The target population will be the Westchester Community from Miami Dale County, Florida. The population in Westchester mainly consists of new individuals who are moving into the area from other countries. As such there is an enormous immigrant population with about less than 20% consisting of the locals. The total population is about 19, 600, 311 people. Westchester forms a unique population and community in the United States, and that is why it attracts interest from various groups. The largest part of the population consists of Hispanic immigrants that have lived in this region for a long time. Spanish is the language spoken in the area other than English. The area has several leisure parks that are managed by the local authority through the local community leaders. The Westchester Community is a hard working community and that’s why they spend a considerable amount of their time at work. As a result, in order to reach them it is imperative to incorporate the workplace supervisors for the intervention. The duration of the intervention will be three months with planned activities taking place on a bi-weekly basis.
The community has local leaders who are relied on by other organizations and government agencies to relay information to the community. The advantage of the using the local leaders is that the intervention will attract more participation as the involvement of the leaders will legitimize the process. The leaders also win the cooperation of the people since they are able to speak the same language. In order to be more effective it will be important to use the workplace supervisors. This is because some of the interventions will involve visiting the work place.
Health teaching includes a set of activities that are aimed at empowering communities to improve their health. The focus of the teaching in this intervention will be on nutrition and the physical activities. The program aims at ensuring that the attitude of the community is rectified. The program will include demonstration teaching so that the community can get a better grasp of the issues related to health. The role of the team leader will include taking care of all the logistics and preparations. The program partners and collaborators will be the local churches and leisure park managers. The local churches will serve as an entry point into the community and will also be important for the continued sustenance of the program even after the duration of the intervention is completed. Leisure park managers will also be included in the partnership as they will be responsible for overseeing and directing the use of the park during the intervention. To be cost effective, the program will make use of volunteers who will be provided with drinking water and lunch. The project will be the all-round program that will incorporate both secondary and tertiary activities. Secondary activities will be aimed at responding to the identified risks and avert them before any resulting health issues become more severe. While, on the other hand, tertiary interventions will prevent the effects of diseases and restore optimal functions of the affected community members.
Health teaching incorporates sessions for discussion where the participants can ask and answer questions. This allows for democracy as the target population can discuss and agree on the interventions to be adopted. Given that the community participates in the identification of the program, there is an enhanced sense of ownership. Health teaching brings community members together and as such the intervention will foster openness and enhance the communal approach to health issues. There will be a shared resource mobilization that breeds a sense of ownership. Health teaching has been proved to be effective and is grounded in the theory. Health education also provides links to other aspects of community life. Aspects of community life include homes, schools, social amenities, churches as well as other economic activities that exist in the community.
The qualitative method will involve conducting on thirty community members on their attitude regarding physical exercises and proper nutrition. The community members will be selected randomly using a simple sampling technique. The interview will be conducted using a pre-prepared questionnaire that will be completed pre and post the intervention.
The quantitative method will involve selecting a sample of 50 community members. The sample population will complete a questionnaire pre and post the intervention. The questionnaire will contain questions on participation in health promoting activities. The questionnaire will measure the increases in physical activities and adoption of appropriate dietary measures. The questionnaire will comprise both closed and open-ended questions. The results of the evaluation will be analyzed using the statistical software STATA. The data obtained will be presented using graphs and pie-charts.
After the program, the community members are expected to demonstrate an increase in the knowledge regarding the importance of physical exercises and appropriate nutrition. Given that the focus of the intervention program is to ensure there is a change of attitude among the community members, it is realistic to expect a positive outcome in this area. The community members are expected to demonstrate the role that nutrition plays in ensuring the health of an individual. As a result, the community members will be able to understand the importance of appropriate nutrition. The program will also help the community members to appreciate the harmful effects that emanate from the lack of physical exercises. Some of the diseases to be outlined include heart disease as well as other complications related to obesity. The level of appreciation of nutrition is expected to increase by the level of community members who are willing to create their diet plans.
The number of persons who engage in physical exercises is expected to increase significantly after the intervention. Following the intervention program, the number of community members who engage in nutritional planning is also expected to increase significantly. Currently, most of the community members have a low intolerance to physical activities. After the intervention program, it is expected that the average rate of physical activity tolerance will increase in the general population. This is because tolerance to physical activities builds up as an individual exercise. The incidence of health diseases related to improper nutrition and reduced exercises is also expected to reduce significantly.
References
Aranceta, J., Moreno, B., Moya, M. & Anadon, A. (2009). Prevention of overweight and obesity from a public health perspective. Nutrition Reviews, 67, 83–88
Chan, R. & Woo, J. (2010). Prevention of Overweight and Obesity: How Effective is the Current Public Health Approach. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 7(3), 765–783.
Cobiac, L., Vos ,T. & Veerman, L. (2010). Cost-effectiveness of Weight Watchers and the Lighten Up to a Healthy Lifestyle program. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 34(3), 240–47.
Russell, L. (2009). Preventing chronic disease: an important investment, but don’t count on cost savings. Health Affairs, 28(1), 42–45.
Sallis, J. & Glanz, K. (2009). Physical activity and food environments: solutions to the obesity epidemic. Milbank Quarterly, 87, 123–154.
Tannahill, A. (2009). Health promotion: the Tannahill model revisited. Public Health, 123, 396–99.