sheffield there are various current needs which are something that will
be identified and monitored through government bodies. One issue in Sheffield is
access to healthcare services; to identify the issue one way it can be identified by the
department of health is through a population health assessment, they may do this
through various organisations such as the NHS and local authorities to recognise
these needs. Once they have recognised these needs, they will monitor the group of
,individuals affected through public health surveillances where data will be collected
and analysed to see if changes have been made.
Identifying and reducing inequalities between groups and communities in society
There are various inequalities which the population will have faced during the years
and onwards, inequalities such as health inequalities, socio economic inequalities,
geographical inequalities can affect the health of the public in specific areas of the UK
as distinct groups, communities and areas will have differing inequalities. For
example, if someone is to live in a rural area there will be a lack of health services
available for them which creates an inequality. It is the government’s role to identify
these inequalities and attempt to reduce them. A way they have done this is through
the NHS population screening programmes created by government bodies to identify
which individuals are at an increased risk of developing a disease or condition.
In Sheffield, there are various health inequalities which affect members of the public.
One of these inequalities are that obesity is more typical in parts of the east and
northeast of Sheffield is higher than the central of Sheffield. This risk has been
identified and to reduce the inequality the NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning
Group (CCG) has tried to reduce this inequality through ensuring a healthy standard of
living for all (including healthy affordable housing and using our food system to
reduce health inequalities). Another inequality which was highlighted in Sheffield is
that the life expectancy for men in areas which are deprived in Sheffield are 9.6 years
lower and for women are 8.8 years lower. Another way health inequalities are being
reduced in Sheffield is through the new Medical Canon Arena which is a building newly
created to help tackle inequalities in the region, the building is the first carbon-built
building which its aim is to improve the health and wellbeing of the public.
Protecting individuals, groups, and communities in society from threats to health and
wellbeing that arise from environmental hazards and communicable diseases
It was identified that during the 1970s that things such as poor housing conditions,
dirty environments, areas with high crime does influence the public’s health and
wellbeing negatively. From these authorities from all over the world have managed to
enforce policies, guidelines regulations on such issues to ensure that the public’s
health and wellbeing is kept intact and to reduce illnesses and infections from rising
and spreading. In the UK, the government have outlined that it is the local authority's
role in being responsible for the health of individuals in areas. The government
outlined that any notifiable diseases must be reported whether that be through the
G.P or hospital where it is the role of the health professional to notify the local
authorities who will then carry out further investigations so that they are able to
protect individuals from any other health concerns. Another way individuals are
protected from any health threats or infections are through vaccinations, for example,
flu vaccinations are offered to elderly individuals to prevent them from getting ill,
during covid vaccinations had to be given to individuals to help reduce severe risks of
symptoms of covid. In terms of large outbreaks of diseases, it is important that they
are immediately reported to local authorities so that they can begin an investigation,
they will take information from a person with the disease such as where thy have
, been , what symptoms they have had to be able to formulate where the infection
began to spread. With the information there can monitor areas and begin to put in
preventative measures to stop the disease from spreading to other areas and
affecting the public.
In Sheffield, the local authorities and city council will investigate and look at any
potential outbreaks of diseases or any environmental hazards which are causing harm
to health. Currently in Sheffield there has been an outbreak of measles affecting
children in Sheffield, it was recorded that there were 12 cases of the outbreak (BBC,
2024). The outbreak has been identified through local authorities who have
investigated the outbreak, this allowed the local authorities to put in measures which
resulted in more than 40 children having to be vaccinated to stop the disease from
spreading. There are also UKHSA health protection teams in various areas of the UK,
Sheffield is covered by one of these teams, their role is to respond, prevent and
prepare for infectious diseases and environmental hazards to keep communities and
the health of the public safe. This team is someone who local authorities will contact
to be able to work together to formulate a plan and monitor outbreaks.
Addressing specific national health problems over a period of time
National health problems can affect anybody, no matter their social status or their
circumstances. Although, some people may be more susceptible to health problems
than others because of the area or region they live in. For example, air pollution has
become a big issue in areas as it is causing ill health to individuals however, it will not
affect some individuals as much possibly because they live more rurally whereas
cities which are busier will have more air pollution meaning those in those areas will
be affected by air pollution. Air pollution causes respiratory diseases, lung diseases,
heart diseases and difficulties breathing, cities such as Manchester and London are
some of the cities which are most exposed to air pollution which will affect the public.
The GOV.UK website addresses many current public health issues such as smoking,
type 2 diabetes where they provide information on how these issues affect the public
and ways they can improve their health. On top of this they also release things such
as campaigns and advertisements to address needs and raise awareness on how the
health of the public can improve.
It has been identified that Sheffield’s national health problems are high blood
pressure, depression, and diabetes, and almost two fifths of the population of
Sheffield have at least one long term condition, and one fifth have more than one
condition (Joint Health & Wellbeing Strategy, 2019). To address these health problems
the council will have had to monitor and look at data of how many people affected
from this they will put out campaigns, leaflets, adverts on how the public can become
healthier and prevent these diseases or minimise the issues along these diseases. The
air quality caused by pollution in Sheffield has also become a concern because of the
issues it is causing to the public, this issue has been addressed by the council where
they have produced Sheffield’s Clean Air Strategy, its aim is to provide clean air for
everyone in Sheffield to protect the public, reduce the impact on the climate and to
close gaps between communities with the least and most polluted air. The strategy
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