PUBH6006 Assessment 3: Community Health and Disease Prevention

This assignment, focusing on PUBH6006, delves into community health and disease prevention. It begins by exploring definitions of community and the challenges of representation in health programs, referencing Zakus and Lysack (1998) and Laverack (2007). The assessment then examines community capacity building and empowerment, reflecting on Labonte and Laverack's (2001a) definition and its application. The assignment also evaluates theories and models of health promotion, including the Pender's Health Promotion Model, and strategies for increasing awareness and skills, such as Nutbeam's (2000) approach to health literacy. Furthermore, it addresses environmental risk factors, particularly obesogenic environments, and the importance of screening and disease surveillance, emphasizing the role of surveillance systems in non-communicable disease management. The student provides insights into program implementation, challenges, and potential solutions within diverse communities, supported by relevant literature.

Running Head: COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 1
COMMUNITY HEALTH
AND DISEASE
PREVENTION
Assessment 3
Student Name:
Student ID:
Subject Name:
Subject ID: PUBH6006
Date:

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 2
Module 1: Discussion Topic 1: Defining and
Working with Communities
As per Zakus and Kysack (1998) Laverack (2007, Chapter 2), the definition of community
states that community encompasses a place where people lives such as a neighbourhood. The
diversity of individuals as well as groups in a certain geographic community that can lead to
problems regarding selection of representation by the individuals of such community.
Neighbourhood’s diversity might create problem in the representation of the community
members in health programs. These problems include consideration regarding majority in the
community and their overpowering aspect. This implies that minorities in the community
might not get activities or access to the health care programs that they require.
On the basis of Laverack’s ladder of community-based interaction (2007, Chapter 2), the
key steps and approach for practitioners working with communities needs to empowerment of
communities. Key strategies includes community development programs, policy making and
buidlign of leadership. I would undertake inter personal aspect of community interaction such
that the entire community can be empowered and there is a link between individuals, control
capacity and social aspects. The best point of entry for a practitioner is to develop leadership
and inter-personal interaction process. This will directly affect the success of the program by
being able to interact with communities.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 3
Discussion Topic 2: Community Capacity
Building and Empowerment
Labonte and Laverack (2001a) community capacity is described as an appropriate
descriptor of the relationship between social and organizational with existence of dynamic
qualities as against static properties. Reflecting upon this definition of community capacity, it
does reflect the definition of community empowerment to some extent. As it aims at the
process of defining relation between society and the organization.
Community capacity can be used in fostering empowerment at the current workplace by
development, implementation and sustenance of own solutions in a manner that assists in
exercising and shaping control over social, physical, economic and cultural environments. It
allows multi-directional approach to problem solving in communities. This can enable
identifying challenges that deters community’s capacity in reaching their goals and in
development specific strategies to address these challenges.
Module 2: Discussion Topic 1: Theories,
Approaches and Models of Health Promotion
Evaluating the theories and models of health promotion, the focus is on empowerment
with problem assessment when working with diversified communities. The strength of these
theories and models is in their ability to diagnose specific problems with ease and
empowering all section of the communities such that their problems can be answered.
However, the weaknesses of these theories and models includes determination of challenges
through a evaluation tools such as making use of rating scales. These rating scales does not
effectively determine the depth of challenges being faced by specific communities hence
ignoring the totality of the challenge. Moreover, the communities whose data is not available

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 4
or those who have not been empowered, it will be difficult to ascertain any considerable
models of health promotions for them. An effective theory and health promotion model is one
that was deigned by Nola J. Pender. The model stated aims at designing a complementary
counterpart to the model of health protection. For example, the absence of disease reflects the
positive dynamic state of health prevalent. The Pender’s health promotion model is directed
at increasing patient well-being.
Discussion Topic 2: Increasing Awareness
and Skills in Programs
Strategy that will be effective in health programs suited to the current community to
increase awareness and motivate to develop the skills of people living across diverse
communities is Nutbeam (2000) strategy to improvise health literacy. This will enable
enhancing people’s capacity to access health information and then to use it in an effective
manner. This will help spread awareness and motivate people such that they are able to
develop essential skills related to health. Individuals will be able to make use of such
information in their health and could also assists other in the community which can enable
overall enhancing health outcomes for the entire community in totality.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 5
Module 3: Discussion Topic 1: Environmental
Risk Factors
Obesogenic environment includes exploration of built and food environments. It includes
the sum total of all the effects from surroundings, opportunities as well as conditions that
leads to promotion of obesity in individuals as well as population. According to Swinburn et
al. (1999) the importance of obesogenic environment includes determining the factors that led
to a particular disease and hence understanding of the underlying cause. Identifying and
prioritising environmental interventions has been considered as the most effective ways in
preventing overweight and obesity and also the onset of most critical ailments. For example,
a child who is overweight is most likely to be overweight in high adulthood and have greater
likelihood to develop chronic health conditions that is linked to lifestyle diseases. Thus,
determination of such environment plays a crucial role to understand the reason of onset of
chronic ailments in the society.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 6
Discussion Topic 2: Screening and Disease
Surveillance
The suitability of surveillance system and screening programs assist in obtaining relevant and
reliable information on various stages of a disease. In non-communicable disease (NCD)
health problems, surveillance systems needs to be an appropriate representation of the
national population. As a surveillance system is an ongoing system essential for collecting
and analysing data for delivery of accurate information regarding the country’s disease, such
data needs to include groups who are at risks, estimates of mortality, risk factors, morbidities,
behaviours and determinants that can assists in tackling of outcomes. For example, in case of
a public health problem of stroke disease, the control and evaluation to support the
surveillance program needs to have data of the government policies and programs aimed at
prevention of the disease. Such systems neds to meet the background and objectives and
serve as a strategic capacity building for the fundamental public health to function. It also
enables to foster critical partnering and link forming between communities and individuals
along with the society as a whole.

COMMUNITY HEALTH AND DISEASE PREVENTION 7
References
Corcoran, N. (Ed.). (2013). Communicating health: strategies for health promotion. Sage. 2nd
Edition.
Gottwald, M., & Goodman-Brown, J. (2012). A guide to practical health promotion.
McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Labonte, R., & Laverack, G. (2001). Capacity building in health promotion, Part 1: For
whom? And for what purpose?. Critical public health, 11(2), 111-127. DOI:
10.1080/09581590110039838.
Laverack, G. (2007). Health promotion practice: building empowered communities.
McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Laverack, G. (2014). The pocket guide to health promotion. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Laverack, M. S. (2013). The Physiology of Earthworms: International Series of Monographs
on Pure and Applied Biology: Zoology. Elsevier.
Nutbeam, D. (2000). Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary
health education and communication strategies into the 21st century. Health promotion
international, 15(3), 259-267. DOI: 10.1093/heapro/15.3.259.
Swinburn, B., Egger, G., & Raza, F. (1999). Dissecting obesogenic environments: the
development and application of a framework for identifying and prioritizing
environmental interventions for obesity. Preventive medicine, 29(6), 563-570.