Healthy People 2020: Promoting Positive Outcomes

Introduction

Healthy People 2020 is the US government’s prevention agenda, which aims at building a healthier nation by identifying and addressing the most significant preventable threats. According to the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP, 2020), one of the central problems in US healthcare is Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs), as they are a source of complications that lead to an increased hospital stay, morbidity, mortality, and costs. However, recent studies suggest that the prevalence of HAIs can be decreased by 70% if healthcare providers join in a collective effort to implement the latest prevention practices (ODPHP, 2020). Such changes can reduce the annual cost of care by up to $31.5 billion (ODPHP, 2020). The present paper contrasts causes of disparities related HAIs and outlines a plan for communication for these populations.

Disparities in HAIs

The risk of HAIs is not the same among different populations. Multiple studies addressed the problem of disparities in HAIs by assessing the prevalence of the condition in large samples of mixed populations. A recent retrospective study by Leys et al. (2020) demonstrated that Native Americans have the highest risk of HAIs, and White Americans were the second population that was affected by HAIs the most. The level of HAIs occurrence varied between 1.7% and 2.9%, which is a large range signifying a disparity in HAI prevalence (Leys et al., 2020). Additionally, the prevalence of the condition differed significantly depending on the gender of the participants, as women had a lower chance of occurrence of HAIs. As for infants, Hispanics had the highest chance of getting HAIs, according to a study conducted by Liu et al. (2020). The primary causes of the disparities are varying socio-economic characteristics, frequency of healthcare service utilization, access to preventive measures, and adherence to antibiotics admission schedule (Leys et al., 2020). Since there are significant disparities of HAIs among different populations, a sound health communication strategy is needed to improve the outcomes.

Proposed Health Communication Strategy

One of the central causes of HAIs is antibiotic misuse, which creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria (Barchitta et al., 2021). The problem of antibiotic misuse is crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many people believe that SARS-COV-2 can be treated with antibiotics (Barchitta et al., 2021). Additionally, many people do not finish their antibiotic courses, which also creates antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which increases the prevalence of HAIs. Thus, it is crucial to create a health communication strategy that promotes thoughtful antibiotic use among all populations.

A health communication strategy is usually based on risk perception, reinforcement of positive behaviors, the influence of social norms, and empowerment of people to change (Rural Health Information Hub, 2020). The communication is usually conducted using radio, television, newspaper, flyers, social media tools, the internet, and brochures. Since the target of the communication strategy is to decrease the prevalence of HAIs among Whites and Native Americans by reducing antibiotic misuse, the communication strategy will use different channels for communication. In particular, the communication strategy proposes to use social media, brochures, and radio to communicate the harms of antibiotic misuse, provide education about the correct antibiotic use, and to reinforce the behavior by demonstrating the results of correct antibiotic use in communities.

Communication Plan Outline

The communication intervention is based upon Lewin’s change model, which implies that there will be three crucial steps: unfreezing, moving, and refreezing (Hussain et al., 2018). During the first stage, dissatisfaction with current practices is created using relevant communication techniques. The moving stage is creating new norms through education about the correct use of antibiotics. The final stage is refreezing by reinforcing the change using examples of successful practices. The outline of the communication plan is provided below.

Preliminary work

1. Select the community for the health communication intervention;
2. Assess the characteristics of the community, including the socio-economic status, race, ethnicity, age, and gender composition;
3. Identify the most frequently used media channels and most effective communication methods used previously.

Phase 1: Unfreezing

1. Gathering content for communicating the negative effects of antibiotic misuse;
2. Creating a schedule for communicating negative effects of antibiotic misuse using social media, radio, and brochures;
3. Dissemination of knowledge through the selected channels.

Phase 2: Moving

1. Gathering relevant material;
2. Conducting education cessions about correct antibiotic use online;
3. Conducting education cessions about correct antibiotic use in local healthcare organizations;
4. Distributing brochures about correct antibiotic use after hospitalization in local healthcare organizations.

Phase 3: Refreezing

1. Communicating the results of the intervention to the community;
2. Demonstrating the effects of correct antibiotic use in other communities.

Evaluation

1. Gathering relevant quantitative and qualitative data;
2. Analyzing the gathered data.

Evaluation Plan

It is crucial to evaluate the results of the intervention for assessing its effectiveness and further modernization. The proposed intervention will be evaluated using both qualitative and quantitative data. In particular, information about the prevalence of HAIs will be gathered after the intervention and compared to the statistics before the intervention. The data will be assessed using statistical analysis. Any significant reduction in the prevalence rates in any of the populations will be considered a success. Additionally, random members of the targeted populations will be asked about their satisfaction with the provided intervention, its perceived importance, and success.

Targeted Communication by Population

1. Native Americans. Since many Native Americans have decreased access to the internet and social media and live in remote areas, the most appropriate channel for communication is radio. The target for this population is to reduce the prevalence of HAIs among Native Americans by 15% by creating and delivering radio programs on the correct use of antibiotics and the harms of incorrect use of antibiotics after hospitalizations.
2. Whites. Antibiotic misuse is most probable among this population due to increased access to medications and a higher mean level of income. The target for this population is to engage in local social media to reduce the prevalence of HAIs by 10% by making relevant posts on the correct use of antibiotics and the harms of incorrect use of antibiotics.
3. Other populations. The target for other populations is to decrease the prevalence of HAIs by distributing brochures on the importance of correct antibiotic use after admission to in-patient facilities.

Reflection

The present project provided several insights on health communication interventions, which will use in the future. First, I realized that health communication is not always a perfect method for health promotion. In particular, addressing HAIs through health communication is not effective, as nest practices demonstrate that interventions should target care providers (ODPHP, 2020). Second, I learned the importance of using theoretical frameworks to plan health communication interventions. Lewin’s change theory helped to understand the crucial steps that should be taking to promote a positive change in the community. Finally, I realized that health communication is a valuable tool for reaching communities to promote health and prevent diseases.

References

Barchitta, M., Maugeri, A., La Rosa, M. C., La Mastra, C., Murolo, G., & Agodi, A. (2021). Three-Year Trends of Healthcare-Associated Infections and Antibiotic Use in Acute Care Hospitals: Findings from 2016–2018 Point Prevalence Surveys in Sicily, Italy. Antibiotics, 10(1), 1-11.

Hussain, S. T., Lei, S., Akram, T., Haider, M. J., Hussain, S. H., & Ali, M. (2018). Kurt Lewin’s change model: A critical review of the role of leadership and employee involvement in organizational change. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 3(3), 123-127.

Leys, L., Weze, K., Donaldson, S., & Mehari, A. (2020). Racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare-associated infections in the United States. Chest, 158(4), A339.

Liu, J., Sakarovitch, C., Sigurdson, K., Lee, H. C., & Profit, J. (2020). Disparities in Health Care–Associated Infections in the NICU. American journal of perinatology, 37(2), 166-174.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. (2020). Healthcare-associated infections. Healthy People 2020.

Rural Health Information Hub. (2020). Health Communication. RHI hub. Web.