The sustainable development goals are a collection of interlinked goals that have been created to achieve peace and equality in the world. As people working in the health care system it is important to also be aware of the goals and align our practice with them. The inequality and divide is more prominent in the community setting. It is therefore important that during this module and our time spent in the community we work towards these goals.
During the community block as we are working in the community setting where we are providing services to the public. We are making our services more easily accessible by being based in the community setting therefore reducing inequality. Due to being based in the community setting it means that those who are not able to access our services in the hospital setting due transport being expensive have the opportunity to receive treatment. During this block I have hear from people the importance of doing a home visit. I really see how this helps those who are physically disabled such as those who use wheelchairs therefore making going to the hospital more expensive as they need to pay for special transportation or an extra seat on the public transport. By offering the service of us going to the patients home we will also be able to get a better view of the person’s home. This links to sustainable development Goal 10 which is to reduce inequality. In the article by (O’Mara-Eves et al., 2022), they stated that by providing those with the opportunity to receive intervention therefore empowering people to make good decisions regarding their health thus allowing for social justice.
Another important sustainable development that we have been working on during the community module is goal 5 of gender equality. Due to the high prevalence of gender-based violence in the communities. We work with the women to empower them by giving them skills on how they can get out of their situation. In the Marianridge community we are working with the high school to empower teenage mothers to break the stigma around it. In the article by (Treves-Kagan et al., 2019) they looked at the impact of talking to community members especially men in changing the view of social norms more broadly.
Sustainable development goal 3 which looks at promoting and ensuring good health and well being amongst all. In our time in the communities we have been doing health promotion talks on different health topics to educate people on how they can improve their health. By educating people, it empowers them then allowing them to make informed decisions regarding their health. In the article by Stoto, Behrens & Rosemont (2022) stated the importance of physical fitness, mental health, HIV education and substance abuse. We are currently implementing this by start to run groups with the elderly regarding physical health. We are running groups with the youth in the high school on substance abuse.
Working in the community not just means working with people that require intervention but also on community development. This aligns with sustainable goal 11 – make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and safe. This involves working in collaboration with the community members to work on issues that they are facing. We can do this by talking to the Community health care workers who have value information able the community. In Marianridge we work in collaboration with CAST NGO’s on projects to develop the community and upskill the members. In the article by Patel et al. (2017) it stated of the networking which is important in the community setting. Working in isolation will not lead to the sustainable development in the community.
Sustainable development goal 16 which is promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels. This is something we can also work on in the community setting. As Occupational therapy students we can advocate for our profession and for the people who are stigmatized in the community. We also work on social justice by giving the people in the community an opportunity to improve and make a sustainable community.
In conclusion we work hand in hand with the community members to start implementing programs that align with the sustainable development goals. During this block we have had the opportunity to see the importance of working on these goals within our health profession.
The following links will give you more information on the SDG’s:
https://www.socialwatch.org/node/17228
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14473828.2020.1718266
Reference:
- O’Mara-Eves, A., Brunton, G., McDaid, D., Oliver, S., Kavanagh, J., & Jamal, F. et al. (2022). Community engagement to reduce inequalities in health: a systematic review, meta-analysis and economic analysis. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK262804/
- Treves-Kagan, S., Maman, S., Khoza, N., MacPhail, C., Peacock, D., & Twine, R. et al. (2019). Fostering gender equality and alternatives to violence: perspectives on a gender-transformative community mobilisation programme in rural South Africa. Culture, Health &Amp; Sexuality, 22(sup1), 127-144. doi: 10.1080/13691058.2019.1650397
- (US), I., Stoto, M., Behrens, R., & Rosemont, C. (2022). Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Community Settings. Retrieved 7 October 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK235762/
- Patel, Z., Greyling, S., Simon, D., Arfvidsson, H., Moodley, N., Primo, N., & Wright, C. (2017). Local responses to global sustainability agendas: learning from experimenting with the urban sustainable development goal in Cape Town. Sustainability Science, 12(5), 785-797. doi: 10.1007/s11625-017-0500-y
Inside the mind of a 4th year OT student 