Public Health Management Discussion
Community health assessment processes have two types of data (primary and secondary research data). It is important to use valid secondary resources (peer reviewed) to make estimates. Peer reviewed secondary sources are the best secondary research sources because they have been assessed and authenticated by reputable authors, researchers, and scholars. Secondary resources include books and government publications. Some of the websites from which a scholar can access secondary resources include CINAHL (a nursing journal database), JSTOR (a secondary research database with publications from different fields), and Google Scholar (a peer reviewed journal database).Public Health Management Discussion
Question Two
The three health indicators of interest in the state of California are substance abuse, chronic disease, and life expectancy. The key informant of health status indicators is the director of the California department of health care services. In regards to the substance abuse indicator, I would ask the director about the state of rehabilitation centers and their proficiency in reducing drug abuse. Also, I would inquire from the informant the efforts that the state is taking to prevent easy access to illegal substances. If I were conducting a focus group to discuss the prevalence of diabetes as a health status indicator, I would ask about the quality of treatment among modern hospitals and the level of governmental support towards fighting diabetes.Public Health Management Discussion
Question Three
According to Fallon and Zgodzinsky (2012), health status indicators are important because they allow the health care sector to plan, advocate for, and formulate strategies using the available resources to improve health care. Health status indicators are quantifiable data concerning different health aspects (Burke & Friedman, 2011). Therefore, the government can measure the outcome of various plans and advocacy actions when improving health care using the health status indicators as basis for decision-making.Public Health Management Discussion