Health: Compilation of Term Papers on Health | Humans

Here is a compilation of term papers on ‘Health’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short term papers on ‘Health’ especially written for school and college students.

Contents

Term Paper on Health

Term Paper on Health

Term Paper Contents:

Term Paper on the Meaning of Health
Term Paper on the Importance and Significance of Health
Term Paper on the Factors Affecting Health
Term Paper on the ‘Health for All’
Term Paper on the Health Education
Term Paper on the International Health Work
Term Paper on the International Health Agencies
Term Paper on the Methods of Health Management

1. Term Paper on the Meaning of Health:

Body is made of cells that are in turn made up of carbohydrate, protein, lipids, fats, etc. Although it seems everything is static, the cell is in a dynamic state. Movement occurs inside the cell and for the whole cell, cell repairs and the production of new cells occurs.

Food, which provides energy, is the raw material required for proper functioning of the organs in the body and its quality affect the function of a cell.

World Health Organisation defined health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

Even the organs, which have a cell as its basic unit, conduct specialized functions.

Example:

Lungs help in breathing, the brain thinks and the kidney filters the urine etc. All these activities and organs are interconnected.

“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely an “absence of disease” or “physical fitness”. Health is a state of body when all the organs and systems are functionally properly and a perfect balance is maintained between the environment and the body.”

So health has three dimensions:

(i) Physical health involves perfect functioning of all the organs and systems of body.

(ii) Mental health means a state of harmony and balance between the individual and the surrounding. Individual is free from anxiety and tension.

(iii) Social health means a man having good job, a good house, a happy family, good neighbours and understanding friends.

2. Term Paper on the Importance and Significance of Health:

Good health is one’s real wealth. A healthy person is always cheerful, active, willing worker and energetic. Good health increases one’s efficiency for doing work. This contributes to his own progress, the progress of his family, the progress of his community and the progress of nation as a whole. Good health increases productivity and brings economic prosperity. It also increases longevity of people and reduces infant and maternal mortality.

Significance of Health:

Health always implies the idea of ‘being well’. We can think of this well-being as effective functioning. For our grandmothers, being able to go out to the market or to visit neighbours is ‘being well’, and not being able to do such things is ‘poor health’.

‘Health’ is therefore a state of being well enough to function well physically, mentally and socially. Health indicates efficiency to work, the individual to be happy and social, attend his family and serve his purpose to the society.

3. Term Paper on the Factors Affecting Health:

(i) Personal:

An individual’s health is mostly determined by the food he consumes, his state of mind (happy or sad) and his economic condition. Good food has to be accompanied by a good mental health. A man who is not happy mentally is considered equally sick or unhealthy (physically). Social equality and harmony are therefore necessary for individual health.

We also have to be actively involved in cleanliness, hygiene, sewage, pest control, garbage disposal, treated water, etc., for good health which if ignored can lead to the spread of many diseases.

(ii) Surroundings:

Humans live in a society and thus surroundings play a vital role in the society. The surroundings should be neat, tidy, pollution free, with a constant supply of clean water and food. Physical surroundings decide the social environment.

If there is garbage thrown in our streets, or if there is open drain water lying stagnant around where we live, the possibility of poor health increases. Therefore, public cleanliness is important for individual health.

(iii) Social Equality and Harmony:

Good health allows a man to be active for participating in others joys and sorrows, helping them when in need.

(iv) Personal Hygiene:

The individual should clean himself and his home for better health and avoid fungal and bacterial infection spread.

4. Term Paper on the ‘Health for All’:

Meaning of ‘Health for All’:

In the content of socio-economic and health situation of our people and the status of health system in the country, ‘Health for all by the year 2000 A. D. should include provision of at least a minimum package of health care service to all the segments of the population, giving priority to the under privileged sections of the society.

The package should include:

1. Health education concerning prevailing health problems and the methods of preventing them and controlling them;

2. Activities directed towards the promotion of food supply and the improvement of nutritional status;

3. Provision of protected water supply and sanitary disposal of excreta;

4. Provision of appropriate health care to vulnerable groups of population i.e. children and pregnant women, including family planning;

5. Prevention and control of prevalent endemic communicable diseases by immunisation (EPI target diseases):

(a) Through appropriate measures (Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Goitre and Curable Blindness)

(b) Interruption of transmission of vector- borne diseases (Malaria, Filaria and Kalaazar).

(c) Reduction of diarrhoeal diseases mortality through wide application of oral rehydration therapy and of intestinal parasitic irifestation morbidity through application of appropriate community measures; and

6. Access to essential medical care for all people for common ailments and injuries, including provision of simple drugs.

The Health indicators/targets as given have been finalised by the working Group after detailed deliberations with the concerned experts, and taking into account the exercises made in this connection by the sectional heads in the Ministry.

It is recommended that the country should aim to achieve these to attain the overall objective of Health for all by the Year 2000 A. D. For each State, Union Territory and area these indicators/ targets would have to be further broken up into concrete figures taking relevant data and local condition into consideration.

Objective of ‘Health for All’:

1. Universal provision of promotive, preventive and basic curative services. The preventive and public health aspects shall have to be secured through well-organised programmes of health education, specially in regard to prevailing health problems.

2. Organising special plans to provide health care including family planning to the vulnerable groups i.e. children and pregnant women.

3. Prevention and control of endemic communicable and non-communicable diseases:

(a) Through immunisation (EPI target diseases);

(b) Through appropriate measures (Leprosy, Tuberculosis, Goitre and Curable Blindness);

(d) Reduction of diarrhoeal diseases mortality through application of oral dehydration therapy and of intestinal parasitic infestation morbidity through enforcement of appropriate community measures.

4. Activities directed towards the promotion of food supply and the improvement of nutritional status.

5. Provision of protected water supply and sanitary disposal of excreta.

6. Population education to enable people to appreciate, adopt and consciously practice the small family norm as part of the way of life.

Revised Minimum Needs Programme:

Realising the need to develop a comprehensive national health policy and to create an alternative model of health care service, keeping the objective of Health for All by 2000 A. D in view, the Group felt that the existing health care delivery system should be restructured so as to integrate the promotive, preventive and curative aspects at all levels of primary health care.

Subject to the local topography, density of population, transport systems etc., the following model of health services structure are recommended.

Each State/Union Territory would have to undertake careful exercises to review the available structure and to adopt the recommended model with such local variations as may be required, to adequately meet the local requirements.

District Health Centre with specialised curative services and public health experts that have not been listed are being generated by other sectors and information on these have to be collected from relevant sources for developing an overall perspective of health.

Some examples of these indices are measurement of income, employment, literacy, food production and consumption etc. The indices of health service listed are by no means adequate to provide a functional index of health care system. This would only be possible through sample studies carried out by selected research institutes.

A network of such institutes would provide the resource base for the programme development of a National Health Information system. It would also be necessary to develop minimum indicators of community participation and institutes with expertise in operational research in social sciences should investigate this area immediately.

Finally, ways and means to measure the total financial inputs in providing health care services to the community inclusive of private inputs have to be also explored.

Targets and Phasing of ‘Health for All’:

With the available technology (provided needed resources and political commitment are forthcoming), the highlights of targets that can be achieved by the year 2000 A. D. are:

Strategies and Sub-Strategies of ‘Health for All’:

1. Continuing Political Commitment:

The attainment of the objective of ‘Health for All by the year 2000 A. D. with primary health care as the key approach requires first and foremost the securing of firm continuing political support from the top decision-making levels, if necessary by framing of a constitutional mandate, not merely to a declaration of national health policy (as an integral part of national socio declaration of national health policy and economic development) but also to its translation into a National Action Plan.

2. Community Participation:

Equally important to achieve a breakthrough is the full and effective participation of the community on a continuing basis in all development activities related to ‘Health for All’ objectives at each level, together with mobilisation of community resources.

3. Health Planning Development:

A logical consequence will be the activation, and if needed strengthening, of the existing national health planning mechanism to review and reorient perspective health development plans, both intra-sectoral and inter-sectoral, in the light of ‘Health for all by the year 2000 A. D.’ requirements including identification of overall manpower requirement and its development, the strengthening of infrastructure additional resources required etc.

4. Setting of Cabinet Sub-Committee and Implementation Committees:

Implementation of the plans would be greatly accelerated by the setting up of a Cabinet Sub- Committee on primary health care and also Multi-sectoral Implementation Committee for ‘Health for All’ with adequate community representation at Central, State and District levels with-well defined terms of reference to monitor the progress and ensure inter-sectoral cooperation.

5. Health Service Research:

While enough is already known about the principles of primary health care to improve and expand its implementation immediately, several new problems relating to operation, control and evaluation are bound to emerge as its wide implementation under varying local situation proceeds.

For resolving such problems, it is essential to build into the programme from the outset the element of organised health service research.

Educational and research institutions in close collaboration with the health service organisation would need to develop units and field areas that operate in parallel with the general implementation process to undertake operational studies, and also encourage evaluation and feedback from health service organisation for early identification of problems. Institutes in different parts of the country should be selected on the basis of their demonstrated interest and competence for health-care delivery research.

These are:

i. Rural-Urban and age-sex differentials are needed to measure the impact of rural health service and special services for vulnerable groups.

ii. Minimum number of indicators commensurate with the national plans of action could suffice to begin with provided they incorporate parameters for essential health programmes and services.

iii. Need to gather data through sample surveys on outreach indicators to assess the extension and coverage of services.

iv. Morbidity indicators have limitations for use at present because of paucity of baseline and lack of mechanism for obtaining such data (except to some extent for Malaria and Tuberculosis) and urgent efforts needed to develop such data for important communicable and non-communicable endemic diseases through sample survey techniques.

6. Recommended National Health Indicators:

Considering the limited ability of existing health information system vis-a-vis need to monitor implementation of ‘Health for All’ activities as well as to assess their impact a minimal list of health indicators together with those recommended to be developed through samples studies is given in Annexure II.

This minimal list includes both health impact indices (negative mortality and morbidity and positive indicators) as well as health service indices (of health activities, health resources including facilities), and indicators of physical quality of life.

The indices have been selected because of their direct strong relationship to health. Other indices having significant relationship to health. Participatory approach involving the community intimately in the planning, implementation and maintenance of the health services.

Recommended Guidelines for the Establishment of PHCs and Sub-Centres:

The Group accepted the fact that no patent guidelines would be appropriate or relevant in so far as the establishment of new PHCs/Sub- Centres is concerned as the situation varies not only from State to State but even from PHC to PHC within a district.

However, taking all aspects in view, the Group recommended the following guidelines, for adoption after local modifications, as per actual requirements:

1. The proposed Community Health Centre and the new PHCs may be established by upgrading the existing PHCs and Dispensaries (Allopathic/Traditional Systems of Medicine) respectively, in the rural areas.

2. At present a good number of PHCs are located at Tehsil/Sub-Divisional/Taluka headquarters which also have hospitals. Such PHCs may be shifted to the interior rural areas.

3. Barring cases of indigent patients for whom services and care at all levels of the structure should be totally free of charge, each State/Union Territory should evolve a graded system of payments related to the Socioeconomic levels of the beneficiaries for diagnostic tests, indoor hospital treatment, etc.

These shall be:

For Each Sub-Division/Approximate 5 Lakh Population:

A sub-Divisional Health Centre with epidemiological wing attached to it.

For Each Block/One Lakh Population:

A Community Health Centre with specialised medical care services in Gynae, Paediatrics, Surgery and Medicines (out of the 4 non-specialised doctors, one may be drawn from any of the locally accepted traditional systems of medicine and one should be a public health man). The recommended staffing pattern for the Community Health Centre is given in Annexure III.

For 30,000 population (or 15,000-20,000 in the case of hilly, tribal, sparsely populated or desert areas).

A Primary Health Centre (PHC) fully equipped to render preventive, promotive and curative services.

For 5,000 population (or 2,500 population in the case of hilly, tribal, sparsely populated or desert areas)

One Sub-Centre having one MPW (F), MPW (M) and one part time attendant.

For each village/1000 population (or 500 population in the case of hilly and tribal areas or sparsely populated or desert areas)

One Health Volunteer preferably Female, Ex- Serviceman, School Teacher, Village Vaidya or Village Dai, etc.

The objective should be to adopt the decentralisation.

5. Term Paper on the Health Education:

Definition of Health Education:

i. It is a process which effects changes in the health practices of people and in the knowledge and attitudes related to such changes.

ii. Definition adopted by National Conference on Preventive Medicine in U.S.A.

“Health Education is a process that informs, motivates and helps people to adopt and maintain healthy practices and life-styles, advocates environmental changes as needed to facilitate that goal and conducts professional training and research to the same end.”

Objectives of Health Education:

i. Informing People:

To help to develop the knowledge and skills to undertake the activities which will enable them to help themselves in achieving optimal health.

ii. Motivating People:

To make the people—as individuals and members of groups value health as a community asset.

iii. Guiding into Action:

To help people to understand the nature and purpose of health services and facilities provided for their benefit so that they may be able to make the best use of such services and facilities.

Adoption of New Ideas and Practices:

Convey of –> Awareness –> Interest –> Evaluation message Trial –> Adoption

Content of Health Education:

i. Human Biology

ii. Environmental Hygiene

iii. Hygiene

iv. Family Health Care

v. Control of Communicable Diseases

vi. Mental Health

vii. Prevention of Accidents

viii. Use of Health Services

ix. Nutrition

x. Prevention of non-communicable diseases.

Principles of Health Education:

i. Develop interest about content of education.

ii. Achieve participation from the people.

iii. Make aware people—known to unknown.

iv. Ready programme comprehensive.

v. Reinforcement to be done by repetition.

vi. Create fundamental desire to learn & awakening as motivation.

vii. Follow the rule that ‘I hear, I forget, if I see I remember, if I do I know as learning by doing’.

viii. People to be considered soil, the health facts— the seed, and transmitting media—sower.

ix. Human relations to be made very friendly.

x. Health educator must establish himself as a leader.

Scope and Opportunities for Health Education:

i. Health education in the home.

ii. Health education in school.

iii. Health education in industry.

iv. Health education in hospital and clinics.

v. Health education in the community.

vi. Health education by the family doctor.

Plannings of Health Education:

i. Identification of health problem & barriers.

ii. Analysis of factors influencing changes.

iii. Consideration of Health Programme.

iv. Assessment of apparent Potential Resources.

v. Establishment of the educational objectives.

vi. Development of the detailed plan of operation.

Functions of Health Education:

i. Information:

a. to render scientific knowledge or information to people about health and disease

b. Information—Awareness

c. Realise health needs

d. Demands

ii. Education Education—knowledge:

a. Attitudes—behaviour

iii. Motivation:

a. Power which drives a person to act.

b. Main goal of health communication to motivate person to convert health information into personal behaviour and lifestyle.

Communication of Health Education:

Education is primarily a matter of communication. The health educator must know how to communicate with his audience. The purpose of communication is to transmit information from the person or group of persons to other persons or groups with a view to bring about behavioural changes.

Components of Communication:

i. Communicator.

ii. Message.

iii. Audience.

iv. Channels of communication.

Barriers of Communication:

(A) Environmental Barriers:

i. Noise.

ii. Congestion.

iii. Invisibility.

(B) Cultural Barriers:

i. Levels of knowledge and understanding.

ii. Customs.

iii. Beliefs.

iv. Religion.

v. Attitudes.

(C) Psychological:

i. Neurosis.

ii. Emotional disturbances.

(D) Physiology:

i. Hearing.

ii. Difficulties in hearing.

Health Education Organisation and Administration:

A. At International Level:

(i) World Health Organisation (WHO)

Division of Health Education and Health Promotion—Geneva

(ii) International Union for Health Education—Paris

B. Regional Level:

(i) South East Asia Regional Bureau (SEARB) of International Union for Health Education—Established-1983 at Bangalore (India)

(ii) WHO Regional

Supporting in health education and promotion and develop and test new ideas and tools.

C. National Level:

(i) Central Health Education Bureau— Established 1956 at New Delhi, under Min. of Health and RU, Govt. of India.

(ii) Other official agencies contributing in Health Education

(a) Directorate of Advertising and Visual publicity.

(b) Press Information Bureau

(iii) Voluntary Agencies

—Red Cross Societies.

Evaluation of Health Education:

i. Describing programme to be evaluated in terms of the problems, objectives and activities.

ii. Selecting measures of objectives.

iii. Deciding how and when the measurements will be taken.

iv. Making the measurement as decided above.

v. Determining what proportion of the observed attainments can be ascribed to the educational programme activities.

vi. Comparing actual attainments to intended attainments as given in the predetermined objectives.

6. Term Paper on the International Health Work:

History & Development of International Health:

1851:

First International Sanitary Conference was held at Paris, attended by various European countries e.g. Austria, France, Great Britain, Greece, Portugal and Russia.

1851-1902:

More such conventions took place during this period.

1902:

Pan American Sanitary Organisation (PABO) came into existence.

1924:

Pan American Sanitary Code was passed by 18 American Republics.

1907:

International & Hygiene Publique of Paris office (OJHP) was created.

1923:

Health Organisation of the League of Nations was formed.

1943:

The United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) was set up with the general purpose of organizing recovery from the effects of Second World War (1939-1945).

1946:

UNRRA terminated its official existence and its health activities and financial assets were taken over by the Interim Commission of the WHO.

1948:

BIRTHDAY OF W. H. O.

(7th April)

1946:

Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere established.

1950:

Colombo Plan was drawn by a meeting of Foreign Ministers at Colombo.

1945:

Food and Agricultural Organisation (FRO) was formed.

1961:

USAID was created.

Types of International Health Work:

1. Control of epidemics and communicable diseases affecting more than one country.

2. International exchange of medical and health information and experience.

3. International standardisation of:

(a) Biological preparation

(b) Vital statistics and disease nomenclature

4. Coordination and assistance to research on specific problems common to many countries.

5. Help to backward countries—including epidemic control, administrative medical planning and training of health staff.

6. International control of drug, addiction — opium, cocaine and heroin.

7. Supply of technical and material assistance to carry out specific health projects of National or International importance like control and eradication of communicable diseases, manufacture of biological drugs and instruments of specific health services.

7. Term Paper on the International Health Agencies:

A. Organs under the United Nations:

1. World Health Organisation (WHO)

2. United Nations International Children Fund (UNICEF)

3. Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

4. International Labour Organisation (ILO)

5. United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

B. Other Governmental Agencies:

1. Colombo Plan (CP)

2. Technical Cooperation Mission (TEM)

3. United States Agencies for International Development (USAID)

4. Public Law 80 (Food for Peace)

5. Russian Aid

6. Norwegian Aid

7. Others.

C. International Voluntary Health Agencies:

1. Rockefeller Foundation

2. Food Foundation

3. Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE)

4. International Red Cross.

8. Term Paper on the Methods of Health Management:

1. Health Economics Analysis:

i. Cost Effectiveness Analysis:

Cost effectiveness is analysed in terms of results achieved. Under this analysis the result in terms of money, is not expressed. As per goals and objectives output is given the effective information e.g. by implementing the programme how many lives could be saved, or number of days could be made free from disease.

ii. Cost Benefit Analysis:

This technique in any programme is very impressive—it informs monetary benefits of programme directly in the forms of money. Monetary benefit of the programme is compared with-cost of the programme, and the programme which is feasible and most economic is chosen.

Main bottle-necks of this analysis are that most health programmes are assessed in the form of lives saved and reduction of morbidity—therefore this analysis is not more applicable in the field of health.

iii. Cost Accounting:

Cost accounting is the book-keeping of money invested in a programme. Records are maintained to enable the information regarding the financial investment in the programme.

Management Process:

It has three purposes:

(i) Allocation of people and financial resources

(ii) Cost control

(iii) Cost reimbursement.

iv. Input-Output analysis:

It is useful economic analysis of health field. Inputs includes all health activities which consume resources in the forms of money, material, manpower and time. Outputs are considered in the forms of lives saved, morbidity reduced, vaccination performed, sterilisation done and children benefited by supplementation of nutrition.

2. Network Analysis:

(i) Critical Path Method (CPM):

To implement a programme a network of graphic plan with all events and activities are drawn to fulfill the objective. The longest pathway of this programme is known as critical path. If any step of CRITICAL PATH is delayed the entire programme will be delayed.

(ii) Programme Evaluation and Review Technique (Part):

It is an essential technique of management. It is formulated about more detailed planning of project recording to objectives and comprehensive supervision. Diagrammatic representations show various steps involved in the programme directed by arrows. These steps are arranged in possible sequence. This technique gives clear information about time required.

Organisation:

The pattern of responsibility and accountability as defined by the terms of reference and powers of the various health agencies and of division and departments within these agencies. The term is sometimes used exclusively to refer to relatively permanent hierarchical forms of organisation but other patterns are becoming common—such as organisation consisting to transient project terms so closed “Matrix” forms of organisation.

Structure:

This term refers to pattern of facilities and operational units forming a health system. This may be described both in physical terms and in the terms of the services that the operational units provide. The facilities forming the structure of health services need not—and in many cases do not—belong to the same agency. For example, voluntary social services may be an important element of the total scheme.

Functioning:

This term refers to the detailed working of the operational units forming a Health Care System and of working relationship that exists between the units e.g. for the referral of patients from one to another.

Overcoming Shortages of Management Resources:

Inhibiting Factors:

Difficulties of formulation of precise objectives and measures of ‘output’ have been identified as one of the factors that inhibit adoption of modern management methods, e.g.

i. The training of ‘health profession’ is based on medical technology rather than on the management of large systems.

ii. Health services do not appear as attractive to general management talent—as other industries.

iii. ‘Management technologists (system, analysis, operational research scientists, work-shed engineers, computer specialists etc.) In most cases may come from non- health strata and dealing to health problems.

iv. Exaggerated expectation, the belief that ‘research’ will solve those problems that are basically concerned with values, and the formulation of problems too suit the available techniques so that the needs of management—can all lead to disappointment.

3. Planning Programming and Budgeting System (PPBS):

It is very useful method to policy makers and administrators for the allocation of resources are find from available resources. It is usually advisable to implement new programme with existing organisation.

To minimise the budget, new programme is started through the existing organisation without paying additional incentives. Such approach is known as Zero Budget Approach e.g. Involvement of Medical College under Universal Immunisation Programme without providing additional Staff and budget.