PUBLIC HEALTH

Public Health and Social Care Worker

Public Health and Social Care Worker

Introduction

Public health refers to the science and arts that deals with prevention of disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the planned efforts and informed choices of society, organisations, private and public, individuals and communities. The focus of an intervention of public health is to prevent and manage diseases, injuries and other health related conditions through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behaviours, communities and environments (Winslow 1920, pp. 23-33).

Discussion

Identification of Public Health Principles

Public health workers help people to stay healthy through spreading health information and awareness in order to avoid illness and health related issues in the society. Public health workers follow the public health principles that includes that help the communities and the individuals with an array of essential services that prevent disease, prolongs life and promotes health. There are numerous public health principles that are being followed by public health workers. These includes, being accountable to the health of communities and individuals, maintaining confidentiality of client, valuing people and empowering individuals etc. Two of the public health principles mentioned are discussed below.

Valuing People

Valuing people is an important public health principle. In public health and social care, valuing people refers to the general public and includes community and voluntary groups and other collective organisations. Valuing people in terms of public and social healthcare involves providing individuals and communities with consulting more than just informing about good health practices. It involves the active participation, engagement and partnership working between public and social healthcare practitioner with clients.

Valuing people in public and social health care will help in delivering of services to people and communities that make real difference to quality of life. Interacting and actively participating with people and communities is instrumental in shaping health of people along with promotion of their social wellbeing (AHP & PPI 2012, pp. 2-5).

Maintaining Client Confidentiality

Maintaining confidentiality of client is a part of ethics and it ethics is considered as heart of health practice. Thus, it is ethical and legal responsibility of public and social health care practitioners to maintain the privacy and confidentiality of health information obtained while providing care. maintaining client's confidentiality gives right to the client regarding his/her personal health information is collected, used and disclosed. For this to accomplish, various legislations are introduced by government that balances a right of client to privacy with the need of individuals and organisations providing health care to access and share health information (College of Nurses of Ontario 2009, pp. 3-5).

An Episode of Care from Current Work Placement

In order to gain practical experience as a part of my degree program, I have been placed for working at "The North West London Hospital". Currently I am working at the hospital and being supervised by my supervisor. In past week, my supervisor assigned a task to me regarding counselling a patient who had attempted to commit suicide by jumping from gallery of the third floor of the ...