Role of Government in Public Health Essay
Introduction
The role of government in public health is crucial. The health issue that is prevalent in the community is teen pregnancy. The research of national, state, and local governmental health agency websites for information on the chosen health issue points out to the fact that the problem can be solved by joint actions of relevant agencies. There is much evidence that particular aspects of public health depend on the functioning of governmental agencies. For example, the enforcement of laws affects the way public health issues are resolved at the local level. According to experts, the development and implementation of governmental public health activities are connected with the structure of federalist system of government based on three levels of authority- national, state and local levels (Novick et al., 2008, p. 70). The examination of the various roles of government in serving public health allows having a good understanding of the usefulness of the structure and purpose of public health at national, state and local levels.Role of Government in Public Health Essay
Analysis of the structure and purpose of public health at national, state, and local levels
Analyzing the structure and function of public health at the various levels, it is necessary to refer to a number of aspects, such as determining the type of structure existing between different levels of government, the function of public health identified at each level of government, as well as the assessment of how the levels of government work together to achieve common goals.
To start with, it is crucial to analyze the type of structure that exists between different levels of government (national, state and local levels). Based on the research findings, the type of relationships can be characterized as coordinate authority. According to experts, this structure suggests that national, state-level and local government agencies are functioning independently as well autonomously (Koliba et al.,2010, p. 141). The website of CDC, the leading national public health institute, provides much information on teen pregnancy in the country, placing emphasis on statistics and the importance of prevention. CDC’s key priority is to ensure reduction of teen pregnancy rate and promotion of health equity among the US youth (CDC, Official Website, 2016). The provided teen pregnancy prevention programs and initiatives are aimed at delivery of youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Specially developed contraceptive action plans are aimed at providing reliable support through health care teams services. The proper knowledge and relevant skills are needed to deliver high quality contraceptive services to adult women and teens, implementing a team-based method. Besides, the website of the US Department of Health and Human Services informs the public about the approaches developed to prevent teen pregnancy: the implementation of the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program and the Pregnancy Assistance Fund Grant program. Teen Pregnancy Prevention Resource Center offers special training courses for the local organizations engaged in prevention of teen pregnancy in the country. It provides E-Learning materials, informative podcasts, brochures, webinars, and training resources.Role of Government in Public Health Essay
In fact, each state has its own approaches to solving the problem of teen pregnancy, while local health agencies work collaboratively with the state and federal health agencies to achieve positive outcomes. For example, Minnesota Department of Health proclaims Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month as one of the initiatives to reduce teen pregnancy rate in the state. Local health agencies provide relevant services to facilitate the process initiated by the state health agency. Besides, state governments support school and community based programs, as well as local organizations which promote teen pregnancy prevention programs, such as Reproductive Health Services, School Based Health Centers, and others. as a matter of fact, these organizations are working collaboratively to combat the high rate of teen pregnancy in the state.
In addition, it is necessary to consider the purpose of public health services identified at each governmental level. The function of public health at all three levels (national, state and local ones) in terms of teen pregnancy prevention is to provide interventions within individual communities. This approach leads to interaction between local community members and public health practitioners. Moreover, this local approach forms the basis for public health functioning in the US. National, state and local health organizations are aimed at facilitating communication among the affected local community members. As a result, teenagers have a chance to receive assistance through coordinated efforts of national, state and local health practitioners. For example, adolescents are provided with relevant training courses at school. At the same time, state and national governments support the initiation of other projects to engage teens and increase their awareness of the negative effects of adolescent age pregnancy (Santelli et al., 2007).Role of Government in Public Health Essay
Finally, the assessment of how the levels of government work together should be made to determine the effectiveness of functioning of public health organizations at the national, state, and local levels. Different levels of government work together cooperatively to solve the emergent public health problem. There is much evidence that the representatives of national, state and local governments have a good understanding of the significance of the problem of teen pregnancy. The developed teen pregnancy strategy is based on the joint actions of the government and relevant health education agencies. According to recent study, in recent decades, the United States of America has had the increased rate of teen pregnancy if we compare it to other developed countries of the world (Santelli et al., 2007, p. 150). Research statistics show that the decline in teen pregnancy rate is significant – about 27%, while childbirth rates dropped to 33% (Santelli et al., 2007, p. 150). Federal government funding, state government administration and local government initiation of services have led to positive results in the implementation of teen pregnancy strategy. There are many types of teen pregnancy-prevention programs and initiatives supported by different levels of government. The most effective are various approaches to the problem of teen pregnancy, such as the promotion of abstinence and the spread of contraception information, contraceptive accessibility, sexuality teaching, school-completion approaches, and training courses (Klein, 2005, p.12). Besides, primary-prevention and secondary-prevention programs are important for the teens, which are at highest risk of becoming pregnant. There are also innovative programs specially developed for males. All in all, different levels of government, namely national, state and local levels, encourage parents, educational institutions, religious organizations, physicians, social agencies, and adolescents to participate teen pregnancy prevention programs. Role of Government in Public Health Essay
Conclusion
Thus, it is necessary to conclude that government plays an important role in public health because government agencies at national level, state level and local level contribute to public health protection. Federal agencies, as well as state and local government agencies support public health protection in different ways, providing financial support, administration and supervision. Teen pregnancy is considered to be an acute public health issue that has multiple immediate and life-long economic and social effects on the youth, their parents and the community. The federal government provides funding for developing effective teen pregnancy prevention approaches through various organizations and programs. State agencies administer the proposed initiatives to assist local organizations in dealing with the identified public health problem. In other words, the structure and function of public health at the three major governmental levels guarantee positive results in solving the problem of teen pregnancy due to collaborative efforts.Role of Government in Public Health Essay