Nursing Assignment Help - Implementation and Evaluation of Health Promotion Activities

Nursing Assignment Help - Implementation and Evaluation of Health Promotion Activities

     Learning Outcomes

1.      Using a public health theory in development and implementation of a prevention and health promotion activity.

2.      Developing an evidence-based prevention and health promotion activity to reduce health risk in an identified population.

3.      Identifying and evaluating a program for use in determining the efficacy of the health promotion activities.

Global transformation in the healthcare sector is aimed at promoting the quality of patient outcome and safety in service delivery. In advanced nursing practice, three main objectives include leadership, change, and research in addressing healthcare needs. According to Parker and Hill (2017), promoting community’s wellbeing commences by establishing the need and the populations at risk, developing evidence-based practices, implementing the designed interventions, and evaluating the outcomes for further improvements. Nursing practitioners are, therefore, required to demonstrate competence in research skills among other abilities in establishing and solving healthcare challenges. Other core abilities imperative in this regard include interpersonal, communication, leadership, critical thinking, and decision making. These competencies are essential in fostering the interaction between different stakeholders including the community and other healthcare providers. To ensure continuous promotion of community health, an evaluation strategy for the developed intervention is critical which outlines the current pitfalls and incorporate the insights gained in future management practices. This paper, therefore, entails the implementation and evaluation of health promotion and prevention strategies for obesity among young adults between 18 and 30 years.

Epidemiology and Community Need

            Young adults are at risk of obesity. As noted by Poobalan and Aucott (2016), previous perception considered middle-aged adults as the population at higher risk of obesity. This has since changed in the current period where the 18-25 age group is the most affected as they transition to adulthood. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals that obesity prevalence between 2015-2016 was 39.8% which represents 93.3 million individuals. The contributing risk factors to the high number of young individuals suffering from the condition is poor lifestyle which mainly entails unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercises. Majority of these individuals go to their learning institutions and new workplaces using vehicles and will rarely walk. In addition, the lives of young adults are characterized by dynamism such as marriage, pregnancy, and child rearing. Other contributing factors include alcohol and substance use habits which are related to an increase in weight. As these individuals transition to adulthood, there are social, biological, and psychological changes which make them vulnerable to risk behaviours. The importance of focusing on obesity among this population is the high-risk chronic conditions associated with increased weight such as stroke, cardiovascular illnesses, and diabetes mellitus type II.

Public Health Theory

Prior to developing a health promotion intervention program, it is imperative to establish a theoretical framework. It is apparent that the rise in obesity prevalence among the young adults is influenced by various elements including one’s knowledge regarding the disorder, lifestyle, and attitude towards the treatment approach (Dietz, 2017). There are three types of obesity management. These are pharmacological, non-pharmacological, and surgery. The consideration of a treatment approach is dependent on a wide range of factors including the severity of the condition, the existence of other illnesses that need long term treatment, and the physician’s assessment. Although the pharmacological approach is effective which involves drugs, non-pharmacological management strategies are considered more effective as they promote the overall patient’s health. Poobalan and Aucott (2016) note that non-pharmacological management approach comprises lifestyle modification which involves diet change, regular exercises, and reduction of alcohol and substance abuse. The selection of bariatric surgery is centred on obesity being extreme and the patient having other chronic illnesses. In line with this literature overview, the health promotion will focus on enlightening the young population on the condition and prevention or management strategies and in particular lifestyle change. The implementation of awareness programs will be in colleges, universities, and community training centres.

            Based on health promotion practice being complex, comprehensive and multilevel interventions are required to develop profound programs. According to Raingruber (2014), the development of health prevention practices should consider a wide range of factors including the cultural, organizational, psychological, community-level, social, and policies that influence health. The theoretical framework outlines a stepwise and a roadmap summary of factors that should be considered in the development, implementation and evaluation of the health promotion programs. Raingruber (2014) further notes that it is imperative to have a theoretical comprehension of people’s behaviours including the community and healthcare providers. This is essential in designing intervention strategies that will promote their health status. In addressing the high obesity prevalence among young adults and designing an intervention plan that mainly focuses on promoting the population awareness, the most applicable and profound theory is transtheoretical which is also referred as stages of change model.

The selection of the transtheoretical model is based on exploring the individual’s readiness to alter their behaviour. Notably, the theory outlines the behavioural change process as it occurs in stages. There are six main stages which include pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. In the first stage, the individual has no intention of acting to avert the health challenge. The contemplation phase involves the individual planning to change in the future which then introduces the third stage where there are both intentions to change, and few steps are initiated. The fourth stage which is action describes the implementation of some action steps over a short period. These actions and behavioural changes are then maintained as outlined in the fifth stage. The final step involves termination of the actions since there is no desire to resume the negative and destructive behaviours. The selection of this model is based on the lifestyle modification being a process that is learned and implemented to avert the negative behaviours that contribute to an increase in weight. Young people are characterized by narcissism which is defined as the love for money, fame, and ideal bodies. The behavioural change is initiated to achieve the target body (Bailey, Cline, & Gammage, 2016). The purpose of health promotion is to ensure that these behaviours are sustainable. 

Evidence-Based Prevention and Health Promotion Activities

The prevention of obesity and promoting the community health is addressed from different angles. These include public education, policy change, aliasing with institutions such as medical facilities and training areas, and working with different healthcare providers including nutritionists to develop and implement profound intervention plans. According to Keener et al. (2009), the CDC has provided a number of recommendations for the community strategies that can be used to manage obesity. Notably, these practices are in aimed at developing collaborative and innovative processes that seek to reverse the global obesity and overweight epidemic. This is achieved by incorporating healthy lifestyle choices into daily life. In addition, the areas one live, learn, work, worship, and play significantly impacts the choices one makes and later on, the health outcome. Reversing the high prevalence of obesity among young adults needs population change and creating an environment that promotes healthy lifestyle choices.

The first step in promoting community health will involve screening the young adult population to establish a number of aspects including the average Body Mass Index (BMI) according to different ages. This will aid in understanding the specific challenges facing this population and designing an evidence-based intervention that is in line with the population factors. Once the research is complete, the next approach will involve the design and implementation of obesity awareness programs. The education programs will be implemented in various institutions including colleges, universities, community training centres, and online. The different centres are aimed at reaching a wide population. More focus is placed on learning institutions and online including social media since this population forms the majority of online presence (Yonker et al., 2015). Among the elements involved in the education programs are the description of the condition, the causes, management approaches, and the guiding factors. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the awareness programs, willing individuals within this age will be recruited for practical implementation of the weight management process. These individuals will work with nurses and other professionals including nutritionists and physical trainers. While the nutritionists will be involved in developing diet plans, physical therapists are responsible for designing and implementing the different exercises.

The next set of activities will comprise working with different facilities including primary care and gym to implement the awareness programs to the rest of the community. The affected individuals who have not engaged in the practical activities will be offered a supportive environment for controlling their weight. One of the core challenges negatively affecting the profound implementation of obesity management is the stigma and environmental influence among the young population. Therefore, ensuring a supportive environment for the affected population is essential in effectively controlling the condition. In the final activity, it entails the mobilization of resources and employing policy changes related to addressing the challenge. According to Dietz et al. (2017), policies that foster clinical-community integration are important in achieving health population. Based on advanced nursing practice requirements, individual empowerment, promotion of community systems, and improving care delivery will be vital in achieving health equity. Policy frameworks in addressing obesity among young adults will involve advocating for improved community systems and care delivery. All medical facilities should put in place profound technological based systems to ensure continuum in care for obese individuals. Learning institutions, on the other hand, should have training programs for the learners on the importance of lifestyle changes including exercises and dieting.

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Evaluation Program

To achieve the intended objectives in implementing evidence-based practices, an evaluation program is imperative which checks if the set aims have been achieved as well as possible challenges that should be addressed in future. As espoused by Wall and Solutions (2014), an evaluation approach is a careful, systematic, purposeful, and comprehensive analysis of data with the main aim of establishing the effectiveness and impact of a program and the achievement of the set goals and objectives. The evaluation process, besides matching the outcomes with the aims and objectives, explores other management aspects such as accountability especially on resources and time inputs. Further, current program pitfalls are established where areas that need improvement and change are identified.

To evaluate the efficacy of the health promotion activities and meeting the expected outcomes, the summative evaluation will be employed which is also referred to as outcomes model. In this approach, the program’s results are identified and documented. The specific objectives of the program are outlined as well as the level of achieving the set outcomes. According to Wall and Solutions (2014), the findings of a summative program are used in pointing specific changes that should be implemented in a project or a program to enhance it as well as other interventions that will follow. Also, the results of this model can specify the current project’s status and various conditions such as the remaining milestones for accountability. Remaining needs of the project or program are also outlined to develop improved or new interventions. In the implementation of the health promotion strategy, the first activity will involve the development of the interventions’ goals and objectives. With the main target being the 18-30 population, there will be four main objectives. These include a comprehensive community screening for obesity prevalence, development and implementation of awareness programs, establishing collaboration between various facilities and healthcare professionals, and policy advocacy in enhancing community systems and quality of the primary care delivery.

In line with the above objectives, the summation program will be employed, and throughout the implementation process until completion, the health promotion activities will be examined by responding to the following concerns: The accomplishment of the four objectives, level of reaching the EBP goals, the specific outcomes, the impact of the project on the target population, the main beneficiaries of the project, specific improvements that are required to enhance the program, the positive and negative outcomes, and the time and cost accountability. In this program, the targeted population are the young adults. Other involved stakeholders in the evaluation program are primary caregivers, nutritionists, and physical exercises trainers. The inclusion of these stakeholders in the evaluation is to establish the achievement of their roles. The young population that will be engaged in the physical training will also be examined for weight loss. Notably, the health promotion activities will take six months. At the end of this period, the achievement of the weight loss objective will be evaluated among the participants. Specific challenges such as lack of collaboration with the participants and different stakeholders will also be examined. Further, the management of resources and time in the project implementation will be assessed for accountability. These results will be used in developing new and advanced interventions.

            In summary, the implementation of health promotion strategies and evaluation of the outcomes assists in developing new and improved future interventions. Healthcare providers are required to demonstrate competence in various aspects including research, interpersonal, critical thinking, and decision-making skills which are essential in developing and implementing evidence-based practices to address community health needs. The above health promotion activities are based on addressing obesity challenge among young adults between 18 and 30 years. The transtheoretical theory, which is also referred as stages of change, is implemented in the design and implementation of the health interventions. Based on four main objectives including screening the community on obesity prevalence, enhancing the social awareness in managing obesity, practically implementing the training programs, advocating for community health systems enhancement, and collaboration between facilities and professionals, the summative evaluation model which is centred on outcomes will be employed. This model is effective as it relates the program outcomes and the set objectives to establish improvement areas. Also, the positive and negative impacts of the health promotion activities to the target population will be evaluated for future enhancement approaches.

References

Bailey, K. A., Cline, L. E., & Gammage, K. L. (2016). Exploring the complexities of body image experiences in middle age and older adult women within an exercise context: The simultaneous existence of negative and positive body images. Body image, 17, 88-99.

CDC (2018). Overweight and Obesity. Adult Obesity Facts. Retrieved February 2, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Dietz, W. H. (2017). Obesity and excessive weight gain in young adults: New targets for prevention. Jama, 318(3), 241-242. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.6119

Dietz, W. H., Belay, B., Bradley, D., Kahan, S., Muth, N. D., Sanchez, E., & Solomon, L. (2017). A model framework that integrates community and clinical systems for the prevention and management of obesity and other chronic diseases. Expert Voices Health Health Care. Retrieved February 2, 2019, from https://nam.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/A-Model-Framework-That-Integrates-Community-and-Clinical-Systems-for-the-Prevention-and-Management-of-Obesity-and-Other-Chronic-Diseases.pdf

Keener, D., Goodman, K., Lowry, A., Zaro, S., & Kettel Khan, L. (2009). Recommended community strategies and measurements to prevent obesity in the United States: Implementation and measurement guide. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved February 2, 2019, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/community_strategies_guide.pdf

Parker, J. M., & Hill, M. N. (2017). A review of advanced practice nursing in the United States, Canada, Australia and Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR), China. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 4(2), 196-204. Doi: 10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.01.002

Poobalan, A., & Aucott, L. (2016). Obesity among young adults in developing countries: a systematic overview. Current obesity reports, 5(1), 2-13. doi: 10.1007/s13679-016-0187-x

Raingruber, B. (2014). Health promotion theories. Contemporary health promotion in nursing practice, 53, 53-94. Retrieved February 2, 2019 from http://www.verpleegkunde.net/assets/health-promotion-theories.pdf

Wall, J. E., & Solutions, S. (2014). Program evaluation model 9-step process. Sage Solutions. http://region11s4. lacoe. edu/attachments/article/34, 287(29), 209. Retrieved from http://www.janetwall.net/attachments/File/9_Step_Evaluation_Model_Paper.pdf

Yonker, L. M., Zan, S., Scirica, C. V., Jethwani, K., & Kinane, T. B. (2015). “Friending” teens: systematic review of social media in adolescent and young adult health care. Journal of medical Internet research, 17(1).

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