Health Profile of the London Borough of Ealing Community
Introduction
Today, Ealing is the third largest Borough in London, after Barnet and Croydon borough. This paper is importance to the Ealing population and the healthcare enterprises serving the society in the area. Thus, this profile covers the health of the London Borough of Ealing (LBE) community with the aim of providing a broader picture concerning the health of the people in London. For a detailed analysis, the paper will provide the population characteristics in the form of data to comprehend the health needs of the Ealing community. The data will be obtained from the UK government reports and publications such as Public Health England (PHE) and available literature that has studied the same topic.
Background Information
Community Health Needs Assessment (HNA)
A population HNA is significant practice because the activity contains information that can be valuable to healthcare stakeholders, the government, and hospital organisations. The primary purpose of assessing the public health needs is to identify the weakness within the system and then come up with programs that will lead to community improvement (Catholic Health Association of the United States 2013). Besides, community health needs assessments (CHNA) are carried out with the aim of identifying varied regulatory requirements for public health system (Gillam, Yates, and Badrinath 2012; Schafer and Dawson 2015). Moreover, in most of the modern hospitals, medical practitioners conduct CHNA practices to come up with strategies that can be embraced to meet the healthcare requirements of the community.
Community Health Profile (CPH)
A CHP is a public report that is well organised to bring together key information about health and its determinant within the society (Stanhope and Lancaster 2015). Healthcare professionals use the community health profile as a tool to interprets and analyse information concerning the health of the people and then apply the findings to stimulate actions that will improve and strengthen the health care system (Hawtin and Percy-Smith 2007; Wurzbach 2002). Additionally, Listorti and Doumani (2001) point out that a health profile provides physicians and nurses with useful information regarding diseases pattern, problems encountered in the system, the population that is at a high risk of being infected with different illnesses, and the overall functioning of the healthcare system.
Community Health Needs Monitoring and Surveillance
Health monitoring refers to the aspect of performing routine tracking of the healthcare information so that the healthcare enterprises can detect the characterisation and management of events that may influence the health of the community (Choi 2012). Monitoring fits in the concept of community health needs, as the practice help practitioners within the hospital management determine the areas that need improvements and ultimate responses where intervention is being implemented (Lee 2010). On the other hand, Nsubuga et al. (2006) opine that public health surveillance is a systematic process, which healthcare people utilise to pursue diseases and commonly risk behaviours that may affect the community’s health. Surveillance is a critical approach, as it provides healthcare staffs with the scientific and factual information that they use to make decisions about community health needs (Alfaro-Lefevre 2014; Petersen and Alexander 2001).
Community Health Profile
Measures of the Health Status of the Ealing Community
Over the past years, the health of the individuals in Ealing has been changing dramatically, when it is compared with the aspect of the health of the people in other regions such as England. According to the government report that was published recently, at about 21.6% of the children in LBE are living in a low standard condition, which is a major factor in the increase of health problem in the area (PHE 2016). From the same report, PHE (2016) highlights that by the year 2016, at about 813 children, which is 23.0% of the total children population had health problems such as obesity, which was a worse case in the UK compared to the situation in England. The number of the children who were admitted to the hospital in the LBE in relation to the habit of alcohol consumption was 33.3% (PHE 2016). However, in some circumstances, the issue of children with health issues has decreased when compared with the situation in other locations in the UK. For example, in LBE, the problem of early pregnancy, attainment of secondary education/GCSE and teenage smoking are well off than it is in England.
On the overview of the adults in the LBE, it is noted that in 2012, the number of adults with obese has increased, as it was at 18.2%, but better than it was in England. The alcohol health issues were also not as high as it was in England, but the number of adults who stayed in the hospitals in the LBE because alcohol issue was 563 (PHE 2016). On the case smoking, the people who died in LBE by the year 2012 because smoking were 248, which was a better case than in England. Conversely, for years, the rates of infections transmission (STI) and TB has been a major problem at LBE. Consequently, STI and TB have been a major concern, as the number of people passing away out of these two illnesses continues to increase. Finally, although the healthcare sector at LBE has recorded a number of death caused by the aspect of road accidents and hip fracture, the matter has been somehow addressed properly, as the record shows that there has been an improvement in the protection of such issues when compared to the case in England.
Measures of Deprivation
In Ealing, many people live in areas with deprivation, in comparison with the population residing in England. As such, statistics shows that 98% of Ealing populations are influenced by the aspect of inequality, while in England only 80% of the population lives in deprivation status. Notably, life expectancy and health inequalities are significant ways that are used to measure the deprivations level and its influence the health of the Ealing community. In LBE, the change in health disparities increases the number of death, especially for people under the age of 75 years. Furthermore, in Ealing, the number of the individuals who were admitted to the hospitals increased up to 40% in 2013, based ethnicity of each person. HPE (2016) writes that all ethnic groups who were staying in the hospital in 2013 in Ealing accounted for 42%, and this was an increased when compared with the percentages of the previous years.
Determinant of Health Issues in Ealing
For the health personnel and the government to promote the healthcare enterprise, it is better to assess the determinant of health care issues happening in the community. Naidoo and Wills (2016) reveal that the promotion of the hospitals in the community depends on the diseases that have been identified to influence the people and conditions that are contributing to health issues in the community. Thus, in the identification of the factors affecting health system in LBE, this will be fundamental; as the findings will be used to come with recommendations that may enhance improvement in the system as well minimisation of the number of death happening in the region.
Families can influence health inequality within the society. Ealing Council and Ealing Primary Care Trust (2017) proclaim that babies who are born in low-income families in LBE are more likely to come across health problems that may even make them premature. Based on extensive literature it is apparent that families are the main context that may bring most of the health challenges and illnesses, which makes them a powerful determinant that influences health needs in the society (Taylor 2003; Allia, Scherger, and Dickey 2016). However, Carroll and Vickers (2014) say that family support is an essential element of the health because many children grow healthier when the family promote them emotionally, which allows the children to grow mentally and with the right weight as recommended by the healthcare professionals.
In Ealing, lack of proper education program is affecting the health sector (Lundy and Janes 2009; Dziegielewski 2013). Ealing Council and Ealing Primary Care Trust (2017) assert that in LBE the process of learning attitudes, values, and social norms through education influences the health of a child. However, in the same area, lack of properly managed learning programs is affecting the lifestyle of the people within the community, which is increasing the gap between the people with a standard health life and the people with health issues.
Implications and Findings
From the analyses of the LBE and formulation of its profile, it is clear that health needs incorporate the wider social and environmental factors that can affect that health of the people within the community. In the understanding of the case of LBE, health needs can be considered in terms of the healthcare services supplied by doctors and nurses. From the profile of LBE, it is noted that one of the primary health needs that the healthcare system at Ealing should consider looking at is the issue of smoking and alcohol. This is to say that based on the profile, the Ealing Council and the medical practitioners should focus on implementing measures to end the consumption of substances such as cigarettes and alcohol in the region so that the number of people dying because of smoking can decrease.
Figure 1: Rate of Alcohol usage at LBE (Source PHE 2017)
According to Davis-Tylor and Gaokar (2014), if the LBE administration focuses on reducing the usage of tobacco substances in the area, this will be an early intervention program, where the health of the people in the region will improve accordingly.
The other need that was identified from the analysis of LBE health needs is the aspect of controlling child obesity (Tylor 2014). From healthcare perspective, in the present days, the prevalence of obesity has increased and it is the responsibility of the family to control child obesity by any means possible, as this will make the work of clinicians easier when they are involved in the intervention programs (World Health Organization 2000; Singh, and Davidson 2015).
Figure 2: Comparison Children Obesity in the UK (Source PHE 2017)
For the vulnerable population, the primary health needs that arise from the Ealing profile include the mental need and healthcare educational needs, where they can be trained about the different aspect of their lives. According to PHE (2017), self-harm is a major problem in the Ealing region, which has led to the increase of the people being diagnosed with the mental problem. Barreto (2014) suggests that the healthcare system in the LBE needs to implement a concerted effort, where the mental health issues will be addressed professionally.
Figure 3: Prevalence of the Mental Health problem (Source: HPE 2017)
Typically, in the assessment of the health needs, it is necessary for one to understand that the theories of health and the population needs have a commanding role in improving the healthcare system. Literature shows that various approaches to health needs assessment (HNA) that are involved in the practice of needs analyses include comparative theory, corporate approach, and epidemiological approach (Haughey 2008; Dunn 2006). In the explanation of HNA Barnard and Hu (2005) posit that these models are substantial because they assist medical staffs design health profiles that are informed and well-planned to improve the public and their families, communities, as well the entire population. Finally, to improve and support the health care needs that have been identified in the LBE profile, it will be suitable to use several assets such as individual community members, local associations, and institutions. Catholic Health Association of the United States (2013) support this point and say that community assets applied in the HNA are useful because they focus on strengthening the society, its skills, and resources available to cater for the needs that have been identified.
Conclusion
As health profiles are essential presentations that can help the local authorities understands the needs of the people in the community; this study focus on outlining a concise and consistent overview of the local people living at Ealing in London. From the assessment, it is apparent that for the people to respond to the community’s healthcare problems, health needs have to be taken as a central mission by the hospital organisations because this will improve and support the lives of many people in the society. As the process of HNA is an integrating practice, for the LBE people the process is influential to the community, because when the needs identified are meet this will create a collaborative environment, where the community will engage to improve the healthcare system in the area.
Bibliography
Ács, Z. J., Lyles, A., and Stanton, K. R., 2007. Obesity, business, and public policy. Cheltenham, UK, Edward Elgar.
Alfaro-Lefevre, R. 2014. Applying nursing process: the foundation for clinical reasoning. Philadelphia, Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Allia, A. F., Scherger, J. E., & Dickey, N. 2016. Swanson’s Family Medicine. Elsevier.
Barnard, D.K. and Hu, W., 2005. The population health approach: health GIS as a bridge from theory to practice. International Journal of Health Geographics, 4(1), pp.4-23.
Barreto, T., 2014. Enabling all adults (18-64) to maximize their capabilities and have control over their lives: Mental health. [online]. Available at: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/downloads/download/1018/ealing_joint_strategic_needs_assessment [Accessed 2017].
Carroll, L. M., and Vickers, M. C., (2014). The Role of Families in Health Promotion: Family Wisdom about Health and Wellness Knowledge, Strategies, and Barriers. Family Voices, pp. 1-14.
Catholic Health Association of the United States, (2013). Assessing & addressing community health needs. [online]. Available at: https://www.chausa.org/docs/default-source/general-files/cb_assessingaddressing-pdf.pdf?sfvrsn=4 [Accessed 2017].
Choi, B.C., 2012. The past, present, and future of public health surveillance. Scientifica, pp.1-26. http://dx.doi.org/10.6064/2012/875253
Davis-Tylor, R., and Gaokar, A., 2014. Strengthening the role & Impact of III health prevention: Lifestyle related morbidities: Tobacco. [online] Available at: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/downloads/download/1018/ealing_joint_strategic_needs_assessment [Accessed 2017].
Dunn, J.R., 2006. Speaking theoretically about population health. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 60(7), pp.572-573.
Dziegielewski, S.F., 2013. The changing face of health care social work: Opportunities and challenges for professional practice. Springer Publishing Company.
Ealing Council and Ealing Primary Care Trust, (2017). Evolving a Healthier Community for All: Ealing’s Health Inequalities Strategy 2005-2010.
Gillam, S., Yates, J. and Badrinath, P., 2012. Essential public health: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Haughey, F., 2008. Assessing and identifying health needs: theories and frameworks for practice. Public Health Skills: A Practical Guide for Nurses and Public Health Practitioners, pp.7-28.
Hawtin, M. and Percy-Smith, J., 2007. Community profiling: A practical guide: Auditing social needs. McGraw-Hill Education (UK).
Huff, R. M., Kline, M. V., Peterson, D. V., & Green, L. W. 2015. Health promotion in multicultural populations: a handbook for practitioners and students. Los Angeles : SAGE.
Lee, L.M., 2010. Principles and practice of public health surveillance. Oxford University Press, USA. Taylor, R. B., 2003. Family Medicine Principles and Practice. New York, NY, Springer New York.
Listorti, J. A., and Doumani, F. M. 2001. Environmental health: bridging the gaps. Washington, DC, World Bank.
Lundy, K. S., and Janes, S. 2009.. Community health nursing: caring for the public’s health. Sudbury, Mass, Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Naidoo, J. and Wills, J., 2016. Foundations for health promotion. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Nsubuga, P., White, M.E., Thacker, S.B., Anderson, M.A., Blount, S.B., Broome, C.V., Chiller, T.M., Espitia, V., Imtiaz, R., Sosin, D. and Stroup, D.F., 2006. Public health surveillance: a tool for targeting and monitoring interventions. Disease control priorities in developing countries, 2, pp.997-1018.
Petersen, D. J., and Alexander, G. R. 2001. Needs assessment in public health: a practical guide for students and professionals. New York, Kluwer Academic.
Public Health England (PHE), 2016. Ealing Unitary Authority: Health profile 2016.
Public Health England (PHE), 2017. Child Health Profile. [Online]. Available at: https://files.datapress.com/sport/dataset/child-health-profiles-2017/2017-01-26T18:50:00/LSR223%20Ealing.pdf [Accessed].
Schafer, E. and Dawson, R.S., 2015. Assessing community health needs in a rural area: Determining best practices to meet new Affordable Care Act requirements. Health, 7(5), pp.542-546. http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/health.2015.75064
Singh, D. J., and Davidson, J., 2015. Controlling child obesity – keeping your children healthy. Mendon Cottage Books.
Stanhope, M., and Lancaster, J. 2016. Public health nursing: population-centered health care in the community. St. Louis, Missouri : Elsevier.
Tylor, L., 2014. Strengthening the role & Impact of III health presentation: lifestyle related morbidities: Obesity. [online] Available at: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/downloads/download/1018/ealing_joint_strategic_needs_assessment [Accessed 2017].
World Health Organization, 2000. Obesity: preventing and managing the global epidemic. World Health Organization.
Wurzbach, M. E. 2002. Community health education and promotion: a guide to program design and evaluation. Gaithersburg, Md, Aspen Publishers.
