Unpacking the impact of healthcare promotion in SA

Unpacking The Impact of Healthcare Promotion in South Africa

In a world where health and well-being are paramount, healthcare promotion is a powerful tool to improve health and prevent diseases. Public healthcare promotion is vital in South Africa, with most residents relying on these services. MANCOSA offers a Public Healthcare: Health Promotion short course that equips students with the knowledge and skills to promote health in underserved communities. This article explores the importance of public health promotion and some common challenges South Africa faces. We also give you tips on how to run an effective health promotion campaign.

The importance of public healthcare

Public healthcare is crucial in South Africa since many SA residents don’t have access to private services. This is because private care, while available, is often costly and inaccessible to many. In fact, according to Statista, only 15.8% of South Africans were members of medical schemes in 2022. This accounts for around 9.7 million residents — meaning approximately 52 million are dependent on public care. Some of the essential services provided by South Africa’s public healthcare system include the following:

Family planning: Public health facilities in South Africa provide family planning services, such as methods of contraception (contraceptive pills, injectables, and condoms). This enables people to make well-informed decisions about their reproductive health.
HIV/AIDS treatments: Unfortunately, South Africa has one of the highest HIV rates in the world. The public health system plays a pivotal role in providing antiretroviral therapy (ART) and treatments for HIV/AIDS.
Primary care: Public health also offers basic medical treatments, including flu medications and vaccinations — critical for early detection and prevention of more severe diseases.
Emergency care: Public hospitals provide critical services in cases of accidents, severe injuries, or other urgent medical conditions.
Chronic disease management: Public health services also offer support and management of chronic diseases, such as tuberculosis, cancer, and diabetes. This is crucial for patients who require ongoing treatments and medications.

4 Public health challenges

Several challenges often threaten the effectiveness of public health. Here are some main challenges preventing excellent public health in South Africa.

1. Lack of resources

Public health facilities often face inadequate funding and resources, leading to a shortage of medical supplies and medications. This also often results in outdated equipment that can no longer provide adequate treatment or the inability to do proper infection control. Inadequate and ageing infrastructure can also lead to overcrowded hospitals and clinics where it’s difficult to maintain order and provide efficient care.

2. Urban-rural location disparities

There is a massive imbalance between access to health facilities in urban and rural areas. Rural communities in South Africa often have limited access to specialists, diagnostics services, and hospitals and clinics. This can make it challenging for remote or isolated communities to reach these facilities, significantly delaying services.

3. Lack of skills

South Africa has a shortage of skilled healthcare professionals, including nurses, doctors, and specialised medical professionals. This limits the public system’s ability to provide health services to the millions seeking medical help.

4. Lack of awareness

Due to several factors, many South Africans remain unaware of certain health risks or the services provided to help prevent or reduce the risk of infectious or non-infectious diseases. This often results in these diseases spreading across underserved communities — significantly decreasing life expectancy.

A proactive approach: health promotions education

Health promotion refers to proactive efforts to prevent health issues and promote healthy lifestyles of individuals and communities. It focuses on providing education, raising awareness, and encouraging healthy lifestyles to lessen the risk of diseases. These include initiatives such as:

Vaccination campaigns
Nutrition education
Exercise programmes
Safe sex practices
Mental health workshops

In South Africa, health promotion takes on particular significance due to its unique challenges. One notable success story of SA is the HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programme, which provides:

HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness
Access to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART)
Safe sex practices

Some of the main benefits of health promotion include the following:

Disease prevention: It helps prevent diseases and conditions, reducing the burden on public facilities.
Improved quality of life: Promoting healthy lifestyles and habits leads to better physical, mental, and emotional well-being, resulting in a higher quality of life.
Reduced costs: The costs associated with treating diseases can run high. This means preventative measures are often far more cost-effective than reactive measures since there won’t be a need for expensive medical treatments or medications.

Tips for running a successful health promotion campaign

Running an effective health promotion campaign takes a lot of planning and strategy. Here are seven valuable tips for successful health promotion.

Set objectives: Define specific goals for your health promotion campaign so you can measure success later on. These include goals such as increasing vaccination rates or decreasing the number of unplanned pregnancies.
Identify the behavioural change needed: Specify the change you want to promote, such as quitting smoking or participating in a regular exercise routine.
Define your audience: Understand your target audience, including their demographics (age, gender, income level) and psychographics (behaviours and habits), so you can craft a campaign that resonates with them.
Collaborate with experts: Partner with professionals and experts who specialise in the field you’re trying to promote. This way, you can make sure your messages are accurate.
Craft a compelling message: Develop a concise and clear message that is easy to understand and resonates with your intended audience. Use plain language and examples focusing on the benefits of the desired behaviour change.
Deliver the message: Use different channels to communicate the message, including social media, schools, health facilities, community events, etc. Using a mixture of both digital and print media is the best way to reach as many people as possible.
Measure success and address challenges: Continuously monitor and evaluate the campaign’s effectiveness. Look at the data and key performance indicators to determine whether objectives are being reached.

Register for healthcare training with MANCOSA

Are you a health professional invested in learning how to promote public health course? Or would you like the opportunity to explore career options in the healthcare industry? If so, then MANCOSA offers a Health Promotion course that’ll equip you with crucial knowledge and insights into promoting public health and well-being.