FRONT SHEET

PUBLIC HEALTH- UNIT NUMBER NPAD1008 MODULE LEADER WENDY WIGLEY DEVELOPING PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE: A CASE STUDY STUDENT ID NUMBER: WORD COUNT:... See more it cant harm putting a header in with id num and page num!

Relate everything back to initative! To include: y Describe approaches to public health practice y Socio-economic factors-their impact on health and well being y Contemporary public health policy- its impact on nursing in formal and lay care. y Multi-agency and partnership working- how this is integral to public health and are fundamental in formal and lay care settings 1000 words Draw upon clinical/personal experienceIdentify 1 public health initiative( something that fills a gap where there is a health or social need within a given community, public health scheme or carer support system within a geographic area of your choice
Intro..do not just write out guidelines. Start with brief definition of public health. Do not give dictionary definition Develop argument when writing, bring in counter argument this says this..however...this says.. and reference. If you say something..explain why. Make sure there is sufficient explanation. So what now? Future.. Do not leave questions unanswered. Do not use too many quotations..paraphrase instead

Briefly describe the initiative and explain why you have chosen it. what does the initiative aim to do why did you choose it why are you
interested in?

Public health has been defined as: the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promotion of health through the organised efforts of society (Acheson, 1988). The role that nurses play in public health is also a vital factor; the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing has been defined as that which aims to reduce health inequalities by working with individuals, families and communities promoting health, preventing ill health and in the protection of health (NMC 2008) The emphasis of public health seems to be upon promoting and preventing health, rather than focusing on the curative aspects. It also focuses on communities rather than individuals. Initiatives are set up in order to fulfil the health and social needs of communities; this essay will focus on an initiative called Memory Matters. This is based in the area of Southampton, with the intention of raising the publics awareness and understanding of Dementia, providing earlier diagnosis and support of the disease and also living well with Dementia. I have taken a particular interest in this area due to personal experiences with patients with Dementia in previous placements, and also due to the increasing numbers of people suffering from this disease.

Think about and explain why this initiative is beneficial towards health and well-being; how does it contribute to Public Health?
You will need to look at a definition of public health think about the initiative and the definitionyou may have already started to do this above; for example take stop smoking - who does smoking affect and why is smoking a public health issue?

(Learning Outcome 1) Dementia is most common in those over the age of 65(Alzheimers Research Trust, 2010) although it can affect those under this age. It has been shown that numbers of people suffering from this disease are increasing and it is predicted that by 2021 there will be 940,000 people with Dementia in the UK (Alzheimers Society, 2010) There is therefore a great need for focus on this disease as part of public health services, due to increasing numbers. People need a greater understanding of the risk factors associated with the disease and also the symptoms. This could lead to decreased numbers of those diagnosed with Dementia and also earlier diagnosis and support, benefiting the health and well being of the public.

Explain how local evidence(facts) and/or national statistical data(which may) including user opinion enabled the initiative to be developed. look at:
http://www.statistics.gov.uk/

What specific health need and social needs do this group of service users have and what socio economic factors might have contributed to these needs?
Look at the ONS website for the area the initiative is based: http://neighbourhood.statistics.gov.uk/dissemination/

(Learning Outcome 2) Southampton City Primary Care Trust has a population of 227,000; 14% of which are over the age of 65. The number of people over the age of 65 is expected to increase by 13.5%, by 2012, it is estimated that 2722 older people in the city will have Dementia (Southampton City Primary Care Trust 20?) the growing older population means that more people are likely to be affected by Dementia in the future. Southampton City has large areas of deprivation and is ranked as the 91st most deprived authority area out of 345 in the country. (Southampton City Primary Care Trust 20?) According to (WHO, 2010) Higher income and social status are linked with better health. Being a deprived area, Southampton City, therefore is in need of improved public health services in order to improve the health and well being of the community. Low education levels have also been linked with poor health, along with more stress(WHO, 2010) ; there is a need for this initiative, to promote health through educating people. More info needed here The risk of Dementia increases with ages however, there are other risk factors, including: lack of physical activity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels, being overweight or obese and smoking. (Southampton City, Southampton City Council, 2010) By educating people about these risk factors, it may be possible to reduce numbers of people diagnosed with Dementia in the future.

Discuss and reference a government policy which might have influenced the development of the initiative. You can make most
initiative fit with either Choosing health (DH 2004) or Our health, our care, our say (2006) but you need to do somresearch and surf the DH website

A government policy which influenced the Memory Matters initiative is Our health, our care, our say (Department of Health, 2006) this policy

Explain how the initiative reflects modern-day nursing practice.

Outcome 3)

Thinking about who is involved in the initiative and why, discuss extent to which the initiative makes use of multiagency and partnership working. You will need to explain what
partnership or multi agency working isdepending upon which one your initiative usesit may use both

Explain why partnership is important when working with communities to promote health and well-being.
If you look at and read a good text on public health and/or health promotion you should be able to explain this, remember to use your own words

Health Promotion is said to be about raising the health status of individuals and communities, by advancing, supporting, encouraging and placing it higher on personal and public agendas (Ewels.L, Simnett, I, 2003). Partnership is imperative here, when working with communities to promote health and well being. A partnership is the collaboration of individuals and organisations, as a way of addressing health inequalities (Davies.J, Foley. P, 2007). The health of communities is more than public health medicine, and it therefore requires the skills of people from many different professions and backgrounds. Southampton Primary Care Trust, Southampton City Council and the Voluntary Sector have together identified the area of need, due to a growing demand. With different organisations working on common ground, partnerships between them will lead to successful and more effective outcomes.

References
Acheson D (1988) Public Health in England. The Stationery Office, London

http://www.nmcuk.org/Documents/Circulars/2008%20circulars/NMC%20circular%2014_ 2008.pdf http://www.alz.org/documents_custom/report_alzfactsfigures2010.pdf http://www.dementia2010.org/reports/Dementia2010Full.pdf http://alzheimers.org.uk/site/scripts/documents_info.php?categoryID=20 0167&documentID=412&pageNumber=1 http://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/index.html Ewles.L, Simnett. I, 2003. Promoting Health, A practical guide. 5th ed. London: Elsevier http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/Publicatio nsPolicyAndGuidance/Browsable/DH_4127552 Davies.J.K, Foley.P(2003) Policy and practice in promoting public health Chapter 5, Partnerships and alliances for health

MUST INCLUDE:
y y y one one and one source of information pertaining to the initiative source of statistical demographic data regarding the health social needs of the local population governmental policy document,

y y

one text on public health/health promotion one text on partnership working

Do not make any statements in your text or points in your discussion unless you can support them with evidence, when you read through your text imagine me or another marker saying says who! Try to make your point clearly, imagine me or the marker saying and your point is? or why? Take care when referencing from the web; Look at how I have referenced the document from the DH website Think about it if you go to a library you dont reference the libraryyou reference the book that you have withdrawnand then the particular chapter of the book that has informed your discussionthe same principle applies to referencing from the web. With regard to edited books make sure if it is the author of the chapter you are referencing not the editors. For example I wrote a chapter in the edited book Public Health skills book so if you were citing me in your assignment you would write in the text: It has been suggested that.. (Wigley 2008) or Wigley (2008) suggests that In the reference list the reference to me would look like this: Wigley, W. (2008) Quality and Risk Management: Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable Groups, in Coles, L. and Porter L.M. (eds) Public Health Skills: A Practical Guide for Nurses and Public Health Practitioners. (1st edition) Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, pp 216 236

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

You You You You You

address each of the learning outcomes demonstrate evidence of safe practice/attitudes take account of relevant cultural and ethical issues maintain the patients/clients and the organisations confidentiality ensure the work is your own with no plagiarism