Essay on "Tackling Health Inequity Using Primary Health Care and Empowerment Approaches"

Essay 10 pages (4083 words) Sources: 15 Style: Harvard

[EXCERPT] . . . .

social determinants of health which according to WHO (2011) are the conditions in which individuals are born in, grow, live their lives, work as well as age is an integral to the achievement of health equality worldwide. These situations are basically shaped by the level and pattern of the distribution of money, power as well as other resources at a local, national, regional and international level, factors that are also dictated by the laid down policies of a given regime. These social determinants of health have been noted to be responsible for the cases of health care inequities the world over. Health inequity refers to the unfair as well as the unavoidable difference in the cross country health status. Social determinants of health have also been noted to include living conditions, educational facilities and opportunities as well as the health care services that have a profound effect on the health of the populations. The rural population has been noted to be the ones that suffer the worst health inequity (Li and Dorsten,2010).

Scholars have long suggested that health care is one of the most credible indicators of a population's well-being as well as a social stratification factor. Daniels, et al., (2006) pointed out that health equity and good health for members of a given society are usually advocated for even by the adherents of other social stratification measures like income. Li and Dorsen (2010) on the other hand pointed out that most of the studies on societal and community stratification have a deep focus on the level of economic development with health being neglected. This paper however, is a demonstration of an in-dept comprehension of the social determinants of health with a particular sharp focus on the state of childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia. We are to do this with a demonstration of an in-depth comprehension of and analysis of Comprehensive Primary Health Care. The concepts of power as well as empowerment are also explored .The health inequity scenario in the previous assignment is referred to in an effort of addressing the problems that were identified using the Comprehensive Primary Health Care framework as a suitable model for the achievement of the vision 2030 goals.The vision 2030 is to be aligned with the Millennium Development Goals (MGDs) in the Saudi Arabia context which is the eradication of extreme poverty as well as hunger, achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality as well as the empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality, improvement of maternal health, combating HIV / AIDS, malaria as well as other diseases, ensuring environmental sustainability and the development of global partnership for the sake of development (WHO,2011b).The particular MDGs to be affected by this case are reduction in childhood mortality as well as the combating of HIV / AIDS, malaria as well as other diseases. This is because they are to be tackled through a health care framework, a similar framework necessary for tackling childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia (UNDP,2009).The vision 2030 in this case is to reduce and if possible eradicate childhood obesity from all Saudi Arabian provinces.

An overview of the social determinants of health

As mentioned earlier in this work, the social determinants of health are those conditions in which a person is born in, grow, live their lives, work as well as age is an integral to the achievement of health equality worldwide (WHO, 2011).The distribution of wealth, power as well as services globally at the local, national, regional and global level plays an important role in the health of the masses in addition to the laid down policies.The World Health Organization in 2005 established a special commission called the Commission on Social Determinates of Health (CSDH) and mandated it with the reduction of global health inequity (WHO,2011). The Commission on Social Determinates of Health employs three main principles in an effort of closing the health gap in a given generation. These three principles are aimed at improving the daily living conditions of the global population, solving the problem of power, wealth and resource inequity at all levels of the society as well as measure and understand the various problems with an impact assessment of the same. The process of eliminating health inequity must be approached as a coordinated action involving governments, civil societies, local communities, corporate organizations as well as international agencies. All of these sectors must participate in the drafting of the appropriate policies as well as the formulation of programs that are aimed at promoting global health equity.

Understanding Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) with the health inequality in Saudi Arabia (Childhood Obesity)

Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC) is a developmental process that has an emphasis on the principles of equity, empowerment and social justice for a social change to be achieved that would be able to impact health as well as the well-being of a population. It emphasizes on addressing the various determinants of health which are the condition that results in good or ill health (Talbot and Verinder, 2010).

A Comprehensive Primary Health Care approach should be able to effectively address the various health issues including the associated social, economical, environmental and behavioral variables within a given time period. Baum (2008) pointed out that the principles that are involved in this approach are aimed at addressing the health inequities through people empowerment at the community level in the promotion of health endeavors. The Primary Health Care approach should be able to provide appropriate health care services that are appropriate and sustainable to the target population.

The principles of primary health care can ac effectively address child health care issues such as obesity through the provision of appropriate plans as well as programmes that are based on the unique characteristics of the Saudi Arabian communities. The process of modelling primary health care systems requires the involvement of various sectors of the economy and organizations in order for the implementation of the laid down programmes of child health promotion to be effective. The models must be able to engage the communities through the provision of suitable opportunities to aid in the decision making stage as well as the process of implementation.

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of childhood obesity in the Middle East (Lobstein, 2010).About 18% of children between the age of one and eighteen years in Saudi Arabia are overweight according to a survey conducted between 1994 and 1998 (El-Hazmi and Warsy,2002)In Central Saudi Arabia, boys aged 6 to 14 were shown to have experienced an increase in the case of being overweight from 3% in 1998 to 25% in 2005 (Al-Hazzaa,2007).Bahrain has been shown to have the highest prevalence rates of childhood obesity (Lobstein,2010).

Presenting the vision in the last 19 years

The Saudi Arabian healthcare system has experienced several changes in the last 19 years. The Saudi Arabian healthcare system can be classified easily as a national healthcare system that entails the provision of healthcare services by the government via a number of governmental agencies. The private sector has also been observed in the last 19 years to increase its participation in the provision of health care services. The major government agency that is mandated with the provision of preventive, rehabilitative and curative health care to the Saudi Arabian Kingdom citizens is the Ministry of Health (MOH).The provision of primary health care by the ministry is via a networl of health care centers that totals 1,925 (Ali,2010).In the last 19 years the healthcare system in Saudi Arabia has witnessed several changes. In 1993, there was the establishment of the national guidelines to be used for quality assurance in the provision of primary healthcare. These guidelines outlined the aspects of the comprehensive primary health care such as child heath care, community participation, prescribing, healthcare education, immunization, maternal healthcare, management of chronic diseases, management of communicable diseases as well as environmental healthy (SCQA,1993). A management development program also called Supportive Supervision was established in 1995.

Cause of childhood Obesity in Saudi Arabia

The causes of childhood obesity in Saudi Arabia are numerous. They range from genetic, social, psychological and even cultural factors. The main one is the lack of activity by the children due to overindulgence in video games and too much television. Parents also exuberate the situation by making poor nutritional choices; they reward their children with candies and fee them with junk food. Poor eating habits are therefore another cause. In regards to cultural causes, some schools ban girls from playing due to the belief that it would break their hymen. This leads to in activity among the girl child and hence high prevalence of obesity

Obesity in Saudi Arabian children

According to Reilly, (2005), at the sunset of the 20th century, obesity was identified as a universal problem by the world health organization. It was one of the greatest risks that was faced the well being of the world's population. It was a condition that in the past was associated with adults alone but as time went by the… READ MORE

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