Question

An Ecological Approach to Understanding Health Communication

The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this week on the basis of the course competencies covered.

To support your work, use your course and text readings and also use outside sources. As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format.

Choose a health problem that you would like to create a health communication campaign for. This campaign will take place in your neighborhood. In deciding to create the campaign, you have decided to explore what impacts the health problem you have chosen, using the ecological model.

Explore each factor of the ecological model for your chosen health concern and be specific when listing components. For instance, list specific nonprofit organizations dedicated to your health concern, list specific schools in your neighborhood, and so on.

Answer 1

The topic choosen for health campaign is Cessation of Smoking . As smoking is of the major cause for many of the health problems like hypertension ,cancer , coronary artery disease , myocardial infarction , stroke etc . Many non profit government , private organizations and the health care professionals are striving hard towards this aim .

Ecological model of health is the model that provides comprehensive frameworks for understanding the multiple and interacting determinants of health behaviour . It focuses on both the individual level and population level determinants of health and interventions . The ecological model has the following components :-

- Individual

- Interpersonal

- Organizational

- Environmental

On exploring each components of ecological model it is analysed that at each level :-

Individuals level - Individuals at teenage groups are more suspected to smoking and other illegal activities by being influenced by peer groups and a behaviour development at this age becomes a life long behaviour . It needs to be corrected at the root itself to help our youth to be healthy and to work efficiently for the nation and it will attained by having coaching ,counseling , medical and nutritional awareness therapy from the family , school etc .

At interpersonal level also the individuals are under peer pressure and consider or give ore importance to their friends and indulge in activities with them . Awareness about cessation of smoking will be attained by initiating programs like health education at worksite , organization ,and physical activity clubs .

At organizational level , it will be attained by policies such tobacco free worksite , rules and regulations against smoking.

At Environmental level ,it is attained by provision of support groups who are working particularly for people who smokes and they help these individuals to stop smoking and teach about healthy behaviours and government should make rules to ban the sale of tobacco and stringent penalities and compensation for smoking should be made .

The specific non -profit organisation dedicated towards cessation of smoking are:-

- smile

- can kids

- care

Certain schools working for cessation of smoking are :-

- Kendriye vidyala

- Jiva public school

- Gita bal niketan senior secondary school