Introduction:
Outline the learning outcomes of the assessment and your rationale for choosing your topic of discussion for your letter. Set the stage for your argument in the first paragraph. The introduction for your supporting essay must get the reader interested in the topic, provide background information and summarize the main point of your letter.
Discussion:
You will have:
- Explained theoretical approaches to health promotion and outlined key concepts for transforming health promotion in health and social care services
- Critically discussed how economic evaluation contributes to evidence-based decision making and action in public health
- Critically discussed the relationship between mental health, wellbeing and other key public health priorities
You should highlight the important aspects of your letter e.g. the statistical information and data that you have obtained and discuss how this makes an impact on your chosen topic. For example – a supporting essay about Covid-19, you could discuss the debate surrounding staff safety (PPE) versus NHS budgets.
Consider the three levels of health promotion/disease prevention
Prevention, as it relates to health, is about avoiding disease before it starts. It has been defined as the plans for, and the measures taken, to prevent the onset of a disease or other health problem before the occurrence of the undesirable health event. There are three distinct levels of prevention.
Primary prevention—those preventive measures that prevent the onset of illness or injury before the disease process begins.
Examples include immunization and taking regular exercise.
Secondary prevention—those preventive measures that lead to early diagnosis and prompt treatment of a disease, illness or injury to prevent more severe problems developing. Here health educators such as Health Extension Practitioners can help individuals acquire the skills of detecting diseases in their early stages.
Examples include screening for high blood pressure and breast self-examination.
Tertiary prevention—those preventive measures aimed at rehabilitation following significant illness. At this level health services workers can work to retrain, re-educate and rehabilitate people who have already developed an impairment or disability.
Read the list of the three levels of prevention again and think about your experience of health education, whether as a nurse or recipient of health education.
How do you think health education can help with the prevention of disease?
Do you think it will operate at all these levels?
Note an example of possible health education interventions at each level where you think health education can be applied in your discussion.
You will have:
- Identified and discussed a logical framework to measure the effectiveness of health promotion interventions
- Demonstrated awareness of current issues used to lobby decision makers on issues relating to health improvement and health inequalities.
- Critically discussed how economic evaluation contributes to evidence-based decision making and action in public health
Consider the legislation and regulations, cash incentives and financing as instruments for changing the behaviours of health providers and their clients with variable success. For example, if we take the advertising with the NHS for eating healthily, how much has it cost the government and what has been the overall impact? Has it increased the uptake of exercise or healthy eating?
Should the government strengthen health promotion by allocating more resources to academic and research programmes which have focus on health promotion?
What is the role of all stakeholders?
How should socio-economic factors and health inequalities be considered while planning or evaluating health promotion interventions?
Conclusion:
You will have:
- Reflected upon how your own beliefs may influence your decision making and health promotion activities
- Considered how this learning might inform your future nursing practice
- Responsibility for health and lifestyle behaviours: e.g. government, employers, the food and drink industry, and/or ourselves
What do we really want to do or know here? Before you can conclude what the evidence offers, you must evaluate the merit of individual evidence that you have discussed in your main text and explain how it applied in your practice or the changes in invokes in your future practice. For example, in relation to Covid-19, will it be mandatory for nurses to wear full PPE in all hospital settings? How will this impact on the delivery of patient care in the future?
It’s important to summarise the main points of your essay and highlights from the body of your discussion and include the relevance and implications of the essay’s findings.
– STRICLY HARVARD REFERENSING
