Essay Sample on Partnering with Alabama Public Health Districts: Health & Community Benefits

Introduction

One of the potential public partners that may benefit from my SPP is the State of Alabama Public Health Districts. Each of the county health departments in the State of Alabama is tasked with preserving, protecting, and enhancing the overall health of the community through three key strategies (Alabama Department of Public Health, 2019). First, the health departments provide health assessment information to the community (Alabama Department of Public Health, 2019). Second, these departments offer leadership in policies related to public health. Lastly, they foster access to high-quality health services and information, helps in the prevention of diseases, and ensure that health-related regulations are followed (Alabama Department of Public Health, 2019). On the other hand, one of the possible private partners that may benefit from my SPP is non-governmental organizations working to promote public health in the State of Alabama.

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Reasons for Choosing the Partners and Benefits

Various benefits are attributable to forming a partnership with the State of Alabama Public Health Districts. First, these health departments will provide the data and information related to childhood obesity in the State of Alabama- which will aid in understanding the severity of the health problem across communities. Additionally, the identification of the community with childhood obesity will assist in the prioritization of efforts aimed at addressing it. It is more beneficial to implement the program at a community with a high prevalence of childhood obesity. Recent statistics show that the highest incidence of obesity (42.3%) in the State of Alabama is found in Marengo County (Alabama Public Health, 2016). On the other hand, the lowest is Morgan County, with a prevalence of 30.6% (Alabama Public Health, 2016).

Even though the prevalence of childhood obesity is high across all the counties that make the State of Alabama, it will be essential to seek information regarding the most affected ethnic group from the public health districts. The latest data shows that the prevalence of obesity for children aged between 2 and 19 years is about 17% (Alabama Department of Public Health, 2019). However, it would be more useful to understand the differences in prevalence across ethnic groups and socioeconomic status. The information, which can be obtained from the Alabama Department of Public Health, will help direct efforts at communities at high risk of developing the condition and those with the highest prevalence so far.

Forming a partnership with non-governmental organizations that address public health issues in the State of Alabama is also beneficial in various ways. First, such connections are useful in sharing vital information related to the condition (HSC PDHPE, 2015). Some of the information that the proposed health program may obtain following a partnership with non-governmental organizations include connections, funding, and research findings related to valid strategies of addressing the problem of childhood obesity (HSC PDHPE, 2015). Through such information, the proposed program will be more efficient in promoting health interventions aimed at reversing the growing problem of childhood obesity.

Hushie (2016) has also emphasized that partnership with non-governmental organizations is valuable because of their in-depth knowledge, skills, ability to mobilize community members, the capacity to empower, and their success stories regarding mobilization of funds. Therefore, the proposed program will learn from other non-governmental organizations on how to attract external donor funding to address the problem of childhood obesity (Kovacs, 2018). Lastly, Olivier et al. (2016) established that partnership between non-governmental organizations and researchers allows the former to validate their practice and enhance the empirical evidence of their work through publication of findings in peer-reviewed journals.

Two Strategies for Fostering Partnerships

One of the strategies that can be used to foster partnership is ensuring that there is a shared vision between two potential partners (CDC, 2018). The CDC (2018) further emphasizes that even though one may identify many potential partners in the community, it is essential only to select those whose goals match that of one's health program. To determine a partner whose goals are aligned with my proposed program, I will review their websites and social media profiles. In this case, it is crucial to check how the probable partners may offer the proposed program and what the program may offer to them. Another way through which partnership can be fostered is by developing a plan with clear expectations and common values (CDC, 2018).

Benefits and Limitations of Advocacy

One of the benefits associated with advocacy is improved service delivery (Department of Health, n.d.). This is because it provides room for different stakeholders from diverse professional backgrounds to work together to achieve the program's goals. In my program, parents, teachers, and community health workers will work as a team to promote physical exercise in children. Second, health advocacy has been reported to lead to efficient resourcing (Department of Health, n.d.). This is because of the improved mobilization of resources towards the accomplishment of a shared goal. On the other hand, one of the challenges of advocacy is professional boundaries (Soklaridis et al., 2018). Some health advocates have been found to have personal and professional discomfort with being labeled health advocates (Soklaridis et al., 2018).

References

Alabama Department of Public Health. (2019). Health departments. http://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/about/health-departments.html

Alabama Department of Public Health. (2020). Childhood obesity. https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/obesity/childhood-obesity.html

Alabama Public Health. (2016). 2016 Obesity Map of Alabama by Public Health Areas. https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/obesity/assets/obesitymap2016.pdf

CDC. (2018). Strategies for successful partnerships to enhance workplace health programs. https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/initiatives/resource-center/case-studies/successful-partnership-strategies.html

Department of Health. (n.d.). Partnerships. https://www.dhhs.tas.gov.au/wihpw/principles/partnerships

HSC PDHPE. (2015). The benefits of partnerships in health promotion. https://www.pdhpe.net/health-priorities-in-australia/what-actions-are-needed-to-address-australias-health-priorities/health-promotion-based-on-the-five-action-areas-of-the-ottawa-charter/the-benefits-of-partnerships-in-health-promotion/

Hushie, M. (2016). Public-non-governmental organisation partnerships for health: An exploratory study with case studies from recent Ghanaian experience. BMC Public Health, 16(1), 963. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-3636-2

Kovacs, B. A. (2018). Peace infrastructures and state-building at the margins. Springer.

Olivier, C., Hunt, M. R., & Ridde, V. (2016). NGO-researcher partnerships in global health research: Benefits, challenges, and approaches that promote success. Development in Practice, 26(4), 444-455. https://doi.org/10.1080/09614524.2016.1164122

Soklaridis, S., Bernard, C., Ferguson, G., Andermann, L., Fefergrad, M., Fung, K., Iglar, K., Johnson, A., Paton, M., & Whitehead, C. (2018). Understanding health advocacy in family medicine and psychiatry curricula and practice: A qualitative study. PLOS ONE, 13(5), e0197590. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0197590