Health programs are a core function of public health, an important part of the overall health system that addresses the root causes of poor health rather than just treating symptoms. These efforts reduce costs (both financial and human) that individuals, employers, families, insurance companies, medical facilities, communities and the state would otherwise have to pay for treatment of disease or injury. A wide range of interventions can be used, including education, community action, environmental changes and support for personal lifestyle choices.
The most effective programs are often those that are based on a technical package, a selected group of proven interventions designed to achieve and sustain substantial and sometimes synergistic improvements in specific risk factors or disease outcomes. This approach sharpens and focuses the program by eliminating the use of unproven interventions that might have only a small effect on an outcome. It also eliminates the scattershot approach that can result in a multitude of individual activities that have a minimal impact on improving health.
A successful public health program needs to be widely understood and supported by multiple stakeholders. Its success depends on partnerships that extend well beyond the health department, with schools, businesses, local governments, law enforcement, transportation, agriculture and labor all having a role in creating a healthier environment. Using anecdotes and case studies that illustrate the effects of public health programs can help these disparate groups understand and support the work being done.
Educating people to increase their control over, and improve their, health is a crucial role of health promotion. This includes educating individuals to avoid disease and injury through healthy lifestyle choices, reducing societal threats by building healthy public policies, and empowering people to develop skills and confidence in managing their own health.
Health educators are trained professionals who can create, lead and evaluate programs in schools, colleges, the workplace, medical care settings and the community. They design, promote and deliver education about weight control, hypertension, nutrition, substance abuse prevention, physical fitness, stress management, smoking cessation and other topics. They can also develop educational materials and write funding proposals. Health educators must be re-certified every five years.
In low- and middle-income countries, community health workers are the backbone of national health systems and are a key component to reaching universal health coverage. However, achieving UHC requires more than just a large scale of CHWs: the CHWs must be trained (staff reskilling, cultural sensitivity and familiarity with context), motivated to deliver services and be held accountable for performance. This can be accomplished through a holistic framework that encompasses the CHW as service-extender, cultural broker and social change agent.