Public Health Campaigns and the Theories that Support Implementation and Practice (Essay Sample)

Public Health Campaigns and the Theories that Support Implementation and Practice
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The Use of Theory
Theory in public health practice helps us in designing effective intervention programs. Designing a program involves three key elements planning, implementing and evaluation. Using an example of a campaign to encourage more women to go for Pap tests, these elements can also be framed as -Why? What? How? I would, therefore, ask these questions in the pre-planning or designing phase. Why are women reluctant to go for these annual tests? What information do I need to implement this campaign? And lastly, how do I fashion a strategy to reach the targeted population, in this case, women in a certain age group? To find out whether an intervention plan or campaign was successful I would evaluate the results using a what question- what should be measured or compared?
To effect change we must use the most appropriate theory and practice. This will enable us to gauge whether our campaign approach is working or not. A theory can act as a source of guidance in the life cycle of a campaign. Additionally, theories help us in identifying the target population, methods of target and the specific outcomes. There are different theories best suited for different groups or individuals. Knowledge of different theories is essential as it helps us to zero in on the best theory to guide our campaign and achieve the best results. Theory helps makes a public health promotion successful as it enables us to get a clear understanding of a situation or behavior, we are also able to formulate a strategic plan and lastly monitor and evaluate the outcomes. In the case of the Pap test campaign, we would use theories that deal with behavioral and environmental components to design the campaign.