HL Bloom theory has long been known in public health science. This theory is widely used to describe the causes of disease or health problems that occur in the community.
WHO defines healthy concept as the perfect state of physical, mental and social, not just the absence of disease or infirmity / disability. Therefore, the cause of disease cannot be judged by one factor alone.
Hendrik L. Bloom states that there are four factors that affect community’s health status, ie ranging from lifestyle, heredity, the environment and the health care system itself.
These are four factors or called determinants from HL. Bloom:
1. Life Style
HL Bloom states that lifestyle or behavior plays an important role in health status. Unhealthy habits, actions or activities certainly refer to a disease.
For example, if you eat too much that can lead to obesity. On the other hand, an all-deficient diet encourages malnutrition. Therefore, lifestyle or behavior greatly affects health status.
2. Environtment
Environment holds a big role in health. These factors can be divide into two, namely the physical environment such as infrastructure and sanitation, while the non-physical environment includes social, economic, political, cultural.
Examples of environmental influences on disease incidence can be seen in cases of dengue fever disease (DBD). The disease can occur in rain season, a seedy neighborhood, many shrubs or trees, puddles and garbage into the nest causes dengue mosquito breeding.
The other examples is, for people who live in marginal area, it would be factor to diarrhea because the environment is dirty and maybe diffiult for them to get clean water.
3. Health Services
Health services also play a role in public health status. The availability of affordable health care, adequate tools and drugs, the competence of health personnel is an important factor.
Currently, there are still many remote areas that are not affordable by health services. Some cases experienced by pregnant women who were late in receiving treatment because the distance between her house and the location of health services was far away.
4. Genetic
This factor is a difficult factor to intervene in HL Bloom theory. Because the problem or disease is hereditary or known as genetic.
For example, asthma. That disease was derivative because genetical. Therefore, for this factor, all we can do is the prevention of recurrence.
Notes from DeveHealth:
The four determinants or factors in HL Bloom theory interact with each other and affect a person’s health status.
The fact is environtment has the largest role in influencing health, followed by behavior or lifestyle factors and health services, so the latest is genetic factors.
The application of this theory is very helpful for public health experts in finding the cause of the problem and then developing a prevention program.
