Introduction
In order to promote the change among the community members living in Wynwood (Miami, Florida) and educate them regarding Hepatitis C, it is necessary to implement the intervention according to the MAPIT model. The components of this model developed in the context of the Healthy People 2020 program are the necessity to mobilize, assess, plan, implement, and track the change (“Program planning,” 2019). The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how a nurse can use the MAPIT model to plan for change in a community.
Mobilize
The first step is to mobilize people and resources for the purpose of organizing education for community members on the problem of Hepatitis C. It is necessary to identify potential partners and stakeholders, contact them, and present the vision and goal of the intervention. Thus, potential partners of Miami Rescue Mission in addressing the spread of Hepatitis C in Wynwood are community health centers and infection disease centers (“About serving the homeless,” 2019). The partners are important to support the initiative, provide investments, and contribute to reducing the disease rate.
Assess
The second step is the assessment of available and required resources with reference to the needs of the affected community. In Wynwood, it is necessary to assess what category of the population is at risk of having Hepatitis C and why, with reference to the homeless people. It is also important to assess whether community health centers have enough resources to provide education regarding the ways of transmitting the disease. The assessment should be based on the analysis of local statistics to conclude about factors that prevent educating community members about the threat of Hepatitis C.
Plan
In the third stage of planning, it is significant to determine the goal and the steps to reach it and make the positive change possible. For the current intervention, the objective is to achieve a 30% increase in the education level regarding the spread and prevention of Hepatitis C in the community population of Wynwood by the end of one year. Steps to complete include the determination of needs, the cooperation with stakeholders, the development of the educational program, the organization of community meetings, and the publication of brochures (Feldman, Balise, Schiff, Whitehead, & Thomas, 2017). Further surveys conducted in healthcare facilities will be used to measure the intervention’s success.
Implement
The next step is the implementation of the intervention according to the plan. Following a timeline and the list of activities, it is necessary to develop an educational program, organize meetings, and publish brochures. These processes include partners and stakeholders; therefore, much attention should be paid to organizing communication with them. The focus is on meeting the goals of this nursing educational intervention and contacting as many community members as possible.
Track
The final step in this process is the evaluation of the program results according to the previously set goals and plans. The focus is on realizing whether the objectives and the change were achieved. To track the progress regularly, it is necessary to plan quarterly evaluations of the results of the educational initiative. The aim is to assess what approaches to education are most effective to achieve the key goal in increasing the awareness of Hepatitis C causes and spread among community members.
Conclusion
The development of the plan for the intervention implementation referring to the MAPIT model allows for achieving the change in the community. The model is useful as it provides easy steps to follow and divides the process of implementing the change into several stages. As a result, it is possible to achieve better results of the intervention while concentrating on the realization of each step.
References
About serving the homeless. (2019). Web.
Feldman, E. B., Balise, R., Schiff, E., Whitehead, N., & Thomas, E. (2017). Barriers to Hepatitis C screening in a minority population: A comparison of Hepatitis C and Human Immunodeficiency Virus screening rates at a community STD clinic in Miami, Florida. Journal of Community Health, 42(5), 921-925.
Program planning: MAP-IT: A guide to using Healthy People 2020 in your community. (2019). Web.