week 7 - primary prevention

primary levels

• primary:

  • behavior change will be the same - this is focused on hoe high or low risk the population is.

  • contains HEALTH PROMOTION ( the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move towards a state of optimal health)

  • The goal of primary prevention is to alter risk factors
    prior to the onset of disease, thus preventing the
    disease from beginning or greatly diminishing the
    severity of subsequent disease

ideology of health promotion and the approaches

• the real and only challenge for health experts and
  educators is to find effective ways of
  helping people to maximize their health

Health promotion is concerned with strategies for promoting health. It assumes:
1. Good health is a universally shared objective;
2. There is agreement on what being healthy means;
3. There is a scientific consensus about which behaviors facilitate good health.

• Health promotion through goals, means, and criteria

  • Pursue different goals,

  • Utilize different means to achieve their goals,

  • Propose different criteria for their evaluation.
    BUT

    → They all aim to promote good health and to prevent, or reduce the effects of, ill health

3 major approaches

1. Behavior change approach,

   • Objective: to bring about changes in
     individual behavior through changes in
     individuals’ cognitions.

   • Process: provision of information
     related to health risks and hazards.

   • Aims: to increase individual’s
     knowledge about the causes of health
     and illness.

   • Assumption: humans are rational
     decision-makers whose cognitions
     inform their actions.

     

→ examples of behavior change models: SEM and theory of planned behavior

• CRITICISMS of the “Behavior Change”

  

  ---

2. Self-empowerment approach (not necessarily top-down, audience takes active involvement)

   • Objective: to empower individuals to make healthy choices

   • Process: participatory learning techniques

   • Aims: to increase control over your physical, social and internal environments

   • Assumption: power is a universal resource that can be mobilized by every individual

     → EMPOWERMENT: to enhance the possibilities for people to control their own lives”

     • Empowerment implies that many skills are
       already present or at least possible.

     • Empowerment implies that poor functioning
       is a result of social structure and lack of
       resources

   • uses “THERAPY MODEL” of health promotion (ex: group work, problem solving, client-centered counseling, assertiveness training, social skill training, education drama)

     • relies upon the individual persons inherent capacity to act rationally

---

3. Collective action’ or community development approach

   • Objective: to improve health by addressing socio- economic and environmental causes of ill health.

   • Process: individuals organize and act collectively in order
     to change their physical and social environments.

   • Aims: to modify social, economic and physical structures
     that generate ill health.

   • Assumption: communities of individuals share interests
     that allows them to act collectively

→ how is collective action different from self-empowerment?

• collective action: self empowerment aimed toward for the COMMUNITY

• we want to know the community - therefore:

  1. needs assessment:

     • Formal approach to identifying health
       needs and health problems in the
       community

     • The essential ingredient is community
       engagement and collaborative
       participation

  2. community mobilization (THIS IS WHAT RESULTS IN EMPOWERMENT):

     • 7 steps to community mobilization:

       

  3. community -based coalitions: UNIQUE CHARACTERISTICS

     • MAXIMIZE the power of individuals and groups

     • MINIMIZE the duplication of effort and services

       - Coalitions help mobilize and influence

       - Provide avenue for recruitment

       - Allow for exploitation of resources

  → examples:

  4. collective action: community gains critical conscious and recognizes social and economic limits and health influences + (social capital) for supportive community with networks and organizations

-