Community Psychology

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Public health approaches distinguishes the role played by outside factors that influence individuals and their immediate health system. The established programs, policies and services that are trying to create supportive health within a wide range of social and economic contexts seek to empower many to exercise control over their own health and improve the ability to work together within their profession. For example health promoting schools collaborate together to protect the health of students through a supportive school environment, these programs include Mind Matters which looks at the mental health and wellbeing of young people. Overall this positively influences young people as it promotes for a supportive health environment as it advocates so a broad range of people for all different areas of life although similar to the Lifestyle and behavioural approaches it allows for individuals

Public health as it is implicated in the lives of the community – it is important to conceptualise what this might mean. Moreover, public health has seen as a multidiscipline perspective in which it can be defined on many levels, and I find that it could be elusive to understand its meaning. By simple understanding of public health, I refer to an approach derived by Winslow (1920) and Baggott (2000).

Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" (1920, C.E.A. Winslow). This therefore infers public health is the preventing and controlling of disease within communities, to prolong life and promote health through organised society. The keys aspects of public health …

Community health is the process or characteristics that allow a community’s population and economy to survive. Community health is defined as the meeting of collective needs through identification of problems and

This report will be investigating the various sociological perspectives on health as well as the models and definitions of health and ill health. These topics will assist in the understanding of how different people and different cultures react to ill health.

The definition of health and illness varies across societies due to their differing cultural, social and ethnic beliefs. The description associated with health and illness has been socially constructed so that the view of a medical profession is the most accurate. There is a general conception to think of health habits such as exercise and consuming a healthy diet when the terms health and illness are mentioned. However it is thought that the conditions that determine health changes are heavily based on one’s social conditions as it is seen that diseases occur in patterns. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) “health is a complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity.” Social

Girrawheen, within the City of Wanneroo, is an area of concentrated and significant socioeconomic disadvantage and the health and wellbeing of the population is dependent upon the ever-wider influences of the entire community. From this, we can see how activities forwarded by the local government can contribute to improving the outcomes against social determinants of health and have a positive impact on the overall health of

In the whole of the United States, the Public Health System comprises of the National, State and community, often referred to as Local agencies (Slover, 2005). As opposed to Medical Care, Public Health focuses on the promotion of health in the community. It, further, promotes and enhances prevention of diseases and injuries to the community members. As such, the primary goal of the Public Health System lies in the promotion and protection of health in the local community (Slover, 2005).

Public health is the science and structures intended to form communal, statewide and countrywide environments that encourage health, prevent illness and boost healthy activities across the whole inhabitants. Good health outcomes not only from appropriate healthcare but also from determinations to expertise and implement public strategies and programs to guard and advance the well-being of all people. Examples of public health struggles include teaching the community about better choices, avoiding disease epidemics and the spread of communicable diseases, safeguarding safe nutrition and water in populations, preparing for disaster, avoiding injury, and much more. Representatives have policy choices at their disposal that can encourage healthy activities and change circumstances whether social, financial, and ecological to increase the health of the entire inhabitants.

The principles and theories of Social Psychology are important and useful in assessing behaviors in situations. These social psychological principles and their applications can be seen in fictional films which can also be attributed to everyday life. One such film that holds certain social psychological perspectives is Will Gluck’s 2010 production of Easy A. A film about high school student Olive Penderghast and how a sudden change in popularity and financial status, after an unintentional rumor about how she supposedly lost her virginity to a college guy spread through the entire her school. The film draws on the behavioral connections of pronounced hussy Olive Penderghast and her English class’s assigned reading of The Scarlet Letter.

Health is a complex concept, and global health adds to this complexity. When I think of health as a concept, I view it as being absent of disease. This understanding is a very biomedical approach to health and is a very narrow viewpoint of health. According to the World Health Organization (1948), health is defined as a “state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (a cited by Jacobsen p. 2). This definition does give a better understanding of what health is from a broader perspective. At the University of Victoria’s Global Health class, I have become to understand better the WHO’s definition and that it is linked to the social determinants of health. In this paper, I will reflect and analyze the learning that occurred for myself while taking the Global Health class, and how this knowledge has helped my nursing practice evolve at the local and international level.

This essay will explain how contemporary issues in mental health influence people’s social wellbeing. Mental health is a fundamental element of resilience, health assets, capabilities and positive adaption that enable individuals to cope with both adversity and to reach their full potential and humanity. The impact on inequalities of health and other outcomes are sourced from mental health. For example, chronic stress of struggling with material disadvantage is intensified to a very considerable degree by doing so in more unequal societies.

Sociology and psychology is the study of the mind and the environment around us which makes us who we are. These theories assist us to understand behaviour from individual and societal levels.

Public health is a huge umbrella term that represent population and within that population is a community. Its primary focus is on population and prevention of diseases and creating healthy communities nationally. It incorporates social, physical, and cultural environments to assist people and their communities (Public Health and Medicine, 2016).