Community Health Nursing Diagnosis Statement
Increased risk of mental illnesses among people aged between 18 and 39 years in Brevard County related to lack of access to mental health services demonstrated by the increased rate of diagnosed cases of depressive disorder.
Health Inequity/Disparity
Mental health is critical since it ensures that people maintain overall good health. Individuals with different mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, will find it hard to participate in desirable behaviors for promoting health. The goal of Healthy People 2020 is to maximize access to quality and sustainable mental health services in an effort to improve patients’ experiences (Florida Health Charts, n.d.). Certain populations and communities in the United States are at a higher risk of mental illnesses due to a lack of proper care and support. Mental diseases tend to be associated with depression, substance abuse, anxiety, and the absence of proper mechanisms (NAMI Florida, 2021). In Florida, the rate of hospitalization for persons with mental diseases stood at around 1,026 cases for every 100,000 population (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). This challenge affected African Americans. The report of 2018 revealed around 37.3 percent of individuals aged above 18 percent were receiving timely treatment for different treatment regimes for mental health (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). Individuals aged between 18 and 39 years were at risk of mental illnesses due to increased use of illicit drugs, binge drinking, failed romantic relationships, limited education, poor literacy, and the absence of proper support mechanisms (Skyrmes & Nessel, 2021). Women were also affected significantly in the selected region despite the fact that they represented around 51 percent of the total population.
The formulated policies and health systems only focused on the elderly since they were at a higher risk of recorded mental illnesses. Some of the affected young men and women were always in denial, thereby being unable to receive personalized mental health services (Skyrmes & Nessel, 2021). According to the Well Being in the Nation Network, it occurred that around 84.78/100,000 deaths of despair were recorded in Brevard Country in 2018 (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). Various forces led to most of these deaths, such as suicide, drug abuse, and alcoholism. Additionally, the members of the target population lacked medical insurance, were unemployed, and/or unable to receive timely resources. Because of the nature of these predicaments, suicides of individuals between 18 and 39 years around 800 cases in 2020 (Florida Health Charts, n.d.). These issues, therefore, continue to affect the overall health outcomes of the selected population.
Primary Community and Prevention Resources
In Brevard Country, significant resources are available to support patients with mental illnesses and guide them to record positive health outcomes. For example, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has its operations in the selected community (NAMI Florida, 2021). NAMI Brevard County liaises with the parent organization to identify, empower, treat, and transform the lives of persons suffering from depression and other mental challenges (NAMI: Brevard County, n.d.). The Brevard Health Alliance is another resource that offers integrated responses to improve the health experiences of persons with mental diseases (NAMI: Brevard County, n.d.). The agency provides integrated behavioral and mental services in these areas in the county: Palm Bay, Melbourne, Cocoa, Malabar, and Rockledge (Brevard Health Alliance, n.d.). The county government also supports medical institutions and community-based programs to meet the needs of the targeted patients.
Underlying Causes
As indicated earlier, a number of causes are to blame for the challenge of depression in the selected community. Some of the identified ones include binge drinking, substance abuse, and age factor. Individuals belonging to marginalized populations, such as women, Latinos, African Americans, and underpaid citizens, were at a higher risk of developing such illnesses (NAMI: Brevard County, n.d.). The absence of adequate and inclusive mechanisms to meet the medical needs of the wider population contributed significantly to this primary health issue.
Evidence-Based Practice
Brevard Health Alliance remains involved in the selected community to provide evidence-based care to children, families, adults, and even adolescents affected by depression. The agency relies on the power of integrated behavioral health care (IBH), whereby behavioral health experts collaborate with practitioners to improve patients’ experiences (Brevard Health Alliance, n.d.). Experts implement this approach to transform beneficiaries’ health and personal experience (Brevard Health Alliance, n.d.). The model resonates with the concept of whole-person care, and it amounts to effective behavioral therapy (Brevard Health Alliance, n.d.). Most of the existing medical institutions are equipped with the relevant resources to offer personalized treatment and therapies to tackle depression.
Identification of Data
Belevard County, FL, is one of the communities in the United States facing the challenge of various mental problems. The selected population, characterized by citizens aged 18 and 39 years, is at a higher risk of depressive disorder (Skyrmes & Nessel, 2021). An investigation completed by the Wellbeing in the Nation Network revealed that depression and other mental illnesses were linked to despair deaths (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). The findings revealed that both social and addiction challenges contributed to the problem. Affected young people had higher chances of becoming disoriented and feeling hopeless. The absence of job opportunities also led to this health problem. Consequently, around 84 per 100,000 persons commit suicide annually due to such illnesses (Florida Health, 2019). In another investigation, it occurred that around 10.8 percent of citizens in Brevard County lacked health insurance, thereby increasing their chances of missing proper medical support for mental illnesses (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). In the same community, around 24 percent of the population reported cases of depression (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). The ongoing coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic increased the percent to around 34 in 2021 (Alonzo & Popescu, 2021). This trend could be attributed to the absence of social support systems, lack of employment opportunities, and absence of proper mechanisms to tackle alcoholism, homelessness, and poor living conditions in Brevard (Well Being in the Nation Network, n.d.). Fortunately, it emerged that around 80 percent of the persons experiencing chronic depression due to the impacts of COVID-19 had either sought or were getting timely treatment (Skyrmes & Nessel, 2021). Due to the identified gaps in this local county, it becomes quite clear that the selected health issue is a major challenge that calls for an effective action campaign or solution.
Social Media Campaign Objective
The proposed social media campaign initiative seeks to increase awareness of mental illnesses among adults aged 18-39 years in Brevard County, FL, and improve both delivery and uptake of mental health services by 10 percent within a period of two (2) months.
Social Marketing Interventions
To achieve the outlined objective, proper social marketing interventions are necessary and capable of encouraging more people to be involved throughout the process. The first approach entails the use of powerful campaigns informing members of society to engage those with mental illnesses or those who are at risk of depression. The strategy would be designed in such a way that most of the affected persons aged 18-39 would be part of the process. The effort will inform them about the nature of the selected health problem, some of the causal factors, and possible treatment options (Florida Behavioral Health Association, 2019). Medical institutions and community-based agencies would be included to support the campaign and make the marketing process more successful (Karim et al., 2020). This marketing strategy will foster collaboration among caregivers, social workers, and established organizations to disseminate useful information and engage all the involved stakeholders.
The second marketing intervention will be the inclusion of step-by-step guidelines for pursuing behavioral therapy. The effort will allow the affected patients to remain involved, embrace such therapies, and report their health experiences (Brevard Health Alliance, n.d.). The campaign would also encourage them to seek additional treatment from most of the available centers and community-based agencies (Colizzi et al., 2020). The inclusion of these social media marketing approaches will play a positive role in meeting the formulated objective.
Description of Social Media Platform
Facebook and Twitter are integrative social media platforms that have millions of global users. For Facebook, the professionals will create a page whereby members will seek updated information. The page will allow the members to share their experiences and help outline some of the signs and risk factors associated with depressive disorder. The use of Twitter will also allow members to follow updated information and share their views. These two social media platforms have mechanisms for allowing people to communicate and share their views or information. Such websites use algorithms to target and segment people who might be in need of mental health support. The model also selects people depending on their likes, network sharing, previous searches, and likes (Naslund et al., 2020). These social media platforms will result in inclusive discussions and involvement to establish the severity of this health problem. Additionally, the fact that these platforms do not charge users means that the project will deliver much-needed results.
Benefits of Social Media Platforms
Each of the selected platforms for the proposed marketing efforts has the potential to support preventative healthcare in Brevard, FL. Specifically, Facebook and Twitter will encourage more people to discuss and share their experiences with mental health. They will pinpoint the social and economic triggers of this problem (Gao et al., 2020). Additional incentives would be appropriate whereby users will learn about evidence-based approaches for ensuring that mild cases due not become serious. Institutions and agencies involved in this field would be allowed to participate in the discussions and provide timely inputs for addressing this health problem. Statistical evidence will be presented to encourage more people to focus on the best solutions (Datzman, 2020). Areas for improvement would emerge whereby existing clinics and agencies will consider better ways to meet the demands of persons facing the problem of depression.
Benefit to Target Population
The proposed campaign initiatives will be designed to tackle mental illnesses directly. With the procedures integrating all users, it will be easier for citizens aged 18-39 to be part of the process. Most of the people under this age bracket are technologically savvy and capable of using Facebook and Twitter. The approach will disseminate timely information about depression, causal factors, challenges, and existing support systems (Datzman, 2020). The beneficiaries will appreciate that a real health problem exists. Such individuals will then consider the evidence and replicate some of the best practices to improve their health experiences. The updated healthcare messages will also allow them to engage each other, form focus groups, and borrow insights from those who might have overcome this problem (Brevard Prevention Coalition. (2021). The possible outcome is that an additional 10 percent of the affected population would be involved in tackling their mental health problems.
Best Practices for Social Media
To achieve desirable outcomes, the CDC Social Media Toolkit will form the basis for the campaign. This means that the campaign will ensure that the content uploaded is simple and short. I will limit the number of posts to get relevant feedback and increase the time for engagement (Latha et al., 2020). The CDC Toolkit reveals that uploading a small number of posts in a day is preferable. This strategy will make the account more active while ensuring that the followers remain engaged. Since Facebook and Twitter offer a platform for feedback and responses to posts, it will be possible to maximize traffic (Voorveld et al., 2018). More people will ensure benefit from the relevant information. It is evident that increased relevance and user engagement are critical success factors for any social media campaign.
Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities
Several stakeholders are expected to perform various tasks to make the marketing campaign successful. The first one would be the owners of the platforms being used. These stakeholders will have minimal involvement since all other users would only need to abide by the presented terms of engagement. The second category would be the campaign implementers, who would be required to craft and post the relevant health messages and guidelines on the best courses of action. The third group of stakeholders includes users and followers who would be expected to provide their comments and feedback on the messages. They will spread the information, engage others, and implement personalized actions for dealing with depression (Gough et al., 2017). Specifically, this category would focus on the needs of the target population aged 18 to 39 years. The fourth group would include medical institutions, community institutions, and organizations involved in mental illness across Brevard, FL. These agencies will offer additional messages, communicate to users about the available treatment sessions and therapies, and guide people to transform their lives. For instance, Brevard County Health Department will provide timely insights regarding the nature of mental illnesses in the county ad how people can overcome the challenge. Local hospitals in the region will be encouraged to be part of this campaign. Specifically, users will be guided to identify and consult the websites of such hospitals. Behavioral health hospitals in the county will also be involved to help more people appreciate the problem of mental illnesses and how they can record positive outcomes. Brevard Heath Alliance will also be part of the initiative to help more people overcome their health predicaments. Finally, a consideration of celebrities could help sustain this campaign and ensure that more people are part of the project.
Potential Public and Private Partnerships
The concept of public-private partnerships is evidence-based and can help support the proposed campaigns. For this scenario, public institutions can be involved in outlining various efforts, therapies, treatment regimes, and resources for dealing with mental illnesses. Learning institutions could be part of the process to offer emerging guidelines and ideas for tackling this problem (Abuhashesh et al., 2021). Private agencies, such as businesses and clinics, could be engaged to offer additional messages on social platforms and identify better procedures for recording desirable health outcomes. To achieve positive and more sustainable outcomes, a number of stakeholders will be considered to become part of the process. The identified ones would Brevard County Health Department, local hospitals’ websites, behavioral health hospitals and their outpatient facilities in the county, and Brevard Heath Alliance.
Timeline
Evaluation
As disclosed in the figure above, the final part would be to examine the observations from the campaign and offer a detailed report after the evaluation. Specifically, the exercise will help determine whether or not the strategy has delivered the intended objective. This goal will be achieved by encouraging users to provide insights and feedback about the campaign. Potential beneficiaries will also describe how the campaign has transformed their mental illnesses and overall health experiences (Purcarea, 2019). The use of a pie chart detailing the number of participants and those who recorded positive health outcomes would help determine whether the campaign delivered the anticipated 10 percent.
Cost of Implementing the Campaign
The proposed campaign requires financial support to achieve positive outcomes. However, the availability of Internet access makes the process smoother. However, four professionals would be needed to launch and monitor the campaign. This means that the exercise would require around 10,000 US dollars to deliver desirable outcomes. This amount would only be required for paying the identified professionals and equipping them with timely resources (Florida Behavioral Health Association, 2019). Users will be expected to rely on their computers and/or handheld devices to be part of this strategy.
Reflection on Social Media Marketing
The studied health problem in Brevard County offers numerous insights for community health nurses to promote healthier populations. Such a professional can rely on social media marketing to engage, inform, and empower members of the population to improve their health outcomes. The best example would be the use of such campaigns to encourage more with various mental illnesses to seek much-needed services (Purcarea, 2019). The use of social media platforms will ensure that more people are part of the process. The possible outcome is that the beneficiaries will engage in evidence-based approaches for managing identified symptoms, such as depression, stress, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Reflection on Future Nursing Practice
Nursing practice is intended to identify and help more people transform their lives. As a professional, I am planning to integrate social media platforms into my actions to advocate for healthier lifestyles and outcomes. I will use such campaigns to launch new approaches for tackling smoking. I would do so by encouraging people to quit, outlining the unique challenges associated with the vice, and guiding them to identify apps and platforms they can consider if they want to record positive results. I will also offer timely information about the diseases associated directly with smoking, such as autoimmunity, stroke, cancer, and cardiovascular illnesses (Alonzo & Popescu, 2021). The approach could also empower me to educate more people about overall mental health and encourage them to engage in self-help practices.
References
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