Community Engagement in Policy Development
In the modern world it is an established fact that the person’s health is determined by their surroundings, quality of life and the society they belong to (Haflon 2009). The factors that define people’s state of health, life expectancy and the number of diseases this person is potentially exposed to during their lifetime are various and multiple. Social communities that are united by the same culture, lifestyle, nutrition, ethnicity and religious beliefs also tend to share the same types of sicknesses. The community leaders or influential members can make a significant impact on the rest of the community and help to improve the effectiveness of the policy (Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA) – Cultural Renewal to Improve Health n. d.).
The Importance of Beliefs and Behaviors When Developing Health Policies
The sphere of public healthcare nowadays is determined to research and explore the relationships within various communities and social groups, behavioral and cultural patterns that cause certain typical health issues within these groups. The modern medical scientists are observing the cultural evolution of the society and trying to adjust the policies in order to address all the contemporary public health issues of the diverse patients (Cultural Diversity in Health Policy n. d.). The researchers are attempting to create a perfect combination between the cultural beliefs and values and the most appropriate medical treatments. Science does not have to clash with the culture; the integration of these two aspects is able to produce a lot of good outcomes (Importance of Cultural Appropriate Care for Native Americans Program n. d.). Culture and science in the modern world have to work together, without excluding each other.
The Importance of Culturally Appropriate Health Policies
In the modern society cultural diversity is everywhere, this is why all socially oriented sciences are directed at studying the impacts cultural diversity creates in its field. Socio-cultural anthropology nowadays plays a big role in the development of the modern health policies (Campbell 2011). Contemporary medicine is directed at the development of health literacy in the society in order to support health before health care is necessary (Medical Care’s Role in Promoting Health Program n. d.). Over the last years the medical researchers have come to the conclusion that the quality of health and health care varies in different ethnic, racial and socio-economic communities (Diversity Matters 2014).
How One Can Develop a Policy so that It Gets the Support of the Community
The most effective health policies today need to address the health issues through the perspective of cultural differences and backgrounds. The policies that do not take into consideration the cultural factors are going to be ineffective and not popular. In order to develop a policy that addresses the specific needs of a certain social group a research and data collection are needed. Such factors as geographic location, economic status, access to all the necessary services are important for the policy (Diversity in Health 2014). A factor that is essential for the policy’s effectiveness is the support of the community leaders that act as role models for the other members (Allen & Heald 2004).
How to Engage a Community to Be a Part of the Voice When Developing a Policy?
Social anthropology must be attentive to complexities within the community while working on the policy details (Porter 2006). The community needs to be presented with the results and impacts of the policy and the knowledge about the public health issues (Gregory, Hartz-Karp & Watson 2008). The engagement of influential people of community increases the popularity of the program or a health policy a lot.
Insights
Globalization today has created many health issues. It adds to the rate of food-borne diseases, it impacts lack of health literacy, creates cultural clash in the society, brings stress and low quality of life to some communities (Lee, Buse & Fustukian 2002). At the same time, diversity in the society can be used as an effective tool to productively address many of the health issues occurring within social and ethnic communities. Modern scientific tendencies are directed at the health maintenance instead of the development of health care services. Educational policies are designed to inform the patients about potential threats and minimize the risk of certain diseases through the development of health literacy and social awareness (Shonkoff, Boyce & McEwen 2009).
Conclusion
Over the last decade the modern health promotion started to work though the development of individual approaches towards various groups of people by researching their specific needs and most typical issues. Such approach creates better opportunities to address the problems that concern people sharing similar conditions of life. Since modern world I full of diverse patients, the scientists needed to find a way to divide these patients into groups and study the peculiarities and similarities in their health conditions in order to work out effective ways to address common public health issues and best strategies to deal with them. Health promotion that takes into consideration cultural beliefs and social status of the patients helps to create awareness of health issues in the communities.
Reference List
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Tohono O’odham Community Action (TOCA) – Cultural Renewal to Improve Health. (n. d). Unnatural Causes. Web.