Community Psychology and Public Health Essay

This essay discusses the similarities and differences between two approaches – community psychology and public health that are related to social problems. Each method approaches social problems differently; however there are certain overlapping features. Each method also has its specific strengths and weaknesses. All of these factors will be discussed in this essay. Community psychology and public health  The foundation of public health rests on the practical implementation of attempts to protect and improve a community’s health by applying preventative medicine, sanitary methods, and social science. The goal of public health is to prevent disease and distress from occurring. And here is the first difference between public health and community psychology. Where public health focuses on specific problems, community psychology focuses on the overall quality of life of the individuals within a community. The goal of community psychology is to understand the relationships of the individual with his or her community and society through research and to improve the individual’s life through certain actions. The ideas that drive community psychology are inspiring and motivational, but the ideas have proven to be difficult to put into action items in order to implement them. This is one of the weaknesses of community psychology and one of the causes of the many failed attempts at transforming a community. However, there are also cases of political factors obstructing the implementation of solutions to social problems, as described by Professor Albee in Guernina (1995, p. 85), â€Å"and when Reagan was elected the message went out to the National Institute of Mental Health from the White House saying, ‘We will no longer support any research into the social causes of mental illness we will only support research into the biological, genetic organic causes’. Thus it seems like community psychology is deemed the impractical, unnecessary approach that is too concerned with sociology to make a practical impact on a community. In contrast, the public health approach, that highlights biological and engineering methods, has proven to effectively prevent various diseases and socially abusive behaviours from spreading widely. For example, under the public health regulations in South Africa, the management of human waste in public places was determined and implemented during the 19th century. However, this approach isn’t perfect either, because although the human waste was effectively managed in public places, the problem arose when human waste occurred in terms of intimate actions, such as bathing and toilet hygiene. Neither of the approaches is perfect and both approaches have qualities that can potentially transform a community. In this sense, the merging of the best qualities of both approaches is best described by Gilbert, â€Å"The close affinity between sociology and public health is in terms of unit of study, theory, and method. They share a common concern with populations of individuals, a theoretical orientation toward abstract generalisations and a similar methodological approach. They also share a ‘problem’ focus. To a large extent public health problems are social problems. The social forces that determine whether a health condition will be viewed as a public health problem, are similar to those that define a social problem. † (1995, p. 81) Conclusion Public health can do for a little more of the human touch as experienced in community psychology. And community psychology can benefit from the practical methods as seen in public health solutions. Fortunately this is happening in the socio-ecological approach, which is based on a holistic understanding of the individual, the community, diseases, and health as the outcome of the intricate behaviour patterns that are instilled in individuals and groups through socialization, and who then understand the ways as being normal.