Implementing Plans to Achieve Community Health

Implementing Plans to Achieve Community Health

Planning is critical in health promotion and in the achievement of community health. However, implementing the laid down plans is very essential in achieving good general health for the community. It is critical to lay down action plans that can be easily monitored to ensure that positive results are being achieved (Turunen et al., 2017). Various challenges, including poverty, poor nutrition, lack of access to quality healthcare, poor health habits, lack of physical exercise, drug and substance abuse, and obesity, plague the African American communities in Akron. This predisposes a majority of the individuals there to several health complications, such as diabetes and kidney diseases. It is critical to implement an action plan to promote community health and monitor the plan to ensure that a difference is being made.

The Perkin family is one of the families living in Akron. Like other underprivileged African American families living there, they face many challenges that greatly affect their overall health status. One of the key roles in implementing any action plan is identifying the target population and the major health challenges they face (Darlington et al., 2018). It is vital to assess a community’s needs as this will be critical in the implementation of the action plan. This should be closely followed by the recruitment and involvement of people highly regarded in the community and passionate about health promotion (Waters et al., 2018). The use of easily identifiable people creates acceptance and active participation in the program by community members.

Another key action plan is ensuring that individuals develop their skills. One key challenge in Akron facing health promotion is poverty and the use of drugs and other substances. Among the Perkin’s family, a low socio-economic status has been shown to greatly increase the risk of their child developing malnutrition. Perkin and his wife Flora were also observed to be obese and chronic alcohol and tobacco users. This can be attributed to the lack of jobs, leading to increased hours of idle sitting and providing an avenue to indulge in alcohol. Obesity and alcohol greatly increase the risk of developing health complications. Encouraging social support networks ensures that everyone retains their social identity while at the same time receiving material support, including foodstuffs, services, information, and social contacts (Jung et al., 2017). Developing skills that enable individuals to seek and create employment opportunities is also key. These go a long way in promoting health in the community.

Reorienting the provision of health services is also key in health promotion as it alters the focus of the health sector from focusing only on clinical and curative services to the promotion of health and the prevention of diseases (Thompson et al., 2018). Reorienting health services requires the health sector to become involved in initiatives and programs that seek to promote community health. These programs include immunization initiatives, screening for various illnesses, and encouraging individuals to quit alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs while also losing weight. Initiatives such as free screening will go a long way in ensuring that people get access to health care that would have been impossible due to their low socio-economic status. Encouraging people to quit alcohol and other drugs is also key to health promotion.

The identification and engagement of partners can go a long way in promoting health in the community (Brunton et al., 2017). Engaging partners such as business organizations, non-profit foundations, local authorities, and religious groups is critical. These organizations can run food donation programs that go a long way in countering malnutrition among the community emanating from poverty and low socio-economic status. The organizations can also conduct and fund the education of several individuals in the community, consequently eradicating illiteracy, which hinders health promotion. Organizations such as religious institutions can run rehabilitation centers that provide the social and emotional support required to encourage people to quit alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs (Cislaghi et al., 2019). They can also play a major part in reducing the incidences of violence witnessed in the community. Implementation of the above can go a long way in encouraging health promotion.

It is important to track the progress made to identify if steps are being made in the right direction. Assessing the number of individuals participating in health education programs and other skill development initiatives is critical. It is also vital to know the number of individuals taking part in screening and other risk assessment initiatives (Breda et al., 2017). The number of individuals signed up for health promotion and disease prevention initiatives should also be noted down to assist in the assessment. The number of stakeholders taking part in the initiative should also be recorded. It is important to highlight the contribution of each of the stakeholders. Finally, it would be important to know the number of people in the community who are aware of the various programs and the intensity with which they would like to apply the acquired knowledge and skills.

Assessment of individuals would also be key in determining whether the action plan is achieving its intended results. Mr. Perkin and his wife Flora are obese, chronic alcohol users, and smokers with a child at risk of malnutrition. After implementing the action plan, it is critical to assess whether a change is observed in them. Measuring their income attainment ability after providing skills is key in determining whether they are in a better position than before. Measuring their current weights to determine whether they are following the health education they have received is key in measuring the effectiveness of the action plan. Determining whether there is the continued use of both alcohol and tobacco is key in pointing out whether the rehabilitation initiatives bore fruit. The assessment of the child’s nutritional status is another pointer of whether the action plan has assisted in promoting health in the community.

In conclusion, health promotion is key in the community. Overcoming obstacles such as poverty, illiteracy, violence, lack of access to quality health care, alcoholism, and drug use requires a collaborative effort among various stakeholders in the community (Yadav et al., 2020). The establishment of action plans and the subsequent implementation of the action plans go a long way in health promotion. It is the responsibility of each one of us to play a part in promoting healthy living practices in our communities. Taking part and contributing towards initiatives promoting health care is key in ensuring that everyone gets access to quality health care despite the various obstacles facing health promotion.

References

Breda, J., Jakovljevic, J., Rathmes, G., Mendes, R., Fontaine, O., Hollmann, S., & Galea, G. (2018). Promoting health-enhancing physical activity in Europe: Current state of surveillance, policy development and implementation. Health Policy, 122(5), 519-527.

Brunton, G., Thomas, J., O’Mara-Eves, A., Jamal, F., Oliver, S., & Kavanagh, J. (2017). Narratives of community engagement: a systematic review-derived conceptual framework for public health interventions. BMC Public Health, 17(1), 1-15.

Cislaghi, B., & Heise, L. (2019). Using social norms theory for health promotion in low-income countries. Health Promotion International, 34(3), 616-623.

Darlington, E. J., Violon, N., & Jourdan, D. (2018). Implementation of health promotion programmes in schools: an approach to understand the influence of contextual factors on the process?. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1-17.

Jung, H., von Sternberg, K., & Davis, K. (2017). The impact of mental health literacy, stigma, and social support on attitudes toward mental health help-seeking. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 19(5), 252-267.

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2018). The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: still an important standard for health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56(2), 73-84.

Turunen, H., Sormunen, M., Jourdan, D., von Seelen, J., & Buijs, G. (2017). Health-promoting schools—a complex approach and a major means to health improvement. Health Promotion International, 32(2), 177-184.

Waters, E., Gibbs, L., Tadic, M., Ukoumunne, O. C., Magarey, A., Okely, A. D., & Gold, L. (2018). Cluster randomised trial of a school-community child health promotion and obesity prevention intervention: findings from the evaluation of fun ‘n healthy in Moreland!. BMC Public Health, 18(1), 1-16.

Yadav, A. K., Baruah, M., Rahman, N., Ghosh, J., & Chaudhuri, S. (2020). Relationship of socioeconomic inequality and overweight with non-communicable diseases risk factors: A study on underprivileged population. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 9(12), 5899.

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Implementing Plans to Achieve Community Health

Please read the following: Healthy People in Healthy Communities or A Strategy for Creating a Healthy Community: MAP-IT so that you will understand the MAP-IT program before you start this SLP. Also, please read this article: Melany Mack, Ron Uken, Jane Powers (2006) People Improving the Community’s Health: Community Health Workers as Agents of Change, Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved. Nashville: Feb 2006. Vol. 17, Iss. 1; p. 16 (10 pages) This article is also listed on the Background page and can be found in ProQuest. To begin to achieve the goal of improving health, a community must develop a strategy. That strategy, to be successful, must be supported by many individuals who are working together.

Implementing Plans to Achieve Community Health

In much the same way you might map out a trip to a new place, you can use the MAP-IT technique to ‘map out’ the path toward the change you want to see in your community.

For the Session Long Project (SLP) of this course, you will follow one of the following families:

• A non-English speaking immigrant family. The parents (a 35-year-old father and a 31-year-old mother) have a 1-year-old son. They (the parents) are obese, smokers, alcoholics, and have only a high school education. Due to their weight, the mother has diabetes and high blood pressure, and the father has high blood pressure and kidney disease. The parents are a low-income family with no insurance. You will guide the parents on how to achieve the minimum state health requirements for both the child and themselves (i.e., vaccinations, good nutrition, a safe and healthy home environment, etc.).OR
• An English-speaking American family. The parents (a 42-year-old father and a 40-year-old mother) have two children, a 14-year-old son and an 18-year-old daughter. They (the parents) are obese, smokers, and have a history of heavy drug use in their late teen and early adult years. The father has only a high school education, while the mother has a BA in English Literature. Due to their weight, the mother has diabetes and high blood pressure, and the father has high blood pressure and liver ailments. The son suffers from asthma, while the daughter has had two previous abortions. She may be drug dependent. The parents are a moderate-low-income family with minimal insurance. You will guide the parents on how to achieve the minimum state health requirements for both the children and themselves (i.e., vaccinations, good nutrition, a safe and healthy home environment, etc.).

SLP Module Requirements

You are to use MAP-IT: Mobilize, Assess, Plan, Implement, and Track to respond to this SLP.

Before you begin the SLP, please review: Choosing the Right Approach for Health

The steps in MAP-IT are:

• Mobilize individuals and organizations that care about the health of your community into a coalition.
• Assess the areas of greatest need in your community, in this case, assisting new immigrants to access health care], as well as the resources and other strengths that you can tap into in order to address those areas.
• Plan your approach: start with a vision of where you want to be as a community, then add strategies and action steps to help you achieve that vision: you can be a health educator, a health care provider, a nutritionist, a social worker, etc.
• Implement your plan using concrete action steps that can be monitored and will make a difference.
• Track your progress over time.

KEY Criteria for Grading this SLP

In addition to demonstrating that you are applying the MAP-IT steps, you must demonstrate personal development or competency in developing appropriate objectives for your targeted family based on needs and the ability to appraise the appropriateness of resources and materials required to meet their needs. You should also incorporate the results of the needs assessment of your targeted family into the planning process within MAP-IT. This is why it is so important to identify an actual community in which your targeted family resides. You will find that almost all of the resources found or available in a community can be identified online.

Using this MAP-IT approach, a step-by-step, structured plan can be devised to tailor one’s community needs.

The first step in building a healthier community is to mobilize key individuals and organizations to form a community-wide coalition. Most communities already have health departments and other governmental agencies that are responsible for public health services. Many communities also have coalitions of key individuals and organizations that are organized to address specific issues, for example, block associations or neighborhood watch groups. These groups often represent diverse interests and resources for addressing issues that are vital to building and maintaining the health and stability of the entire community. A coalition will often, of course, work with the health department and other health organizations in the community. However, it can also help mobilize a wider range of other resources to address health issues.

SLP Assignment Expectations

Your task for Module 1 is to:

1. Select which family you will use the MAP-IT Approach for the SLP.
2. Discuss how you will Mobilize individuals and organizations that care about the health of your community into a coalition. Identify the individuals and organizations which will form the basis of your coalition. Discuss how each member of your coalition can assist each member of your target family.
3. Briefly discuss the problems that underserved populations are confronted with when seeking care in the community.

Module 2: For this module you will assess the areas of greatest need in your community, in this case, assisting your target family to access health care, as well as the resources and other strengths that you can tap into in order to address those areas.

Module 3: For this module, you will discuss how you plan your approach. Start with a vision of where you want the community to be, and then add strategies and action steps to help you achieve that vision. You can be a health educator, a health care provider, a nutritionist, a social worker, etc. However, base your vision and approach on your targeted family. Additionally, be sure to focus on the health issues related to your targeted family.

Module 4: Discuss how you will implement your plan using concrete action steps that can be monitored and will make a difference. Discuss how you will track your progress over time. Present any tables or charts if you believe they will assist you in effectively tracking your progress (and, of course, the progress of the target family). Provide sufficient detail.

Submit the module SLP before the end of the specific module. Each SLP should be from 3 to 5 pages (600 to 1,200 words) unless otherwise specified and include 3-5 peer-reviewed reference citations. You will submit the SLP as a complete paper at the end of this session as a cumulative project. Be sure to upload all assignments when they are completed. The completed SLP should be approximately 25 pages (plus/minus 3 pages) and double-spaced.