Public Heath Intervention

Public Heath Intervention

Public health improves the health and wellbeing of individuals and aims to prevent health problems before they arise. The achievements and improvements of community health in the twentieth century has resulted in great improvement in quantity and quality of life, increased life expectancy, reduced child and infant mortality and facilitated in major reduction of communicable diseases (Naidoo and Wills, 2009).

Furthermore, public health is also about helping people in communities stay healthy and avoid illness , to do so public health areas and polices are set up such as immunisation; nutrition, tobacco and alcohol control; drug recovery programmes; sexual health programmes and pregnancy and children's health programmes (dh.gov, 2011), (Naidoo and Wills, 2009). First interventions in public health came about in the 19th century following the 1848 cholera epidemic that terrified and pushed the government to do something about disease prevention through individual and public measure.

Thereafter the public health measures of miasmas (bad smells) disease lead to overall cleanliness which in turn improved public health. In 1848 the first public health act set a board of health which lead to a health office of healthcare being appointed. Vaccination in opposition to small pox In 1853, improvements in hospitals hygiene down to Florence Nightingale in 1854, Public Health Act laws enforcement in 1875 (regarding maintain cleanliness in slum areas ), provision of clean drinking water and sewers, and the elimination of irritants were some of the very important measure that improved the public health and wellbeing of people by late 19 century the benefits of the above measures lead to councils competing to provide better public health benefiting the health of communities. Individual measures in 1906 lead to the provision of free-of-cost meals in school for students living below poverty line. Furthermore in the year 1907 the schools were reviewed for free medical checkups for children. In addition to this odl age pension were introduced in year 1908 and by the year 1911 the nationalized insurance was introduced whereby the workers were given health related benefits. (Such as health checkups in case they fell ill). This lead to increase in the benefits for individual's health and helped in advocating good public health. To date the main and major service provision for public health is the NHS founded in 1948 which offers free healthcare for all UK residents, from medication to surgery and recovery and maternity programmes etc.

In addition, sexual health refers more commonly to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases than to sexual well being and fulfilment because sexual activity leads to unwanted pregnancies and ill health or diseases such as Chlamydia. However, good personal and sexual relationships can actively promote health and well being (Naidoo & Wills, 1998). Health of the nation is involved in sexual health as its strategies target sexual health issues like teenage pregnancies, family planning services and reduction of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV infection. Sexual health behaviours differ from other health related behaviours that is unhealthy eating ...