Public Health Priority: Lung Cancer in Young Adults

This essay explores the public health priority of lung cancer affecting a large population of young adults in Singapore. It defines the health priority, validates the argument, and discusses the target group, frameworks of well-being, and fundamentals of promotion. It also highlights the existing gaps in health promotion activities and suggests action strategies to address them.

Running head: PUBLIC HEALTH PRIORITY
Public health priority
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Introduction:
Health is one of the most valuable assets of a community. It is impossible for a
community or a population to have a prosperous growth and future without a healthy population
in the community (Hills, Dengel & Lubans, 2015). However, with diseases diversifying more
and more every single day, the communities are facing several health issues and adversities.
Although each of the health issues are equally detrimental on the health and welfare of the
community, there are certain areas which manifests the most influential impact on the
community health, with regards to either the prevalence of the health care issue or the
deliberating impact of the same. These daunting health concerns that affect people on massive
scales community wide are also known as health priorities. On a more elaborative note, health
priorities refer to the concerned areas of public health that demands immediate attention to be
taken to restore the health of the community (McGregor et al., 2017). This essay will explore the
public health priority of lung cancer affecting a large population in order to understand the
incidence and prevalence of the target group of young adults and how it can be strategically
managed.
Definition of the health priority:
The health priority chosen for this essay is lung cancer, one of the most common found
cancers in men and women. Lung cancer is one of the most highly reported cause of death across
different age groups, along with that it is also one of the most common types of cancers among
the young generations (Liam et al. (2015). As per the statistical report on health status of
Singapore, the most notable health concern is lung irritation disorders. The data states that
Singapore still represents a massive rate of air pollution due to congestion, heavy industrial

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growth, and slash-and-burn agriculture method, which is still heavily practiced in most of
Malaysian countries. These contributors add up to a huge risk of the inhabitants developing a
myriad of lung or respiratory disorders, out of which lung cancer is a significant one. Reflecting
on more data points, statistics suggest that lung cancer is also the 2nd most common cancer type
in men and the 3rd most common cancer type in women. Lung cancer contributes to 7.6% of the
total cancer mortality in Singapore, and although smoking is undoubtedly the most important
contributing factor leading to the lung cancer, 25% of the total Singaporean lung cancer victims
state that they have never smoked, which in turn states that either passive smoking or the ever-
rising pollution is the reason behind the prevalence (Singaporecancersociety.org.sg, 2019). There
have been 6000 lung cancer moralities in last year itself in Singapore and the rate of young
adults acquiring the disease is rapidly increasing.
Validating the argument:
Although, there undoubtedly are a varied range different health issues that are prevalent
in the young adult target population, lung cancer has been chosen for a few fundamental reasons.
First and foremost, the hike in the smoking rates in the age groups is the most pertinent causal
factor leading to the high prevalence of lung cancer. Islami, Torre and Jemal (2015) suggests that
the hike in the rate of new smokers is a direct result of peer pressure and societal pressure, where
many teens and tweens feel obliged to take up smoking to feel socially included and avoid
becoming social outcasts. Hence, undoubtedly the massive lack of knowledge and understanding
in the detrimental impact of the habit of health and how it leads to lung cancer, a fatal or terminal
disease no less, is the reason leading up to uncontrolled hike in lung cancer rates (Ilbawi &
Anderson, 2015).

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Another very important factor suggested by Rich et al. (2015) is that females are reported
to have higher rates of the disease for the target the groups, most of which are non- smokers.
There is a daunting lack of enough empirical evidence attempting to discover the exact reasons
of lung cancer prevalence women to man ratio for the young adults differs conspicuously from
that of overall rates. Hence, notifying and highlighting lung cancer in the target group of young
adults will encourage more research to uncover the issue.
Elaborating further on the genetic basis of the disease, Barr et al. (2016) have suggested
that the young adult population that develop lung cancer contribute to an altered genetic print.
Many authors have stated that lung cancer among the young generation is significantly different.
Not only that the young generation tend to have a more advanced stage of lung cancer when
diagnosed as compared to the older generation, 80% of the total lung cancer type as found in
young generation are non-small cell type lung cancer, which is more complex and difficult to
treat (Lee et al., 2016). Young adults with lung cancer are more likely to have an EGFR
mutation, which alters the gene that codes for a protein that “drives” the growth and spread of
cancer. Lung cancer in the young adults is more complex due the multitude of reasons discussed
above and there is need for more research to explore strategies to treat it. Hence, this is a public
health issue that deserves to be a priority for the given setting and target population for better
control.
Target group :
As already discussed in detail, the target group chosen for this paper is the young adult
patient group. Delving deeper, the young adult group refers to the age range of 18-30. As the
data suggests, the impact of the chosen priority is highest on this particular target group with

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comparatively minimal research initiative, locally and globally, this age group is selected as the
chosen group.
Frameworks of well-being and fundamentals of promotion:
Frameworks of well-being refer to the health promotional model or framework that
attempts to address any health priority across all different domains that it can affect human life
with. For this case, both Ottawa charter and the Jakarta declaration on health promotion need to
be discussed with terms of health promotion. The Ottawa charter has action areas, each
responding to different aspects of health promotion (Thompson, Watson & Tilford, 2018). All of
the action areas refer to three main areas of health promotion, advocating, enabling and
mediating. The health care professionals are required to advocate for all the essential changes
required to address the health priority optimally, enable the target population to cope with their
health adversity and voice their exact needs, and mediate change in service design and delivery
scenario according to the needs of the target population. In this case, the lack of awareness and
education among the target population regarding harmful effects of smoking, both active and
passive, is the major need. The lack of proper screening and campaigning with regards to lung
cancer are issues to be advocated, enabled and mediated.
On the other hand, Jakarta declaration views health promotion as a fundamental human
right. Along with comprehending the Ottawa charter action areas, the declaration also establishes
health promotion to be a social responsibility. In this framework there is need for increased
investment and community participation to facilitate better health promotion, which is pertinent
for lung cancer awareness and screening campaigns as well (Who.int, 2019).
Action strategies and gaps:

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There undoubtedly are initiatives taken by the local and global health authorities to
address the health issue chosen and the landscape has changed drastically for Singapore in the
last decade. With the innovative infrastructural additions and more multispecialty healthcare
facilities in the nation, the care quality has heightened radically along with life expectancy, even
in lung cancer scenario (Singaporecancersociety.org.sg, 2019). Whereas most of the emphasis is
on treating the disease and providing excellent care to the patients, very little emphasis had been
given to preventing the disease and enhancing awareness, which refers to the gap needed to be
reviewed here. There is need for more advanced screening among colleges, universities and even
schools for early onset lung cancer diagnosis and more inclusive preventative campaigning to
diagnose the disease in an earlier stage (Cha et al., 2016). Similarly, the lack of awareness among
the population needs to be adequately addressed in this case as well so that the pollution can be
controlled. There is a gaping hole in the literacy and awareness in the population at large
regarding lung cancer and its prevalence in young adults and the devastating impact, which is in
dire need of being recognized and addressed in the health promotion.
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, this essay successfully discussed a very crucial health priority as
per the present health conditions of Singapore and the young adult population, which also had
been the target population of choice. The essay could provide strong data points and argument
indicating at the dire need for lung cancer in young adults being a health priority and receive the
health promotional attention from both local and global authorities. The essay also discussed
how the priority can be positioned as per two fundamental frameworks of well-being and
discussed the existing gaps in health promotion activities, that demands immediate attention for
reducing the deadly impact of a terminal disease like lung cancer.

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References:
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