Community Health Planning Proposal

Here, we published a sample of how we addressed the possible “do my assignment for me cheap” request for a healthcare student. You can use it as inspiration or guidance for your paper, or take a look at the high-quality papers we provide and place an order with us.

CHPS moves health services to community locations, develops sustainable volunteerism and community health action, empowers women and vulnerable groups, and improves health provider, household and community interaction. This program had origins in the activities and research findings of the Navrongo Health Research Centre (NHRC) which has conducted a successful field experiment in Kassena-Nankana District of the Upper East Region. The Navrongo experiment tested means of addressing inequities in the health system through mobilization of both health sector and community resources.

Overview of Demographics

The KFH-Woodland Hills Medical Center service area is home to about 1,428,966 people. Regarding gender, 50,62% of the population are female, while the rest 49,38% are male. The region is characterized by diverse community with the white being the majority (46%), followed by Latinos (33%), Asian (6%), and African American (2%). The majority (63%) of the population is aged between 18 and 64 with a small percentage (24%) falling below 18 years bracket, and the rest are older adults (Kaiser Foundation Hospital Woodland Hills, 2016). The identified specific needs of this community are many, encompassing unprecedented rates of fast food overconsumption and numerous cases of cardiovascular and circulatory diseases. Other significant health issues affecting the region include cancer, road accidents, adult obesity as well as infant mortality. It is also worth mentioning that the access to primary care is highly limited. Besides, the locals are considerably inactive rarely exercise. Overall, the physical environment is not favorable exposing the population to all kinds of illnesses. Therefore, there is an urgent need to address these issues to provide its inhabitants with better health care services.

Health Disparities

Health disparities of interest in this study include obesity, diabetes, and mental health. Based on community rankings, these health issues were identified as primary health needs of this area. The ranking relies on surveys, focus group discussions and forums, as well as key informant interviews. In addition, the researchers utilized data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention among other government databases to create the health needs priority list. Statistically, about a third of the adult population in this area and the United States, in general, are overweight. Evidently, about 36,10% of the locals in KFH-Woodlands Hills neighborhood are obese. However, this figure is slightly higher by 0,3 margins as compared to the rates at the country level. People in this region frequent fast food joints and rarely walk to work. Per 100,000 people, there are about 5,87 more fast food restaurants in KFH-Woodlands Hills. Those who commute by car to work amount to 76,07% as compared to the state’s figures of about 73,16%. Although diabetes is prevalent in the region at 7,60%, it is slightly lower than the state’s, which stands at 8,05%. Similarly, the percentage of people in need of mental health services in the region is lower when compared with the country statistics by a 0,2% margin (Kaiser Foundation Hospital Woodland Hills, 2016). Despite the fact that these standards are slightly lower as compared to the country’s figures, they are of a great concern to the local community as explained above.

Solution to Health Disparities Identified

Obesity

Obesity is primarily attributed to poor lifestyles, such as the lack of regular exercises and proper diet. Evidently, locals commute to work by cars and frequently attend fast food restaurants (Kaiser Foundation Hospital Woodland Hills, 2016). As such, an ideal strategy to deal with the cases of obesity entails the establishment of programs and health education classes. The agency will achieve this objective in collaboration with local community-based organizations. This project aims at guiding the residents on how to adopt healthier lifestyles through free preventive and disease management lectures. This strategy involves hiring a fitness and nutrition instructor per 100 people. Each group will volunteer at least 10 people with each taking charge of ten others. The selected individuals will be trained on how to teach others to bridge human resource constraints in order to ensure the project is successful. Besides, the project will involve setting up green spaces in the neighborhood to reach and involve more people within the community. Each training station will be provided with public exercise equipment, while disease management lesson will be offered online on social media and health fairs around the neighborhood in churches, schools, business centers, and public service announcements. Most importantly, the program will involve extensive renovation of sidewalks to promote community walkability. The project will start as soon as today (13/02/2018) because it does not feature complicated logistics.

Diabetes

The drivers for diabetes in this community are mainly inactivity and much consumption of alcohol. Widespread mismanagement of high blood pressure is also a major contributing factor to the significant prevalence of diabetes in the area. As such, the intervention measures adopted must address the identified causes of diabetes. Regarding inactivity, the solutions provided in the section above apply in this case too. The second cause can be managed through education programs aimed at enlightening the population on the best ways to control high blood pressure (James et al., 2014). This will be achieved in partnership with local hospitals and community-based clinics. Although this plan will take longer to start and actualize, it can be performed in the short-run through the provision of scheduled mobile services and regular health fairs in churches and health centers. Short-run implementation of this project will start immediately (13/02/2018), while the long-term vision is implemented gradually until its completion in a year. The heart of this program are medical practitioners and physical fitness personnel. Moreover, the organization would push for the restriction of the number of liquor retailers, increases in liquor licensing fee, and increase in taxes. This would be possible to achieve through negotiation and public awareness campaign.

Mental health

The most significant contributors to poor mental health in the neighborhood are low-levels of education and persistent poverty. An ideal strategy to solve this problem involves the creation of reliable social networks and support systems. In this regard, different health, social, and government agencies must collaborate to make health care accessible through resources and information sharing, and eliminate the barriers to educational attainment (Kaiser Foundation Hospital Woodland Hills, 2016). This is achievable through awareness campaign and the creation of scheduled mobile services as explained above. Within these training centers, people will be able to develop secure social networks and support system that will help them realize higher education attainment and supplementary income. This project will also start immediately, because it is pegged to other projects stated above.

Success Factors

It is anticipated that the money would last for a year, because the organization would enter into a partnership with other community-based agencies while at the same time adopting cost-saving measures. For instance, the training of fitness officers among the locals will supplement the organization with the needed professionals in service delivery through volunteering. Long-term success indicators entail an increase in the number of people with the access to quality healthcare and a significant reduction in the rates of obesity, diabetes, and mental health issues. Short-term indicators include an increase in health care coverage particularly among the vulnerable population, significant reduction in workforce shortages, increase in insurance coverage, and improvement in timely access to medical care.

Financial Control Measures

It is possible to reduce financial mismanagement by employing a variety of fraud-reducing activities. They include subjecting the organization to an external audit through an independent certified public accountant or firm. Besides, the agency will undertake periodic internal reviews by the firm’s audit committee. Moreover, the organization will create a compliant environment founded on a culture of compliance with law and ethics. The enactment of a code of ethics will help to minimize the conditions that favor fraud. Other measures include the establishment of anti-fraud policy, training of personnel, and maintaining proper books of account (Alcott, 2012). These rules will guarantee adequate management of donor funds.

References

Alcott, D. (2012). Preventing and responding to fraud and financial mismanagement: Not for profit–safeguards. Westchester Bar Journal, 38(1), 71-74.

James, P. A., Oparil, S., Carter, B. L., Cushman, W. C., Dennison-Himmelfarb, C., Handler, J., ..., & Ortiz, E. (2014). 2014 evidence-based guideline for the management of high blood pressure in adults: Report from the panel members appointed to the Eighth Joint National Committee (JNC 8). Jama, 311(5), 507-520.

Kaiser Foundation Hospital Woodland Hills. (2016). 2016 community health needs assessment. Retrieved from https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/content/dam/internet/kp/comms/import/uploads/2013/10/KFH-Woodland-Hills-IS-Report.pdf