Introduction
The identified health risks for the people living in Tampa, Florida, include the risk for respiratory diseases and gastrointestinal diseases, along with disasters such as flooding, heatwaves, hurricanes, and others. It is, therefore, fundamental to have a plan of action. Knowing the risks, several measures need to be implemented to counter or mitigate them before they happen, and when they do, how to handle them. Therefore, this paper will discuss several ways to implement the action plan using the chosen group residing in Tampa, Florida.
Selected Group
The group selected for this implementation plan is two families living in Tampa. The first family comprises four individuals, the parents and two young kids under five. The second family comprises five individuals, two parents, and three kids, all over 18 years old. The two groups were selected because of their differences; the first has two young kids who depend wholly on their parents for safety and healthy lives. The other family has grown children who are partially responsible for their safety and health status.
Reason for Selecting the Group
The above group was selected due to their notable differences. One has dependent children, while the other has partially independent children, which is a good contrast. This will enable this study to highlight how different groups, according to their dynamics, can handle disasters and health problems. It also highlights how different each group is, enabling the tailoring of disaster and risk services to suit each group instead of providing a general solution that might not apply to every individual. Therefore, the group is suitable for this study to represent the whole community partially.
Interventions to Implement
The risks identified for this particular group are the risk of respiratory diseases and the risk of gastrointestinal diseases. These two can be fatal, especially for children under five years, because their immunity is not yet fully functional and robust. First is the risk for respiratory diseases, mainly due to the release of harmful industrial gases into the atmosphere. The plan was to sensitize the industries to devise other waste management means. Therefore, to implement this plan, seminars will be held with the officials of companies to address the problem and find alternative ways.
Additionally, the chosen families will be encouraged to reside in a child-friendly place with fewer plants, significantly reducing the risk. Furthermore, parents are encouraged to fully immunize their kids and ensure they receive additional vaccinations to prevent diseases such as pneumonia, especially for children under five years old, and even during the recent coronavirus pandemic (Jiang et al., 2020). Last but not least, health promotion discussions will be held with the chosen families to ensure they develop health-promoting behaviors, thus successfully preventing disease, which is the most critical factor. With this implementation, the health risk of respiratory diseases will be successfully managed.
The second risk identified was the risk of gastrointestinal diseases. This was caused mainly by flood waters contaminating the domestic water. The plan was to conduct health education programs to counter the problem of knowledge deficiency on the disease and promote healthy habits, which are vital (Brede et al., 2021). Therefore, to implement this, home visits will be done in the group selected, where focused discussions will be conducted concerning the literature on gastrointestinal diseases. This will enable them to know what causes it and thus know how to prevent it.
Additionally, they will understand why it is fatal, especially for families with children under 5, and therefore pay more attention when the children are diagnosed with the condition. The groups will also be sensitized to immunization against it, and follow-ups will be made to ensure that the children are fully immunized (Levine & Lowe, 2019). Having implemented these interventions, the risk of gastrointestinal diseases will be successfully managed.
Results Expected
The results expected from implementing the above interventions are general improvements in the overall quality of life. This means that more people will be healthy because the diseases will be mitigated before they happen. Secondly, immunization coverage will increase. Following the health talks that will be done with the selected group, it is expected that the importance of vaccination to the children will be seen, and the family will ensure that their children have all the required vaccines. Having all these, the cases of respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases will substantially reduce in the group and the community.
Implementation Plan
The interventions mentioned will be implemented in phases. This means that scheduled visits to address one issue will be implemented. Some sessions will combine both families, while some will include one family to address their specific needs. Health education will be the first to be implemented, as this is important; next, follow-up will be done to ensure that factors such as immunization are being followed. Finally, the concerned organizations will be visited to help where their scope allows.
Resources Needed
The first resources required will be human resources, which will help carry out the talks and home visits. In line with that, means of transport, such as a car or money to move around, will be required for home visits to be possible. Lastly, reference materials will be required for the family to refer to during the talks. Finally, the results will be seen after around two to three months.
Conclusion
In conclusion, several health risks have been identified in the chosen group, including respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases. The group selected comprises two families living in Tampa. A plan of action to mitigate the risk has then been devised. With the plan, implementation is then discussed; the major intervention is to conduct health promotion talks to enable people to live healthier lives.
References
Brede, K., Wandel, M., Wiig, I., & Lippe, C. (2021). Primary immunodeficiency disease and gastrointestinal distress: Coping strategies and dietary experiences to relieve symptoms. Qualitative Health Research, 31(2), 361-372. Web.
Jiang, C., Yao, X., Zhao, Y., Wu, J., Pan, C. & Liu, S. (2020). Comparative review of respiratory diseases caused by coronaviruses and influenza A viruses during epidemic periods. Microbes and Infections, 22(6-7), 236–244. Web.
Levine, R. (2019). The scientific basis of oral health education. Springer International Publishing, 21(2):131-3. Web.