Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example

Health promotion involves improving and protecting population health. Health promotion is achieved through established community healthcare programs intended to improve the outcomes of a target population and health issue. Health promotion allows individuals to gain control of their health and involves various environmental and social interventions focusing on preventing the root cause of diseases and managing people’s health (WHO, 2016). Health promotion programs can empower individuals to make healthier choices and reduce diabetes risks at the individual level. At the community level, health promotion programs help reduce health disparities, improve health, and increase health care accessibility and availability. This paper provides a rationale and outlines a health promotion program for diabetes prevention and management among rural residents of SK age 65 and over. The paper also highlights the specific objectives of the identified health promotion programs, the approaches to be used, the strength and limitations of these approaches, and the role of community health nurses in the planned health promotion program.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Community Description and Rationale for Health Promotion Program

The target community for the health promotion program is the adults aged 65 years and above residing in rural (farm and non-farm) Saskatchewan (SK) residents. The epidemiology assessment revealed that rural residents of Saskatchewan experience a high prevalence of diabetes with a higher incidence among the elderly aged 65 and above. Significantly, a four-year longitudinal study among rural SK residents revealed an increasing prevalence of diabetes, with a higher prevalence among non-farm residents compared to farm residents (Alam et al., 2020). Notably, low physical activity among rural residents contributes to a higher prevalence of diabetes among rural SK residents (Sigal et al., 2018).(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

From the community health assessment and diagnosis, this population has a high risk of developing diabetes. Government statistics indicate that diabetes incidence is higher in people aged 65 and older, with 1 in every 4 having diabetes (Government of Saskatchewan, 2016). The population of older adults aged 65 and over in Saskatchewan was 170,430, 15.6% of the total adult population of that age (Saskatchewan Bureau of Statistics, 2017). The rural population of SK is higher than the national average, with the rural residents tending to be older.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Plan for Health Promotion Program

The community diagnosis for the selected population is readiness for appropriate diabetes management interventions. A proposed community-health promotion program relevant to this diagnosis is targeted and sustained access to diabetes health services. Community development and service extension approaches are relevant and effective for this health promotion program. (Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Community Development Approach

According to Vollman, Anderson & McFarlane (2017), community development is a crucial health promotion program emphasizing community building through collective support and self-guided improvement. The strength of the community development approach is its ability to foster comprehensive dissemination of self-management and coping skills among diabetic presidents of rural SK. For example, a diabetes self-management program promoted by a weekly workshop for diabetic individuals to learn skills and strategies to manage their conditions. Consequently, participants learn to contribute to better health and quality of life by preventing exacerbation of the diabetes disease, associated pain, and mental health impacts. Through various workshop locations within rural SK, affected individuals and families and healthcare providers/partners would be engaged in developing and strengthening the community capacities to solve the prevalence of diabetes and consequent health outcomes by identifying common interests and consensus.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

The community development approach guides an appropriate assessment and presentation of the community health issues to political decision-makers (Vollman et al., 2017) to help establish crucial management strategies. Ideally, the involvement of relevant stakeholders in health promotion is essential for establishing appropriate policies, systems, and environments for problem-solving. According to the WHO (2016), health promotion requires a collective determination of policymakers across all levels of health departments. In this case, health should be at the central line of the government policy, prioritizing the regulations that would prevent people from becoming ill. For example, imposing higher taxes on unhealthy products, including tobacco, alcohol, and high sodium and sweetened foodstuff would minimize/regulate production and consequent availability for consumption.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Making systematic changes by improving policies, healthcare systems, the socio-economic and physical environment would increase the availability and accessibility of healthcare services and healthy choices for rural SK residents. The community development approach will be crucial in assessing the current community needs, issues, and assets/resources to help mitigate them. Moreover, the approach will facilitate the implementation of an action plan using the identified financial and human resources and elicited resources from supporting organizations. Lastly, the approach would facilitate program evaluation to demonstrate its impact and effectiveness in managing community problems through participatory evaluation.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Despite the positive aspects of community development and service extension approaches, inherent limitations could limit their efficacies. Community development is effective for long-term health promotion interventions and is often affected by limited funds and resources and inadequate support from community members. Due to its long-term nature, community development cannot contribute to short-term benefits. Moreover, insufficient support from the community considering the socio-economic status of rural residents, limited education, and poverty can constrain the efficacy of the community development approach to health promotion.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Service Extension Approach

According to Vollma et al. (2017), a service extension is an integral community health promotion approach that aims at extending the operations and services of health agencies into the community. The strength of the service extension approach is the extension of the operation and services of healthcare agencies and providers into the community, which increases the availability and accessibility of essential healthcare services.  For the selected population, consistent increase in population, limited health care centers, and rural nature makes health care access more challenging for SK residents. According to Statistics Canada (2021), rural residents have limited access to diabetes care compared to urban residents. Through a specially designed program, establishing a remote care team consisting of community health nurses and information technology experts would bring health care services closer to the affected, helping them manage their conditions.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Furthermore, service extension is crucial for health literacy. According to the WHO (2016), health literacy is an essential element of health promotion as it helps people acquire knowledge, skills, and information necessary for making healthy life choices and voice for universal health accessibility. Such a program would increase the community capacity for effective prevention, management, and treatment of diabetes for the selected population. Ideally, communities should have equal opportunities for their residents to make the life choices they want. Besides, the extended services could be used as a platform to provide the rural residents with ongoing education and mentoring by community health nurses regarding awareness about risk factors, physical activity, nutrition, and coping strategies. Therefore, service extension programs could play a vital role in empowering behavioral change and actions through increased knowledge.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

The service extension approach also has limitations, including professional and infrastructural needs.  Service extensions require partnership with higher education institutions, local health and education centers, programs, and resources. The basic infrastructures in the rural communities could limit access and utilization of health promotional services. Moreover, there is a need for supportive supervision, a healthcare referral system, and many community health workers to support the established heal promotion activities.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Health Promotion Goal and Objectives

Reduce Health Disparities in Rural SK

The primary goal of the selected health promotion is to achieve sustained access to diabetes health services. The existing and additional construction of community health clinics in SK can help provide and support primary health care services. Availability of proximal health care clinics provides timely, convenient, and accessible health services to older people. Moreover, the health care clinical adopts health-enhancing interventions, including continuous geriatric care and support. According to Spurr et al. (2017), consistent screening, culturally appropriate care, physical activity, and proper nutrition are crucial community-based interventions for diabetes. These recommendations should target certain diabetes risk factors such as age, obesity, overweight, hypertension, and male gender. The objectives for the health promotion goal are as discussed below.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Rural SK residents are disproportionality affected by high incidence and prevalence of diabetes than the national average as discussed herein. This is because of the differential predisposition to risks factors for diabetes due to the physical, socio-economic, and environmental disadvantages of adult residents in rural SK. The health promotion program aims at reducing. According to Stormacq, Van den Broucke & Wosinski (2019), health literacy is a modifiable diabetes risk factor that mediates the impact of socio-economic factors on health prevention measures and the health status of an individual/society, health outcomes and behaviors, and quality of life. Therefore, increasing access to health services would lead to better health outcomes for community-affected individuals and families.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Increase Awareness of Diabetes Health Risks Among Rural Residents of SK

Diabetes risks awareness was a crucial diagnosis component for the selected population. Disproportional awareness of diabetes risks factors could result in exacerbation and premature health. Increasing awareness of diabetes risks and disseminating health information on managing the risks and impact of diabetes could be crucial in achieving universal access to healthcare services. Moreover, your risk of diabetes increases the overall community health care services consumption turnover and associate health benefits. The program intervention would increase diabetes screening and healthy life choices among residents of rural SK.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Increase the Capacity of Rural Residents of SK to Make Healthy Life Choices, Including Physical Activity and Nutrition.

Given the growing prevalence of diabetes and disparities among adult residents of rural SK residents, community health intervention is needed to expand access to care and improve the delivery of diabetes care services to the rural residents. According to Spurr et al. (2017), community-based health interventions, culturally applicable prevention and management strategies, and diabetes surveillance are crucial interventions among the vulnerable population. The government’s evaluation of diabetes health impacts in SK can help inform policies supporting low-income families and universal health accessibility that help the targeted population leverage the available health services. Policies could be in the form of health incentives, the creation of dedicated community health teams, and supportive infrastructure for the targeted community. The outcome would be an increased number of health care centers and a well-coordinated health delivery framework for rural SK residents to access diabetes health services.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Educate the Rural SK Residents on the Self-Management of Diabetes and Help Them Develop Coping Skills to Pain, Distress, and Fatigue.

Self-management is a crucial intervention for diabetes management (Adu et al., 2019). Introducing and implementing community-wide educational programs among diabetic patients would facilitate effective management of blood glucose levels and other exacerbations/comorbidities associated with diabetes. Moreover, coping skills are crucial in managing the emotional and behavioral impact of diabetes, helping individuals live positively with associated pain and distress. The outcome would reduce mortality risks, healthcare costs, and positive health outcomes among diabetes individuals.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

The Role of the Community Health Nurse in Health Promotion

Nurses play a crucial role in community health promotion. Nurse contributes to health promotion through health education to promote health literacy (Wittenberg, Ferrell, Kanter & Buller, 2018). Community health nurses (CHNs) constitute primary health care teams and are involved in community health assessment and evaluation to determine community health needs and appropriate interventions.  Notably, community health assessment and evaluation are the foundation of health promotion programs and treatment interventions. They encourage the adoption of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors towards health interventions and public participation.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Moreover, community health nurses would campaign for healthcare provision for rural SK residents considering their healthcare needs. Vouching for improving healthcare services among the vulnerable population is social justice obligate and help support policy changes for a social and physical environment that contribute to diabetes risks. Social justice in the health context is crucial in establishing healthcare consciousness and commitment to making changes in the community (Nemetchek, 2018). For the selected health promotion, the CHNs contribute to creating awareness of the diabetes health risks and contribute to the advancement of healthy lifestyles through action and demonstration. Consequently, CHNs encourages individuals, families, and communities to choose healthy lifestyle to create a healthier future.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Conclusion

To sum up, health promotion is vital for achieving universal health care. For this paper, a population of older adults aged 65 and over was identified as at significant risk of diabetes and its associated health impacts. Because of the higher risk, the population’s readiness for appropriate diabetes management interventions was a primary diagnosis.  Community development and service extension approach are crucial in promoting access to sustained diabetes health services as the overall goal for health promotion. Significantly, community health nurses play a crucial role in the planned community health promotion, particularly in assessing and evaluating health needs, proposing appropriate intervention, treating, educating, and advocating for essential health policies to support healthcare access for the target population. (Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

References

Adu, M. D., Malabu, U. H., Malau-Aduli, A. E., & Malau-Aduli, B. S. (2019). Enablers and barriers to effective diabetes self-management: A multi-national investigation. PloS One, 14(6), e0217771. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0217771

Nemetchek, B. (2019). A concept analysis of social justice in global health. Nursing Outlook, 67(3), 244-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2018.12.023

Stormacq, C., Van den Broucke, S., & Wosinski, J. (2019). Does health literacy mediate the relationship between socio-economic status and health disparities? Integrative review. Health Promotion International, 34(5), e1-e17. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/day062

Vollman, A.R., Anderson, E.T., & McFarlane, J. (2017). Canadian community as a partner: Theory & multidisciplinary practice (4th ed.). Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Wittenberg, Elaine, Betty Ferrell, Elisa Kanter, and Haley Buller. “Health literacy: exploring nursing challenges to providing support and understanding.” Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing 22, no. 1 (2018): 53-61. https://doi.org/10.1188/18.cjon.53-61

World Health Organization. (August 2016). Health promotion. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/health-promotion  (Accessed 13 November 2021).

APPENDIX

Overall goal: The overarching goal for this health promotion is for the rural residents of SK to access sustained diabetes health services.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)

Target population: Older residents aged 65 and above living in rural SK, including farm and non-farm residents.

Program Components	Support	Education
Short-term goals	Diabetes risks awareness	Increased knowledge and understanding of diabetes risks and avoidance of modifiable risks factors, including unhealthy lifestyles.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)
	Diabetes self-management education	Positive changes in self-management of glucose levels, weight, and diabetes screening.
Long-term goals	Health disparities	Sustained access and uptake of diabetes health services.
	Healthy community lifestyle	Consistently make informed and healthy life choices, including physical activity and nutrition.(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)
Program/facilitators activities	Peer group education Support group workshops	Facilitate education and question and answer sessions to improve problem-solving(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)
Resources	Local health centers Mobile health vans Medical supplies Financials(Community Health Promotion Program Comprehensive Nursing Paper Example)	Medicine for diabetic patients Health promotion fliers and brochures