Introduction
Community health is clearly a huge Public Health undertaking, which is believed can only be enhanced through legislations and penalties that would ensure measures are taken to keep the environment safe.
Even though it is everyone’s responsibly to keep a clean healthy environment free of chemical and natural hazards there is still a difficulty for some members of society to comply with statues which enforce these legislations. Therefore, Public health administration in any country must effectively demonstrate the efficiency to adequately dispense its function in this regard.
Identifying -Core Public Health Functions
Public Health is an institution, which functions to maintain health and promote wellness for communities and individuals by applying the key concepts of care in fulfilling its role. Key concepts of care strategies vary from one community to the other. It is from this paradigm that core Public Health functions emerge.
Major research findings reveal that there are three core Public Health Functions practiced in almost any Social Service administration, which embraces World Health Organization’s definition of health. They encompass monitoring of health status to identify community health problems; diagnose and investigate health problems and hazards to the community and evaluate the effectiveness, accessibility and quality of health base services provided to persons and the population. (“Three core public,”)
Explanation of Core Public Health Functions
Monitoring the health status within a community requires efficient epidemiological data collection techniques along with effective maintenance of databases. There is no other strategic function to enable identification of social problems from which health issues emerge.
While identifying issues can be applauded if no solutions are derived then, public health administration has failed in its purpose to ensure that there is the absence of disease. Consequently, a diagnosis must be made to justify the problem identified. Further research must be conducted to ascertain reasons behind health issues. Questions must be asked and answered.
In many communities there are elaborate health services including sophisticated clinics, laboratories, sewerage disposal facilities, water supply and sanitation services, hospitals and an elaborate health promotion –disease prevention program.
But there is an issue of accessibility to these health facilities to every member of society for which they were intended. The role of Public Health Administration is to continuously evaluate whether these services are reaching the targeted population.
The function of legislated community health
Public Health legislations are aimed at sustaining community health; preventing disease and managing the inevitable.( New Zealand Department, 2002) With the privilege of being able to monitor, identify, diagnose and evaluate accessibility to existing service institutions within the organization; it becomes imperative that a subsequent need of creating laws be insidious to its function. In fact, this controls Public Health terrorism, which is rampant in many societies today. (Read, 2000).
The degree to which the law can be used to advance the community’s health is a burning question within the minds of Social Scientists. There are always measures designed by communities and individuals to circumvent any law in the guise of ignorance.
In regards to buildings and service providers; code enforcement laws are enacted to ensure compliance with subsequent penalties if found in violation. Hospitals have been legislated to report incidences of notifiable communicable diseases. Likewise, adherence to regular medical evaluations for safety of the entire community is law in many developed societies.
Conclusion
The extent to which legislation through identified core functions within Public Health administration can advance a community’s health greatly depends on the accuracy with which laws have been invented to address specific public health issues.
As was discussed earlier the efficiency of legislative application is implied in the operation of any social service institution. The degree to which laws work depends on the effectiveness of administrative function.
References
Read Gostin, L. O. (2000). Public health law in a new century: part I: law as a tool to advance the community’s health. Jama, 283(21), 2837-841.
New Zealand Department of Public Health. (2002). Public Health Legislation Wellington, New Zealand. Ministry of Health. Web.
Three core public health functions. Web.