Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion - Assignment

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
Name of the Student
Name of the university
Author’s note

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY1
Assignment 3 – Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
1. It is well recognized that the background and the socioeconomic status are the main
component of the environment creating obesity. In most of the cases the obesity
interventions programs that focuses on the life style changes does not necessarily focus
on the underlying social determinants and guiding obesity in a community (Barrett et al.,
2016). Stigmatization related to obesity is common, but the burden of the stigma is
distributed unequally along the social gradient. Hence any kind of health interventions
disproportionately benefits the marginalized group. Health proportion intervention in a
population with inequalities in regards of economy and access to health care is not easy
and might intensify the marginalization.
Hence such interventions are currently unethical for a poor county like Brenan
county, as it necessarily does not include the back ground and the environmental
condition of the Brennan county.
2. Brenan County is a rural area and is geographically large area with a small population
with low education, where only 43 % of the population have the college degree, 83 % of
the children are poor with high crime rate and high unemployment rate. People earn their
living by farming and there are several labor camps consisting of the migrants in the
south eastern part of the county. In such a place with low economy, and where people
find it difficult to make their ends meet, a health promotion program focusing on the
implementation of the life style changes, with nutritional strategies and weight
assessment is ineffective, unethical and equally meaningless.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY2
3. Brenan County is a rural area where farming is the main occupation and where the food
consumption depends upon what is grown in the county. The county roads are also
uneven segregated by large water bodies making the transportation for the local people,
thus it can be difficult for the people to reach the Brenan county hospital for the
assessment. Due to the low economic condition of the county people might not get
access to fresh fruits and vegetables and might have to depend largely on the unhealthy
food. Furthermore as confessed by a public health nurse, such obesity prevent program is
difficult to be implemented in a rural population as the County is resource poor with
multiple vulnerable population with different life styles.
4. It is also difficult to educate the people about the obesity prevention interventions where
many of them displayed lack of medical or institutional mistrust. Most of the people get
unequal access to health care and nutrition, have less education and are vulnerable to
obesity due to unhealthy life style (Williamson, Thom, Stimson & Uhl, 2014). Amidst of
all these inequity and complexities within the rural community it is unjustified to set up
such a prevention program.
5. A community based obesity intervention is needed that would focus on health equity and
justice. The interventions should be simple, cost effective and within the scope of the
rural areas of the County. Physical activity trainings and encouraging people or the local
farmers to grow fresh vegetables. Small gardens within the houses growing crops within
the scope of the householder can be encouraged.
6. Government should be involved to facilitate funding of the program and cost effective
life style change programs should be implemented. Health care staffs should be trained