Running Head: FINDINGS USED TO MAKE PUBLIC HEALTH PLANNING AND POLICY DECISIONS 5 Findings Used to Make Public Health Planning and Policy Decisions Unit 4 - HA560 March 28, 2016 There has been increased concern among policy makers, scientists and communities that health is greatly affected by a number of factors that occur in a person’s lifetime and in multi levels. Prevention is sententious to curb occurrence of any disease within the population, and it has to come first even if access to quality healthcare services is provided. To adequately promote health and prevent diseases, certain policies and factors need to be addressed mostly factors that are related to health behaviors. Social psychology is all about understanding individuals’ behavior specifically in a social setting. Basically, social psychology focuses on factors that influence people to behave in certain ways in presence of others. The two greatest contributors in the field of social psychology were Allport (1920) and Bandura (1963). To begin with, according to Allport; he argued that the interaction of individuals with others or the presence of social groups can encourage the development of certain behaviors (Kassin, 2014). This is what Allport referred to as social facilitation, in his research he identified that an audience will facilitate the performance of an actor in a well learnt and understood task; however the performance of the same actor will decrease in performance on difficult tasks which are newly learnt, and this is contributed by social inhibition. The second contributor in the field of social psychology is Bandura (1963), in his work he developed a notion that behavior in the social world could be possibly modeled, and this is what he referred to as social learning theory. He gave his explanation with three groups of children who were watching a video where in the video an adult showed aggressiveness towards a “bobo doll” and the adults who displayed such behavior were awarded by another adult or were just punished. Therefore Bandura found that children who saw the adult being rewarded were found to be more likely to imitate that adult’s behavior. Certain theories plays important roles in health assessment, and a theory is defined as a collection of concepts in specific area of concern or interest in the world that need explanations, intervening and prediction. Theories need to be backed up with evidence that tend to explain why things will happen in relation to current situations, and followed with some actions to turn situations in certain desirable ways. Health assessment can be defined as a plan of care that recognizes specific person’s health needs and how such needs will be addressed by healthcare system or any other health institutions (Jarvis, 2008). Generally, health assessment is the evaluation of health status through examination of physical and psychological concerns after looking at the health history of the victim assess ...

1. Running Head: FINDINGS USED TO MAKE PUBLIC HEALTH
PLANNING AND POLICY DECISIONS 5
Findings Used to Make Public Health Planning and Policy
Decisions
Unit 4 - HA560
March 28, 2016
There has been increased concern among policy makers,
scientists and communities that health is greatly affected by a
number of factors that occur in a person’s lifetime and in multi
levels. Prevention is sententious to curb occurrence of any
disease within the population, and it has to come first even if
access to quality healthcare services is provided. To adequately
promote health and prevent diseases, certain policies and factors
need to be addressed mostly factors that are related to health
behaviors.
Social psychology is all about understanding individuals’
behavior specifically in a social setting. Basically, social
psychology focuses on factors that influence people to behave
in certain ways in presence of others. The two greatest
contributors in the field of social psychology were Allport
(1920) and Bandura (1963). To begin with, according to

2. Allport; he argued that the interaction of individuals with others
or the presence of social groups can encourage the development
of certain behaviors (Kassin, 2014). This is what Allport
referred to as social facilitation, in his research he identified
that an audience will facilitate the performance of an actor in a
well learnt and understood task; however the performance of the
same actor will decrease in performance on difficult tasks which
are newly learnt, and this is contributed by social inhibition.
The second contributor in the field of social psychology is
Bandura (1963), in his work he developed a notion that behavior
in the social world could be possibly modeled, and this is what
he referred to as social learning theory. He gave his explanation
with three groups of children who were watching a video where
in the video an adult showed aggressiveness towards a “bobo
doll” and the adults who displayed such behavior were awarded
by another adult or were just punished. Therefore Bandura
found that children who saw the adult being rewarded were
found to be more likely to imitate that adult’s behavior.
Certain theories plays important roles in health
assessment, and a theory is defined as a collection of concepts
in specific area of concern or interest in the world that need
explanations, intervening and prediction. Theories need to be
backed up with evidence that tend to explain why things will
happen in relation to current situations, and followed with some
actions to turn situations in certain desirable ways. Health
assessment can be defined as a plan of care that recognizes
specific person’s health needs and how such needs will be
addressed by healthcare system or any other health institutions
(Jarvis, 2008). Generally, health assessment is the evaluation of
health status through examination of physical and psychological
concerns after looking at the health history of the victim
assessed. The main purpose of health assessment is early
detection of diseases on individuals who might seem to be well.
Theories can be applied during health assessment to explain
why individuals display certain behaviors or why some people

3. are likely to develop certain illness. Physicians also use general
theoretical concepts to prescribe the right course of treatments
for their patents. Theories such as social learning theories and
health belief models plays a great role in health assessment, the
two theories together with self- efficacy and locus control have
both been applied to explain, predict and influence behaviors.
Theories can also help in shaping advocacy and public policy,
advocacy is the act of influencing public policy and practices
and it entails a point of view or a taken action to influence.
Theory of change has been widely used to advocate for change
in public policies, this theory is defined as a specific type of
methodology used in planning, participation, and evaluating
what is actually used in philanthropy not for profit gains or
government sectors but to bring about change. Therefore theory
of change can be applied to advocate for changes in undesirable
public health policies and substitute them with policies which
are desirable.
Collection of empirical data is essential in science. Basically,
scientific methods entail observing a phenomenon and coming
up with an idea of what is observed and finally testing the idea
to determine whether it is correct. In addition, the results of the
test have to be recorded, analyzed and conclusion written.
Therefore the result from the experiment which has been found
to be true is the empirical data, empirical means that the
information is based on experience. In general, empirical data is
the information is the information gathered by scientists
through observations and experiments (Holcomb, 2007).
Empirical data will actually lead to empirical evidence once the
research is tested and concluded, therefore empirical evidence
can be used in community health assessment. The empirical
evidence can be used to determine community health needs and
possible solutions to address these needs, in most cases there
are no standard procedures for conducting community health
assessment, however, the best proposed practices are like
application of empirical evidence. Once empirical data is
collected within the community and proved, the data can be

4. used as evidence to determine the policy weakness areas in
planning and policy. Evidences obtained from community
practices, programs and policies is used to suggest potential
policy impacts, the data can be used to plan for the community
in terms of their health needs and change or modify policies
which are unfavorable for the community
1. Name of your county and state.
Miami, Florida
2. Population of your county with racial and gender breakdowns
Population estimates, July 1, 2015, (V2015) – 321, 418, 820
Female persons, percent, July 1, 2014, (V2014) – N/A 50.8%
Female persons, percent, April 1, 2010 – 50.2%
50.8%
White alone, percent, July 1, 2014, (V2014) (a)
77.4%
Black or African American alone, percent, July 1, 2014,
(V2014) 13.2%
American Indian and Alaska native alone, percent, July 1, 2014
12.2%
Asian alone, percent, July 1, 2014(V2014) a
5.4%
Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander alone, percent, July
1 2014 0.2%
Hispanic or Latino, percent, July 1 2014, (V2014) (b)
17.4%
3. Number of senior citizens
Persons 65 years and over, percent July 1, 2014, (V2014)
14.4%
Persons 65 years and over, percent, April 1, 2010
13.0%
4. Number of disabled individuals
With a disability, under age 65 years, percent, April 1, 2010
7.6%
With a disability, under age 65 years, percent, July 1, 2014
8.5%
5. Number of children

5. Persons under 5 years, percent, July 1, 2014, (V2014)
6.2%
Persons under 18 years, percent, July 1, 2014, (V2014)
23.1%
The chosen population is senior citizens above 65 years of
age, people in this age bracket are referred to as the ageing
population. This group of people is faced with a number of
health concerns which interferes with their smooth daily
lifestyle, the two most common health problems faced with the
ageing population in my county are heart disease and cancer.
According to U.S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), the leading cause of death of adults over the age of 65 is
heart diseases. For instance, in 2013 heart diseases claimed 488,
156 lives. In Florida Miami, as a chronic condition, a heart
disease affects more men compared to women in the 65 age
bracket. Heart diseases affect 37% of men and 26% of women.
As these people age, they have increased risk factors such as
high blood pressure and high level of cholesterol which exposes
them to developing a heart disease. The second area of health
concern among the ageing population in my county is Cancer; it
is the second cause of death among people of 65 years of age
and above. For example in 2013, 407, 558 individuals lost their
lives of cancer. According to U.S CDC, 28 percent of men and
21 percent of women 65 years and above are cancer patients.
I selected the risk assessment of lung cancer, from the
assessment I was able to make the following findings; the
assessment starts with the definition of cancer as a group of
diseases that have in common uncontrolled cell growth and
collection of these cells is known as tumor. Secondly, the
assessment talks about the cause of cancer; it concludes that
several researches have been conducted and till date there is no
specific known cause of cancer but what is known are the risk
factors. These risk factors are anything that increases ones’
chance of developing cancer and not all of them can be
controlled except environmental, family history and genetics
factors. What about screening? It is basically a test conducted to

6. detect cancer at an early treatable stage. Screening discovers
tumor before it comes malignant. After taking the health risk
assessment of developing lung cancer from the website, I can
conclude that my risk for developing lung cancer is minimal;
this is because of the desirable behavior I display free of
smoking, by all means I tend to avoid exposure as a passive
smoker, I have never been exposed to asbestos and other
carcinogens. In addition, not any members of my family have
ever had lung cancer before and therefore I am less likely to
develop lung cancer. In my recommendation to maintain my
health status and avoid lung cancer; I will basically avoid risk
factors such as smoking, avoidance of second hand smoking,
test my home for radon, avoidance of carcinogen (Jarvis, 2008)
at all cost and finally eating a well-balanced diet full of
proteins and vegetables.
References
htTop of Form
Holcomb, Z. C. (2007). Real data: A statistics workbook based
on empirical data. Los Angeles, CA: Pyrczak Pub.
Bottom of Form
tp://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/AGE775214/1245000,00
(Accessed on, 27 March 2016 11: 50 Am)
Top of Form
Jarvis, C. (2008). Physical examination & health assessment. St.
Louis, Mo: Saunders Elsevier.

7. Top of Form
Kassin, S. M., Fein, S., & Markus, H. R. (2014). Social
psychology. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
Bottom of Form
Bottom of Form
http://christianhospital.privatehealthnews.com/phn_new/client/b
vha/html/assessment.asp?id=650
COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENT
COMMUNITY HEALTH ASSESSMENT 8
Arthritis – The Leading Cause of Disabilities
Unit 6 - HA560
April 12, 2016
The Ultimate Desired Result
The Los Angeles County main goal as a community is to
have economic and social development. This will only be

8. achieved through elimination of major health issues in the
county such as arthritis. The disease is not only costly but also
disables the most energetic workforce in the county. This has
proven to be a major setback in terms of development in the
county. The community expects reduction of homelessness due
to luck of capital to cater for house mortgages in the county.
The community also expects the county to direct its funds
towards cultural and recreational opportunities instead of
allocating a lot of budget towards the health sector.
Identifying the Issue
Arthritis is currently the major cause of disability in the
United States, affecting over 43 million of the U.S. adults. The
estimated total cost associated directly with Arthritis is said to
be $51 billion for medical cover and $35 billion incurred
indirectly such as lost productivity. According to a survey
conducted by the Los Angeles County Health Survey (LACHS),
over 1.3 million adults are diagnosed with arthritis every year.
The cases of arthritis were also very high in woman than men.
The prevalence was lowest among Asians at 12%, Latinos
(19%), whites (21%) and African Americans (29%). As the
population increases, the number of people with arthritis as well
as the expected costs are expected to increase (Trevor, 2015).
Arthritis poses a great burden in the society not just
because of its large economic impact and high prevalence, but
also because of the limitations and the pain it causes in both
social and physical functioning. Nationally, over 16 million
people have reported being limited in their daily functioning
due to the illness. Almost a third of the working arthritis adults
have reported some limitations in their work. Although the
prevalence of the disease in Los Angeles (20%) is similar to the
national one (21%), the proportion of adults who reported
discomfort in LA County was at 50% high compared to the 38%
in the national level. The rate of activity limitation differed by
race where 64% African Americans reported arthritis related
limitations in their activities, compared to Asians at 43%,
Whites 46% and Latinos at 48% (Trevor, 2015).

9. Arthritic people have also been reported to have a worse
quality of life compared to people that do not have the illness.
Report from a survey conducted in 2005 showed that adults who
had arthritis had unhealthy days, and even worse where their
days were limited by mental or physical health compared to
adults who did not have arthritis. Arthritic adults were also
likely to see their health as getting worse compared to those
that did not have arthritis, where 40% reported that their health
was poor or fair compared to 16% of adults who never had
arthritis and just 16% without the disease. The self-perceived
health status varied by ethnicity and race where African
Americans were more likely to say their health was poor
compared to other races such as Whites (Trevor, 2015).
Arthritis comes in many forms; most of the diseases affect
the tissues that surround joints or the joints themselves. The
most common forms of arthritis include, gout, osteoarthritis,
fibromyalgia and rheumatoid. The most dangerous forms of it
such as systemic lupus erythematosus can affect several organs.
Although arthritis prevalence increases with age, the disease
affects people of all ages including children. In addition to non-
changeable risks factors like gender, age and genetics, an
individual’s risk of getting arthritis increases with being
overweight. The risk has also been said to increase in people
that have joint infection or injury and in some cases being
involved in tasks that involve repetitive motions that stress the
joints. Being overweight is also associated with both
progression and development of arthritis and particularly
osteoarthritis. A research conducted by LACHS indicated that
arthritis increased with the body mass index, from 12% among
the underweight to 25% among the obese people.
Implementation
Many people do not understand that arthritis is not part of
aging and that it can be eliminated. Avoiding joint injuries,
maintaining a healthy weight, early treatment or prevention of
infectious diseases can actually prevent the development of the
illness. Once arthritis has occurred, early treatment and

10. diagnosis for preventing the disabilities that are usually
associated with the illness and reducing the need to replace the
joints is important. Self management activities like involving
yourself in regular exercises and maintaining healthy weights
are important in the prevention of arthritis progression. This has
previously indicated positive results such as improved function,
delay disability and a decrease in pain. All these interventions
can help arthritic people to maintain a high quality and
independent life but are rarely utilized (Trevor, 2015).
The Arthritis Foundation offers a 6-week self help course
that educates people on how they can manage their arthritis.
People who managed to complete the course are found to be in
lesser pain, fewer visit to the doctors and improved function.
Another important thing that arthritic people can take is to
involve themselves in frequent activities. Both aerobic and
strength training have been found to be very significant to
people suffering from the illness, where by pain has been found
to improve physical functioning and delay disabilities. Elderly
adults with arthritis and have not been doing exercises were
found to experience more decline as opposed to those who did.
In addition to this, engaging in physical activities also helps to
prevent obesity and also lowers the chances of developing other
medical conditions that are associated with inactivity such as
diabetes and heart diseases (Henry, 2010).
There are several self management habits that can help the
patient to manage the disease successfully. First, there is a need
to be more organized in terms of keeping track of pain levels,
symptoms, possible side effects and medications. To manage the
pain as well as fatigue, medication can always be used together
with a non-medical pain management. The patient is also
advised to balance the amount of activity with some rest. As
much as being active is advised, rest is important especially
when the disease is active.
As we are all aware, the origin of most of these illnesses is
diet, a healthy diet is key towards achieving a healthy weight
and regulation of inflammation through consumption of foods

11. that have high antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties.
Lack of sleep is said to aggravate arthritis fatigue and pain,
there are various measures that can be put into place to ensure
that you get some sleep and stay asleep such as avoiding
caffeine and strenuous exercises in the evenings. To protect
your joints, it is advisable to use the strongest and larger joints
as levels whenever you are opening doors, using a number of
joints to spread the weight of an object (Henry, 2010).
To overcome some of the arthritis therapies, doctors have
suggested a number of physical therapies to help in overcoming
the symptoms. They include warm water therapy – doing
exercises in a pool of warm water. Basically, less weight is put
on the joints and muscles because the weight is supported by the
water. It is not easy to live with arthritis and carrying out a few
tasks can be difficult and painful. However, there are several
things that can be done with the doctor to ensure a better quality
life.
Whether your arthritis is inflammatory or non-
inflammatory or even the painful gout, there are various forms
of recommendations and medications to ensure that your joints
never become much damaged (Elias, 2011). When it comes to
treating arthritis, the focus is always on the reduction of the
pain, maintaining of quality life and improvement of
functioning. According to the American College of
Rheumatology, the treatment for arthritis includes medications,
splits or joint assistive aids; non-pharmacological therapies;
weight loss; physical or occupational therapy; patient education
and support and surgery.
When it comes to medication, non-inflammatory types of
arthritis like osteoarthritis are normally treated with physical
activities, pain mediations, self-management education and
weight loss in cases where the individual is overweight. The
inflammatory types of arthritis such as RA can also be treated
with these methods together with anti-inflammatory
medications, anti-rheumatic drugs and a new class of drugs
known as biologics. The medications used in treating arthritis

12. depend on the type of arthritis (Elias, 2011).
Arthritis has many negative impacts on human life and
sexuality is one of them. Sexuality is associated with our self-
identity and quality of life (Henry, 2010). And yet living in
stiffness, pain, limited movement, fatigue and other issues
associated with arthritis can reduce our sexual enjoyment and
expression. With such an effect and others like financial
constraints, it is evident that arthritis is a major set back in the
society. The methods used in the treatment of the illness can be
very helpful planning for community health interventions. On
the other hand, data such as the number of people suffering
from arthritis and amount of money used in medication can be
used in public policy planning.
Assumptions made from the Health
Assessment
There were several assumptions that were made during the
preparation of this health assessment. One of the assumptions
made is that the arthritis issue was caused by the community
behavior in general. Another assumption is that the disease is
also caused by their lifestyles. There are some lifestyles that put
people at various health risks. One example of health risk that
has been assumed to be the cause of the illness is luck of
exercises, too much stress and a diet full of saturated fats and
high calories.
Important Planning Interventions
Information
In the assessment above, there are several implementation
steps that could be useful for community planning interventions.
The information on prevention could be very useful for the
community planning. The community could be urged to
maintain a good weight, avoid joint injuries and prevention of
infectious diseases that could lead to development of the illness.
The community could therefore be urged to engage regular
exercises.
Important Information for Public Policy

13. Planning
Public policy is important for the disease prevention in
general. In the first phase of the assessment, several statistical
data were used to indicate the depth of the issue. For instance,
the high costs of medication used in the process of preventing
the illness could be used in budgetary allocation to the health
sector. The prevalence of the illness could also be used in the
process of preventing the illness in the various quarters.
Reference List
Trevor, T., 2015, Arthritis: Causes, Symptoms and Treatments,
Bust Business Books, New York
Henry, C.A., 2010, (Ed.). Maintaining a good Health for a good
life, Business Expert Press, LLC, New York
Elias, K., 2011, Healthcare: Ways of Curbing Arthritis, John
Wiley and Sons, Hoboken, NJ