Population health is indeed an integral part of research for any medical practitioner. Not to be confused for individual health which mainly focuses on the health conditions of an individual population health takes a rather wider scope. This means that population health is concerned with the health of the entire population in a given geographical area since these people are exposed to the same conditions be they environmental or otherwise that may greatly affect their health either as protagonists or antagonists. Initial beliefs about population health include the belief that the environmental conditions in a given area play a large part in determining the overall health of the population in the given area. Another initial belief about population health is that the genetic composition of a given population is an integral part of that particular population’s health. This is because people in a given geographical location may have certain similarities as far as genetics is concerned thus contributing to similar or rather a uniform health pattern in the given geographical location.
Population health determinants include health care availability, social environment, physical environment and genetics. These population health determinants give strength or rather support the initial beliefs about population health the physical environment includes the environmental factors to which the population in question is exposed (Sim, 2011). The social environment focuses on certain collective social tendencies that might influence the health of an entire population for example a population where behavior such as beer intake is very popular and tends to morph into the culture of the population thus resulting in a scenario where a majority of the people in a given area are active beer drinkers (Marmot, 2006).
Barriers that currently exist in terms of improving population health include the availability of healthcare and social behavior. In many populations healthcare is not readily available or it is too expensive to be afforded by the entire population (Priest, 2005). This leads to a situation where majorities of the people do not have access to quality healthcare and this thus affects the health of the entire population. Social behavior is also a barrier in terms of improving population health because social classes and gatherings tend to encourage and advocate practices such as drug abuse. This therefore leads to a scenario where all the members of a given social class engage in the same social behavior be it cigarette smoking or any other social behavior that is not friendly as far as the health of the population is concerned. This is therefore a barrier to improving the health of the population in question (Blas, 2011).
As a health practitioner it is very important to note the fact that population health stems from individual behavior. True there are certain factors for example environmental factors that tend to apply to the entire population but the difference lies in how each individual in the population deals with these particular factors. If every individual in a given population takes better care of themselves in terms of their health then there is bound to be a ripple effect as far as the health of the entire population is concerned. A health practitioner might advance this knowledge to the population by emphasizing on the importance of individual health to every person that comes in needing medical attention or advice. This will incorporate counseling into the professional role of the practitioner.
References
Abdesslam, B. (2009). Social determinants, health equity and human development.S.l: Bentham Science Publishers.
Blas, E. (2011). Social determinants approaches to public health: from concept to practice. Geneva: World Health Organization.
Marmot, M. G. (2006).Social determinants of health (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Sim, F. (2011).Issues in public health (2nd ed.). Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.
priest, k. (2005). Public health reports. Hyattsville, Md.: [U.S. Dept. of Health, Education, and Welfare, Public Health Service, Health Resources Administration].
