Health Visitor: Roles, Responsibilities, and Impact on Society

This essay delves into the multifaceted role of health visitors within society, exploring their core duties and responsibilities, such as safeguarding individuals, providing health advice, and developing health education programs. It examines the historical emergence of this profession, tracing its origins and evolution, and analyzes relevant policies and legislation, including the Health and Social Care Act 2012 and the Healthy Child Program. The essay also addresses societal changes influencing the health visitor's role, such as evolving lifestyles and the rise of social media, and evaluates the successes and challenges faced by health visitors, including heavy caseloads and the need for specific training. The conclusion emphasizes the health visitor's critical function in promoting public health and supporting families, while recommendations suggest strategies for enhancing their effectiveness and reach within communities.

Social service

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
1 Main duties and responsibilities and task of Health visitor.....................................................1
2. how and why this group emerged...........................................................................................1
3. Analysis of relevant policy and legislation.............................................................................2
4. Address change to society which might be link to emergence...............................................3
5. Address the success and downfalls of profession...................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
Recommendations.......................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5

INTRODUCTION
The chosen profession or social group is Health visitor for this project and the aim and
objective of the essay is to develop an understanding of the specific social group and how the
group help in society welfare. Further, the essay describe the duties and responsibilities of
health visitor, then how and why this group emerged by providing relevant policy and
legislation. Also, describe the success and downfalls of profession.
1 Main duties and responsibilities and task of Health visitor
The main duty and responsibilities of health visitor is to safeguard and protect people.
Such that they provide health advice to people and also develop health education programs to
create awareness in society. They also help people who faces postnatal depression and also
establishing key health needs as well (Arslan and Kaymaz, 2020). They also working with other
professionals such as social workers, general practitioners and school nurses. Apart from this,
health visitor also assessing parenting skills and children's home situation and offer parents extra
support if they needed.
They also provide different types of services such that support children with special
needs, advising on behavioral management techniques, also advice how to reduce risk as well as
prevent accidents and reduce injuries. Along with this, health visitor also provide information on
local services provide ante-natal and post- natal support to people which reflect that they are
safeguard and protect people.
2. how and why this group emerged
Study conduct by Lowenhoff and et.al., (2017) stated that When queen is celebrating her
own Diamond jubilee, Olympics were held in London in 2012 which have a great importance.
Thus, there were 150 years went when the first health visitor was employed in Salford, England.
From that era, this profession is highly enjoyed by the people and even government also invest
enough to provide safeguarding to the people. While, Chambers, Williams and Halford, (2018)
shows that In 1916, the Royal sanitary Institute also overseeing qualifying courses for Health
visitors and at that time, first lady is hire. Slowly, this profession is increases and after some
time, some paid health visitors are hire in around 50 towns. On contrary, many mothers still
think that the health visitor come to check their home rather than promoting family's health and
this is a reality. So, from 1929, Health Visiting became a universal statutory service by Local
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government Act and health visitors were also employed by local government when their
employment moved to NHS.
Jennings (2018) stated that Health visitors are quite important because they promote
healthy lifestyles and prevent from illness. Study also shows that there is a complex relationship
between health visiting and public health such that health visitor are public health workers and
their primary focus on public health makes it unique among the caring profession. Even research
also state that by working with and supporting families at early years of a child's life, only health
visitor have deep impact on the lifelong health and well being of the family. As they posses a
strong knowledge and that is why, they are able to manage minor illness and also prevent
accidents. In UK, the number of health visitors are also increases from 2000 onward such that
there were around ten thousand Health Visitors in 2000 which was increases up to 3000 in
2015. this figures reflect that health visitor demand is increases day after day because they
promote people for their health.
3. Analysis of relevant policy and legislation
Health and Social care Act, 2012 introduce first legal duties about the health inequalities
and it also specifies some duties which are prescribe for health bodies. This act also state that
health visitor should keep promote the values and awareness among people so that it will help to
reduce the overall health issues among people. (Jones, 2016)
Social value act 2012: Another law prescribe by the government which require entire
public sector that includes all the local authorities and health sector bodies so that they will
consider economic, social and environmental well-being for procurement of services and
contracts. It is so because creating social values which have a clear connection with families and
as a result, it assist to reduce health inequalities by taking proper action.
Healthy child program: another policy which is also implemented by the government in
which health visitors are mainly focus on the contribution of health visiting and school nursing
services so that they deliver good health for the children whose age is in between 0 to 19. This
policy is also introduce with an aim to bring together health, education and other main partners
so that they will deliver best and effective programs for the prevention and support of children.
Equality Analysis for the Health Visitor implementation plan 2011-15: Another policy
which is implemented by government of UK in order to promote health. This plan actually
describe how the health visitor program will address factor that will further encourage inequality
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(Doi, Jepson and Hardie, 2017). This is actually publish in 2011 which is set out how the
department of Health will work with partners in order to deliver an ambition. Through this plan,
government also ensure to increase local teams so that they provide improve public health
outcomes and providing personalized care to families. Also, through this plan, health visitor
having a time in order to provide best advice to the family and parents and through this, they
also connect with families and give their children good start in life.
4. Address change to society which might be link to emergence
In the modern time, most of the health visitor are faces issue for having a heavy case
loads and as a result, there is a need to develop policy that helps them to meet the needs of
customers. Further, now a days, people are changes their lifestyle and that is why, it leads to
affect the overall health of people. At that time, health visitors have to work out to determine the
factors that leads to many disease and behavior that also contribute to ill health. Therefore, this
changes in society helps to aware health visitors so that they develop strategies in order to
determine the causes that leads to ill health (Bidmead, Cowley and Grocott, 2016). Also, there is
a frequent fluctuation in the social change of society such that most of the youngster only prefer
to have a fast food and this in turn affect their health in opposite manner. That is why, in order to
cope up with this issue, health visitor may implement new campaigns which assist to create
awareness among people or they may also use social media sites in order to keep promoting
health among people.
5. Address the success and downfalls of profession
As per the success point of view, this profession help people to take care of their health
and also promote them to protect their families and children with an aim to reduce health issues
and provide immediate care. The current profession also help to recognize the risk factor and
triggers of concern, signs of abuse which in turn assist to provide health life to the people. In
addition to this, it is also analyzed that there are many home visitors who promote mental and
physical health among people or children by providing advice that assist their families to cope
up with this situation (Lowenhoff and et.al., 2017). On the other side, during or after pregnancy,
the health visitor also come home in order to promote the maternal health by helping mother to
provide advice such that improve diet, reduce stress level.
On contrary, the downfall of this profession is such that there is no specific time and
wages are specified for health visitor and as a result, they spend whole hours to provide services
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to the people. Moreover, this profession also require specific training session and there are no
specific professionals in this profession and that is why, this profession is decreases. Even
research also shows number of health visitors are continuing to fall and as a result, it increases
the chances of stress for those people who want to remain in this profession. Such that at local
level, most of the health visitors are experiencing stress which should ask for the clinical
supervision if they do not have any.
CONCLUSION
By summing up above it has been concluded that Heath visitor mainly provide
safeguarding to people and creates awareness among people with relation to health. Study also
concluded that the role of a health visitor is to help families to maintain health of young children
and sometimes they also visit home in order to assessing parenting skills and their children's
home situation. Study further concluded that due to changing lifestyle, health visitor must adopt
new techniques in order to promote importance of health among people. Also, there are many
policy and regulations are established in UK that assist to profession to increase.
Recommendations
From the above, it is to be recommended that government should provide effective tools
and techniques that will assist health visitor to let other understand the importance of health.
Also, they may use tie up with local services and profession so that they easily reach to range of
public in single way.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Arslan, E. S. and Kaymaz, I., 2020. Visitor perception of recreational ecosystem services and
their role in landscape management of Gölcük Nature Park, Turkey. International Journal
of Sustainable Development & World Ecology, pp.1-12.
Bidmead, C., Cowley, S. and Grocott, P., 2016. The role of organisations in supporting the
parent/health visitor relationship. Journal of Health Visiting.4(7). pp.366-374.
Chambers, C., Williams, M. and Halford, B., 2018. The role of the health visitor in relation to
child protection and substance misuse. In Substance Misuse in Primary Care(pp. 89-106).
CRC Press.
Doi, L., Jepson, R. and Hardie, S., 2017. Realist evaluation of an enhanced health visiting
programme. PloS one.12(7).
Jennings, K., 2018. The Role of the Health Visitor. In Screening for Children with Special
Needs (pp. 43-62). Routledge.
Jones, F., 2016. The health visitor. In Educating Professionals (pp. 101-120). Routledge.
Lowenhoff, C. and et.al., 2017. NICE guideline for antenatal and postnatal mental health: the
health visitor role. Journal of Health Visiting.5(6). pp.290-298.
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