Wellbeing is a positive result meaningful for many sectors of the society and community because it tell us that many people perceive their lives to be going well. Proper living structures such as good housing and employment opportunities are fundamental contributors to the theory of well-being. We, therefore, realize that tracking these conditions are very important in determining public health policies. Well-being usually includes global judgments of feelings and life satisfaction usually that ranges from joy to depression. (Buunk et al., 2013).
Well-being theory is useful in public health in various ways as it integrates the mental health i.e. health of the mind and physical health i.e. body health hence it results in holistic approaches to measures taken in preventing diseases and promotion of public health. Well-being is a measure of population outcome which is beyond morbidity, economic status, and mortality that shows how a group of people perceive their lives is faring from their individual perspectives. Well-being is just the outcome that is meaningful to the public. With the advance in neuroscience and psychology, some theories suggest that well-being is measurable with a degree of accuracy. Research results from longitudinal and cross-sectional experimental studies show that well-being is intimately associated with; longevity, productivity, self-perceived health, healthy behaviors, social connectedness and various factors in the social and physical environments. Well-being can, therefore, provide a common knowledge that can assist policy makers in shaping and comparing the effects of various policies, for example, controlling birth rates of a given population and its long-term effects on the progress of a country. Higher levels of well-being are associated with good health such as decreased predisposition to infections, the risk of diseases and injury, better immunological function, speedy recovery and increased longevity. (Buunk et al., 2013).
Kenya is a country in eastern Africa with a population of about 40 million people. Its illiteracy levels are about 35% with most of its population living low-class lives. It has a diverse environment with more than 40 communities with varied cultures. Recently, there has been an increase in the spread of diseases most of them resulting from the various cultural practices of her citizens. It is for this reason that the country has been used as an example to illustrate how the nation’s population structure affects public health policies and health promotion considering the theory of well-being.
In Kenya, several social factors determine the health of her population. These include the level of education as seen whereby the highly educated individuals have access to better healthcare facilities as compared to the majority who are poverty stricken hence unable to afford quality medical services. Access to food and clean water for human consumption is a big problem, especially during the dry and wet conditions. Water is one agent that can spread very fast particularly if a community has one water source, therefore, contamination at the source will lead to the wide spread of the infection. Lack of employment opportunity puts one at a risk of abusing drugs predisposing them to several forms of infections or diseases. Proper mechanisms are therefore required to curb such infections.
Overcrowding in places of residence has predisposed many Kenyans to communicable disorders especially those who live in slums e.g. Kibera slums. Most of these infections are very virulent and can lead to morbidity and mortality of many people. Poor housing in these slums may also lead to pneumonia infections especially in young children who still have poor immune functions.
There is also an observed gender difference in the patterns of infections such that women are mostly affected as compared to men. This is because in this country women are treated lowly among men and are therefore denied chances to acquire the best medical interventions for their illnesses. Although these disparities still exist there have been several attempts to bridge the gap between males and females with promising results registered in the recent past.
Public health programs and policies have been put in place by the health ministry in attempts to control the spread and severity of community acquired infections such as cholera, communicable diseases and other forms of infections. Culture refers to a way in which a group of people or a community do various things. The existence of a diverse range of people living in Kenya has had several impacts on the health programs and policies laid down in attempts to curb the spread of various diseases. Examples of health programs that have been majorly affected are discussed in the subsequent paragraphs.
The national government through the ministry of health have tried to promote vaccination programs which are aimed at providing the body with enough protection against certain infections have been met with mixed reactions. Some communities argue that this is a way of the government’s attempts to provide their children with toxic chemicals which will later reduce their fertility rates. Several vaccines that have met such rejection arguments include hepatitis B vaccination and polio vaccination. Some prominent churches have also been drawn into this war between the government and the people on the effectivity of these vaccines. Such communities who reject these measures put their children and even the general population in the risk of developing serious infections that may lead to high morbidity and mortality rates.
The government in association with other stakeholders involved in the fight against sexually transmitted infections have made successful attempts to provide the public with protections against such infections. This is also an area in a health program that has suffered much criticism as it is a taboo inmost communities to use condoms during sex. They maintain that free access to condoms predispose their children to immorality as they will be likely to engage in sex before marriage due to the presence of free condoms. Long-term effects of these arguments lead to increased spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV/AIDS. (Maina et al., 2014).
The local government’s effort to introduce family planning methods have been very unsuccessful as many people find this to be very strange. Most people fear using birth control methods as it goes against their religious beliefs. They believe that they were given free will to give birth and therefore there is no way in which birth rates should be controlled. This has, therefore, lead to high rates of child bearing thus increasing the level of poverty among Kenyans having a negative impact on the country’s economic status.
In some communities, their cultures do not allow them to go to hospitals to seek medical care. When they fall sick, they make their concoctions to use instead of going to the hospital. Some religions do not allow their members to seek medical advice as they believe they will get well from a supernatural force. This has resulted in the suffering of many patients and frustrating the government’s attempt to promote healthcare practices in the country.
Approaches at the local and international levels to lessen health disparities in the country
Kenya being a third world country is still developing health-wise, therefore, both local and international help are necessary for managing the health being of her citizens. Prevalence of tropical diseases in the country e.g. malaria coupled with the high spread of HIV infections requires an international assistance in different areas of health policy and management.
The international community can help Kenya manage the health of her citizens by donating drugs used in the treatment of communicable diseases for example tuberculosis. Since some of these drugs are very expensive to the extent that the national government is unable to afford or buy enough to the citizens. The international community can subsidize the prices of these drugs or reduce the levies charged when Kenya transact with them on the purchase of these drugs. By doing this, the citizens will have enough medications enough to sustain the through their respective therapeutic regimen.
Donation of funds such as from the World Health Organization (WHO) can go a long way in enabling the local government to set up enough health facilities for Kenyans or enough amenities useful in maintaining the health of the citizens. Acquisition of health facilities aimed at promoting the health of the citizens can also be gotten from these funds.
Educating the citizens about health concerns can be a function of both the local and international community where patients are taught to improve their health seeking behavior. People who understand disease processes and how to take care of themselves on onset of a disease and importance of seeking medical attention provides a good ground for promoting the health of a community. The local authorities should provide enough educational facilities structures for learning. An educated group of people will always have a good response to the disease process and be able to provide themselves and people around them enough protection from diseases. Health seeking behavior should especially be encouraged in men since this has been a big problem in men as compared to women.
The local government has a role in ensuring that every citizen is given quality health care and protection. The government has come up with a health insurance cover in which one is required to pay some little amounts of money every month. On falling sick therefore patients on the program are provided with a free and quality health care. In attempts to reduce postnatal deaths of infants in Kenya giving birth in the hospital is free therefore encouraging most people who feared giving birth in the hospitals due to high costs of treatment a chance to receiving professional midwifery and infant care.
Strategies for overcoming communication constraints
Poverty eradication is the best measure that should be taken to overcome communication constraints in a community. Because most of the Kenyan citizens are poor most of them are not bothered by any communication in health care. People only think about they can fend for themselves especially in situations of dire need. These people are therefore likely to be passed by an important message about healthcare programs and policies. Some people are also too poor to be in touch with new information. Eliminating poverty is a major step towards ensuring that people get prompt information about important health programs such as vaccination dates and importance.
Providing education to the people is also another way of overcoming communication constraints. This possible because everyone will be taught on a common language of education as opposed to different communities knowing only their specific languages. High illiteracy levels in the country have seen people come up with different negative ideas about every effort that is meant for the well-being of the society and its environment. Educating the citizens on how health policies are communicated to the general population. The people are also taught on how to take care of themselves when they fall sick. Encouragement of health seeking behavior is very important for example in screening tests for cancers whereby early detection of a tumor can help set up an early management plan thereby increasing the rates of full treatment and reduce mortality rates
Through education some communities such as the Maasai, Borana will be able to learn that eating raw meat and milk may lead to infections by parasites which are very pathogenic. Since this is their culture, they must, therefore, be well educated on these issues using proper demonstrations of the negative impacts of taking the raw meet. Another community includes the Luo community who believe in wife inheritance if the husband oases away. This archaic practice has led to higher rates of spread of HIV/AIDS since these people usually do not take correct measures in prevention of sexually transmitted infections during intercourse.
Training local health practitioners who will be able to meet patient needs can reduce the communication problems. The presence of a healthcare worker who understands the needs and languages of the people at grassroots is a very efficient tool in ensuring that the health programs and policies are communicated to the people and in a language that they understand better. These local health workers can play anther role in promoting hygienic conditions whereby they ensure that hygienic policies and standards set by the government of Kenya are adhered to. Hygienic health policies can include factors on effective ways of dealing with waste materials that can incorporate determination of a proper dumping site and renewal. They can also put in measures to prevent water pollution especially in the water bodies and taps important for both human and livestock use.
Conclusion
Kenya is a country with several communities, therefore, putting it in a good position to study health policy and effects of culture on health. It is now evident that before health program and policy communication is conducted several factors must be considered. These include the diversity of the population intended for so that prior research in the area and determine the relative population responses. This is useful especially when designing a health policy, and in predicting its possible outcomes for example, some remote communities like the Borana may even turn violent when if they are not treated well.
Illiteracy has particularly been singled out as an enemy of promotion of public health programs as it has a major effect on reasoning of a community and their cultures, for example, the Maasai who at this age still continue to eat raw or uncooked meat and blood as part of its culture requires intervention of good educational practices to be able to understand the negative impacts of such practices.
The government has also been seen to be at the focal point in control and management of communicable diseases. Since most of these diseases result from poor housing and overcrowding especially for the people of low class, the government should take active action in ensuring that all its citizen are provided with standardly built houses with sufficient space and ventilation. Inspection of hygiene in places of residence by public health officers in Kenya will also form a big step in ensuring infectious diseases such as typhoid are eliminated to ensure the well-being of the population is maintained.
References
Buunk, B. P., Gibbons, F. X., & Buunk, A. (Eds.). (2013). Health, coping, and well-being: Perspectives from social comparison theory. Psychology Press.
Maina, W. K., Kim, A. A., Rutherford, G. W., Harper, M., K’Oyugi, B. O., Sharif, S., … & De Cock, K. M. (2014). Kenya AIDS Indicator Surveys 2007 and 2012: implications for public health policies for HIV prevention and treatment. Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (1999), 66(Suppl 1), S130.
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