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Fitness Trackers: Do They Make A Difference in Physical Health

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Fitness Trackers: Do They Make A Difference in Physical Health

Introduction
World Health Organization has defined Public Health as an art and science of prevention of
disease, prolongation of life, and promotion of health through organized societal efforts
(WHO, 2015). Public health underscores the significance of protecting the community
against health threats and risks, such as communicable diseases, among others. It champions
and ensures the community's health and stipulates and observes the public health standards
necessary for a healthy community. Accordingly, public health practitioners attempt to
prevent the occurrence and recurrence of issues by conducting studies, administering
services, recommending policies, and implementing initiatives.

This paper intends to provide a detailed report about the current public health system in New
Zealand. An in depth analysis of the public healthcare facilities of the country is discussed,
along with the comparison of contemporary international facilities, which will help to find the
current progress of healthcare in the country. It also discusses three major legislations, which
has had a profound influence in the healthcare system of the country, along with three major
ethical principles. In addition, the paper discusses about the impact of the Treaty of Waitangi,
and the various roles performed by public health mechanism in the country.
The scope of Public Healthcare locally and internationally

Public health is the system for improving the individual and community health of a country.
It includes preventive actions against diseases, promotion of healthy lifestyles, and
conducting various researches. In comparison to the clinical professionals, who focus on
treating the people after they become injured or diseased, public health care professionals
attempt to prevent health issues through health education, policy recommendation, service
administration, and research. The methods used for the successful implementation of the
public health care system are flexible, as it will change according to the beneficiaries’ gender,
location, culture, and various other aspects, in contrast to clinical health care.

New Zealand is a country which significantly focuses on the improvement of the public
health care system of the country. The public health policy of the country prioritizes the
overall health of the community. The public health policy of the country is influenced by the
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combined functioning of the government, bureaucracy, culture, and the environment. It is

therefore important to engage the people and community health groups also in development
and promotion of public health programs. Moreover, the Ottawa Charter for health promotion
acknowledges the significance of power over life, self-evaluation, and sense of belonging,
training opportunities, jobs, living incomes, and reasonable accommodation that stretch the
degree of public health in the country. Therefore, community health highlights all the
necessary factors such as transportation, wages, jobs, education, stress, safety, social
integration, infrastructure, nutrition, food security, waste management, and water supply.

Canada, in contrast to the New Zealand model of public health care, provides more focus to
the individual health compared to the overall community health. The Canadian public
healthcare system is referred as Medicare (Martin et al., 2018). It is a typical national health
insurance scheme, which provide accessible health care service to the public, at free of cost.
However, creating such an infrastructure requires the devotion and capacity to establish
proper, inclusive approaches to offer ethnic and geographic diversity in the entire nation.

In New Zealand the public health deliverance is controlled and coordinated by joint effort of
primary health organizations, non governmental organizations, district health boards, and the
Ministry of Health. This ensures that the public health system will match the needs and wants
of all the community and tailor made health services are accessible to them. It is because the
indigenous population of New Zealand suffer from bias and discrimination since the
colonization by Europeans. The colonization has considerably enshrined inequity, which has
spread the repercussions to the current generations (Hobbs et al., 2019). The consistent lack
of effort and focus on the part of the government resulted in severe health issues among the
Maori population of the country. They are significantly weak in terms of socio economic
status, education, and political influence. This resulted in poor health care facility, increased
morbidity and mortality rate, low wages, lack of life aspirations and political ambitions
among the Maori community. It is under this context that, the government of New Zealand
initiated the Maori Model of Health Care, which is a recent example for the concern
displayed by the government towards proper inclusion of the indigenous population to public
health care system.

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As per the Public Health Agency of Canada (2019), there are notable health differences
between Canadians with mental and physical challenges, refugees, lower economic and social
status, cultural and reproductive sectors, and native minorities. This depicts the limitation of
the Canadian public health care system as it fails to address the needs of various communities
in the country, in order to develop a better public health output

Services, ethical practice, roles and responsibilities and scope of practice in Public
Health Care

Public health legislations

Mental health act 1992

The Mental Health (Compulsory Assessment and Treatment) Act (1992) was enacted to limit
the right of autonomy of a patient diagnosed with mental health disorder (Ministry of Health,
2021). This act specifies that if someone is admitted as a patient under this act, their right to
refuse the treatment can be overridden during various phases of assessment and treatment.
The patient’s right to choose the doctor will also be limited and it may force the patient to
stay in hospital care if necessary. The act predominantly emphasize the need of compulsory
assessment and treatment, community based care, and respectful and culturally competent
treatment with the consultation of patient’s family.
New Zealand Health and Disability Act 2000
The Statutory framework (2011), asserts that the New Zealand Health and Disability Act
( 2000) creates a legalized system to the public sector funding and the disability and health
services organization. It authorizes to create district health boards (DHBs) and dictates the
roles and responsibilities of the primary participants, including healthcare providers, the
Minister of Health, and Ministerial committees. Additionally, the NZPHD Act establishes
objectives and strategic approaches for disability and health services in New Zealand. They
include improving disability and health outcomes for all people in the country, minimizing
discrimination through enhancing the Maori and other minorities' health, establish a
community voice in disability support services, public health, and personal health to improve
access to and information dissemination for health service delivery in the country.

Privacy Act 2020

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According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner (n.d.), the Act establishes specific
regulations for enterprises in the health industry. It addresses the privacy principles of how
health agencies should disclose, store, use, and collect health information in the industry. It
applies to the health data concerning identifiable people and relates to all entities that offer
disability, public or personal health services.

Ethical Healthcare Practices

Non- Maleficence
Non-maleficence refers to a primary healthcare's ethical practice. The non-maleficence
perspective concerns not putting any patient in harm's way in any situation. Accordingly, it
should the underlying aim of any practitioner's choice, and it ensures that health providers
assess whether their choices could influence the community or other practitioners, although it
is for a particular patient's interest.
Autonomy
The autonomy perspective typically concerns the patient's consent. Usually, patients have the
inherent right to decide their healthcare. Autonomy, typically, refers to the patient's right to
make their own medical choices. The model supposes that physicians must obtain a patient's
informed consent or permission. Similarly, where the patient cannot make such decisions,
their next kin or parents can provide the necessary consent.
Beneficence
This approach asserts that health practitioner must do all they can to protect their patient’s
life. It is critical to prescribed medications and operations to attain remarkable outcomes for
the patients. For that reason, medical providers must achieve the highest level of skills and
knowledge in the sense that they train to achieve the highest and latest practices and know
their patient's personal needs to guarantee their benefits.
According to the (Ministry., 2020), the country faces many historical and contemporary
social challenges, but mental health, smoking, diabetes, obesity, cancer and sexual and
reproductive are the most severe and common in New Zealand.
Every year, more than 100,000 people receive consultation from the specialist due to mental
illness (Ministry of Health, 2021). Mental Health Act 1992 is applicable to ensure that a
patient is treated with respect and honour. Health and Disability Act 2000 grant the
appropriate budget to Ministry of Health to improve the services for mental health. The
principle of autonomy gives the right to the patient to know about his or her mental health
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status. According to the principle of beneficence and non-maleficence, a specialist should

have all the necessary knowledge and skills to provide appropriate cure without harming any
patient‘s life in any circumstances.

Spread of sexually infected diseases is another serious issue in New Zealand. Privacy Act
(2000) is applicable here to protect the privacy of patient. If a person is HIV positive then the
doctor cannot disclose the status to any other person without the permission of patient. This
right protects the patient from discrimination and stigmatization (Woods et al., 2015).

The Impact of The Treaty of Waitangi On the Roles and Responsibilities of Public
Health Care

The Treaty of Waitangi is a set of nine documents which are signed on 6 th February, 1840.
The knowledge around it codifies and entails the relationship between the Crown and Māori.
Treaty of Waitangi is a combination of three principles partnership, participation and
protection which was developed by the Royal Commission. The document creates a
partnership that acknowledges Māori as native people and assures them of their sovereignty
and participation is sharing power, and engagement in making decisions in all sectors. Crown
also ensure the protection of Māori language, Māori tikanga (culture) and taonga (treasure).

Under the public health, role of Treaty of Waitangi adopts ethical decision-making that
minimizes and addresses health inequities and broader health determinants. The relationship
between public health and Treaty of Waitangi is authorized by NZPHDA (New Zealand
Public Health and Disability Act 2000). NZPHDA 2000 configures the legal duties of the
sector to identify and respect the values of Treaty of Waitangi. It is also required the
department to enhance the Maori health outcomes. It aims to remove the obstacles and
barriers to Māori success that entails challenging all forms of discrimination, including
institutional racism, compliments this works (Came et al., 2017).
The Treaty of Waitangi sanctions the Māori to take on their health outcomes and work with
the health system to determine sustainable and safe activities. Consequently, Māori efforts in
the sector have strived to produce better outcomes in the war against poor living standards
and diseases. Economic inequality and colonization in New Zealand caused notable disease
in the Māori population (Martin et al, 2018). The Crown works with the Māori to promote
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well-being. New Zealand’s policy minimizes inequalities by ensuring that health services are
available to all people from the Pacific to Māori. Changing diet and reducing unhealthy
habits have inspired people and increased physical activities, and active lifestyles follow
balanced diets. The participation idea enables the Māori and the Crown to collaborate in the
disability services, screening and implementation of health services, project, and
management.
The participation alludes to the fact that the Māori have the right to use their autonomy and
authority to enhance their health through regulating their health concerns. Their right to retail
the power of their traditions and information should be accepted and acknowledged. They
have the right to show their encounters and identify solutions for their health. They should
think and attempt to have independent and safe management. Based on the participation
principle, the patient and practitioner should cooperate to improve the health results through
collaborations and comparable actions with a shared intention of improving health.

Roles and responsibilities of Public Healthcare

Surveillance and assessment
Health surveillance and evaluation are among the core roles of public health. In which data is
calculated every year to analyze and identify the health status of the people, the effect of
health determinants, and disease distribution in the country. It plays a critical role in resource
prioritization, public health regulation, prevention approaches and initiatives at all levels. The
health ministry records all surveillance information. It also monitors, review, organize, and
distribute regionally and locally.

Public health capacity development

This role allows the authorities to take initiatives, and companies to improve and maintain
overall organizational capacity, structures, and processes for public health workers for
effective program implementation. The government will be able to enhance the program
assessment, testing, preparation and transfer of knowledge through systematic and automated
systems, as part of this role. This transfer of information thus helps in building the workforce
skills and capacities of the public health staff (Lega et al., 2013).
Health promotion
Aim of health promotion is to improve the health of individual and community. Health
promotion function also focuses on reduction of the cost of treatment. It also gives families
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and individuals the necessary apparatus to be in control of their health. All the government
and non-government organizers help the community to promote health healthy life style
through social sites, provide appropriate training, and health screening. Health promotion
initiatives consider social determinants of health that affect changeable risk behaviours. The
social determinants of health include political condition, cultural, physical, and economic
conditions whereby individuals reside, grow and endure.

Health Protection
Another important role of the public health is health protection through regularly updating the
legislations for ensuring a better health of the people through public health programs. Health
safety stretches to various public health practices such as early detection and protection
against diseases, accidents, sickness, and non-infectious situations, such as radiation and
toxic products. Health protection initiatives are divided into regions for offering specific
culturally competent services. These types of support reduce and prevent the effects of
significant disasters and infectious diseases. For example: the tax on tobacco is increased by
11.5% due to the increment rate of smoking (nzherald.co, 2019).
Preventive measures
Preventive measures are the actions adopted to prevent the risk of spreading of
contagious diseases and disorders. It is a vital component of the public health system of
a nation. The most visible example of preventive measure is the vaccination process.
The government provides various vaccinations to its citizens to prevent the spread of
diseases like polio, smallpox etc. The recent example of COVID 19 vaccinations also
states the importance of the preventive measures.
Basically there are three methods of prevention. The first one is the primary prevention
which is achieved through initiatives like vaccination. Accessing medical care and
taking medication is secondary prevention, and kept in isolation as part of regulating
disease spread is tertiary prevention.

Conclusion

Public health refers to the science of improving and protecting the health of the community
and people. It is only achieved through research, disease prevention, and health education. It
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is, typically, concerned with the protection of the overall community health, which can be
either local or global. The public health initiatives thus positively impact not just the health
outcomes of the country, but also the economical and social development indicators of the
country.
The Treaty of Waitangi is imperative to the public health of the Maori in the country. The
treaty ensures partnership, participation and protection for the Maori who are suffering from
poor and depleted living conditions. The alignment of New Zealand Government with the
treaty which led to implementation of policies like Maori Health Strategy is a prime example
of how the treaty plays an important role in the community development.
Public health system plays several roles in a country to improve its health outcomes. Only
through a coordinated and synchronized effort of all those roles, that a country will be able to
successfully achieve its health goals and catalyse its overall development. In order to achieve
that it requires cooperation of all the stakeholders including the government, health industry,
public legislators, and medical practitioners.
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Office of the Privacy Commissioner. (n.d.). Office of the privacy commissioner | Health
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Martin, D., Miller, A. P., Quesnel- Vallée, A., Caron, N. R., Vissandjée, B., & Marchildon,
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Came, H. A., McCreanor, T., Doole, C., & Simpson, T. (2017). Realising the rhetoric:
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