The first discussion proposes a campaign in the framework of dental health. It is targeted at the population that uses social media and is interested in fighting oral health disparities. It is based on two already existing local campaigns that are running on Twitter, FaceBook, YouTube, and blogs. I agree that such approach is rather appropriate today because the majority of the general public spend a lot of time surfing the Internet and communicating in social networks. In addition to that, it is easy to spread information in this way, as the only thing people should do is to use particular hashtags. The topic of interest is also worth discussing. It deals with oral health disparities, which resorts to the problem of access to healthcare. Unfortunately, many people who represent vulnerable and deprived populations are not able to obtain required care.
This campaign is likely to overcome this problem at least partially. The first social media campaign that is in the basis of the discussed one is focused on water fluoridation, which allows people to protect their teeth. The second one discusses Latino population as the one with poor access to healthcare. According to Glenn and Hua (2013), there is a sense in combining these two topics because oral health discrepancies among minorities are currently observed in the USA. They prevent children and adults from obtaining required treatment and increase the number of issues they have. As a result, a lot of them had poor teeth condition and associated with them speech problems. Appropriate interventions and the enhancement of people’s knowledge regarding these problems are critical. This local social media campaign can be used to make the community aware of available resources and the severity of the issue.
Another discussion is focused on two campaigns that tend to cope with weight issues faced by the population. The first one operates in Kansas City. It is the Healthy Lifestyles Initiative, the aim of which is to make people fit. This campaign seems to be close to Snap Kitchen, which operates in Dallas and Houston. It offers meals to help people reach their educational, emotional, and physical goals. Basically, both initiatives are highly concerned about the issues of overweight and obesity, which are crucial for America as one of the most obese countries. Thus, this information can also be aligned with the article prepared by Beeken and Wardle (2013) as they claim that issues with the body mass are often ignored by the representatives of the general public even though they have crucial influences on the overall people’s condition. These campaigns are expected to teach individuals how to take care of their bodies and minds. They provide an opportunity to find enough information to start exercising and maintain healthy eating habits. As a result, there is a high possibility that such initiatives will reduce the rates of children and adults with diabetes, high blood pressure, and issues with the heart. In addition to that, people’s emotional state will improve, as those who are overweight or obese often face problems when communicating with others so that they become detached from the rest of the world and feel depressed. It is also vital to consider the fact that healthy lifestyle campaigns have the most effect on the reduction of the obesity rates according to Beeken and Wardle (2013). Thus, these two local campaigns will surely benefit the population just as the author explained.
References
Beeken, R., & Wardle, J. (2013). Public beliefs about the causes of obesity and attitudes towards policy initiatives in Great Britain. Public Health Nutrition, 16(12), 2132-2137.
Glenn, F., & Hua, L. (2013). Trends in racial/ethnic disparities in medical and oral health, access to care, and use of services in US children: Has anything changed over the years? International Journal for Equity in Health, 12(1), 10-26.