Community Health Promotion Project
Community health promotion remains important in health preservation. In the resolve to improve community health, health promotion tools focus on specific populations and tailor diverse health interventions and strategies toward addressing the identified community needs. Integral to community health promotion is needs assessment to discern a population’s specific health support that may help the community attain the highest level of health. This project details a community health promotion plan for the geriatric population living in a rural area of Southwest Mississippi.
Identification of the Population
Demographics
The target group consists of older adults aged 60 and above residing in the Southwestern part of Mississippi. The region consists of approximately 15,000 people, with 13% being older adults aged 65 and above. The region is ethnically diverse, with Whites being the majority group. However, there is a large proportion of African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asians, and Pacific Islanders in the region. The education and health illiteracy is considerably low within the population, especially among ethnic minority groups.
Socioeconomic Status
The majority of the older adults in the area are from middle to low-socioeconomic households. There is also a significant number of impoverished groups and persons affected by homelessness. The majority of the population are farmers.
Environmental Hazards
The region and Mississippi at large continuously face several environmental hazards. Being farmland, the region has consistently been affected by water pollution and health hazards associated with pollution. The region has also been impacted severely by hurricanes and other natural disasters, such as flooding.
Access to Healthcare
The population continues to suffer from traditional problems such as poor access to healthcare. To begin with, there is a high number of uninsured persons within the group. Additionally, high poverty rates within the groups also jeopardize their ability to access healthcare. While all populations are affected by these problems, ethnic minority groups are impacted the most. The high rates of uninsurance and poverty, coupled with traditional health disparities and inequities, compound the problem in ethnic minority communities.
Morbidity and Mortality Risk Factors
The morbidity and mortality risk factors within the population under scrutiny include poor health literacy, non-communicable diseases, obesity, and tobacco smoking. Poor health literacy is a common problem among the elderly population. The problem is particularly worse in ethnic minority groups. In these groups, low educational level impedes the communities’ ability to comprehend diverse healthcare measures, including health preservation and promotion efforts targeted at them (Sepassi et al., 2023). Poor health literacy is a risk factor for morbidity and mortality. It impedes communities’ and individuals’ ability to comprehend health preservation measures and considerably diminishes their adoption and uptake of various community health resources. It is thus important that poor health literacy is addressed.
Non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, heart disease, and diabetes are also risk factors for morbidity and mortality. These diseases, if left unmanaged, result in severe disease complications, functional decline, and even death. Mathias et al. (2021) report that non-communicable diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality across the globe. They are a reason for increased hospitalizations, elevated consumption of various healthcare resources, escalating healthcare costs, and reduced productivity (Marthias et al., 2021). Addressing these diseases is thus necessary.
Obesity is another modifiable risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Obesity is a health concern across the US. The prevalence of obesity has been on an upward trajectory in the recent past, with the CDC reporting that over 405 American adults are obese (Clark et al., 2023). Obesity remains a risk factor for many chronic illnesses. It has been associated with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and other cardiovascular illnesses. This highlights the need to address the problem.
Tobacco smoking is another risk factor for morbidity and mortality. Tobacco smoking predisposes individuals and communities to several adverse healthcare events. It is a leading cause of cardiovascular illnesses such as hypertension and has been implicated in several cancers and respiratory illnesses (Afolalu et al., 2021). Addressing this problem is thus a priority in health promotion.
Health Promotion Activities
Health promotion activities for the population will focus on the identified morbidity and mortality risks. They will be centered on evidence-based interventions that address the risk factors.
Health Promotion Activity for Poor Health Literacy
Poor health literacy has been linked with increased morbidity and mortality risks for geriatric populations. A health promotion activity for poor health literacy in this group will utilize an educational approach that sensitizes the community of health educational pieces, such as media and health publications, as well as education at the point of care. This can be attained through community outreach programs targeting older adults. In this respect, the communities will be educated on the available community resources, such as the CDC, and how they can leverage them to bolster their health literacy. They can also be accorded educative pieces such as brochures and leaflets on common illnesses in old age. Additionally, older adults can be educated on preventive care and diverse behavioral modification interventions that can help them lower their risk for various illnesses. Overall, an educational approach toward health literacy improvement is expected to enhance their capacity towards self-care and may considerably lower their risk for morbidity and mortality.
Health Promotion Activity for Non-Communicable Diseases
Health promotion activity for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension focuses on preventive measures against these diseases. The WHO notes that the control of NCDs can be attained through behavioral modification centered on the risk factors for the diseases (Marthias et al., 2021). Promoting physical activity across the population can considerably lower the chances of developing chronic illnesses across communities. Physical activity promotes cardiovascular health and can adequately address overweight and obesity, which are causes of chronic illnesses. Among the elderly group, mild exercises integrating low-intensity exercises such as walking and dancing maintain effectiveness in maintaining optimal cardiovascular health. Thus, it is imperative that mild exercise be encouraged across geriatric populations to protect them from NCDs. Dietary modification can also protect individuals and communities from chronic illnesses and NCDs. Integral to dietary modification is the inclusion of healthy diets while minimizing or eliminating unhealthy food choices. Salt restriction, reduced consumption of alcoholic beverages, and moderate consumption of red meat have been shown to considerably lower the chances of developing hypertension and other cardiovascular illnesses (Marthias et al., 2021). Likewise, dietary modification to limit sugar intake and high calorific intake protects against diabetes.
Educating individuals and communities on NCD prevention is integral to health promotion for older adults. Structured educational approaches at the point of care and the community level can help educate communities on preventive approaches against NCDs. These approaches may enhance the populations’ capacity towards self-care and enhance their accountability in adopting various preventive approaches.
Health Promotion Activity on Obesity
Health promotion activities related to obesity focus on weight reduction. This can be attained through sustained physical activity and dietary modifications. In this respect, individuals will be educated on the significance of physical activity in attaining weight loss and the likely health benefits of weight loss. Dietary modification to ensure diets low in calories and high in fiber can help in weight loss (Clark et al., 2023). Individuals should thus be educated on the available food options, including calorie monitoring, and discouraged from consuming high proportions of highly refined carbohydrates and junk foods to help lower their calorie intake.
Health Promotion Activity on Tobacco Smoking
Health promotion activity on tobacco smoking focuses on cessation, reduction in the number of people who initiate smoking, and increasing the proportion of older adults attempting to quit smoking. Anti-smoking messaging centered on the harmful effects of tobacco use can help discourage individuals from smoking (Afolalu et al., 2021). This can be attained through organized community outreach programs at the community level or education at the point of care.
Conclusion
In general, health promotion among older adults focuses on improving their health and health outcomes. Educational pieces targeting identified risk factors can help tailor their behavior and health choices toward health preservation. Education at the point of care is beneficial and effective in expanding individuals’ knowledge on diverse aspects of healthcare. Likewise, organized educational approaches at the community level through community health drives and awareness campaigns can help propagate positive health messaging to all populations. Their use is thus integral to community health promotion.
References
Afolalu, E. F., Spies, E., Bacso, A., Clerc, E., Abetz-Webb, L., Gallot, S., & Chrea, C. (2021). Impact of tobacco and/or nicotine products on health and functioning: A scoping review and findings from the preparatory phase of the development of a new self-report measure. Harm Reduction Journal, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-021-00526-z
Clark, J. M., Garvey, W. T., Niswender, K. D., Schmidt, A. M., Ahima, R. S., Aleman, J. O., Battarbee, A. N., Beckman, J., Bennett, W. L., Brown, N. J., Chandler‐Laney, P., Cox, N., Goldberg, I. J., Habegger, K. M., Harper, L. M., Hasty, A. H., Hidalgo, B. A., Kim, S. F., Locher, J. L., … Wells, Q. (2023). Obesity and overweight: Probing causes, consequences, and novel therapeutic approaches through the American Heart Association’s strategically focused research network. Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.1161/jaha.122.027693
Marthias, T., Anindya, K., Ng, N., McPake, B., Atun, R., Arfyanto, H., Hulse, E. S., Zhao, Y., Jusril, H., Pan, T., Ishida, M., & Lee, J. T. (2021). Impact of non-communicable disease multimorbidity on Health Service use, catastrophic health expenditure and productivity loss in Indonesia: A population-based panel data analysis study. BMJ Open, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041870
Sepassi, A., Garcia, S., Tanjasiri, S., Lee, S., & Bounthavong, M. (2023). Predicted health literacy disparities between immigrant and US-born racial/ethnic minorities: A nationwide study. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 38(10), 2364–2373. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-023-08082-x
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Instructions
Community Health Promotion Project
In a Microsoft Word document of 5-6 pages formatted in APA style, you will focus on health promotion for a population of your choosing. Please note that the title and reference pages should not be included in the total page count of your paper.
Community Health Promotion Project
Include the following in your paper:
Identify the population you chose and analyze relevant information about the chosen population.
O
demographics
o socioeconomics
。 environmental hazards
• access to healthcare
• Analyze and discuss four mortality and morbidity risk factors for your selected population.
Suggest a health promotion activity for each health issue identified from your analysis.
• Utilize the textbook and library resources to support your findings and recommendations in relation to your chosen population.