Tracking of the progress during the intervention implementation is the fifth step in the MAP-IT model. Various assessment activities can help identify barriers to success and make necessary corrections promptly. In the given paper, the significance of the preliminary environmental assessment, as well as post-assessment activities, will be discussed.
Environmental Analysis: Barriers to Implementation
A preliminary analysis of environmental risks, opportunities, as well as the aggregate’s weaknesses and strengths, allows revealing possible barriers to the actualization of the suggested education program. It is possible to say that costs associated with the implementation of the intervention represent as the major barriers as they may discourage the family members to participate. For instance, the costs of informational resources and materials, as well as consultations with a competent nutritionist and a physical education specialist, may easily exceed a few hundred dollars. However, the fact that the selected family is from the middle class and does not have significant financial difficulties may help to mitigate the given risk.
It will be possible to encourage the family members to participate in the course by calculating the ratio between the education program’s cost efficiency and the costs associated with engagement in unhealthy lifestyles. When taking into consideration the program’s potential favorable effects on the health, the expenditures involved in the arrangement and administration of the course will be significantly smaller in comparison to potential losses due to the management of chronic conditions provoked by current health risks.
Measurable Signs of Success
The project realization will be monitored all the time, while the evaluation of success will be administered after all major steps (i.e., education of health risks, nutritional intervention, etc.) are completed. The purpose of this phase is to identify the recorded results and offer new suitable adjustments to the plan. The final results will be measured based on both subjective perceptions of the course participants and objective data.
It is possible to say that the objective indicators can serve as measurable signs of success. For instance, the BMI and other final physiological indexes will be compared to those collected prior to the beginning of the intervention course. Even moderate weight loss will be considered as a positive result. Other favorable signs may include normalized systolic (140 mmHg) and diastolic (90 mmHg) blood pressure, normalized lipid content and low-density lipoprotein (<130 mg/dL), in particular.
As stated by Hirakawa et al. (2016), an elevated lipid level promotes insulin resistance, as well as various lipid disorders including those associated with obesity. In this way, it is a risk factor contributing to the development of diabetes and, therefore, it should be controlled through the cognitive-behavioral intervention. Additionally, the given indexes contribute to cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack and stroke (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care, 2016). These factors can be modified through the intervention described in the previous papers, and the improved objective data will serve as a sign of the program success.
It can be suggested to carry out post-assessment activities in two phases. The first one will take place right after the course ends (after eight weeks). It will allow identifying the immediate results. However, by evaluating the same objective data collected three months after the completion of the education program, it will be possible to assess to which extent does the given intervention contribute to sustainable engagement in healthier lifestyles.
Conclusion
Evaluation and tracking are essential processes in the intervention implementation. Conducted at distinct stages, these activities provide practitioners with various information. The preliminary assessment, for instance, helps identify environmental barriers and threats. Based on this information, it is possible to take timely measures to maximize the benefits of the intervention and avoid risks of failure. The post-evaluation of results assists in measuring the overall efficiency of the plan. The data can be used to correct the current education program and support the development of the new, advanced ones.
References
Hirakawa, Y., Lam, T., Welborn, T., Kim, H., Ho, S., Fang, X.,…Woodward, M. (2016). The impact of body mass index on the associations of lipids with the risk of coronary heart disease. Preventive Medicine Reports, 3, 79-82.
Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care. (2016). High cholesterol: Overview. Web.