SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY HEALTH

SCHOOL

A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students (or "pupils") under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools. The names for these schools vary by country (discussed in the Regional section below), but generally include primary school for young children and secondary school for teenagers who have completed primary education. An institution where higher education is taught, is commonly called a university college or university.

COMMUNITY

The term community has two distinct meanings: 1) A group of interacting people, living in some proximity (i.e., in space, time, or relationship). Community usually refers to a social unit larger than a household that shares common values and has social cohesion. The term can also refer to the national community or international community, and, 2) in biology, a community is a group of interacting living organisms sharing a populated environment. A community is a group or society, helping each other.

COMMUNITY HEALTH

Community health, a field of public health, is a discipline that concerns itself with the study and betterment of the health characteristics of biological communities. While the term community can be broadly defined, community health tends to focus on geographic areas rather than people with shared characteristics. The health characteristics of a community are often examined using geographic information system (GIS) software and public health datasets. Some projects, such as InfoShare or GEOPROJ combine GIS with existing datasets, allowing the general public to examine the characteristics of any given community in the United States.

Because health III (broadly defined as well-being) is influenced by a wide array of socio-demographic characteristics, relevant variables range from the proportion of residents of a given age group to the overall life expectancy of the neighborhood. Medical interventions aimed at improving the health of a community range from improving access to medical care to public health communications campaigns. Recent research efforts have focused on how the built environment and socio-economic status affect health.

In Africa, community health is studied in three broad categories:

1.     Primary health care which refers to interventions that focus on the individual or family such as hand-washing, immunisation, circumcision and use of condoms etc.

2.     Secondary health care refers to those activities which focus on the environment such as draining puddles of water near the house, clearing bushes and spraying insecticides to control vectors like mosquitoes.

3.     Tertiary health care on the other hand refers to those interventions that take place in a hospital setting such as intravenous re-hydration or surgery.

ROLE OF PUBLIC HEALTH

Public health has been described as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals. It is concerned with threats to the overall health of a community based on population health analysis. The population in question can be as small as a handful of people or as large as all the inhabitants of several continents (for instance, in the case of a pandemic). Public health has many sub-fields, but typically includes the interdisciplinary categories of epidemiology, biostatistics and health services. Environmental health, community health, behavioral health, and occupational health are also important areas of public health.

The focus of public health interventions is to prevent and manage diseases, injuries and other health conditions through surveillance of cases and the promotion of healthy behavior, communities, and (in aspects relevant to human health) environments. Its aim is to prevent health problems from happening or re-occurring by implementing educational programs, developing policies, administering services, and conducting research. In many cases, treating a disease or controlling a pathogen can be vital to preventing it in others, such as during an outbreak. Vaccination programs and distribution of condoms to prevent the spread of communicable diseases are examples of common preventive public health measures, as are educational campaigns to promote vaccination and the use of condoms (including overcoming resistance to such).

Public health also takes various actions to limit the health disparities between different areas of the country and, in some cases, the continent or world. One issue is the access of individuals and communities to health care in terms of financial, geographical or sociocultural constraints to accessing and using services. Applications of the public health system include the areas of maternal and child health, health services administration, emergency response, and prevention and control of infectious and chronic diseases.

The great positive impact of public health programs is widely acknowledged. Due in part to the policies and actions developed through public health, the 20th century registered a decrease in the mortality rates for infants and children and a continual increase in life expectancy in most parts of the world. For example, it is estimated that life expectancy has increased for Americans by thirty years since 1900,  and worldwide by six years since 1990.

HEALTH

Health is the level of functional or metabolic efficiency of a living being. In humans, it is the general condition of a person's mind, body and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury or pain (as in "good health" or "healthy"). The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in 1946 as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

FACTORS THAT CAN AFFECT HEALTH

Individual health depends in part upon a number of factors that a person has control over, including diet, exercise, alcohol and drug use, and stress levels. Those born into families with a history of illness or disease, such as dementia or cancer, should pay special attention to whatever factors they can control in order to live the healthiest life possible.

1. Sleep
According to WebMD.com, the average amount of sleep needed for teenagers and adults is seven to 10 hours a day. The consequences of too little sleep include "Memory problems, Depression, [and] A weakening of your immune system, increasing your chance of becoming sick" (WebMD.com). Sleep disturbance and deprivation are known to increase one's mortality risk faster than smoking and high blood pressure. Furthermore, actual sleep disorders often go undiagnosed while over 70 million Americans suffer from at least one of the 85 diagnosable sleep disorders.

2. Stress
High stress levels have been linked to heart disease, high blood pressure, headaches and migraines, depression, erectile dysfunction and essential tremors. While all people experience stress from time to time, stress that occurs "too often or lasts too long...can have bad effects. It can be linked to headaches, an upset stomach, back pain, and trouble sleeping. It can weaken your immune system, making it harder to fight off disease. If you already have a health problem, stress may make it worse" (WebMD.com). First, one must learn how to recognize abnormally high stress levels, determine where the stress is coming from, then take practical steps to eliminate or reduce it.

3. Substance Abuse
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that "Alcohol affects every organ in the body. It is a central nervous system depressant...the liver can only metabolize a small amount of alcohol at a time, leaving the excess alcohol to circulate throughout the body" (CDC.gov). Binge drinking and other substance abuse can result in an increased risk of certain cancers, stroke and liver diseases. Substances that impair judgment also may give the user an exaggerated sense of self-confidence, which may result in dangerous activity such as drunk driving.

4. Activity Level
According to a survey done in 2008 published by the CDC, only 32.5 percent of U.S. adults engage in physical activity during their leisure time. Exercising regularly strengthens the heart and cardiovascular system, lowers blood pressure, strengthens bones, helps reduce stress and anxiety, improves sleep and improves circulation, among other things (WebMD.com). The recommended amount of exercise for optimal health is at least 20 to 30 minutes three or four times a week; however, individuals should seek their doctor's opinion based on their current weight and fitness level.

5. Nutrition
The Harvard School of Public Health states that "when all the evidence is looked at together...the best nutrition advice on what to eat is relatively straightforward: Eat a plant-based diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; choose healthy fats, like olive and canola oil; and eat red meat and unhealthy fats, like saturated and trans fats, sparingly. Most important of all is keeping calories in check, so you can avoid weight gain". All people will require a unique amount of calories to maintain their ideal weight. See the Resources section for a personal diet evaluator provided by WebMD.com.

6. Lifestyle and Health
Lifestyle -- or a typical way of life, as health specialists often define it -- could affect an individual's health and life expectancy. An imbalanced diet or bad eating habits might cause a person to develop chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hypertension, down the road. A sedentary lifestyle -- or one with little exercise -- also might not foster good health and physical fitness. Other habits that could adversely affect a person's metabolism include consuming too much saturated fat and starch, abusing alcohol and using illicit drugs, such as cocaine and heroin. Obesity also causes an individual to experience health problems and could lead to diseases and risky conditions including high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease.

SCHOOL HEALTH SERVICE

The school health service is defined as "the school procedures that contribute to the maintenance and improve­ment of the health of pupils and school personnel including health services healthful living and health education".

But to speak the truth our school hardly ever has a well defi­ned health programme incidentally the teaching about health is done while treating other subjects of the curri­culum -such as physiology, hygiene and biology. The approach to these subjects is so academic that they are considered to be important from the 'examination point of view' and have very little effect on actual health practices and attitudes.

But in general, health education should be integrated with all the activities in the -curriculum. It should be a part and parcel of the chili's daily life. It must include the whole life of the child taking in to considera­tion his relationship with the school community as well as the community outside the school.

OBJECTIVES OF SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION:

The objectives of the school health education are as follows:

1.                             The promotion of positive health;

2.                             The prevention of diseases;

3.                             Early diagnosis, treatment and follow up of defects;

4.                             Awakening health consciousness in children:

SCHOOL HEALTH PRO­GRAMME COMPRISES OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES:

1.     Health appraisal of school children and school personnel;

2.     Co-operation with the home and the community;

3.     Healthful school environment;

4.     Prevention of communicable diseases;

5.     Nutritional services;

6.     First aid and emergency care;

7.     Psychological services;

8.     Use of school health records;

9.     Remedial measures and follow up;

10.                       Health instruction;

REFERENCES

1.     Merriam-Webster. Dictionary - "Health", accessed 21 April 2011.

2.     World Health Organization. 1946. [www.who.int/bulletin/archives/80(12)981.pdf WHO definition of Health], Preamble to the Constitution of the World Health Organization as adopted by the International Health Conference, New York, 19–22 June 1946; signed on 22 July 1946 by the representatives of 61 States (Official Records of the World Health Organization, no. 2, p. 100) and entered into force on 7 April 1948.

3.     World Health Organization. 2006. Constitution of the World Health Organization - Basic Documents, Forty-fifth edition, Supplement, October 2006.

4.     Callahan D. "The WHO definition of 'health'." The Hastings Center Studies, 1(3), 1973 - http://www.jstor.org/pss/3527467

5.     Jadad AR, O'Grady L. "How should health be defined?" BMJ 2008; 337:a2900 - http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec10_1/a2900

6.     Georgia State University. 1998. Health Triangle Slides.

7.     Nutter S. 2003. The Health Triangle. Anchor Points, Inc.

8.     World Health Organization. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Adopted at the First International Conference on Health Promotion, Ottawa, 21 November 1986 - WHO/HPR/HEP/95.1.

9.     World Health Organization. The determinants of health. Geneva. Accessed 12 May 2011.

10.                       Public Health Agency of Canada. What Determines Health? Ottawa. Accessed 12 May 2011.

11.                       Lalonde, Marc. "A New Perspective on the Health of Canadians." Ottawa: Minister of Supply and Services; 1974.

^12.       Housman, Jeff; Dorman, Steve (September/October 2005). "The Alameda County Study: A Systematic, Chronological Review" (PDF). American Journal of Health Education (Reston, VA: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) 36 (5): 302–308. ISSN 1055-6699. ERIC document number EJ792845. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/contentdelivery/servlet/ERICServlet?accno=EJ792845. Retrieved 27 December 2011.