A Comprehensive Health Advocacy Strategy for Unemployed People

This report details a health advocacy strategy aimed at addressing the unique health needs of unemployed individuals. It begins by reviewing previous interventions in Australia focused on improving the health of unemployed people through assessment, management, and referral within primary health care facilities. The core of the report lays out a comprehensive plan for effectively implementing a health advocacy strategy, emphasizing objectives such as providing decent housing, ensuring continuity of healthcare, establishing specialized unemployment general practices, offering general practice outreach, and creating medical recovery centers. The strategy involves community engagement, stakeholder analysis, the use of advocacy tools like media campaigns and social marketing, resource evaluation, and leadership consultation. Role theory is discussed as a framework for understanding the coping strategies of unemployed individuals and shaping community behavior. Effective communication tactics, including mass media campaigns and interpersonal communication, are highlighted as essential for informing, mobilizing, and pressuring decision-makers. The report concludes by emphasizing the importance of an integrated approach, community involvement, and continuous monitoring to improve health outcomes for the unemployed.

Health Advocacy Strategy

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Previous interventions/advocacy efforts in unemployment.............................................................3
Plan to effectively implement health advocacy strategy.................................................................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
References........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
The public debates and policy verdicts frequently fails to address the voices and prioritize the
vulnerable population in healthcare. Advocacy plans can help in effectively changing the public
opinion and policies at different levels to address the issue of vulnerable people (Lesperance,
2015). Further, the health care financer view advocacy to inflict a broad change. They utilize
advocacy strategies to improve accessibility of health care, to mobilize and better use the
available resources, reduce inequalities disparities, manage the rising incidence rates, and several
other issues. One such vulnerable population with specialized health issues and needs is
unemployed people. The 2004–05 National Health Survey conducted in Australia found that
unemployed people visited the emergency departments more frequently as compared to the
employed people. They also had more rates of GP consultation, dentist visits, etc. (Australian
Bureau of Statistics, 2006).
In this assignment a health advocacy plan is created to create positive change in meeting the
health needs of the unemployed people. A previous intervention focused on improving the health
of the unemployed people in Australia is discussed. Next, a detailed plan is laid down to
implement the health advocacy strategy for health needs of unemployed people effectively.
Lastly, the key findings of the assignment are presented in the conclusion.
Previous interventions/advocacy efforts in unemployment
Several previous Australia-based interventions were focused on improving the health of
unemployed people by approach of assessment, management and to identify referral within
Primary Health Care facilities. A range of interventions were developed in the late 90s and early

2000s to implement effective strategies which can be utilized at PHC facilities to prevent,
recognise and manage the health issues of unemployed people. Various strategies were used to
achieve the goal. GPs awareness were raised regarding the health issues that occur in people who
are unemployed. GPs were provided with local data regarding levels and nature of
unemployment. GPs were further supported to act as referrers to employment and welfare
services. Further, they were given clinical practice guidelines and standards on health issues of
unemployed individuals and lastly, audit of practice was conducted and audit-based feedback
was sought. Changes in management and referral through patient audit was done which revealed
that this intervention was acceptable to the GPs, and increased their knowledge and confidence
(Harris & Harris, 2009).
Plan to effectively implement health advocacy strategy
Unemployed people usually do not have decent housing conditions or may be homeless. Further,
due to lack of insufficient nutrition, mental stress and unhygienic living conditions frequently
suffer from multiple complex health conditions. Still due to financial restraints and barriers, they
are usually disengaged from PHC facilities and put a substantial load on the acute health system
(Harris, Harris, & Shortus, 2010). There are various barriers which prevent the unemployed and
homeless people to access primary care which can be personal as well as practical. The barriers
include illness and poor health, physical accessibility to health services, challenge in making a
contact with the services, medication security, and the expense of the health care. Apart from that
the disparity in social status and fear of being judged can also result cause relationship barriers in
getting access to primary care. After identification of the issue of health needs of unemployed
people, it is essential to develop a strategy plan to effectively implement health advocacy. An
integrated approach involved identification of several objectives to achieve the goal of improving

the health situation of unemployed people. The objectives are providing a decent housing,
continuity of health care, specified unemployment general practice, general practice outreach,
and medical recovery centers.
A sequence of steps needs to be followed in effective advocacy planning which will include
building citizen power to pressurize power holders. The initial steps of planning include
gathering the local community to define the current national or local health advocacy
requirements for unemployed people. This step is based on spreading awareness among the
community so that they could be motivated to make efforts in this direction. Next step will
include identification, categorization and mapping of the relationships and impact of the
stakeholder community involved in the health needs of the unemployed people (Gomm, Lincoln,
Pikora, & Giles-Corti, 2006).
Based on the stakeholder analysis and community gathering, the current goals and objectives of
the health advocacy intervention will be decided and documented. The General Practitioners and
the community of unemployed people will be engaged to raise awareness regarding the health
issues and requirement of the unemployed people. The need for a comprehensive plan among
key political decision-makers within one year will be laid down. Next step is the crucial one, in
which the advocacy tools that will be used in the plan are assessed and documented which will
include the media campaigns, the network of contacts, social marketing, communications
methods fundraising and government links (World Health Organisation, 2008).
The quality and quantity of services such as education, information distribution and new laws
will be evaluated. The available and accessible resources will be examined and recorded which
will include financial resources, human capital including professional and volunteer workers and
social resources such as trust, understanding and communications. Leaders will be consulted to

build a network which will work towards accomplishing the values and goals of meeting the
health needs of unemployed people. Leaders of the community will help in mobilizing and
pressurizing the decision-makers with the help of their leadership and communication skills.
After the network of leaders is built, members and stakeholders will be engaged by developing
common ground. It will require having a shared vision, inclusion while decision-making in
planning (Fafard, 2008).
After that the stakeholder network (the community of unemployed people, GPs, leaders, etc.)
will be facilitated and mobilized to act together with a collective voice and shared mission.
Lastly, the impact of the plan will be measures and the advocacy methods will be modified as per
the review report (Florence Morestin; National Collaborating Centre for Healthy Public Policy,
2013). Further, based on the success of the plan, the network can be expanded via community
outreach and community engagement by making use of the collaborative force that was
developed in the initial steps (World Health Organization, 2008).
Role theory is one of the theories which is in-built in social theory and social structure. Role
theory interprets the role of people and elucidates the manner in which they are acting in these
roles because of the social requirements. The social role of an individual or group include the
rights, responsibilities, expectations, standards and behaviors that an individual needs to meet.
The social roles of an individual shape their behavior and daily activities. By making the
community aware of the health needs of the unemployed people, their behavior can be shaped to
bring change in community. Further, role theory suggests that in order to bring a change in
behavior it is essential to change roles as specific roles lead to specific behaviors as per the
particular social standards. For people who are facing unemployment, their role is guided by the
lack of job they were pursuing. Further they may be experiencing physical, mental and financial

problems which can affect and modify one’s role in life. Role theory can be used to understand a
significant aspect of understanding the coping strategies an individual uses during
unemployment. Role theory can be used in advocacy strategy as it is based on the notion that an
individual act in a predictable manner as per the social roles which are directed by social
standards. (Holland & Kelly, 2012).
It is essential to use effective communication tactics in order to inform, mobilize and pressure the
decision-makers. For example, it is only through effective communication skills and efficient
flow of communication that awareness can be created, public interest and demand can be
generated and the issue of health needs of unemployed people can be placed on public agenda
and social support can be developed. Empowerment of the population leads to creation of
advocacy strategies (Health Consumers Queensland, 2009). One of the conventional and
effective tactics of communication that can be used is mass media campaigns. It will involve
informing the community about the plan, demonstrating the benefits of the advocacy plan and
asking for support from the citizens in order to bring a change at broader level. Media that be
used for informing and persuading the people are advertising, fund-raising, social marketing and
public information for health and safety. An effective approach of communication is essential at
another level which will involve interpersonal communication through leaders or change agents.
It will ensure that the issues of the population are identified, debated and decisions are made
after having proper interactions. Such interactive processes will build public pressure and
demand to impact the power holders who are ultimately the policy-makers (Servaes & Malikhao,
2010). In addition, the mass media campaigns can play a strong advocacy role in developing
awareness among public, bringing the change and targeting the decision-makers. Conversely, the
policy-makers also require this information to make a decision which is socially acceptable by

the community. To take full advantage of advocacy, apart from media, the unemployed
individuals, network of leaders and other segments of society must be engaged in this procedure
(Institute of Medicine, 2003). Advocacy involves a combination of processes including social
networking and mobilization, interpersonal communication and discussion, and using media for
building public pressure. The supporting evidence identified by the suitable professionals must
be efficiently applied by using different means suggested above in order to present a strong case
for the addressing the health needs of the unemployed people (Chapman, 2004).
Conclusion
An integrated approach should be used for planning the health advocacy strategies. It is essential
to involve the community in the planning and use their communication skills by raising
awareness on their knowledge regarding the topic of interest. It will assist in impacting the
decision-makers and improving the health outcome. A sequence of steps needs to be followed in
effective advocacy planning which will include building citizen power to pressurize power
holders. These will include community gathering, stakeholder analysis, examination of the
advocacy methods to be used, evaluation of available resources, consultation with leaders,
involving all the stakeholders in planning to ensure a shared vision and monitoring the plan. Role
theory can be used to understand a significant aspect of understanding the coping strategies an
individual uses during unemployment. Several advocacy tools such as health-focused media
campaigns, social marketing, communication techniques, fundraising and government links can
be used as per relevancy to accomplish the desired goal.
References

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