Unit 3 F912
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Contents
AO1
5-27
AO2
28-40
AO3
41-52
AO4
53-58
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AO1
This piece of the coursework will show the principles of health and well-being and how
health can be defined. These are 3 ways that health can be defined:

Negative definition

Positive definition

Holistic definition which includes:
o Physical
o Mental
o Social
o Spiritual
o Emotional
It will also look at how Attitudes and prejudices and lifestyle factors affect a person’s health
and well-being with a good range of examples for each one. It will also look at the
differences between medical and social models of health and well-being including reasons as
to why some people do not conform to the advice given to them. Also, it will show 2 ways in
which a person’s quality of life can be affected by being ill.
AO2
In this section, it will focus on the job roles of 2 workers who promote health and what tasks
they perform. It will also look at what skills and qualities are needed to ensure the needs of
the individuals are met. It will also explain 2 preventative measures that can be taken by the
workers and the reasons that they are applied. This section will also observe the implications
of recent health promotion initiatives.
AO3
This section will research and use the information gathered from a number of sources of
information using primary and secondary resources to plan a health promotion campaign. The
plan will include the main tasks which will be broken into smaller parts so the health
promotion campaign can be completed. It will record the observations made when the
campaign is carried out and it will analyse the information obtained from the research.
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AO4
This section will provide an evaluation of the impact of the campaign which includes
evidence of the success of the campaign. It will focus on what aims and objectives were set,
what target group it was aiming for, what method it used and how much the research cost.
The evaluation will also look at my own performance in the research.
Health Definition
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Health can be defined in many different ways according to an individual’s values and beliefs
of health. In this coursework, 3 different ways of defining health will be looked at in detail.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), health is defined as ‘not only the
absence of infirmity and disease but also a state of physical, mental and social well-being’
(WHO 1948). This means that health is not just about your physical state or whether you
have any diseases. It just means that you are physically, mentally and socially well. The
Alliance Institute for Integrative Medicine defines health as ‘much more than just a state of
physical health. It also encompasses emotional stability, clear thinking, the ability to love,
create, embraces change, exercise intuition and experience a continuing sense of spirituality’.
(AIIM) They also think that it is to do with mental and social health as well as physical
health. My family all view health as ‘how physically fit an individual is and how someone
feels inside themselves’. Also, a physical education teachers views on health were obtained,
‘Health is when a person feels physically fit, that they can carry out everyday tasks with ease’
Negative definition
Health is negatively defined as the absence of physical illness or mental disease. It could also
be defined as not having any illnesses or injuries. It is said to be negative because it only
focuses on a person not having anything wrong with them. Individuals who think of health in
a negative way tend to ignore the advice given to them. This is because they think that ‘we
will all die soon anyway so any harm I do to my body doesn’t mean anything’. They also
think they won’t have to do anything to stay healthy. So, this can result in an individual not
exercising at all to stay in good health. They can also resort to smoking and have a lot of
problems with alcohol. For example, George Best was an alcoholic who died at a fairly
young age due to his addiction. He must have had a negative view on health as he had plenty
of opportunities to change, but he didn’t take them. In addition, they will ignore the small
symptoms of serious diseases, such as cancer, which gives it time to grow and become even
more serious. They will also give in to some diseases and not do anything about it. For
example, a negative person will not go to the doctors if they had cancer, they would just
accept that they have got it and leave it. Negative individuals also may be hypochondriacs
who fear about having serious illnesses and feel they are being punished if they get these
illnesses.
Positive definition
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A positive view on health will look at being fit, being the correct weight or generally just
feeling good. Individuals will take responsibility for their own health. For example, if they
get a particular illness like cancer, they will be positive and say that they can beat the cancer.
They will listen and take note of the advice given to them, such as having 5 fruit and veg a
day or 8 glasses of water a day, according to health guidelines from the Department of Health
(DOH). They will eat sensibly, adhere to the limit of alcohol consumption, try to exercise
regularly, as they see the importance of it in everyday life and avoid smoking. They will most
likely put their own and other people’s health as their top priority. According to the
“choosing health: making health choices easier” article by the Department of Health (DOH
2004), people can set their own agendas for their own health. It also realises that the
government alone cannot make people healthier, even with all the guidelines they set on
alcohol consumption. According to Patient UK, men should drink ‘no more than 4 units in
any one day’. They also realise that the risks of smoking, such as lung cancer, cannot alone
put a stop to people smoking. It is up to the individual themselves to take action on their own
health and well-being.
(http://www.patient.co.uk/health/Recommended-Safe-Limits-of-Alcohol.htm)
Holistic definition
A holistic view on health is split into 5 different sections that include physical, emotional,
intellectual, social and spiritual. This coursework will look at these sections in depth.
Physical Health
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Physical health is all about how active you are. It involves having a balanced diet as well.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) says ‘A healthy balanced diet contains a variety of foods
including plenty of fruit and vegetables, plenty of starchy foods such as wholegrain bread,
pasta and rice, some protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs and lentils and some dairy
foods. It should also be low in fat (especially saturated fat), salt and sugar’ (eatwell.gov) this
says that to have a balanced diet, you must have all of these nutrients. There are 7 in total,
which are proteins, carbohydrates, fibre, fats, water, vitamins & minerals.
(rapidhairloss.net)
It also covers not being stressed because it can have a link to your physical health, causing
symptoms such as:

Aches or pains.

Nausea or dizziness.

Chests pains

Rapid heartbeat

Frequent colds
(helpguide.gov)
Physical health also embodies exercising regularly. KidsHealth say that children over 2 years
of age should get about ‘60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise on most, preferably all,
days of the week’. Exercising has many health benefits, including lower blood pressure and
stronger bones and muscles (kidshealth.org) having good physical health also includes not
smoking as smoking has many known health risk such as lung cancer and mouth and throat
cancer. You are also in good physical health if you are the correct weight. Being overweight
means you are at risk of ‘heart attack, congestive heart failure, sudden cardiac death and
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angina. High blood pressure is twice as common in adults who are obese than in those who
are at a healthy weight. Obesity is associated with high triglycerides and decreased HDL
cholesterol.’(annecollins.com) this is saying that you are more likely to suffer cardiovascular
diseases the more overweight you are. However, being underweight is also very dangerous as
health risks such as ‘Heart problems, Osteoporosis, Mental health issues and
Death.’(anorexia.emedtv.com) this proves that being underweight can be just as dangerous to
people as being overweight. Good physical health also involves having plenty of water.
ColonHealth state that ‘If you are a normal weight for your height, then on average you
should drink 8 glasses of pure water every day.’ (colonhealth.net) this is to prevent you from
becoming dehydrated during the day and it also helps the body to carry out its daily
processes.
Intellectual Health
Having a good intellectual health is achieved by partaking in a number of brain stimulating
activities such as reading, watching programmes and having a challenging or interesting job.
Reading means that the mind is being exercised. ‘Your mind begins to bend and flex
mentally, It stays lose and limber so to you can flow easier through the course of the day.’
(ezinarticles.com) Watching television programmes can also have an effect on mental health
as a person can learn about certain issues that are faced in everyday life. For example, Soaps
deal with a lot of life issues such as drinking problems and the breakdown of relationships.
Having a challenging job can also help the mind. Being a high-profile doctor or a lawyer is a
very demanding and stressful job which means the person must be mentally active to cope
with the job’s demands. Having a good hobby that keeps you learning is also very useful and
having a good education can also be very good. Being in education means a person is
learning something new all the time, which keeps the brain active.
Emotional Health
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Good emotional health embodies having a good and successful relationship which can give a
person support. Having a loving and caring family can also aid in having good emotional
health as the family can be there for a person if her or she has a bad experience. Having a
good set of friends can also contribute to good emotional health as an individual will feel
much better if they have a wide and prosperous friendship group. If a person doesn’t have a
good set of friends, they could have a generally low self-esteem, which can have knock on
effects on a person’s physical health. So, having a high self-esteem is essential in being in
good emotional health. Self-esteem is how an individual feels about themselves and it can
have many health benefits if it is high and many health risks if it is low. Low self-esteem can
result in social withdrawal where the person feels unable to mix with others effectively. The
person could also neglect themselves physically, where they over eat or under eat to put their
body under strain. High self-esteem can be much better for the other aspects of health as an
individual views themselves in a much better way. Being happy at work is also needed to
have good emotional health. The workplace is where people will be spending most of their
week if it is up to 40 hours. So, people will want to feel emotionally secure there. If a person
is unhappy where they work or they do not like the people they work with, they could feel
depressed and fed up.
Social health
To have good social health you must have a good and varied social life. Meeting new people
and going out with people can have good implications on your social health as you stay in
contact with society. If you do not have a good social life, you will be isolated from society
and you will be putting your other health factors at risk, such as your emotional and physical
health. If you go to work, school or college, good social health can be maintained because
you are surrounded by many different people. In the workplace, you can meet and talk to
work colleagues, which greatly benefits a person’s social health. Having good social health
also includes being able to hold a good conversation. Some people can find this really easy
but some find it hard or are unable to communicate with others. The result of this is that they
become isolated from others and they may have a very low self-esteem, linking it to
emotional health problems. Having a good hobby can also benefit your social health as you
can meet up with others if, for instance, you go to a football club. An individual can meet and
talk to other people who are there. Having a partner can also have good social health benefits
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as a partner can be there for someone to provide support for them and they can just be
someone to talk to when a person gets home from work.
Spiritual Health
Spiritual health is all to do with someone’s beliefs and practices. Some find comfort and
solace in religion as they feel that they are being looked after efficiently. They feel that
religion can offer them a piece of mind. However, religion can have serious implications on a
person’s health and well-being. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not believe in blood
transfusions so they are at great risk of death from infection. Also, Catholics do not believe in
contraception, so Catholics are at a greater risk of getting sexually transmitted infections.
People who believe in Ramadan are not permitted to eat till after dark and they are not
allowed to drink till 7:00 p.m. This can cause a number of serious health issues including
starvation and dehydration. ‘If food is suddenly withheld, the sensation of hunger gradually
increases at first, becomes extreme, lasts for two or three days and slowly disappears. It is
accompanied by a gnawing pain in the epigastrium, which is relieved on
pressure.’(chestofbooks.com) this is experienced by most of these people during the day.
Dehydration is when the body is ejecting more water than it is taking in. The symptoms of
this include muscle cramps, light-headedness and vomiting. Therefore, it is essential that
water is taken into the body on a regular basis.
Two Factors which affect health and well-being
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In this section, two factors which affect health will be looked at in detail. These are attitudes
and prejudices and lifestyle.
Attitudes and Prejudices
An attitude is a mental state which can be brought about by having different beliefs and
values. Attitudes can come from your own religious beliefs, personal wealth or your family
and how you have been brought up. It is also situated around behavioural norms which
provide the basis for all social interactions. An attitude can be just an unconscious judgement
against a person or a specific group of people due to appearance or their expressions. Primary
research on a family member defined health as ‘the way we put across our own thoughts and
opinions towards other people. This can be either positive or negative and can be a result of
our own values and beliefs.
A prejudice is a preconceived opinion about a certain group of people. Someone who is
prejudice has a favourable attitude towards someone they can identify with and a negative
attitude towards people who are different. Most of the prejudices we have towards certain
things are normally based on stereotyping. Prejudice can develop into a generalised image on
a certain group of people, even though some people who look to be this way may not actually
be what they are perceived to be.
Attitudes and prejudices have a great effect on our health. This is supported by the case of the
MMR vaccine. ‘The MMR vaccine is an injection that prevents you from catching measles,
mumps and rubella. Although people usually recover from these illnesses, each one can be
unpleasant and have serious consequences.’ (BUPA 2010) This vaccine can protect you
against these three diseases for life if they are successful. However, research was carried out
by Dr Andrew Wakefield in 1998, which involved 12 children who had been referred to the
Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead. The research found that 8 out of the 12 children showed
early signs of autism or bowel problems after he had administered the vaccine. He said that
this proved that MMR is linked with autism.
This has caused many complications in modern day society, because parents who believe that
MMR vaccines have a direct link with autism will not allow their child to have the vaccine.
This, in itself, means that a lot of young children are at risk of developing measles, mumps
and rubella. The NHS claims that ‘Around 9 to 11 days after you get the measles infection,
the following symptoms begin to appear: cold-like symptoms such as runny nose, watery
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eyes, swollen eyelids and sneezing, red eyes and sensitivity to light, a mild to severe
temperature, which may peak at over 40.6°C (105°F) for several days, then fall but go up
again when the rash appears, tiny greyish-white spots (called Koplik's spots) in the mouth and
throat, tiredness, irritability and general lack of energy, aches and pains, poor appetite, dry
cough, and red-brown spotty rash (see below). These symptoms generally last for up to 14
days.’ (NHS Measles) They also claim that ‘The symptoms of mumps usually develop
between 15-24 days after being infected with the mumps virus (the incubation period).
Swelling of the parotid glands is the most common symptom of mumps. The parotid glands
are a pair of glands that are responsible for producing saliva, and they are located on either
side of your face, just below your ears.
The swelling also causes additional symptoms that include:

A feeling of pain and tenderness in the swollen glands, and

Pain on swallowing and/or difficulty swallowing.
Other symptoms of the mumps include: headache, joint pain, nausea, dry mouth, mild
abdominal pain, fatigue, loss of appetite, and a high temperature (fever) of 38C (100F), or
above.’ (NHS Mumps)
It is very clear that the attitudes and prejudices towards MMR vaccines will have very nasty
implications for people in the future as parents of children still believe that MMR has a direct
link with autism. This means that children are at greater risk of catching any three of these
diseases, which will help them to spread as well.
People can be very scared to go to the doctors, which has serious implications for a person’s
health. There are a number of reasons why people are afraid of the doctor. Some people
might be afraid of going to the hospital, due to the smell of the hospital. Some people may be
afraid because a hospital is where people are dying and suffering with cancer and other
illnesses. A lot of people are also scared of the doctor because the doctor can also be
associated with shots and needles, which are painful. Also, doctors can find out very scary
things about us, for example, a doctor may have to be the bearer of bad news and have to tell
us that we have something very wrong with us physically. Most people won’t want to be on
the receiving end of this and, as a result, do not go to the doctors.
It is mostly men who are afraid of going to the doctors. ‘One of the biggest reasons men don’t
regularly visit the doctor is because they’re just not used to it. Women are used to going to
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the doctor regularly for yearly reproductive exams and pregnancy-related visits. This makes
doctor's visits more of a habit than they are for men. Men just don’t think to go to the doctor
like women do.’ (Scribd.com) Primary research from friends has indicated that men do not go
to the doctors because they may think it is ‘unmanly to have someone look after you.’ They
also don’t want to admit when they are ill because they think it may ‘harm their image’.
Not going to the doctors means that people are at greater risk of dying from diseases such as
cancer. This is obvious, because if an individual is afraid of going to the doctors and if they
do not go to the doctors, it may result in death from many diseases which can be treated at an
earlier stage by the doctor. ‘If you have iatrophobia, however, an upcoming doctor visit may
be the source of endless worrying. You might find it difficult or impossible to focus on other
things. Once you have reached the doctor’s office, you are likely to experience feelings of
panic and a sensation of being out of control. You might sweat, shake or cry, or even refuse
to enter the examination room.’ (http://phobias.about.com/od/phobiaslist/a/iatrophobia.htm)
This just helps to support how much of an effect being afraid of the doctors could actually
have on an individual.
Doctor prejudice also may influence a person’s opinion of the doctors. ‘A new study of 720
physicians found that, with all symptoms being equal, doctors were only 60 per cent as likely
to order cardiac catheterization for women and blacks as for men and whites. For black
women, the doctors were only 40 per cent as likely to order catheterization.’
(http://kenyada.com/doctors'.htm) This shows that women and blacks were only a bit more
likely to be ordered for this treatment, which proves that people do think that women and
blacks are prioritised over men and whites. Another prejudice is that, if you are overweight,
you may worry about being treated in a prejudice way by the doctor because of their weight.
‘CNN just published an article about this very issue – how doctors with obese patients
sometimes actually blame their patients for their ailments and are prejudiced in their
treatment of obese individuals.’ (http://fatwomensuck.com/tag/doctor-prejudice) This
prejudice may be based on fact, but I disagree. I believe that doctors only wish to change the
way that their patients think. The only reason that they see it as prejudice is because they
choose to listen to the bad things that they say. What they are saying is true and they are
doing this to try and help them.
Lifestyle
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The Government has been focusing a lot more on health in the last few decades, with limits
on alcohol or 3-4 units a day for men and 5 fruit and veg a day that was set by the DOH.
However, last century, they focused on people around the world who suffered from
malnutrition after the Boer war which had become firmly established during the global
conflicts of World War 1 and World War 11. Now, ‘Europe has the highest number of
overweight and obese people in the world. The number of obese people has in fact tripled
over the last 20 years in the Europe, according to the WHO. Today, over 130 million people
are obese in Europe; approximately 10%-20% of men and 15%-25% of women. In addition,
400 million people are overweight in Europe. It is the most common health disorder amongst
young people in Europe. Today, about 20% of children in Europe are overweight, and a third
of these are obese. Obese children are more likely to remain obese as adults. The number of
obese and overweight people is expected to increase in the future. According to the WHO,
there will be about 150 million obese adults and 15 million obese children and adolescents in
the European WHO region in 2010.’ (http://www.healthfirsteurope.org/index.php?pid=81)
This is a very sharp rise which has resulted in a lot more admissions to hospital with obese
related diseases, such as coronary heart disease. This is because of ‘startling recent trends’ in
young children.
‘Where among 3-4-year-olds there has been a 60% increase in the prevalence of being
overweight and a 70% increase in rates of obesity.’ Obesity is one of the largest causes of
death in these modern times, since it is linked with many other life threatening diseases. It
also ‘contributing substantially to: type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, hypertension,
depression, cancers, high blood pressure and stroke.’ Also, your diet can also have an
influence on how susceptible you are to cancers. ‘Up to 80% of bowel and breast cancer may
be preventable by dietary change. These trends in diet-related cancers and obesity have
occurred, despite the main elements of the dietary message remaining the same for many
years: eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, eat plenty of cereal foods, eat red meat and
processed foods in moderation, avoid high doses of vitamin supplements, avoid highly salted
foods and drink alcohol in moderation.’ However, even with all these preventative
measurements and guidelines, it is still a big puzzle as to why ‘4% of young people aged 4-18
years still eat no vegetables at all and an average 10 year old will eat his or her own weight in
chips over a 9-month period.’ It could be to do with the fact that young children can easily
access unhealthy food easy and fast. McDonald’s is already widespread across the UK and
the world, so children have a much improved access to the service they provide, which
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includes unhealthy foods. It could also be because the parents have no time, or just can’t be
bothered to cook more healthy food for their children and they just go out to order takeaways
instead.
Smoking is known today to have many implications to a person’s health. ‘Smoking is the
single most important modifiable risk factor for CHD in young and old (Our Healthier
Nation, 1997)’ Smoking can have a huge impact on a person’s health which threatens to cut
an individual’s life short. The individual can be affected economically as well, because they
could spend a lot of money on cigarettes, when loads of money could be saved if they
stopped smoking. ‘In their response to the problem, the government released a white paper,
‘smoking kills’, in 1998. This outlined funding for a nationwide network of smoking
cessation services to support smokers who wished to quit.’ They have tried to reduce the
impacts of smoking in this way by highlighting the costs of smoking to the individual
physically and financially, which helps to minimise effects on those who don’t receive a high
income.
Smoking also has a direct link with cancer. ‘Smoking causes about 90% of lung cancers. It
also causes cancer in many other parts of the body, such as: mouth, lip, throat, voice box
(larynx), oesophagus, (the tube between your mouth and stomach), bladder, kidney, liver,
stomach and pancreas. Smoking damages your heart and your blood circulation, increasing
the risk of conditions such as: coronary heart disease, heart attack, stroke, peripheral vascular
disease (damaged blood vessels) and cerebrovascular disease (damaged arteries that supply
blood to your brain). Smoking damages your lungs, causing conditions such as: chronic
bronchitis (infection of the main airways in the lungs), emphysema (damage to the small
airways in the lungs) and pneumonia (inflammation in the lungs). Smoking can also worsen
or prolong the symptoms of respiratory conditions, such as asthma, or respiratory tract
infections, such as the common cold. In men, smoking can cause impotence as it limits the
blood supply to the penis. For both men and women, smoking can affect fertility, making it
difficult for you to have children.’ This can have emotional consequences as well as death
can occur which can be a traumatic event for friends and relatives.
How do they affect quality of life?
Attitudes and Prejudices
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Not having the MMR vaccine does mean that people are more susceptible to diseases, which
means they are at risk of developing something that is even more serious than Measles,
Mumps or Rubella. They could also lose out on a lot of vital education or work as they may
have to stay home to prevent the spread, so the person is not becoming intellectually
stimulated anymore. Emotionally, people could become very upset if a relative gets infected
or the individual themselves could feel very tired and depressed. They may also lose out on
social interaction because they have to stay at home to prevent the spread of the disease.
Being afraid of the doctors means that a person cannot be treated for diseases which could be
dealt with at a much earlier stage before they start to get more serious. This means they are
more susceptible to illness. They could be very unaware of the consequences of their actions
because they are not going to know what is wrong with them because the doctor has not told
them. They could feel very confused and upset because they have no idea about what is
wrong with them and they may resent themselves for being afraid to see the doctor. They
could also miss out on socialising and talking to health professionals about their problems,
which means they won’t get the right advice on how to deal with their illness.
Lifestyle
If you have a very poor diet, you could become more susceptible to other diet related diseases
from obesity or anorexia. This diseases can be very dangerous and life threatening as well. If
you are constantly being admitted to hospital because of your dietary habits, you could miss
out on education or work so you are not being stimulated. Also, you could feel very bad
about yourself because you are being one of thousands in the UK who are becoming a huge
burden on the NHS. You could also become socially isolated, because your health can
interfere with your social life if, for example, you can’t partake in vigorous exercise due to
your weight. Smoking has a lot of physical implications which can be short term (coughing
and loss of breath) or long term (lung cancer and heart disease). These can be potentially lifethreatening illnesses. If you can’t go to school, college or work for illness, you can be
missing out on learning new skills to keep the mind active. Emotionally, you could become
resentful towards others because you may think they don’t understand what it is like to be
addicted to smoking. Although people may think it helps you socially to smoke, it won’t be
so good in the long term when you are constantly admitted to hospital for cancer and
treatment.
Differences between Medical and Social Models of Health
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In this section, I will look at the Medical and Social models of health to explain why some
types of individuals do not conform to health advice.
Medical Model
The medical model of health came about in the 19th century, when people were beginning to
understand how the various parts of the body work together to keep an individual healthy. It
was primarily based on the idea that the human body is like a machine in the sense that, if a
car broke down, then it would need to be fixed. They would wait until a person became ill
before they would try to analyse what was wrong with you and try to cure you. In this way,
the medical model is a much more scientific view on health and body functioning. It also
focused on creating medicines which would treat various diseases and surgical operations
which could repair different parts of the body.
This is a view that is supported by most health care professionals who do not focus on the
prevention of illness, but focus on the cure of these illnesses. They also view health as the
absence of disease and these health services are set up to try and treat individuals who are ill.
Health professionals also focus on how these diseases arise in the first place, which helps
them to create a list of the risk factors associated with various diseases. People who support
the medical view of health also value specialist medical services very highly. This means that
if a person becomes ill, they believe they should always go and see the doctor because they
believe that they can sort it out for them. The person involved in the treatment does not have
a say, however, which means that whatever the doctors says is carried out and the person
does not have a say on what they want to be done. The scientific evidence used in the medical
model is generally held in higher regard than lay or qualitative evidence, mainly because the
medical model is focusing on health in a more scientific way.
Problems that can arise from this model of health are that the number of deaths from
infectious diseases has declined due to an increase in relevant and effective treatment. The
Medical model is not very effective with chronic illnesses which can last for a long time.
‘The Medical model is at its leas effective with chronic illnesses, i.e. those which last over
longer periods of time and are managed rather than cured’ (Moonie et al 2005) Since the
basis of the Medical model is on the treatment of diseases, it would explain why chronic
diseases have become the main killer. This means that costs increase because more
technology is being invested for finding new ways to treat chronic diseases. ‘Tackling
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Obesity in England estimated that the direct cost of treating obesity and its consequences was
£480 million (1.5% of NHS expenditure) and indirect costs (loss of earnings due to sickness
and premature mortality) amounted to £2.1 billion. Both figures relate to 1998. A total
projected figure of £3.6 billion was given for 2010.’ (http://www.parliament.the-stationeryoffice.co.uk) This just shows the extent of how much money obesity is costing the NHS,
which is mostly spent on the controlling and diagnosis of the diseases associated with it.
Also, the modern day world has put a lot of emphasis on quality of life and life expectancy
has increased. ‘Life expectancy at birth in the UK has reached its highest level on record for
both males and females. A new-born baby boy could expect to live 77.7 years and a new-born
baby girl 81.9 years.’ This means that they are not only more susceptible to the chronic
diseases but they also want a better quality of life, which costs the NHS even more money to
properly care for these people.
Social Model
The social model is the direct opposite on the medical model in the way it tries to prevent
people from becoming ill instead of waiting until a person is ill to address the problem. The
social model has ‘contributed most to the decline of mortality’ (Moonie et al 2005) This
means that even though the medical model has greatly contributed to an increase in people’s
life expectancy, the social model tends to prevent people from becoming ill in the first place
to decrease the risk of death. They look at what could cause a person to become ill, which can
be easily split into a number of different factors.
Housing can have a great impact on a person’s health. For example, a damp house can create
a lot of breathing problems, such as asthma in some individuals, which is much less of a
problem in higher income families with better housing. ‘Damp and mould-infested houses
could be the cause of permanent asthma in children, researchers have said. Poor housing
conditions are already linked to the illness but there is debate whether they cause asthma, or
simply trigger attacks. Finnish researchers writing in the European Respiratory Journal say
they have proved this after surveying the homes of more than 300 children.’
(http://news.bbc.co.uk) Also, countries with higher income groups can afford central heating,
which can prevent illnesses such as pneumonia and prevent conditions such as hypothermia
in the winter.
18
Culture can also affect how healthy a person is. For example, Catholics are strongly against
contraception, which can lead to various sexual transmitted infections (STI’s) and unwanted
pregnancies. Catholics believe that ‘God has created each human life for and with a purpose to love and to worship God and to live for Him, and with Him, for eternity.’
(unitedforlife.com) this basically means that we shouldn’t use contraception because we are
interfering with God’s creation and we have no right to stop life. Also, Jehovah’s Witnesses
disagree with blood transfusions, which can lead to serious, life-threatening infections.
Education can also have an impact on a person’s health and attitudes towards health. This is
because if you are not taught about how to prevent various infectious diseases by taking
measures such as washing your hands before and after eating, you are more susceptible to
illness. The social model has a very strong link with the positive view on health as people are
able to deal with their health responsibly. If an individual is not educated about certain health
risks associated with obesity, which can include development of cancers, they could tend to
become obese and develop these types of health problems. ‘Obesity is associated with an
increased risk for some types of cancer including endometrial (cancer of the lining of the
uterus), colon, gall bladder, prostate, kidney, and post-menopausal breast cancer. Women
gaining more than 20 pounds from age 18 to midlife double their risk of post-menopausal
breast cancer, compared to women whose weight remains stable.’ (annecollins.com)
These preventative measures used can strongly link the Social model with the positive view
on health. This is because people who respect and believe in the social model are more likely
to take responsibility for their own health. They will realise that washing your hands before
and after you eat kills almost all germs on your hands which could enter your mouth if you do
not wash your hands. Also, washing your hands after you have been to the toilet can also
reduce the spread of germs around the house. Those who are for the Social model of health
are often against the views of health professionals. This is because they do not like the idea
that a human is the same as a machine and they think that they should try to address the
causes of these diseases, instead of only treating them when a person gets the disease.
Lay Perspectives of Health
Lay perspectives are ways in which people view health and the way in which people view
their health has a direct link in how the public takes responsibility for it. ‘Stainton and Rogers
(from Katz and Perberdy, 1997) summarise a variety of lay perspectives (held by members of
19
the public) which illustrate that the ways in which people view their health will inevitably be
reflected in their responsibility for their own health’ (Moonie et al 2005)
The biological and scientific treatment of illness is all focused on viewing the human body as
a machine. People who agree view illness as something which everyone will get at some
point in their lives and can only be treated effectively through the use of scientific medicine.
Some people might not conform to this model because they might recognise that some have
an Inequality of Access. This is linked to viewing the human body as a machine because they
rely as much on modern medicine to cure illness. The only difference between them is that
this perspective recognises that there are some individuals who cannot access services who
will provide treatment for their illnesses. For example, it is much easier for someone to
access a hospital in a city than it is in rural areas because hospitals are situated in locations
with a high population density. Some individuals may see the body being constantly
challenged by diseases which can range from the common cold up to different types of
cancer. These people are more likely to be taking days off work whenever they have a sore
throat or headache so the body can fight off the disease. Health Promotion account
contradicts this perspective as having a healthy and active lifestyle is seen as important in
fighting and keeping away disease.
The social model focuses more on ways in which individuals can prevent illness and certain
individuals may have a health promotion account. This perspective looks at the importance
and advantages of having a healthy lifestyle and how we can take responsibility for our own
health. ‘With a healthy lifestyle, you have more control of your life as you work with your
body against those aspects of living which may work to hold you back if you would let them.
With a healthy lifestyle, you have control over your sleep patterns so that you feel generally
well rested throughout the day. With a healthy lifestyle, everything works together to help
other aspects of your lifestyle make sense and benefit you. Science has proven that healthy
weight loss, healthy eating and fitness routines make dramatic improvements in health, and
help control common chronic illnesses like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes,
stress, and general lack of stamina.’ (ezinearticles.com Oct) Also, people may think that we
have a moral responsibility to remain healthy. This is about having will power to manage our
own health, for example, to eat 5 fruit and veg every day and to exercise regularly. People
who believe in the robust individualism will not follow this perspective especially because
they think that ‘it’s my life and I will do what I want with it.
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Some people may believe in God’s power, where health is viewed as part of a person’s
spirituality. ‘Alcohol was a part of the social world of the people of Jesus's time and Jesus'
first miracle was turning water into wine. He did not tell people not to drink but he counselled
them not to get drunk. The scripture says to be sober and it does not discourage the use of
alcohol in a moderate way, but it always counselled us not to drink to the point that we can't
function and cannot do what we need to do to take care of our families, to take care of our
personal business, to worship God.’ (essortment.com) People who believe in God’s power
might not drink alcohol at all because they view it as an impure substance, which has links to
other bad activities. Some people may believe in the cultural critique of medicine, where the
medical model is seen as ‘oppressive to certain groups (e.g. can take away their rights to selfdetermination)’ (Moonie et al 2005) For example, the way that health care services mange
pregnancy can sometimes be seen as repressive practice against women because the natural
process of birth is taken care of by the health services. People may also have robust
individualism where people would think that ‘it’s my life and I will do with it as I choose.
Below is a table that shows which perspectives follow which models of health.
Perspective
Social Model
No conformity
Medical Model
Body as a Machine

Inequality of Access

Health Promotion

Account
God’s Power
Body under Siege
21


Cultural Critique of

Medicine

Robust
Individualism
Will Power

Two illnesses which can affect a person’s quality of life
Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is the condition where the myelin that surrounds nerve fibres in the
nervous system becomes damaged. In a normal nervous system, ‘Myelin helps messages
from the brain to travel quickly and smoothly to the rest of the body.’ (NHS MS) This is how
and why a person who puts their hand near a flame will quickly take it away. Nerve fibres
surrounded by myelin relay the pain messages associated with the flame to the brain, which
co-ordinates the response of moving the hand away. Without myelin, it is more difficult for
messages to be sent to the brain and the system can become disrupted.
Symptoms of MS include inflammation of the optic nerve, which can cause pain in the back
of the eye, temporary loss of vision and colour blindness. Since MS causes damage to the
nerve fibres, it ‘can cause your muscles to contract tightly and painfully (spasm). Your
muscles may also become stiff and resistant to movement, which is known as spasticity.’
(NHS MS symptoms) Another symptom that is common with MS is pain. ‘The two types of
pain that can occur as a result of MS are neuropathic and musculoskeletal pain. Neuropathic
pain is caused by damage to the nerve fibres in your central nervous system. It can be
stabbing pains, extreme skin sensitivity or burning sensations. Musculoskeletal pain is not
caused directly by MS, but can occur if there is excess pressure on your muscles or joints as a
result of spasms and spasticity.’ (NHS MS symptoms) Another common symptom of MS is
mobility problems because damage to the nerves can result in a loss of balance and body coordination. ‘It can make walking and moving around difficult, particularly if you also have
muscle weakness and spasticity. You may experience difficulty with co-ordination, called
ataxia. Shaking of the limbs (tremor) is rare but can be severe. Dizziness can happen late on
and can make you feel as if your surroundings are spinning (vertigo).’ (NHS MS symptoms)
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The cause of this disease is that the immune system will somehow see the myelin as an
unidentified substance in the body and they will attack it. This disrupts the messages that
travel along the nerve fibres because the myelin is deteriorating. It isn’t clear to doctors why
some people’s immune system suddenly attacks the myelin and nothing happens in others.
‘There are several theories. Most experts agree that MS is probably caused by a combination
of genetic and environmental factors. This means that it's partly due to the genes you inherit
from your parents and partly due to outside factors that may trigger the condition. (NHS MS
causes) The only problem with this is that there is no one gene that causes MS, so it cannot be
defined as a genetic disease. ‘It's not directly inherited, although research has shown that
people who are related to someone with MS are more likely to develop it. For example, if
your mother has MS, you're 40 times more likely to develop it than normal.’ (NHS MS
causes) There is some debate here that a wide range of genes can make the occurrence of MS
more likely, but there is no one gene that can define MS as a genetic disease. Research has
shown that the environment can have an impact on someone developing MS. ‘Research into
MS around the world has shown that it's more likely to occur in countries that are far from
the equator. For example, MS is relatively common in the UK, North America and
Scandinavia, but hardly ever occurs in Malaysia or Ecuador.’ This, and genetics could both
have an influence on whether or not a person develops MS.
How does MS affect a person’s PIES?
Physical
MS causes a lot of problems to a person’s physical health, because people with the illness are
unable to take part in many physical activities such as football, tennis or basketball, which all
require a lot of co-ordination. You can also become tired very easily, so it would be very
difficult to take part in any vigorous exercise. People with MS also experience bladder
problems where ‘MS can make your bladder either overactive or underactive. If it is
overactive, your bladder may contract when it is not full, causing incontinence. If it is
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underactive, you may find that your urine flow is interrupted and your bladder does not feel
empty.’ (NHS MS symptoms) A lack of exercise due to the illness can also lead to a number
of other medical conditions such as heart disease and different types of cancer. Problems with
a person’s vision could also make it more difficult for them to participate in sport and
vigorous exercise.
Intellectual
MS has also been linked to problems with the brain, such as thinking and learning, but this
only occurs when MS becomes much more severe. ‘The problems may be temporary or
permanent. You may have trouble remembering and learning new things, problems with
attention and concentration, slowed or confused speech, and reduced mental speed.’ (NHS
MS symptoms) Besides losing cognitive power, an individual’s everyday life could also
become disrupted by MS. You will not be able to go to work or college five days a week if
you have MS because of the pain that MS causes and the effects that it can have on your
balance and co-ordination. Even if you do go to school, there could be some point where you
do struggle to remember and learn which will hinder your chances of getting good
qualifications to get a good job.
Emotional
Apart from having a low self-esteem from MS, it has also been linked with the individual’s
emotional problems. For example, ‘you may find yourself laughing or crying for no reason,
and you may also be more likely to experience depression or anxiety.’ (NHS MS symptoms)
This could only make a person feel worse about the disease, because it could be very
embarrassing if you suddenly start crying in the middle of the street for no apparent reason. A
person may also be very worried about their future because they know that the condition will
get worse over time and they may not know what they are going to do or what will happen to
them. They may become very depressed as the disease can disrupt their daily life so much
that it may become impossible for them to do certain things anymore. They may have to rely
on someone else for physical support, which may make them feel guilty that they are being
such a burden and embarrassed because they have to have someone else looking after them.
Social
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A person with MS is going to need regular support and treatment, which may make going out
and socialising nearly impossible. They will not be able to walk around town with as much
ease because the disease causes loss of balance and co-ordination. Sometimes, MS can have
an effect on a person’s ability to speak, where they could have confused or slowed speech
which will also affect them socially. However, they could provide places where people with
the disease can talk about their problems, which can give them someone to talk to.
Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is a problem with the heart which can cause the heart rate to rapidly
increase. ‘A normal heart rate should be between 60 and 100 beats a minute at rest. In atrial
fibrillation, the heart rate may be over 140 beats a minute.’ (NHS AF) In a normal heart, the
muscular walls will contract in the atria to push blood down to the ventricles, which then
pump the blood out to the rest of the body. This is the process which makes up one heartbeat.
In AF, the atria will sometimes contract at different times and at different speeds so the
muscle in the atria can’t relax properly before the next contraction. ‘This may lead to a
number of problems, including dizziness and shortness of breath. You may also be aware of a
fast and irregular heartbeat (palpitations) and feel very tired’ (NHS AF)
The symptoms of AF are peculiar because some people who have the illness may not
experience any symptoms whatsoever. But, most people will notice that the heartbeat starts to
become irregular by feeling their pulse in their wrist or neck. ‘You may also experience
tiredness, breathlessness, dizziness, or chest pain (angina). The way the heart beats in atrial
fibrillation reduces the heart's efficiency and performance. This can result in low blood
pressure and heart failure.’ (NHS AF symptoms) An Electrocardiogram can also determine
whether or not you have AF. ‘An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a test that records the rhythm
and electrical activity of your heart. Small stickers, called electrodes, are attached to your
arms, legs and chest and connected by wires to an ECG machine. Every time your heart
beats, it produces tiny electrical signals. An ECG machine traces these signals on paper.’
(NHS AF symptoms) Health Professionals can use these signals to determine whether there is
any abnormal activity in the atria.
Like MS, the exact cause of this disease is unknown, ‘but it becomes more common with age
and affects certain groups of people more than others.’ (NHS AF causes) People who are
most likely to develop the disease are those who have other heart conditions, such as high
25
blood pressure and congenital heart disease. It has also been linked with other diseases such
as lung cancer and diabetes. There are also certain factors which can have an effect on
whether or not a person develops the disease. These include being overweight, drinking a lot
of caffeine and taking a lot of illegal drugs.
The type of atrial fibrillation a person has can influence what type of treatment they will
receive for it. ‘Some people may be treated by their GP, whereas others may be referred to a
cardiologist (heart specialist). The first step is to try to find out the cause of the atrial
fibrillation. If a cause is found, you may just need treatment for this. For example, medication
to correct hyperthyroidism (an overactive thyroid gland) may cure atrial fibrillation.’ (NHS
AF treatment) Some people may only require medicines which can control atrial fibrillation.
‘Medicines called anti-arrhythmics can control atrial fibrillation by restoring a normal heart
rhythm, and/or controlling the rate at which the heart beats. The choice of anti-arrhythmic
medicine depends on the type of atrial fibrillation, any other medical conditions, side effects
of the medicine chosen and how well the atrial fibrillation responds.’
How does AF affect a person’s PIES?
Physical
AF can have a few symptoms which can hinder someone physically, which include tiredness
and breathlessness, which could affect their ability to take part in vigorous exercise. This is
because if the heart is less efficient at pumping blood around the rest of the body, the working
muscles are not able to get the oxygen needed for energy. This makes exercising much harder
and it puts strain on the rest of the body. Minor AF does not cause an individual many
physical problems, but severe AF can result in other heart defects such as low blood pressure.
Intellectual
AF can have an effect on a person intellectually because AF increases the chances of
developing other heart diseases, which could lead to other severe medical conditions such as
a stroke. If not treated properly and the illness develops into a stroke, the individual may find
everyday life a struggle as they may need constant support with their illness. They will be
less likely to attend school, college or work regularly because they will need someone to
support and help them do things because of their illness.
Emotional
26
They will feel very upset about their illness because they find themselves unable to carry out
strenuous tasks without some form of aid, which can be embarrassing for the individual who
has the illness. They could feel guilty of being a burden on their family and friends, which
can lead to feelings of depression and anger. They may resent themselves because they have
the illness and they could feel inadequate because they cannot do things that other people can
do with ease.
Social
The person will not be able to go out places with their friends on a regular basis because they
will need regular support and AF does have an effect on how much a person can exercise, so
the person will not be able to play football, basketball or badminton. They will not be able to
go out drinking with their friends either because alcohol makes Atrial Fibrillation worse due
to the blood not being pumped as efficiently around the body.
Preventative Measures
In this section, two preventative measures which can help people’s health will be looked at in
detail. There will also be reasons as to why these preventative measures are applied in certain
areas and how they meet the needs of the individual.
Measures and Models
There are three preventative measures in total which are used to help certain people with their
health and well-being. These are Health Education, Health Prevention and Health Protection.
Health Education is simply how a teacher of a school, college or other form of education can
put across ways in which students can look after their own health. This can help by
‘Improving people’s knowledge on health, and changing their attitudes to aspects of their
27
health’. (Moonie et al 2005) Health Prevention is about how people can take actions which
can decrease the risks of them getting diseases. This is usually done ‘Primarily through
medical ‘interventions’’. (Moonie et al 2005) This means that it is usually health services
which focus on promoting ways in which people can stay in good health. Health Protection is
when the population looks at ways in which they can stay healthy. The government can
usually set up policies which can help to keep an individual in good health. ‘This might
include legislation to govern health and safety at work or food hygiene, and using taxation
policy to reduce smoking levels or car use, by raising the prices of cigarettes or petrol.’
(Moonie et al 2005)
Tannahil’s model put forward the idea that all of these models can be used to keep someone
in a satisfactory health condition. It ‘Emphasises the breadth of activities that can be included
in the term health promotion, and the way the various spheres of activity interconnect.’
(Moonie et al 2005)
The Three Stages of Health Prevention & Health Education
To keep the population healthy, professionals must consider people who are in different states
of health and well-being. This means that they may want to look at different ways someone
who has cancer, for example, could improve their quality of life and how they can manage
their illness. These different categories can be split up and grouped into three main stages of
health prevention and health education. These are primary, secondary and tertiary stages of
health prevention and education which deal with different types of people who are in
different circumstances regarding their health and well-being.
Primary
This is all to do with stopping people who are in general good health from getting disease.
The childhood immunisation program is an example of primary prevention because it focuses
28
on stopping children from picking up infectious diseases so they can stay in good health.
Education on Smoking and Alcohol is another example as it tries to give people knowledge
on what effects partaking in these activities can have on the body. Primary also uses ‘leaflets
and posters for use in promoting healthy eating’. (Moonie et al 2005)
Secondary
This is mainly used for people who are in the early stages of disease. They would advise the
person with the disease on how best they should proceed so they can prevent further
symptoms in the future. ‘Restoring their good health could mean that the service user has to
make a change in his/her lifestyle e.g. drinking less alcohol, eating a healthier diet or taking
some exercise.’ (Fisher et al 2006) This means that they would try to help the individual with
the disease by teaching them how to curve bad habits which have an impact on their health,
such as drinking alcohol and smoking.
Tertiary
Tertiary focuses on people who have already got a serious illness. People who use tertiary
will be told how they can go about managing their illness effectively so they can maintain a
good quality of life. ‘An example might be supporting and enabling people with a history of
heart attacks to regain their confidence, enabling them to live a more fulfilling life and be in
control of their own destiny, as far as is possible’. (Moonie et al 2005) Established illnesses
like heart attacks and strokes are dealt with in this way to make sure that the individual has as
long a good quality of life as possible.
Health Education – Primary
Giving students education on certain illnesses which can and must be avoided is a critical
step which can be taken to give them knowledge of the disease, such as what it does, how it
can come about and what can be done to avoid it. This can change certain attitudes and
behaviours to activities which can play a part in the development of disease. For example,
Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI’s) can be caught from having unprotected sex.
However, if they are taught to use contraception, they reduce the risk of getting STI’s and
unwanted pregnancies, which changes people’s views on what should be done. ‘However, in
some cases the potential for a health promotion role may not be so easily recognised: for
example, community police officers walking the local streets will frequently come across
29
groups of young people who might be smoking and/or intoxicated’. (Moonie et al 2005) This
means that the police officers will not necessarily know that this would be an ideal
opportunity for health promotion.
Beattie’s model, which was developed in 1991, showed the different ways in which education
can put across different methods which can help an individual’s health and well-being.
‘Beattie (1991) identifies four paradigms: Health persuasion, Personal counselling,
Community development and Legislative action. These contribute to achieving a whole
picture when developing local action plans for partnership working.’ (nursingtimes.net)
Health Persuasion is all to do with providing the information necessary to encourage
preventative measures to be taken. This can include things such as screening. Personal
Counselling is when individuals seek help on how they can make their general health better.
This can be done on a one-to-one basis or in a group, for example, Help 2 Quit who are ‘the
free NHS stop smoking service… you are four times more likely to quit with our help than if
you attempt to stop smoking on your own.’ (telford.nhs.co.uk)
Community Development is when the ‘Practitioner acts as a facilitator to groups of people
who are encouraged to identify and meet their needs through support and education.’ (Fisher
et al 2006) This means that health professionals can help people see what can be done to
improve their health. This can include walking to school if they are in education or taking the
bus to work which not only encourages a certain amount of exercise, but helps the living
environment around the person as well. Legislative Action is when a GP or other health
professional can promote government policies which can include eating 5 fruit and veg every
day and banning sales of alcohol to under 18’s.
Health Prevention - Primary
It is alright if people are educated about illnesses that they can get, but logically, they must
also have facilities which are provided for them for identification and treatment of these
diseases if they get them. One way to identify disease is by using screening. Screening is
‘The presumptive identification of unrecognised disease or defects by the application of tests,
examinations and other procedures which can be applied rapidly. Screening tests sort out
apparently well people who may have a disease from those who do not.’ (Moonie et al 2005)
This means that even though a person may appear in good health, they may have a disease
30
which is not visible on the exterior. Screening can identify these illnesses to show that they
are not in good health.
Cervical Screening is a type of screening which can identify the development of cancer in the
cervix. ‘The doctor or nurse uses an instrument called a speculum to open up the vagina and
then a spatula is used to "sweep" around the cervix (neck of the womb) and take a sample of
cells from its surface.’ (cancerscreening.nhs.uk) 4 million people in England go for a cervical
screening every year and three of these tests are free in a year. Cervical Screening is only
carried out for free on those people who are between 25-64 years of age. Those older than 64
have to pay for it and that is a problem because it is really expensive and there is nothing to
say that the cancer won’t develop when a person is older than 64.
Breast Screening is also free 3 yearly for 50 years and over. This procedure uses a
Mammogram, which allows the doctor or nurse to view an X-ray of the individual’s breasts.
There are 1.5 million people in a year who go for breast screening. New-born screening ‘is
the practice of testing every new-born for certain harmful or potentially fatal disorders that
aren't otherwise apparent at birth.’ (kidshealth.org) these practices include new-born hearing
screening, which ‘provide a quick and cost effective way to separate people into two groups:
a pass group and a fail group. Those who pass hearing screenings are presumed to have no
hearing loss. Those who fail are in need of an in-depth evaluation by an audiologist and may
also need follow-up care from other professionals.’ (asha.org)
Another method of primary health prevention is to use immunisation which helps to conquer
infectious diseases. The immunisation process looks to help people become immune to many
diseases such as measles and mumps, which can be easily spread. They do this by
‘challenging the immune system’ with a dead or weak form of the disease. Such vaccinations
help the immune system to produce antibodies which fight off the disease. These antibodies
stay in the blood and the immune system is then prepared for any infections afterwards.
Health Prevention - Secondary
There are also ways in which people who already have the disease can reduce the effects of
the disease. For example, someone who is diagnosed as being obese could attend weight loss
clinics so they can be helped to lose weight. ‘At The Weight Loss Clinic, we offer a
comprehensive program from the initial visit through surgery, and we offer long-term followup after surgery. Our staff includes both surgeons experienced in advanced laparoscopic
31
surgery and a physician who is a specialist in weight management. We provide personal,
individual care. All of our visits are one-on-one; we do not perform seminar sessions to 2030 patients at a time and our clinic is experienced and very successful with insurance
approval for Bariatric surgery.’ (wgtlossclinic.com) this weight loss clinic is an example of
how organisations can help those who are already ill. They have expert dieticians who are
easily accessed to help those who need it. They also offer one-to-one visits, which aim to
make the individual feel better about it because all of the information can be entrusted into
one person.
Another example of keeping information confidential is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This is
where people with problems with alcohol can go for support and advice on how best they can
gradually solve their problem. AA ‘is a fellowship of men and women who share their
experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and
help others to recover from alcoholism.’ (aa.org) the only difference between this and the
weight loss clinic is that it encourages people to get into groups and discuss their issues with
alcohol. AA hopes that these talks will help people to see how they can best deal with the
problems that they are facing. It is similar to the weight loss clinic because all information
passed in the group meeting must be kept in the group meeting and not spread across to
friends.
Help2Quit is ‘the free NHS ‘stop smoking service’ in Shropshire – you are four times more
likely to quit with our help than if you attempt to stop smoking on your own. Specially
trained Help 2 Quit advisers (including practice nurses, midwives, pharmacists and school
nurses) are available in venues across the county to help you to put your plan to stop smoking
into action.’ (telford.nhs.uk) They try to help people to get over their addiction to smoking by
promoting the use of nicotine patches so that it gradually reduces their addiction to it.
Job Roles of Two Key Workers
In this section, two worker’s job roles within their profession will be looked at in detail. It
will include a questionnaire which asks the job roles of the two workers and what skills and
qualities were required to do the job, for example. The information received on the
Community School Nurse was obtained from the interview questionnaire (See Appendix 1)
32
and the School Nurse Job Description Adobe Reader and the information on the Outreach
worker was gathered from the interview questionnaire (See Appendix 2)
Community School Nurse (CSN)
Job Description
A CSN is responsible for providing good health service to ‘facilitate the student’s optimal
physical, mental, emotional and social growth and development.’ (School Nurse Job
Description) They usually do this by assessing the needs of school age children, who are
between 5-16 years. They can make assessment on things such as their height, weight,
eyesight and hearing to make sure they are developing properly and identify any problems
they may have which may be difficult to cure at a later stage. They also concentrate on health
promotion campaigns, which can be done through education on healthy eating, safe sex and
the effects of drinking and smoking. CSN’s are part of a primary care team who work with
different professionals, such as health visitors to look at different issues people face such as
child abuse and neglect. ‘A school nurse works in partnership with a school to create an
environment that promotes healthy living, as well as responding to the needs of individual
children. They also have a public health role, addressing the needs of the local school-age
population as a whole, including children at home as well as parents and carers.’
(prospects.ac.uk)
How does each role fit into primary health preventative measures?
A CSN uses a variety of different methods to try and fit their roles in primary health
preventative measures. They do this by using their own small campaigns, like the Children’s
Food Campaign which are situated around schools in corridors and restaurants. This is to
allow people who may face problems with smoking to go and get professional advice on how
to quit, for example. Also, they do different tests, such as BMI on the children as soon as they
start school to make sure that they are developing properly and to look for signs of disorders
such as obesity or anorexia. CSN’s also run the School Immunisation Program, which is used
to prevent children from picking up infections such as Human papillomavirus (HPV). This is
linked with cervical cancer because ‘Women who get cervical cancer have had past infections
with HPV. High risk types of HPV can cause changes in the cells covering the cervix that
make them more likely to become cancerous in time.’ (cancerhelp.org.uk) Community
School Nurses also take part in PSHE full programs, which involve teaching Year 10’s about
33
smoking, healthy eating and STI’s, so children are educated about the different benefits of
healthy eating, the risk factors associated with STI’s and the risks of smoking to a person’s
health. All health professionals, including CSN’s, use a promotional campaign called crucial
crew, which teaches children about all sorts of different life issues such as the effects of
smoking and rescue missions. ‘At these workshops the children are presented with various
dangerous or challenging situations - such as a road accident or a gas leak - and they engage
in roleplay exercises in how to deal with these situations.’ (crucial-crew.org) CSN’s also use
Help2Quit group clinics for non-smokers who can be taught the short and long term effects of
smoking. This helps them to understand that if they don’t stop smoking, they will develop
lung cancer and the effects of long term smoking can sometimes be irreversible.
How does each role fit into secondary health preventative measures?
CSN’s usually give personal counselling, which is when they meet with the child on a one-toone basis, so they can be given advice on what they should do if they have HIV, for example.
As well as doing group sessions for Help2Qiut, they also provide the opportunity for
teenagers to see them if they have got a problem with smoking and they want advice on how
to stop. They can help do this by having the patient go through Nicotine Replacement
Therapy (NRT), which can help someone slowly get rid of their addiction to nicotine. It is ‘a
way of getting nicotine into the bloodstream without smoking. There are nicotine gums,
patches, inhalers, tablets, lozenges, and sprays.’ and it ‘stops, or reduces, the symptoms of
nicotine withdrawal. This helps you to stop smoking, but without having unpleasant
withdrawal symptoms. NRT does not 'make' you stop smoking. You still need determination
to succeed in breaking the smoking habit.’ (patient.co.uk) Community School Nurses also do
home visits, where they can go and visit the child’s home if they are under the impression
that they have problems with obesity or low self-esteem, for example. They would go and
assess what could be done better in the home so that the child is given the right environment
to develop healthily. For example, an obese child may have a lack of fruit and vegetables in
the home and so the CSN will try and talk with the family to convince them of the benefits of
healthy eating. They could involve the parents in health promotion so that their children can
relate and are consequently more likely to take up better eating habits and exercise more, for
instance.
What Qualities and Skills are needed by a CSN? Why are they important?
34
Skills
One of the most crucial skills that is needed by a CSN is communication. This is necessary
because a child may be very shy and unwilling to talk openly, so a stable relationship needs
to be established first. This can be done by talking to them and trying to encourage them to
talk to the CSN back. They will need to be on the right level with teenagers so they can form
a good relationship and to encourage the teenager to talk openly. The child in question might
have hearing problems, so they need to find effective ways of communicating information to
them so they can respond to the CSN. They need to be able to use this skill to talk with other
teachers, parents and health professionals. Another important skill needed is teaching because
they need to learn how to be able to educate children on different health issues in a way that
helps them to understand what the CSN is telling them. They also need to have good
parenting skills as they can use this experience to their advantage when dealing with other
children’s problems.
Qualities
The qualities a CSN possesses can be split into genetic qualities and nurtured qualities. An
important quality they must have is to be caring because they will have to deal with a wide
range of children who have different problems so they must understand their needs and care
for them in the appropriate way. The CSN also has to be trustworthy because the child will
place information with CSN under the impression that the information disclosed will be kept
confidential. This means that the child will trust the CSN to not go round and tell friends and
parents of the child about what they have been told if they don’t want them to. They must be
calm as well, because the child may display aggressive behaviour, for example, and it will not
help if the CSN isn’t calm. Being calm helps to keep the relationship between the CSN and
the child intact because the CSN isn’t showing aggressive feelings back towards the child,
which promote negative thoughts. A CSN has to be really flexible to, because they will need
to be available in case of an emergency which could disrupt their own daily routine. The CSN
also needs to be very organised because there is usually loads of work for them to do and they
will be in trouble if they leave most of it. Staff working as school nurses will usually work
towards the Specialist Practitioner - School Nursing/Specialist Community Public Health
Nurse qualification, which is at degree and masters level.
What Government Initiatives are Community School Nurses Involved with?
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The CSN is involved with a number of Government Initiatives, including Every Child
Matters (2003), which is involved with the protection and safety of children and the
procedures that should be followed if a child says that they are being abused. They are also
involved with Choosing Health, which gives people the initiative so they can take
responsibility for their own health. They are involved with the National Healthy Schools
Standard, which gives guidelines on how the CSN should teach PSHE and what should be
taught in PSHE. They also take part in the Teenage Pregnancy Strategy, which aims to
educate children about teenage pregnancy and what can be done to reduce it.
Outreach Worker
Job Description
The main job roles of an Outreach Worker include establishing links within the
Neighbourhood Action Team (NAT) and cluster areas with agencies, community groups and
individuals active within these areas. They would also give out presentations which focus on
health promotion. This is usually done through health information sessions, which are
targeted at groups of people such as parenting groups and youth groups. However, they are
not medically trained, so they can only give general information in their sessions. They would
carry out these sessions on a monthly basis within the foyer area. They would publicise and
promote local projects in communities, with other professional groups and in the media. They
would also make a contribution to existing health promotion programmes and talk about the
needs of the local community and vulnerable groups. Outreach Workers also work with
schools to provide students with school health drop-in clinics, which are mainly set up in
areas of deprivation. They also provide information on a one-to-one basis, where they will
36
assess the needs of the individual and refer them to other agencies if necessary. They also
attend partnership meetings on a regular basis where they discuss how they can use resources
effectively to deliver these health information sessions. They participate in different health
awareness events such as migraine awareness and ASDA alcohol awareness day. They have
supported the Meals on Wheels, Castle Lodge Promotion Day, World Mental Health Day and
Child Safety Week.
How does each role fit into primary and secondary health preventative
measures?
An Outreach Worker aims to reduce risk factors which could affect a person’s health. These
can include sexual health, where the outreach worker will provide sexual health advice and
support for people who require more information on STI’s or different types of cancers and
how to look for the symptoms. They primarily focus on delivering effective health promotion
in areas such as the importance of washing your hands and the importance of sun safety,
which is a campaign which aims to reduce the number of people getting skin cancer in the
UK as it has the highest rates of skin cancer in Europe. The Outreach Worker will also
deliver education on various illnesses and they will also talk about the benefits of healthy
eating, where they will explain the positives of eating 5 fruit and veg a day and the negatives
of eating unhealthy food. They also do sessions on how the mind can be affected by the
different foods that we eat, called ‘Food and Mood’. They explain how certain foods can
have a positive impact on a person’s mental well-being. They also do work on ‘Men’s
Health’ which is where information is given on the issues a man needs to be aware of so they
can stay in good health. They are not as involved with secondary prevention, however. They
only focus on working with children who are obese and referring them to different agencies
which will help them to reduce the effects of their obesity.
What skills and qualities are needed by an Outreach Worker and why are they
important?
All Outreach Workers will need really good communication skills because they will need to
effectively convey the message in their presentations to the audience so they are able to
understand what they are saying. They will also need to have good listening skills as they will
need to take on board any questions from their audiences so they can provide a good
response. The Outreach Worker must also be confident and assertive when conveying their
37
messages to the audience so what they are saying can stick in a person’s mind. It may also be
useful for the Outreach Worker to be able to present their campaigns formally and informally
because they will be giving their presentations to a wide range of audiences, including other
professionals and the local community. They must be able to adapt to these changes in the
audience so they can give the most appropriate tone to their presentations.
They must be confident enough to carry out their own presentations as well. They need to be
able to manage their own time effectively and set their own aims and objectives for their
projects. They need to be able to work both independently and as part of a team and be
creative when making their presentations as well. They must also keep accurate records of
their presentations and write reports, which could possibly contain a self-evaluation of their
own performance. It is necessary to have some of these qualifications to become an Outreach
Worker; A diploma in Health & Social Care, 3 years experience in working in health, social
care or community development, an understanding of health inequalities and their impact on
vulnerable groups and at least 1 years experience of planning and delivering
activities/services to local communities and hard to reach groups.
What government initiatives are Outreach Workers involved with?
Outreach Workers are involved with Choosing Health, which was made in 2004. This
concentrates on promoting good health and reducing health inequalities like obesity so
everyone can have the opportunity to lead a healthier lifestyle. They are also involved with
different strategies such as the ‘healthy weight, healthy lives’ strategy, which aims to reduce
obesity in young children and the ‘be active, be healthy’ strategy, which looks at the
importance of exercise as a component of a healthy lifestyle. They also work with the NHS to
promote the ‘from good to great 2010-2015’ strategy, which is ‘A five-year plan to reshape
the NHS to meet the challenge of delivering high quality health care in a tough financial
environment.’ They will usually give out information sessions on what can be done to handle
the needs of older members of the community. They will also focus on the prevention of
diseases and health inequalities so people put less strain on the NHS.
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Health Promotion Initiative: Drug Abuse
The Department of Health ‘is the lead Government department for drug treatment policy,
guidance and funding. The Department also helps deliver Government campaigns on drugs,
such as FRANK and sponsors the National Treatment Agency, a special health authority
created by the Government in 2001 with responsibility for the effective delivery of drug
treatment services.’ (webarchive.gov.uk)The aim of this initiative is to make people aware of
the effects of certain substances and it also shows the guidelines as to how medicinal drugs
can be used and delivered to their full potential. Health Promotion Campaigns created by the
Department of Health are used to convey the message to the public.
Organisations such as FRANK, who provide ‘information and support for young people to
ensure they understand the risks and dangers of drugs and their use and that they know where
to go for help and advice. FRANK also gives parents the confidence and knowledge to talk to
their children about drugs. FRANK is jointly delivered by the Department of Health, the
Home Office and the Department for Children, Schools and Families.’ are what can be
provided by the Government, but a friend said that he ‘still finds that people are out on the
streets dealing drugs and there is nearly always something on the news about it. The friend
thinks that it has had ‘little impact on the amount of people who use drugs in the UK’ Then, a
person who works with people who have problems with drugs said that, ‘I feel that the
39
Government have done the right thing by giving people the initiative to seek help for their
problems by providing help services such as FRANK. However, it is all down to whether
people decide to use these services or not. FRANK only offers support to people, it doesn’t
make them come to ask for help.’
NHS figures show that ‘In 2005/06, 10.5 per cent of adults had used one or more illicit drug
in the last year, a decrease from 12.1 per cent in 1998.’ and ‘During 2005/06 181,390 people
were in contact with structured drug treatment services. This is a 13 per cent increase on
figures during 2004/05, where the number was 160,453 and more than twice the number in
1998/99.’ These figures would support the fact that lots more people are now using services
for drug treatment more than in previous years and that this looks to have a link with a
decrease in the number of people using illicit drugs in 2006.
Health Promotion Campaign
Introduction
In this section we will be creating a health promotion campaign, which will address the issue
of hygiene. As a group we will take different roles to create a campaign to promote how
important it is for someone to have good hygiene. We will be promoting this to people at our
school and to promote good hygiene we will be using a range of resources both primary and
secondary in order to help us plan a successful campaign. We chose hygiene as the topic to
base our campaign around because at the ages of 16 to 18, you are still going through
puberty, which can make issues such as body odour and spots a big issue. Also most of your
baby teeth have gone and you have most of your adult teeth so it is important that you take
care of your teeth and gums as these are the only set of teeth that you will have for life. I
think that hygiene is an important factor to know about from an early age so you can get into
a routine and prevent suffering from body odour and bad gums when you grow older. It is a
factor for a healthy lifestyle, also by having good hygiene it makes you look better if, for
example, you wish to apply for a job because they also base it on personal appearance as well
as your qualifications. ‘When we think about good hygiene one of the first things we tend to
think of is washing our hands on a regular basis. But good hygiene is about much more than
that, and when lots of different people come together to work for one company in a single
40
workplace, good hygiene becomes even more important. One of the best ways to keep a
company's premises looking as good as possible is to hire a professional cleaning company to
come in on a daily basis to make sure everything is clean before the day's work starts. But the
employees can also do their bit to make sure high standards are continually kept up,
especially if they are given the right facilities to be able to do so.’ (ezinarticles.com)
By doing this campaign as a group we want to improve people’s hygiene and give an
education on effects of poor hygiene if they do not apply hygiene in their life. School is a
good environment to promote a health campaign because there are a wide range of resources
that are available and easily accessible to help promote the campaign, also it is in a place of
education and that are what we are trying to promote, another reason why it is a good place to
promote hygiene is because you can promote to a wide audience and gain feedback from
peers of our age group. ‘School is seen as an important context for health promotion,
principally because it reaches a large proportion of the population for many years. The
emphasis on schools is also a recognition that the learning of health-related knowledge,
attitudes and behaviour begins at an early age’ (Naidoo & Wills 2000) Organisations, such as
the World Health Organisation (WHO) also see the importance of washing hands in modern
society. ‘Embedding hand hygiene promotional activities as a national priority is key for
sustainability. Efforts have therefore been made to support countries or areas to promote hand
hygiene in health care.’ (who.int) this proves that the issue of hand hygiene is considered of
vital importance to a person’s health and well-being.
Approaches
In order to ensure that the campaign delivers the best message in the best way possible to our
target audience we need to decide the approach that we are going to take to get across the
point of good hygiene. We have decided four approaches that we will use together to promote
good hygiene. We have decided to use the Medical, Educational, Changing society and Fear
approaches. We have used the medical approach because we wish to incorporate how keeping
your teeth clean and in good health has medical benefits for a person. We have used the
Educational approach because we think that it is important to educate people on what
happens if they don’t have good hygiene and how they can achieve and maintain good
hygiene. We decided on a changing society approach because we think that it is important for
them to understand what government implementations have been put into place so people can
help themselves to keep themselves clean. For example, in hospitals, they use hand gels
41
which stop the spread of disease from ward to ward. The government also put into place the
‘wash your hands’ posters in schools, work, social clubs etc. to stop the spread of swine flu.
We also decided on the final factor of fear to show students what can happen if they do not
brush their teeth for the recommended 2 minutes, twice daily.
The approaches that we have decided to take have different objectives, the objective involved
with these approaches are that it prevents disease to any individuals and it also ensures that
people are well informed and able to make health choices and to acquire the skill and
confidence to take a greater control of their health and the final objective is to change policies
and environments in order to facilitate healthier choices. All of the approaches reflect
different ways of working. (Naidoo, Wills 2000, Health Promotions Foundations for Practice,
Bailliere Tindall). The medical models aim is to identify those at risk from disease through
primary health care consultant (e.g. measurement of body mass index. The educational model
increases knowledge and skills about healthy lifestyles through information and exploration
of attitudes through small group work and development of schools. (Naidoo & Wills 2000)
The medical approach focuses on activity which aims to reduce morbidity and premature
mortality, the activity is targeted towards whole populations or high risk groups, this kind of
health promotion seeks to increase medical interventions which will prevent ill health and
premature death. The educational approach to health promotion will provide information to
clients to make an informed choice about their health behaviour, this maybe through
booklets, visual displays or one to one advice. This approach may also provide opportunities
for clients to share and explore their attitudes to their own health. The social approach
acknowledges the importance of the socio-economic environment in determining health.
(Naidoo & Wills 2000)
Aims and Objectives
For our health promotion campaign, an aim and objectives will be set which are what need to
be achieved by the end of the campaign. The aim will be just a broad goal of what the
campaign hopes to achieve and the objectives will be little targets which will help to achieve
the aim.
The aim of this campaign is to ‘enlighten sixth form to the benefits of good hygiene’. This is
necessary because the target audience is 16-18 years of age, so they are still relatively near
the puberty stage. This means that issues such as body odour and spots are still of big concern
42
to this age group and they will need to be educated about how good hygiene can reduce these
effects.
This aim will be broken down into these smaller objectives which will help to achieve the
aim of the campaign. One of the objectives will be to ‘provide a way for young people to see
and realise the good effects of washing your hands and how it can tie in to keeping someone
in good health’. We will do this by providing different interactive activities which help to
explain the correct way to wash your hands and see whether or not you have washed your
hands properly. We will include diagrams which will show how to wash your hands properly
and we will use a ‘Glow Box’ to see if there are still bacteria on their hands afterwards. We
will see whether this has succeeded by giving them the opportunity to do it the correct way
after they have tried doing it their way the first time.
Another objective will be to ‘identify practical measures young people can take which will
keep their teeth and gums in good condition’. We will include certain diagrams which
demonstrate the effects of not cleaning your teeth. We will show pictures of what can happen
to your gums and teeth if they are not looked after properly. Also, we can show them how
mouth wash can be used in conjunction with normal brushing so that the whole of your
mouth is cleaned. We will know whether the objective has been met by the end of the
campaign where they can leave a comment in a box, which will say what particular parts of
the campaign they found most enjoyable and educational.
Our last objective will be to ‘show young people how having a bath or a shower regularly can
keep you in good physical health while also addressing the effects of bad odour’. This ties in
with our target audience because they are in the life stage where body odour will be of a huge
concern. We will show pictures of the effects of not having a shower regularly, such as
greasy hair. We will know whether or not this objective has been met because the students
will evaluate our campaign at the end and they will state their opinions of the different
aspects of our campaign.
List of Resources
Product
Price
Body Lynx spray
Girls Charlie pink
body spray
Deodorant spray
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£2.85
£1.00
What we need from
miss
Glow Box
Bowls
What we need from
CHEC
Teeth
Toothbrush
£1.00
Paper Towels
Leaflets
Deodorant roll on
Soap x 2
Hand Gel
Toothpaste
Toothbrush
Shampoo
Conditioner
Shower Gel
Mouth Wash
Flannel
TOTAL = £16.42
£1.00
£1.06
86p
£1.00
£1.65
£1.00
£1.00
£1.00
£2.00
£1.00
Blue Tacs
Pins
Pens
Glue
Microscope
Agar Plates
Swabs
Table Cloth
Table
Boards
Posters
DVD
There is a reason why we have specifically chosen these resources to help us with the
campaign. As you can see from the table all the items that we are intending to purchase are
linked with factors that contribute towards our hygiene, we will promote these on our table
and allow people to use testers to see how they use the products, this will help us promote our
product and that it is good to use all of these things. We will display these items for people to
see. The resources that we are intending to use from the school all contribute in some way.
The bowl will be filled with water so the people on the day can use this to wash their hand
which then leads onto the glow box to give the people indication what germs can appear on
your hands by placing their hands under the box to shows them where they have missed, and
the towels will obviously be used to allow the people to dry their hands after washing them,
this will give some interaction to our campaign. Blue tac, pens, pins and glue will be required
to help us put all the aspects of the campaign together, glue will be used to glue all of our
posters together, the blue tac and pins will be used to pinup our posters, leaflets which these
resources contribute to the presentation of our campaign. The microscope, agar plates and
swabs will be another interactive element of our campaign and will allow the people to
visually see the germs because without this they are so small that they are not visible, we will
be using the swabs to take samples of germs for people to see and place the swabs in the agar
plates to show the visual of the germs that people can then see under the microscope. The
table cloth, boards and table are needed to we can actually have the resources to set up our
campaign on, this is important because without them we will have nowhere to set up our
presentation on. We need the resources from CHEC to help contribute and get our point
across to our audience on how important hygiene is, this will be through leaflets, posters and
an interactive element of DVD’S, which include ‘C.A.T.C.H onto good hygiene’, ‘Personal
hygiene’, ‘You, your body and puberty’ and ‘Brush up on hygiene’, which are necessary
44
elements to help us promote our campaign. We will burn these onto 1 DVD and I will bring
in my laptop so I can play this DVD.
The reasons we will use DVD’s in our campaign is that ‘they are suitable for small and
medium audiences’ (Fisher et al 2006). This is relevant because we are doing our campaign
in a medium sized room, so it will be easy to convey the message to our audience. Most of
our campaign will be educational, so we can use these educational programmes which can be
recorded later. However, we will need to solve the problem of a power supply, but my laptop
will be connected to a power supply, so that won’t be a problem. We cannot help the fact that
my laptop has a small screen not fit for a big audience. We have incorporated posters which
are ‘cheap and easy to make and can give other help to people, e.g. phone numbers’. (Fisher
et al 2006) This means that awareness is raised on the issue of hygiene. We must be very
careful that they don’t get damaged, however, but we will realise that the posters start to lose
effect after a while. Leaflets are useful because they allow people to take a valuable resource
away from the campaign which they can refer to later if they wish. It also can refer other
services to users through phone numbers and other contact details. They are easily lost,
however and can be disposed of easily if they have not been read. This is something we have
no control over because they may take the leaflets but not read them.
Intended Outcomes – Evaluation Methods
As a group, we hope that we can get the message across to our age group that hygiene plays a
very important role in keeping someone in good physical health. We want our age group to
recognise that having good hygiene is really beneficial, especially for their age group because
they are in the life stage where body odour and spots can be an issue. To measure whether or
not our campaign has been effective, we will use a questionnaire which will test their
knowledge of good hygiene. If they score highly, we will know that they have received the
knowledge necessary to keep them in good hygiene. If they have scored very poorly, we will
know that our campaign has not been very effective in terms of getting the message across to
our age group. We will also leave a comment box for people to leave their comments at the
end on what they thought about our campaign and whether or not they thought it was
effective. We will have 2 comment boxes, one for our peers and one for the teachers so I am
able to say in my campaign what teachers thought about our campaign compared to our
peer’s opinions of our campaign. We will see from both of these methods whether or not our
campaign has succeeded in delivering the message of good hygiene to our peers.
45
To evaluate my campaign, I will first look at how I performed within the campaign and what
I could have done myself to improve the effectiveness of the campaign. I will use comments
left by the students and teachers to bring together an overall view of my campaign from my
peer’s perspective and my teacher’s perspective. This will give me 2 opinions of my
campaign which will allow me to see just how effective my campaign has been in getting the
message across to my age group. I will go through every single aspect of my campaign
including the questionnaire and the “glow box” and say what was good and bad about them
and what I would change next time to make it better. I will also analyse each area of my
campaign, including the aims and objectives I set and the approaches I used. I will look at
whether we met the aims and objectives we set and whether the approaches we have used
were the right ones to use. We will include photographs which show our campaign, showing
what our campaign looked like and we will include an evidence log of everything we did
leading up to the campaign.
Action Plan
The action plan we have decided to take is that we have a 3 hour lesson once a week on a
Friday so within our group of 3 we need to split the tasks and all contribute equally to ensure
we get all the information required. We will spend a good 45 minutes to an hour on each
written activity; however some may take longer than others such as the designing. In the first
lesson we have split up each task between the three of us. I have been working on the aims
and objectives and the designing of the campaign, Melissa has focused on the approach of the
campaign and producing a questionnaire to ask people and Jade has been focusing on the
introduction and writing up a plan of action and working out what resources are needed for
our campaign and the costs. Each week we will delegate tasks depending on what needs to be
done over that week. The campaign will take place at School in conference suite on Friday
3rd of December. We are aiming this campaign at sixth formers in the school which consists
of ages 16-18 year olds, also teachers and parents will be coming to visit and leaving us a
comment on how we educated them on our topic about hygiene. To promote our campaign
we will use resources such as the glow box, big teeth and big toothbrush. Other things that we
will use on our display is everyday items that we should use to contribute towards having a
good hygiene, these items are body sprays and deodorants, a cloth used to wash your face,
soap, hand gel, toothpaste and toothbrush, shampoo and conditioner and shower gel. We will
have these on display to promote people to try and use these products. The glow box will be
46
an interactive element for hand washing and so will the big teeth and toothbrush. We will get
some resources such as posters and leaflets and a few items from CHEC in Madeley on upon
our visit on the 24th November which is situated in Madeley and we will also get some
resources from our school library and also we will get the glow box from school. We will
meet once a week in our lesson and we will also meet every Thursday during a free period.
Evidence Log
12/11/2010: Today we spent 3 hours starting our preparation to promote our campaign.
Within the lesson we split the tasks between the three of us and this is what we did.
Melissa looked at the approaches that we are going to take to educate people on our campaign
and this took 30 minutes. Melissa also created a questionnaire that we are going to interview
people to find out some information to create evidence on why that this campaign on hygiene
is needed; this creates secondary evidence for us. This took 15 minutes. Jade created a list of
resources that we are going to need to help us present us with our campaign and researched
the costs, all the resources that are needed are related to our topic of hygiene and help us
promote what kind of things are needed in life and this took 30 minutes to do because we
listed all the items that we will need and then we looked on the internet to come up with
costs. I looked at the aims and objectives that we are going to try and achieve whilst
promoting this campaign which took an hour and then he started on designing a title for our
campaign which taken him half an hour. I also wrote an introduction and taken minutes of the
session to help us keep a record on what we have done and to help set out some sort of action
plan to help us tackle this campaign.
19/11/2010: In this lesson we did amendments on our coursework, we included all the work
such as approaches and the aims and objectives and put them into our coursework into our
own words but used what the person did to help us. We did this for half of the lesson; we
needed to back up evidence for our campaign so we used the books to help us for secondary
research to use in our coursework. We also looked at some leaflets that miss had to offer so
we could use this for the campaign for part of the lesson; this took between 15 and twenty
minutes to find the appropriate leaflets for our topic. We then double checked the resources
47
that we were going to use and stated why we needed those resources in particular this took an
hour as we had to use the books again for secondary evidence to back up our suggestions. We
also started working on our title for the rest of the lesson, ready for us to paint.
24/11/2010: On this date we visited CHEC to get our resources for the campaign, this took an
hour to do as it was only a small place so had to go into our groups and take it in turn. From
CHEC we got our leaflets that we are going to use and we got some DVD’s and we also got a
pair of big Teeth and a toothbrush to help us with our campaign. When we got back we
looked at the resources that other groups had for their campaign and also we started to look at
how we are going to put this together and list our resources for the Day that we need from
school. Me and Jade also printed off our questionnaire, asked ten people confidentially and
then analysed the results and incorporated this into our coursework which took us up right to
the end of the lesson.
26/11/1010: On Friday we went round the school taking swabs for our campaign. We
swabbed a year 7 hand and mouth, a sixth formers hand and mouth and also a teacher so we
can compare the difference. After swabbing these we looked at other places where people
could catch bacteria such as the toilet and door handles. We did this to show the bacteria and
why it is essential to wash hands, this will help us promote a need for our campaign. This
took us 30 minutes to do.
2/12/2010: Today we spent 3 hours making our campaign look more colourful and effective,
we mounted our title on coloured paper and cut it out in bubbles to make it look effective, we
also made and decorated our comment box to make it look more effective and to relate to our
campaign.
3/12/2010- Today we ran our campaign in school all day, we used all of the resources that we
stated and worked as a group to set up the campaign. It took us an hour to set up, we ran this
campaign up to half 2 and then cleared up the room which took us up to 3:00.
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Photographs of Campaign
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Evaluation of Campaign
In our campaign, we had set an overall aim, which was to ‘enlighten sixth form to the
benefits of good hygiene’. We then set objectives, which we hoped would help us to meet this
aim. I think the objective to show young people how to wash their hands properly worked
really well because we used the ‘Glow Box’ to its full potential. However, we only included
posters of the benefits of cleaning teeth and washing hands properly, so we could have
included more interactive things for those topics. Overall, I think we succeeded in showing
the benefits of good hygiene to young people, but I think we could have included more
interactive elements to the campaign so people could learn better.
I think we did really well to meet our target audience because we got them to wash their
hands and told them the correct way to do it, which meant that our campaign was reaching
out to the target age group. I think we succeeded in meeting our target audience because they
came over to view our presentation, so we did catch their attention and got them to look at
our presentation.
I also believe the school environment was suitable because it allowed us to reach out to the
target audience. It also helped us because it fit in with one of the approaches we were going
to use, which was the educational approach. The school environment also provides an ideal
opportunity to get the message across to a lot of young people all at once. This is because
most young people would not even look at our presentation properly outside of school and in
different conditions.
The approaches we used were suitable in my opinion because they were both teaching the
young people and making them scared at the same time. The educational approach helped us
to effectively get the message across of good hygiene to the target audience. This was good
because it meant that our campaign was being successful in getting the message of good
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hygiene across to the audience. The fear approach just helped to solidify this new idea into
the minds of our audience. This meant that they were more likely to take away the lessons of
the campaign and apply them to their everyday lives.
Most of our resources were used to their full potential during the campaign, although some
did not have as great an effect as we would have liked. I thought the ‘Glow Box’ was the best
resource, purely because it got people involved with the campaign and they found it really
interesting to see just how clean their hands actually are. Other resources, such as the
deodorants were mainly used as examples of hygiene care products and they caught the
attention and interest of the audience. The posters and leaflets were generally met with
interest by the audience and succeeded in mainly catching their attention in the first place,
along with our campaign title. The big teeth were also effective because it allowed us to
demonstrate the correct brushing techniques.
However, I think we could have used some of our resources a bit better. For example, the
agar plates were useful in showing what kinds of bacteria can be found in the mouth and on
the hands, but they were not as effective as the ‘Glow Box’ was. The DVD’s did not catch
enough attention as well because there weren’t any interactive elements to them so people
quickly lost interest with them. The flip chart we used was a good idea, but it wasn’t
regularly flipped over, so people did not see the whole thing and the resource wasn’t used to
its full potential.
As a group, we feel that we have got the message across for some parts of good hygiene, such
as washing your hands and cleaning your teeth properly. I think that it made them realise that
having good hygiene at this life stage of their development can be a huge advantage. This
was what we wanted them to think by the end of our campaign, so this would show that our
campaign has achieved its intended outcomes.
We used questionnaires and a comments box in order to get feedback from our audience. The
questionnaires were just general knowledge at the start and more hygiene specific questions
at the end. We found that general knowledge was good and there was a general increase in
knowledge of hygiene at the end of the campaign. This would show that our evaluation
methods were good because they showed a difference in knowledge levels of the audience at
the end of the campaign.
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Our action plan was useful because it gave us a useful guide for the 3 weeks leading up to the
campaign. It allowed us to use timescales, so we could check what we had done on each day
as well. The action plan was surprisingly accurate because we recorded near to the exact time
we completed each piece of work. The action plan was also useful when we were setting up
our campaign because it allowed us to check whether we had actually done all the work and
whether or not all the elements of our campaign were included.
However, I believe we spent too much time setting up on the day, which stopped us from
carrying out our campaign until about 10:00. Also, our comments box was incomplete and we
needed to finish it quickly. The reason we spent too much time setting up was because the
posters failed to stick to the board. We spent too little time, only on the flip charts and getting
them sorted out, which was good because it allowed us to focus on setting up the rest of the
campaign.
I believe our campaign was cost-effective because most of our resources were used to their
full potential during the campaign. There were only some resources from CHEC, which were
not used to their full potential, but these resources were free.
For our campaign we thought that we would interview 10 people (see appendix 3), we did
this to help us gain an understanding of the hygiene that people aged 16-18 have, we did this
age range because this is the age that we are aiming our campaign at. From our interview we
found out that 100% of the people we asked wash their hands after going to the toilet, we also
found out that 70% of people always brush their teeth twice which is the daily recommended
amount and the other 30% brushed their teeth most of the time however sometimes forget at
night. Out of the 10 people we asked 80% brush their teeth for two minutes and the other
20% only brush for a minute, those that brush for under a minute shows that they lack the
knowledge of how long they need to brush for which means that this campaign could help
them and to see the effects that occur if they do not brush their teeth for the right amount of
time. The recommendation for how long you brush your teeth is 3 minutes two times a day
which only 30% of the people asked got this right, 10 % said 4+ and 60% said two minutes,
this goes to show that people are unaware of dental hygiene so we hope to get everybody to
take care of their personal hygiene. However, they do know about some aspects of good
hygiene because 100% of the people we asked shower every day.
On the day, we spent quite a long time trying to set up our campaign. One of the main
problems we encountered was that the blue tac was not sticking to the board, so our posters
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kept falling down. Also, we still had to finish painting our comment box, so we were working
against time for the first part of the morning. We did just manage to set everything up in time
for the start of the presentation. Overall, we managed to get quite a few people to look at our
campaigns, most of which were very interested in the ‘Glow Box’. I thought the ‘Glow Box’
was the strongest point of our campaign because it was interactive and the people who visited
found it very enjoyable. At the end of the campaign, we spent much less time packing away
than we did setting up, which I thought was very good.
When we were setting up the campaigns, I was a bit worried because I thought we were not
going to get everything done in time for the campaign to start. Luckily, we managed to set
everything up and we finished our comment box, so we were ready to start. At first, I was a
bit apprehensive and was constantly comparing our campaign to the others, which I originally
thought were much better presented than ours. Over time, I learned to just concentrate with
my group on getting our campaign across to the audience. I felt that the students were very
interested in the ‘Glow Box’ because it allowed them to compare how clean their hands were
to other student’s hands. I felt that they were impressed by that particular part of the
presentation because they showed great enthusiasm when doing it. They were also interested
in the posters which we had set up, which I was very pleased about because they were
definitely the right posters to use for the purpose of our presentation and the message we
were trying to get across. I was very tired and exhausted by the end of the presentation, but I
also felt elated because we unanimously thought that we had got the message of good
hygiene across to our peers very well.
I thought that our presentation was good because it allowed people to interact with the
campaign whilst learning at the same time. It definitely gave them great pleasure when they
saw that their hands were generally clean in the ‘Glow Box’ and fear when they saw that
theirs and others hands were not as clean. I also thought that the fear element of our posters
got the message across very well to our visitors because it showed them the worst case
scenarios of bad hygiene, which could possibly happen to them if they don’t stay in good
hygiene. I thought that they were also interested with the agar plates because they were very
surprised and disgusted when we told them where they had come from, particularly with the
Sixth Former’s mouth and hand, which had a great number of germs growing on them. I
thought our comment box was very good because it resembled an element of good hygiene,
which was toothpaste.
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However, I felt that we didn’t do as well in explaining the correct way to wash your hands.
We did put posters up on the boards which had a step-by-step guide of the correct way to
wash your hands, but we failed to explain to the audience the correct way to wash your
hands, so they didn’t learn that from the campaign. Also, we had flip charts which we didn’t
emphasise enough and we did not flip them over enough so everyone could see every element
of the presentation in detail. I thought our post-questionnaires were good, but they didn’t
fully explain everything that had been on the campaign, instead they were just about what
they thought should be done to keep a person in good hygiene. I also saw that the DVD’s
were catching little or no attention, possibly because they were much more interested with the
interactive element of our campaign.
We got a lot of positive comments from our comments box, including one which said ‘Very
good stand. Made me realise the importance of washing your hands and the importance this
has on the prevention of spreading disease’ this comment also supports that we have managed
to get the message across of good hygiene to this particular person. Another comment said
‘Very professional with excellent subject knowledge-well done!’ This proved that they
thought we knew what we were talking about and it allowed them to take away what they
learned from the presentation. However, there was one comment which said ‘The hand wash
was very good and clever. Explain more about the rest of hygiene’ this would show that the
other elements of the presentation needed highlighting a bit more and maybe more interactive
elements were needed.
To improve on this campaign, I would definitely make more areas of the campaign
interactive. For example, I found that if we included questions with the agar plates that asked
the audience where they had come from, it would have attracted their attention much better
and made the campaign more interactive. Also, I could have made the questions more
relevant to our campaign. For example, instead of just asking general, questions such as the
time taken to wash hands, have a shower, we could have asked other relevant questions to
hygiene, such as ‘Why should you wash your hands?’ I could have also put a bin next to the
campaign instead of a bin bag, which was mostly in the way when we were presenting our
campaign. I could have, at least, moved the bin bag out of sight from the presentation, so it
looked neater and tidier. I could have also engaged the audience a bit more and get them
thinking about hygiene. We could have done this through the use of questions during the
presentation, which would have attracted their attention better.
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Overall, I believe that our campaign succeeded in enlightening sixth form to the benefits of
good hygiene. It got the attention of our target audience effectively and quickly, so it allowed
us to communicate the information to our audience. Our campaign succeeded in meeting our
aim and meeting most of our objectives. The school environment was also used to our
advantage very well and the approaches were suited to the campaign and the environment we
were in. Most of our resources were also used to their full potential and most of our intended
outcomes were achieved. Our evaluation methods helped us to gain an overall view of our
campaign and most areas of the campaign were cost effective.
However, there are things we could have improved during the campaign. We left the bin bag
on show during the campaign so I would put this out of sight the next time we do a campaign.
We could also include an interactive quiz next time instead of just including a DVD playing
in the background. I would also make sure our posters stick to the board next time so they
don’t keep on falling off. We could have also included a quiz for the agar plates, such as
having the audience guess where they come from.
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