Community Health and Disease Prevention: Dengue Fever Strategies

This essay, prepared for a PUBH6006 assignment, focuses on community health and disease prevention, specifically addressing dengue fever. The introduction highlights the importance of community involvement and socio-economic factors in health outcomes, emphasizing the need for public health programs. The paper is divided into three parts. Part 1 uses Laverack's ladder of community-based interaction to identify strategies for preventing dengue fever, including community readiness, participation, engagement, organization, development, capacity, and empowerment. Part 2 discusses core domains of capacity building, such as community participation, problem assessment, and resource mobilization, as key elements in empowering communities to combat dengue fever. Part 3 outlines approaches and models for community health development. The essay aims to reduce the spread of chronic diseases and promote healthy behaviors in communities, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical regions affected by dengue fever. The paper emphasizes the need for community engagement, leadership, and resource management for effective health interventions. The essay also addresses the importance of understanding the community's needs and implementing sustainable programs.

Running head: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 1
Community Health and disease prevention
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 2
Introduction
Every person around us in every community or society has a huge role to play as far as
our health status and condition is concerned. Lifestyle, level of education, and other socio-
economic conditions also influence our health status in the community. Therefore, a significant
number of programs and pieces of training have been developed by the healthcare sector to
prevent diseases and promote healthy living among the people in society. This paper also focuses
on preventing the spread of chronic diseases around different communities in Australia and other
parts of the world.
Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne disease that is painful and debilitating. It is caused by
dengue viruses and other viruses that belong to the same class as dengue viruses. For example,
the virus that causes yellow fever and West Nile infection is related to the dengue virus, which
causes dengue fever. Furthermore, tropical areas in Australia and other parts of the world register
the largest number of people that are affected by the disease. The disease is described as the most
vital viral disease in the world that is caused by a mosquito.
The symptoms of dengue fever include pain in some parts of the eyes, severe muscle pain,
fatigue, vomiting, mild nose bleeding, and nausea. However, these symptoms last for ten days
but are not noticeable immediately after the infection. If the condition is left untreated, it may
lead to a serious condition called hemorrhagic fever. These conditions affect the circulatory
system and other organs of the body, such as the liver. Dengue fever is a serious health issue that
is affecting the people living in rural and tropical areas. Therefore, the issue has to be addressed
through community empowerment and health promotion, as discussed in this paper.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 3
This paper contains a total of three important parts. Part one identifies a preventable
health concern using Laverack’s ladder of community-based interaction. Part two discusses the
core domains of capacity-building to enhance community empowerment. Lastly, part three
describes the approaches and models that can be employed during community health
development. If the provided litigation measures and promotion strategies explained in the three
parts are put into practice, the spread of chronic diseases and unhealthy behaviors will be
reduced and eradicated in the society.
Part 1: Dengue fever
Dengue fever is a tropical viral infection that is caused by a mosquito (Kularatne, 2015).
Dengue fever is a preventable health concern that requires enough healthcare attention. The
infection causes the development of severe dengue, which is a serious health complication. A
large percentage of people living around tropical and sub-tropical parts of Australia have been
affected by dengue fever.
Therefore, the people living in tropical and subtropical parts of the world should be
engaged and involved in the prevention of the spread of the disease. This can be achieved by
initiating appropriate healthcare programs that will engage the whole community. Different
strategies, such as the ones provided by Laverack should be employed during this process of
community health development. With reference to Laverack’s ladder of community-based
interaction, below are the main strategies that can be used to prevent the spread of dengue fever
among the people living in tropical and sub-tropical parts of Australia and other parts of the
world.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 4
According to Laverack’s ladder of community interaction, community readiness is one of
the strategies that can be employed to prevent Dengue fever in tropical parts (Noor, 2017). This
involves identifying the key stakeholders in the local community level using door-to-door visits
around the affected community. Local leaders can be given the first priority since they influence
the decisions made by people in a certain community (Laverack, 2007). The media can also be
utilized during this process of making the community ready for the programs.
Participation is also another strategy that can be implemented to prevent dengue fever. It
is the involvement of concerned people in the process of analyzing, planning, and important
decision-making in the implementation of the healthcare programs. To achieve positive
outcomes in the programs initiated, community engagement should also be applied. This
involves the development of a good and strong relationship between healthcare stakeholders and
the people in the community. Assessment, participation, and the use of proper communication
skills are the main aspects of community engagement.
Community organization is also another strategy that can help reduce dengue fever. It
involves general participation by healthcare stakeholders and the community during the decision-
making process concerning the implementation of healthcare programs. Community
development is another strategy that should be utilized. It involves the actual and practical
development of the desired healthcare programs that will help reduce and eradicate dengue fever
among the tropical and sub-tropical communities.
Community capacity is also another vital strategy in the reduction of dengue fever in the
most susceptible communities (Keam, et., al, 2018). It involves the development of the necessary
skills, knowledge, commitment, systems, and necessary structures that may be required during

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 5
the course of the healthcare program. Finally, community empowerment is also another
appropriate approach in the prevention of dengue fever, according to Laverack’s ladder of
community interaction (Laverack, 2005). Community empowerment involves empowering the
community to increase their control over the health issues affecting them. This will motivate and
encourage the community to promote and enhance a healthy living on their own.
Part 2: Core domains of capacity-building identified by Liberato et al (2011).
Capacity building refers to the specific types of healthcare programs, services, goods, or
products that a certain vulnerable community should be provided with in order to improve their
health status (Sunderland, et., al, 2016). For instance, programs and services that will help to
reduce and eradicate dengue fever among the vulnerable communities living in tropical and sub-
tropical areas is a form of capacity building. The programs or services should address a specific
health problem in a community, such as dengue fever among tropical communities. Furthermore,
programs should be properly sustained and maintained for the healthcare services to be provided
for a long period of time. The people in the community are also instilled with proper problem-
solving skills to solve health-related problems.
Capacity building has three main key players. The governments, NGO are examples of
health agencies involved in capacity building. The group members and health promoters are also
key players of capacity building in all communities. Health agencies such as the government or
NGO are responsible for the delivery of healthcare programs. The community or members of the
tropical parts have the capacity to sustain the health program that prevents dengue fever. Health
promoters also enhance the sustainability and maintenance of the health program.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 6
Importantly, Liberato, et., al, 2011, provided the most appropriate core domains of
capacity building that can be used to support the prevention of dengue fever in all tropic and
vulnerable parts of Australia. The prevention, sustainability, and ownership of the program
against the spread of dengue fever will be based upon the provided domains. Below is a
complete list of the most appropriate domains to use during the prevention of dengue fever:
First, community participation is the most basic domain to be used in the prevention of dengue
fever among the vulnerable people living in tropical places (Smithies and Webster, 2018). If all
groups of people in these places actively participate in the developed program against dengue
fever, a lot of benefits and opportunities will be realized from the project. Enough support will be
received from the community as a result of new and strongly developed social networks, which
decreases isolation and raises self-esteem.
Through community participation, the programs against dengue fever will receive sufficient
support such as new ideas, new decisions, and other necessary services like the construction of
structures. However, force should not be used when convincing people to participate in the
programs and projects that reduce dengue fever in their community. Instead, the approach should
be voluntary, and people who wish to contribute willingly should be given a chance. Needs
assessment, sufficient planning, mobilization, training, implementation, monitoring, and
evaluation are among the activities that are conducted through community participation.
In most cases, the people living in vulnerable parts like ones living in rural and tropical parts are
always willing to participate in the health programs and services due to their social or religious
obligation for mutual support and help. However, some communities portray some
individualistic properties (Roque, 2017). This undermines the effectiveness of health programs.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 7
Unfair distribution of work and resources among the vulnerable and disadvantaged people also
reduces the support for health programs by the communities. Community participation domain
eradicates and reduces the barriers to community prevention of dengue fever by enhancing
genuine and sufficient community support and engagement.
During the prevention of dengue fever among the tropical communities, participation and
leadership have to go hand in hand. With strong and reliable leadership, active participation will
be realized. With active participation, various types on inclusive community groups will be
formed. The leader leads the participants in the community through learning and putting into
action the developed preventive measures of dengue fever.
Secondly, according to Neto, et., al 2017, problem assessment is another domain that can be used
to prevent the spread of dengue fever in tropical and rural areas. According to capacity building,
the community itself is mainly responsible for the identification of the main health problem
affecting them. The information is then passed from the community to the relevant healthcare
stakeholders, for assessment and evaluation. A satisfactory conclusion will be realized if the
community focuses on the most common and deadly health problem affecting. Furthermore, this
will also help to instill power and self-determination among the vulnerable people from tropic
parts of Australia, despite the challenges they are going through.
Problem assessment also helps to develop and refine the most appropriate approaches that can be
implemented to understand the healthcare needs and problems facing tropical and rural people.
Primary care needs and hospitals around the vulnerable communities play a huge role in the

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 8
process of problem assessment since they are close to the local people, hence understand their
healthcare needs and wants. All public and private health professionals should conduct problems
and needs assessment by observing and relating well with the local people in the community.
For efficient identification and determination of health problems, the problems have to be
differentiated and categorized as either wants, needs, or demands. For a health problem to be
categorized as a need, healthcare intervention should be beneficial for the local people. For
instance, prevention of dengue fever in the rural and tropical areas is beneficial to the local
people since it promotes healthy living and enhances the efficiency of healthcare interventions
and programs. Demand is the most noticeable needs by local healthcare providers that the local
people present to the, while wants to represent the needs that are felt by the people. If the
problem is properly assessed and identified, the most appropriate program and health services
that will help reduce or eradicate health problems such as dengue fever among rural and tropical
communities.
Finally, resource mobilization is another important domain to apply during the prevention of
dengue fever in rural and tropical communities. In order to come up with a strong and relevant
healthcare program to help reduce dengue fever, the necessary resources have to be obtained
from both within and outside the community (Sharma, 2016). I would apply the resource
mobilization model to ensure that all the necessary resources are received from both the internal
and external communities. The residents in the community can aid by providing space and
amenities during the program. Financial and other necessary resources can also be outsourced.
For efficient identification and implementation of the most appropriate health programs to
prevent the spread of dengue fever in tropical places, additional and sufficient resources should

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 9
be secured. The available resources should also be maximized and properly utilized for better
health outcomes. Resource mobilization is the main approach that helps healthcare stakeholders
secure and outsource enough resources. If sufficient resources are obtained through resource
mobilization, sustainability, and maintenance of the health programs and services will be upheld.
With enough resources, the developed programs and services against dengue fever will be
improved and scaled-up. Continuation of the health programs and services will also be ensured if
resource mobilization is utilized to obtain the required resources. However, for resource
mobilization to be successful, a lot of time and hard work must be put into place. The health
objectives, mission, and strategic plan are the main driving force that enhances appropriate
resource mobilization.
PART 3: Models and approaches to health promotion
The practice of health promotion and disease prevention is supported and upheld by
different types of models and approaches (Bottiani, Heilbrun, and Bradshaw, 2019). These
approaches and models give to give an in-depth understanding of the health behavior of a certain
community. This, in turn, helps in the identification and development of the most appropriate
healthcare problem to be implemented. The type of community and the nature of the health
problem are among the main factors that should be considered during the implementation of the
healthcare program.
Examples of the most appropriate models and approaches to use during community
health promotion and prevention of dengue fever are the Health Belief Model and the education
approach (Ghafar and Shah, 2017). The health belief model guides the process of health

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 10
promotion and prevention of dengue fever by explaining and predicting the specific health
changes that occur in the community. This model emphasizes the assessment of the community's
beliefs concerning healthcare and thereafter predicts the related health-behavior. The model also
determines the perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and the main barriers to the most
appropriate course of action. Michigan Model for Health is an example of a Health believe
model that is commonly used in schools.
Advantages of the Health Belief Model
1) It has been used in the development of an effective and appropriate healthcare
intervention that change health-related problems among the vulnerable people in rural
and tropical parts.
2) It has helped to increase perceived benefits and reduce perceived barriers that undermine
the prevention of dengue fever.
Disadvantages of the Health Belief Model
1) In this model, a person's belief, attitude, and other determinants of health behavior are not
accounted for.
2) It assumes that everyone in the tropical and rural vulnerable communities is well
informed about the dengue fever.
Additionally, an educational approach can also be used to motivate the people living in rural
and tropical parts of Australia to participate in the health programs against dengue fever actively
(Talbot, 2014). The educational approach is based on the assumption that knowledge and
behavior have a close and strong relationship. That is to say, a change in attitude will ultimately

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 11
lead to a change in behavior. This approach provides the necessary and relevant information that
the stakeholders will use to make an accurate and informed decision concerning healthcare
services to the vulnerable. Counselling and group discussion through an educational approach
also provides an opportunity for stakeholders and the community to explore and share their
knowledge and attitude towards a health issue like dengue fever.
Advantages of the educational approach
1) It enables people in a community to make relevant and informed choices regarding their
healthcare behaviors.
2) It allows the people in a community to develop appropriate and relevant decision-making
skills that help during problem-solving.
Disadvantages of the educational approach
1) It assumes that behavior change is as a result of increased knowledge, which affects
attitudes.
2) Social and economic factors restrict voluntary change of health behaviors.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the healthcare stakeholders should be on the frontline in the mobilization
and empowerment of the vulnerable communities on the importance of maintaining a healthy

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 12
living. The community should be given priority during the planning and development of the
most appropriate health programs and services. Lastly, healthcare providers should always
utilize the availability of different models and approaches to enhance community; hence,
development among the vulnerable groups, such as the people living in tropical and rural
parts.
References