Education on health promotion Essay

The dissertation topic of this paper is â€Å"education on health promotion† and problem statement of this dissertation is â€Å"During an 18 month period, the researcher will design, implement and evaluate an HIV/AIDS health promotion program for inpatients in a non- profit hospital located in Los Angeles California. † The literature that has been used in the literature review is related to the topic in aspects of looking at how the health of patients can be promoted. This literature review provides the reader with an overview of the education on health promotion that is related with HIV/AIDS patients (http://library. ucsc. edu). The materials used are all relevant to the topic of discussion in the dissertation. A literature review is supposed to provide the reader with an overview of the research topic as expounded in the literature that has been used. In it, the researcher critically looks at how the authors have presented their information. The reliability and validity of the literature is analyzed and confirmed with the sources cited. Furthermore, in it the objectivity of the researcher is put under scrutiny and the various aspects of the information are evaluated. The ability of the author to persuade the reader on the theses they are talking about is also analyzed. How the literature contributes to the research topic at is also questioned and thus the value of the information is established. A literature review may either be the final product or be part of a research (http://www. isc. edu). In the body and conclusion of the literature review the writer will need to provide as summary of the studies that are found within the literature. Usually only the major contributions towards the research topic are discussed in the literature review. The much that one explains in the review is determined by the space and time available for the literature review. The problems identified in the research conducted by the authors of the literature are also noted during the literature review. Literature review Many scholars are in agreement that there is an urgent and necessary need for a research on the impact of education on health promotion. In regards to the problem statement posed for this topic which is â€Å"During an 18 month period the researcher will design implement and evaluate an HIV/AIDS health promotion program for in patients in a non profit hospital located in los Angeles California†, the literature that has been reviewed dwells specifically on cases that are related to HIV/AIDS. Le Blanc (1993) tries to understand to what extent the Americans know about HIV/AIDS. He tries to understand what sort of information they are familiar with, whether it is about how one can be infected or it is about how to manage the problem once it has been established that one has contracted the disease There has been growing concern of why the spread of HIV/AIDS is still high. The statistics show that the rate of infection is still high yet has been so much advancement made in recognizing how to avoid contracting it. The research is aimed at establishing why this is so and this is to be done in a non-profit making hospital so as to establish which other causes other than money are involved in the lack of protection from contracting the HIV virus. An alarmingly huge percentage of those who are infected do not even know it and may thus spread the virus unknowingly (Brandon W. R. 1999). Despite there being many ways of aiding those who are infected, if one does not know their positive sero-status there is no way that they can benefit from all the research that has been taking place. It has been identified that specific groups of people in the society do not benefit from the researches done because they are sidelined when it comes to obtaining information on the prevention and management of the ailment. Economic hardships experienced by both health workers and those in need of the information limits their ability to get this information (Grusky O. , Liu H. & Johnson M. 2002). This is because none is able to obtain the literature required to keep up to date with what is happening in the world of research. If the health care providers do not have the information then it is hard for the local layman to have more information than they have. Once a person is infected it is also difficult for them to access quality medical care if one does not have money to take care of this. The other people who are even denied medical care are the homosexuals. (Baumgartner T. C Jnr 1998). When it was first discovered, it was assumed to be a disease for the homosexuals and it was supposed to be a punishment for their ‘un-natural’ sexual tastes’. They were therefore stigmatized and up to date they are treated differently by some of the staff in the medical care centers. By ignoring the effects that their attitudes have on the psychology of these patients makes them unwilling to go to these centers to obtain medical care. There is therefore a need to look in to the emotional health of these people. There is also need to modify the medical curriculum so that it may accommodate the minorities in the teachings. This is because if has been noted that these people are not mentioned in the curriculum. It has also been established that the number of young people who are infected is very high and thus the need to introduce policies that will work to help these students live a normal life in school despite their positive serostatus (Committee on Pediatric AIDS 2000). These children have been seen as having the same cognitive ability as those who have tested negative for the virus and therefore should be allowed to attain as high an education as they can manage before the ravages of the disease catches up with them. In the United States, there have been laws and policies passed that protect the rights of such students. There are also outlines of how the school personnel should handle the students who are both affected and infected by the virus. The authors note various ways in which the HIV virus is transmitted and these include unsafe sexual practices, intravenous drug use and also being transmitted to the unborn child by the mother. The best place to provide health related education to young people is in the schools because that is where most young people are to be found everyday (Kolbe L. J. , Talley R. C. & Short R. J. 1999). By using schools to reach out to young people, the health service providers will be able to reach more youths especially those with inadequate resources and thus improve their health. Once the health issues of the youths have been addressed then it is easier for the students to perform much better in their academic pursuit. WHO describes health promotion as being the process that enables the people be able to increase their control over their health and thus be able to improve it. For the people to be able to lead wholesome lives, they have to be well psychologically emotionally and physically (WHO Europe 1986). There is therefore need for the incorporation of psychology treatment in the promotion of health (Leviton L. C 1996). Psychology seems to be aimed at temporally strategies while the public health infrastructure dwells more on long-term strategies. This then means that neither can work in the absence of the other and so they have to be coordinated for them to achieve optimum ability to promote health. It is very important that the ideological part of health promotion and practical part are all combined to bring about a wholesome outlook of the health promotion. (Davies J. K. & MacDonald G. 1998). This is where the ideas developed in psychology are put into practice through the public health infrastructure. There are questions raised on the effect of education relating to sexuality of the youths. There is a debate that it may cause early exploration of the youth about sex (http://www. seicus. org). However those who want it introduced and implemented in schools insist that it is important for it to be used in schools because it helps the youth have more information on sexual issues. Youths are already involved in sexual intercourse and it would be best for them to be educated on the safe practices that can be used to avoid unwanted pregnancies and infection by various STDS including HIV/AIDS infection. This will make them more aware of the various ways in which they can be able to protect themselves and thus promoting their own health. On top of this, there is a need for the academic personnel to be trained on how to deal with infected students. Not only are the teachers to learn how to deal with these students but also they go ahead to teach the rest of the students on how they should live with these students who are infected. The community in general has to be involved in the promotion of health promotion should always be the priority in the society and all the policies that are put in place should be aimed at improving their knowledge base concerning health. The various ways in which their health can be improved in terms of prevention and management should be adequately communicated to them through the various health providers found in the community. In doing this and further reducing the cost of attaining the health services the members of the community would be able to improve their ability to determine their health status and thus be more productive in the society.