Instructions
Submit an essay of the developed action plan for a community educational project. The project plan should include 2 (two) goals and objectives based on your topic from Healthy People 2020, an implementation plan for implementing these activities, a budget (if necessary, not required), a justification for the project, a description of where and when the plan will be implemented, and a description of the teaching materials which will be utilized during the execution of the project.
Then recommend nursing actions/interventions to improve the health concern and achieve your stated goals and objectives. Discuss potential public and private partnerships that could be formed to implement your recommendations and create a timeline (i.e. 3 month, 6 month) for potential expected outcomes.
Sample Answer
Action Plan for a Community Educational Project
As nurses, we have an obligation to the patients and the communities we serve to implement initiatives to improve their health outcomes; to achieve this, it is necessary to have a structured plan of implementation, that also defines the justification on why the project is necessary. A well-structured plan can be used as a facilitative tool to gunner stakeholder support. The purpose of this action plan is to describe the different components of a community education project focused on heart disease prevention among the elderly living in Middletown, New York. Heart diseases continue to be a major cause of morbidities and mortalities among the elderly in the United States (US) (CDC, 2021 -b). Therefore, structured interventions should be implemented to reduce existing disparities leading to better community health outcomes.
Goals and Objectives
The Healthy People 2020 master plan provides a comprehensive framework with goals and objectives to improve the health of all Americans (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2018). The topic selection from the Healthy People 2020 is heart diseases. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US, with the elderly having higher prevalence rates and mortalities than any other group (CDC, 2021 -b). Therefore, the intervention is aimed at preventing and enhancing management practices to reduce mortalities caused by heart disease.
There are two goals that will guide the project to achieve the intended outcomes. The first goal is to improve cardiovascular health through prevention. According to Curry et al. (2018), preventive measures provide the most cost-effective approach to dealing with cardiovascular diseases. Heart disease can be prevented using simple lifestyle interventions like eating a proper diet and engaging in regular exercise, unless in some rare cases of congenital heart defects. The second goal is to enhance early detection and treatment of heart disease through targeted screening. Early screening allows early detection of problems in the cardiovascular system before symptoms appear. Screening also helps to identify modifiable risk factors that are reversible reducing one’s risk of getting heart disease by taking preventive measures (Curry et al., 2018).
The first objectives of the community education project are to reduce the risk of getting heart disease among the elderly. The second objective is to create awareness on the status of cardiovascular health among the elderly, prevention and management practices that can be implemented to improve that status. The goals and objectives will provide some guidelines on effective strategies and how to evaluate their success.
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Implementation Plan
An implementation plan is a structured roadmap on how to achieve the set goals and objectives. In a paper by Tan et al. (2020), The authors explain that most community-based nurse-led interventions lead to positive outcomes for residents with a high risk of cardiovascular diseases. However, the success of such interventions is dependent upon proper planning, resource allocation, and training of nurses to equip them with the skills to effectively implement the intervention. There are several benefits of having an implementation plan, for example, an implementation plan makes it easy to communicate the project’s progress to stakeholders. An implementation plan also helps in resource organization, thereby enhancing cost efficiency (Ross et al., 2018). Lastly, an implementation plan helps to create stakeholder trust and buy-in, at the same time improves accountability throughout the entire project.
Several crucial steps should be in the implementation plan to make the project a success. The first step is to identify project objectives, requirements, and the timeline of implementing the project. The next step of the project plan is to identify the key stakeholders who should be involved in the project. For example, in this project, the key stakeholders include the elderly patients living in Senior Living and if accessible, their family members. Another key stakeholder is the facility, which involves the leadership and care providers working in Senior Living. External sponsors are also part of the stakeholders who will be considered in the project. Project stakeholders play a crucial role in the project by providing their input in terms of resources and advice that could enhance the success of the project.
The third step in the project plan is the collection of project materials and creating the implementation team. The implementation team will assist with the structured activities, communicating with relevant stakeholders, among other subsequent steps of the project plan. The fourth step is the actual implementation of the project plan. In this step, it is crucial to adhere to the stipulated scope, timeline, and budget to avoid deviation from the goals and objectives of the project. The last step is project evaluation to confirm whether it is successful or not. No budget will be required for this project.
Justification for the Project
According to statistics by the CDC, Heart disease is the leading cause of death in men and women from most racial and ethnic groups, with an estimated mortality of over 650,000 people every year (CDC, 2021 -b). The statistics further indicate that over $350 billion is spent every year as a result of heart diseases, with the cost coming from management and treatment of heart diseases, and loss of productivity in case of death. The number of heart disease cases has been steadily rising, especially with the increase in people having obesity. The elderly remains to be the most affected population compared to their younger counterparts (CDC, 2021 -b).
Despite the adverse outcomes associated with heart diseases, they remain to be the most preventable compared to other chronic illnesses like cancer. some of the modifiable risk factors associated with heart disease include cigarette smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits, obesity, and high cholesterol (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2018). Implementing intervention to target these modifiable risk factors will go a long way in reducing morbidity and mortality rates associated with heart diseases. Some of the activities considered in the community education project include awareness creation and encouragement to engage in positive lifestyle changes among the elderly.
Implementation
The action plan will be implemented at a senior living care facility located in Middletown, New York. The main audience will be the elderly patients living within the facility, with the plan scheduled to be conducted starting from March. The implementation of the plan will take 4 months from the planning stage to evaluation of the project.
One of the teaching materials that will be required during the execution of the project includes a PowerPoint presentation describing some of the modifiable risk factors associated with heart disease, management practices for the elderly already with heart disease, and maintaining a state of health and wellness and a preventive measure against poor outcomes. The advantage of using a PowerPoint presentation is that it provides an effective approach, involving both oral and visual components to communicate with the audience, as such, it appeals to an audience with different learning styles (Shigli et al., 2016). Presentations also allow the collection of feedback from the audience indicating whether they have understood the concepts or not. Printed leaflets and flyers will also be used as additional materials, to create awareness and reinforce the community teaching activities. The content will be structured in an easy-to-understand format in consideration of the target audience.
Nursing Interventions to Improve the Health Concern
There are several interventions identified for the project that will help improve the cardiovascular health outcomes for the elderly living in Middletown. One of the interventions is a community teaching program. Community teaching will involve providing relevant materials to improve the knowledge of the residents living at the senior facility so that they can make the necessary changes in their lifestyle behaviors, thus improving their health outcomes. Another intervention is conducting a free screening program that will allow the residents in the senior living facility to know their status regarding heart disease and underlying risk factors. The information collected during patient screening will allow structured patient-centered interventions that will reduce the risk of experiencing severe outcomes.
Potential Public-Private Partnerships
Involving external partners can help expand the scope of the project, creating a wider impact on the community, and at the same time enhance the effectiveness of established interventions. One potential public partnership is with the local government, specifically the local department of health, where they can come in as partners, providing both personnel and other resources that can help in implementing the project. Their interest in the project will be fueled by their strategic goal of creating healthier communities and eliminating existing disparities as per the Health People 2020 plan. Potential private partnerships include partnerships with other senior living facilities within New York to expand the scope of the project, thereby reaching out to more elderly living in the community and with a high risk of getting heart disease.
Private facilities can also come help provide human resources through a structured partnership aimed to enhance community health outcomes targeting the health concern. On successful implementation of the project, it is expected that the expected outcomes will be achieved within three to four months after the initiation of the project. By then, the residents living within the senior living facility are expected to know their status and risk of getting heart disease. They should also be in a position to take the necessary steps in preventing adverse outcomes emanating from the health concern.
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Conclusion
The community education project is set to enhance the health outcomes of the elderly at high risk of getting heart disease. This action plan presents a detailed roadmap on how the objectives will be realized, including the activities that will be undertaken. The community health project is justified given the high prevalence and mortalities associated with heart disease, with the elderly being at a higher risk of poor outcomes compared to their younger counterparts. It is expected that it will take four months for the project outcomes to be accomplished.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021 -b). Heart Disease Facts. https://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm
Curry, S. J., Krist, A. H., Owens, D. K., Barry, M. J., Caughey, A. B., Davidson, K. W., Doubeni, C. A., Epling, J. W., Jr, Kemper, A. R., Kubik, M., Landefeld, C. S., Mangione, C. M., Silverstein, M., Simon, M. A., Tseng, C. W., Wong, J. B., & US Preventive Services Task Force. (2018). Screening for Cardiovascular Disease Risk With Electrocardiography: US Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. JAMA, 319(22), 2308–2314. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2018.6848
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2018). Heart Disease and Stroke. In Healthy People 2020. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/heart-disease-and-stroke
Ross, J., Stevenson, F., Dack, C., Pal, K., May, C., Michie, S., Barnard, M., & Murray, E. (2018). Developing an implementation strategy for a digital health intervention: an example in routine healthcare. BMC health services research, 18(1), 794. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3615-7
Shigli, K., Agrawal, N., Nair, C., Sajjan, S., Kakodkar, P., & Hebbal, M. (2016). Use of PowerPoint presentation as a teaching tool for undergraduate students in the subject of gerodontology. Journal of Indian Prosthodontic Society, 16(2), 187–192. https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-4052.167940
Tan, S. M., Han, E., Quek, R., Singh, S. R., Gea-Sánchez, M., & Legido-Quigley, H. (2020). A systematic review of community nursing interventions focusing on improving outcomes for individuals exhibiting risk factors of cardiovascular disease. Journal of advanced nursing, 76(1), 47–61. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14218
Jermaine Byrant
Nicole Johnson
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