Address, beyond our hospitals, the four major causes of illness and death in the country (other than diabetes), to enable self-care and management at home in the community. Obesity, cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular disease will be targeted through preventative and supportive national screening and monitoring programmes that reach out into the community, and that cover all disciplines of the health care system, such as dieticians, podiatrists, psychologists and counsellors.
I agree with a screening and intervention program at community level. Obesity is a national epidemic and thus a priority action. However we must not forget the role tobacco plays in increasing risk for a multitude of diseases including respiratory, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Trends are showing that although regular smoking prevalance decreased slightly, occasional smoking increased. Smokers also put others life at risk through second hand and third hand smoke.
Smokers are not to be blamed for their lifestyle but to be helped and supported. So this proposal should build on the smoking cessation services available to support and guide smokers to quit smoking. This service should also be accessible to young adults as well through use of virtual applications as mentioned in the adolescents proposal. Apart from smoking, alcohol should be looked into at as well. Alcohol brings various psycho social repercussions, thus not only affecting physical health.
This content is created by the open source Your Priorities citizen engagement platform designed by the non profit Citizens Foundation