Discuss about the Health Promotion for Chronic Disease Policy.
According to the World Health Organization`s Ottawa Charter(1996), health promotion is the process of enabling people to have control over factors determining health and hence improve their health status (Walker, Butler & Colagiuri, 2014). Health promotion involves not only the promotion of healthy lifestyles but also includes the creation of economic, social and environmental policies that support good health. Health promotion initiative plays a huge role in both disease prevention as well as enabling early intervention which helps patients to seek treatment.
This report discusses the health promotion initiative of promotion of creating awareness on chronic diseases in rural Australia. The paper discusses the statistics behind this health promotion initiative and justifies why creating awareness about the chronic disease in rural Australia. The report prepares a plan for how the health promotion initiative will be implemented. The report contains a budget for the health promotion project with a justification. The paper also contains an evaluation plan. This is important in helping to access the progress and effectiveness of the Nursing project. Health Promotion For Chronic Disease Policy In Rural Australia Discussion Paper
What the project discusses in this report is the promotion of a healthy lifestyle to prevent chronic diseases in rural Australia. The health promotion project will be carried out specifically among the indigenous communities. According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare(AIHW), chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes represent about 82% of the burden of disease (Pinidiyapathirage, O’Shannessy & Harte et al., 2018). The statistics also indicate that chronic diseases account for more than 70% of Australia`s total expenditure on health. Most of the chronic diseases are preventable by living healthy lifestyles. Data from the Institute shows that tobacco accounts for 7.8% followed by blood pressure at 7.6% and then obesity at 7.5% (Schneider, Whitehead and LoBiondo et al., 2012).
Australians living in rural areas have faced a greater risk of getting chronic diseases as compared to people living in urban areas. For example, approximately 70% of the Aboriginal and Torres Islander people have poorer health compared to other areas (Manderson & Smith-Morris et al. 2010). The community has a mortality rate which is 3.2 times higher than non-indigenous people living in cities. According to McMurray & Clendon, (2011), one in every five people living in outer regions smoke on a daily basis. Statistics also indicate that at least three in every four people in outer regions and remote areas do not exercise regularly. Statistics from AIHW also indicate that in every two people living in rural areas, three people are overweight or obese (Willis, Reynolds & Keleher, 2012). From the above statistics, it is therefore important to carry out research and establish why the risk factors for chronic diseases are higher among rural communities and especially among the Aboriginal and Torres Island communities.
lTo determine the causes of a high-risk factor for chronic diseases among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander community.
lTo educate the local community on the importance of physical exercises and a healthy diet in preventing chronic diseases.
lTo educate the community on the dangers of smoking and consuming alcohol and how it increases the risk of chronic diseases.
lBuild capacity within the community and the voluntary groups which will help in promoting healthy living once the project is over
lTo reduce cases of chronic diseases within the community by 10% within two years.
The initiative is aiming at determining the major factors that contribute to the high-risk factor of chronic diseases among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander community. The group will carry out a survey to access the crucial factors which could be leading to the huge number of patients with chronic diseases. The survey will determine the number of people who consume alcohol in the community. The survey will also identify the eating habits and patterns of the Aboriginal and Torres people and try to understand how diet could be contributing to the situation (Hernandez, 2011).In addition to this, participants will be questioned on whether they carry out physical exercises and how often this happens. The achieve the objective of determining the factors for high-risk rate, the group will evaluate the health promotion programs that have been carried out in the community in the past and the impact that the programs had on the health of the local community.
The initiative will use voluntary organizations and social groups to encourage people to engage in physical exercises. Exercising regularly is important in preventing chronic diseases such as hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases (Smith, 2016). The groups will be organized into three categories. The first category will be youth, then women category and men category. The program will build a gym facility for each group and fully equip the gym. The project will also employ qualified trainers who will be instructors in the gym. Community members will also be educated on the importance of regular training exercises.
The objective of educating the people of Aboriginal and Torres Islanders on the dangers of smoking and alcohol consumption will be achieved by carrying out sensitization programs. The group will visit social gatherings and places such as churches and cultural events where members of the group will prepare a presentation to sensitive the community on the role of alcohol and smoking in contributing to a high number of people with chronic diseases within the community (Laverack, 2007). Community leaders and religious leaders will be crucial in achieving this objective. The sensitization programs will also be carried out in various schools within the community.
To build capacity within the local community and voluntary groups, the program will organize special training programs for community groups and voluntary organizations. This program will equip the participants with basic skills of carrying out community sensitization and training (Winters, 2013). The local groups will also be involved in the day to day activities of this project so that they can gain experience which will help them to further the efforts of this project after it reaches completion.
Implementation or action plan will guide the team in implementing the strategies outlined at the beginning of the report. The following is the implementation plan for this project.
The main stakeholders in this project are The Head of Health Science Department, Australian Government Department of Health, Aboriginal Health Council SA, Local community leaders, Community religious groups, Women groups, and Youth groups. The local health care providers will also be involved in this project (Ragusa, 2014). The group will seek approval from the school head of health science department before proceeding with the project. Health Promotion For Chronic Disease Policy In Rural Australia Discussion Paper The other stakeholders in the project will be informed through the writing of the planned project and the role that they will play in the project. The project will be carried out between 10th January 2019 until 30th June 2019.
The group will develop training materials such as charts, tables, graphs, and other training manuals. The materials will aid in educating the community on the dangers of chronic diseases and how they can be prevented. The team will also require badges and projectors which will be used for teaching and demonstration. The materials will be procured from the university bookshop and others like the projector will be rented for the period which the project will run.
The team will require financial resources that will help to meet costs such as accommodation costs, meals, and travel (Scriven, Ewles & Simnett, 2010). The team will also need resources such as halls and writing materials. The team will also require finances to cater to the needs of the local people who will offer support in implementing the project.
To educate people on the importance of physical exercises, the project will plan fitness every afternoon at 6 pm where people will be mobilized to participate in the fitness exercise. The project will also encourage students and young people to engage in sports at school in order to remain healthy (Nolte, Knai & McKee, 2008). After two months, the project will build and equip gyms for the groups involved in this project. This will be of great importance to the community even after the project comes to an end. Furthermore, the objective of changing the eating habits of the people will be important will helping to prevent chronic diseases among the Aboriginal & Torres Islanders. Various groups will be educated on the importance of diet in promoting a healthy lifestyle. The people will be encouraged to consume traditional non-processed foods which have fewer calories. The project will also target schools to promote proper diet among students in schools. The program will engage the school management to find ways in which healthy eating can be promoted in schools. Schools will be urged to provide foods with as little sugar as possible to ensure that school going kids grow when they are very healthy.
The project will communicate to government departments through writing. The group will write weakly reports to the department to communicate on the progress of the project. The group will also communicate with the financiers of the project on a weekly basis and whenever necessary. He project will also communicate through emails and phone conversations. For this project, it will also be crucial to have nonformal means of communication such as social media campaigns (Clavier & De, 2013). The project will also distribute posters for training.
The project will carry out research to identify people within the community who have the right combination of skills and knowledge to help in offering training and education to various groups. Five trainers will be needed to conduct help the group in achieving its objectives. Once the trainers are recruited, they will be trained for two days to brief them on the specifics of the project and the objectives of the project. The trainers will be familiarized with the training materials such as PowerPoint, health policies and training competency. The training programs will be divided into morning and evening sessions. The training sessions will last for one hour each. The training sessions will be carried out in the community social hall and in other social gatherings that will present a perfect opportunity for reaching the masses.
The project evaluation plan will help in following up on the progress of the project and determining how the project has been able to improve the quality of health care in the community. For proper follow-up and evaluation, the group, shall appoint a person among ourselves. This person will be in charge of answering questions and handling issues relating to the project. An evaluation committee will be formed consisting of a representative of each of the groups involved in this project. The committee will develop tools for measuring performance periodically. Three months after the implementation of the project, an oral survey will be conducted in the community with the view of getting feedback from the people who were actively involved in the project (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2012). The survey will target people such as smokers and heavy drinkers with the view to determine whether the program contributed to behavior change. Parents will also be interviewed to examine how the project has impacted on their life regarding changing eating habits as well as physical exercise routines.
The team will also visit schools to examine whether the project achieved its objective of promoting healthy lifestyles among school going children. The team will ask questions such as the type of diet students are fed on at school as well as their involvement in sports and co-curricular activities.
The team will also visit various health centers within the local community to obtain important data which could be crucial to determining the impact of the project.
The team will also visit the gym and observe any changes in the number of people undertaking physical exercises. The team will also make visits in the evening hours to examine whether the project motivated more people to engage in fitness exercises after work in the evening.
The evaluation team will collect seek to collect data from the department of health after two years to evaluate whether or not the project had helped to reduce the number of people being diagnosed with chronic. If the statistics indicate a decrease in the number of people living with chronic diseases, it, therefore, means that the project had an impact on the local community. The statistics on change of lifestyles will also be conducted to evaluate if the project had any impact on the community. After the evaluation process is complete, the team will prepare a report and present it to the leadership.
Conclusion
This report discusses designs health promotion plan for creating awareness on chronic diseases among the Aboriginal and Torres Islander communities. The report begins with a justification of the project using statistics that help to prove the importance of the project to the community. The objectives of the project are stated. The objectives help in providing a clear guideline to the research team and help in designing research questions. The strategies that will be used to achieve the objectives are discussed after carrying out a thorough literature review on the project. Additionally, the report contains an implementation plan which outlines all the resources that will be required to implement the project as well as the actions that will be undertaken to implement the program.
References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2012). Australia’s food & nutrition 2012. Canberra: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Clavier, C., & De, L. E. (2013). Health Promotion and the Policy Process. Oxford: OUP Oxford.
Hernandez, B. L. M. (2011). Foundation concepts of global community health promotion and education. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Laverack, G. (2007). Health Promotion Practice. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
In Manderson, L., In Smith-Morris, C., Inhorn, M. C., Kleinman, A., Wiedman, D., Good, B. J., Miles, A., … Frank, G. (2010). Chronic conditions, fluid states: Chronicity and the anthropology of illness. Heyne Hill,UK:Quay Books. Health Promotion For Chronic Disease Policy In Rural Australia Discussion Paper