Public Health, Disease, and Healthcare Systems
The Public Health and Health Administration
The health administration strives to ensure the well-being of its citizens using appropriate means and channels established by the health system. This system performs the following actions:
Shares of the Health System
Promotion and Health Advocacy
- Actions on the environment: environmental sanitation and hygiene.
- Actions on people, both groups and individuals.
Restoration of Health: Primary Care and Assistance
Highlights of Public Health
- They have a community approach, similar to social studies, and act on populations as opposed to primary clinical care that focuses on individuals.
- They consider the influences on health of biological elements of the environment and the relationship between humans and the environment.
- They leverage advancements in other sciences.
Health and Disease
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. Health stems from the satisfaction of individual needs, so disease arises when these needs are not met. Therefore, health and illness are cultural concepts closely related and linked to people’s needs.
The Intensity and Occurrence of Disease
The intensity and occurrence of disease depend on three key factors:
- Main Cause: The primary trigger of the disease, such as the presence of a microbe in an infection.
- Predisposing Cause(s): Factors that can exacerbate the main cause, such as malnutrition weakening the immune system and facilitating the work of the microbe.
- Triggering Cause(s): Factors that facilitate the action of the main cause, such as the actions of another microbe that aids the disease-causing agent.
Causes of Disease
A disease can be triggered due to three main causes:
- Causes Dependent on Human Biology:
- Genetic information
- Age
- Causes Dependent on the Environment:
- The physical, chemical, biological, and social environment.
- Causes Dependent on Lifestyle:
- Drug use, lack of exercise, poor nutrition, violence, reckless driving, unhealthy habits, and misuse of reproductive health resources.
- The Healthcare System Itself: Coverage, cost, and quality.
Health and Economic and Social Development
Health and economic and social development are closely related. A certain income level allows access to goods, facilities, and services necessary for well-being and health. Conversely, a minimum level of health is required to work and earn that income. This creates a cycle where poverty and illness are both cause and effect. However, the wealth-health relationship doesn’t remain linear above minimum thresholds. Spending more doesn’t necessarily equate to better health, and inappropriate development can lead to new problems such as:
- Environmental degradation
- The loss of social relationships
When socio-ecological levels are low, the main health problems are infectious and parasitic diseases. In more developed societies, major illnesses are often caused by physical problems and lifestyle choices.
Health Indicators
An indicator is a variable that directly measures and reflects conditions such as living standards, health, and education. Common indicators include:
Health Indicators and Living Standards
Economic Indicators:
- Per capita income
- Percentage of household expenditure devoted to food
- Percentage of the workforce unemployed
- Percentage of the workforce employed in the primary sector
Socio-Cultural Indicators:
- Public spending on social investments (education, health, and social services)
- Percentage of children in school
- Percentage of educated women
- Percentage of illiterates
Health Indicators
- The health of people
- Medical conditions
- Activities and health services
Individual Indicators for Industrialized Countries:
- Morbidity: The proportion of people falling ill in a given place at a time.
- Disability: Number of days per year a person is unable to work due to illness or accident.
- Use of effective health services: Number of annual doctor visits and average length of waiting lists.
- Life expectancy free of disability: The time a person will live autonomously.
- Patient satisfaction: Analysis of patient satisfaction with medical personnel, care, and treatment efficacy.
- Positive health indicators
Health Indicators Concerning the Health Status of Individuals
General Indicators:
- Overall death rate
- Life expectancy
- Swaroop rate: Percentage of deaths occurring among people over 50 years old.
Specific Indicators:
- Infant mortality rate: Ratio of deaths under one year old to live births in that year.
- Mortality and morbidity from communicable diseases, nutritional status, and mental health status.
Indicators on Environmental Conditions
- Percentage of the population with safe deposit box service
- Percentage of the population with housing service assessment
- Sanitary conditions of housing
- Air pollution
- Sanitary conditions in the workplace
Indicators Relating to Activities and Health Services
- Number and distribution of health personnel
- Level of training and specialization of medical personnel
Health Planning
Health planning is a process that facilitates achieving pre-set goals. It involves deciding what to do and how to do it, followed by evaluating the entire process. This is because broad goals are long-term, while specific goals are pursued through programming in a shorter period and within a defined population. An action plan is required for any professional activity, and it’s a process that develops in stages, gradually repeating these steps:
- Research on the needs of everyday people
- Estimation of available resources (human, financial, and material)
- Prioritization
- Determination of precise objectives
- Choice of strategies to be followed to achieve objectives
- Implementation of actions
- Evaluation of results
- Modification of the proceedings where necessary
Several aspects of health planning are crucial, including preparation, research, resource allocation, prioritization, objective setting, strategy selection, and evaluation. Self-assessment is essential but can be challenging in the medical field. Different types of evaluations exist, such as initial, continuous, final, and further evaluation. In evaluating results, the process, structure, and achievement of objectives should be considered.