Introduction
In the United States of America, the mortality rates that relate to cancer have been on the decline since 1990. The declines have been attributed to the measures taken to reduce the risk factors such as early detection and early treatment (Lansdorp-Vogelaar et al., 2012). Despite the recorded declines, statistics show that the mortality and incidence rates of cancer are higher among Black Americans compared to the Whites. Many factors have been attributed to the disparities such as lack of awareness and delayed screening. As a result, the following initiative has been designed to supplement the national project of reducing the health disparities between the different races in America. The initiative will to create awareness about the risks of prostate cancer and the importance of regular screening.
The Purpose of the Program
The federal government has initiated national campaigns to reduce the health disparities witnessed across the different states. For instance, the government extends grants to fund public projects to enhance research on prostate cancer in order to develop effective strategies to detect, prevent, and treat prostate cancer. In line with the public initiative, the purpose of the program will be to improve the quality of life for the Black American men who are at high risk of developing prostate cancer. According to O’Keefe, Meltzer and Bethea (2015), the sources of disparities in the incidence and prevalence of prostate cancer among the black American men are due to inherent behaviors and lack of sensitization by the public health officials.
In order to reduce the racial disparities, there have been concerted efforts to promote behavior change in order to ensure inclusivity in the health care in terms of increased screening rates and advanced treatment for all Americans. Therefore, the design of the initiative is in line with the sentiments by Wilkinson, List, Sinner, Dai and Chodak (2003) who stated that there is a need to embrace programs that focus on studies to arm all Americans with the right tools to overcome prostate cancer. Hence, the basis of the initiative is to provide preventive and curative care to the populations at high risk of developing the prostate cancer.
The Strategic Population
The prostate cancer is an epidemic that disproportionately affects the African Americans men. According to Chornokur, Dalton, Borysova and Kumar (2011), the Black Americans have shorter survival times and higher mortality rates compared to their counterparts. This has been attributed to the socio-economic status. Thus, the scope of the initiative is based on overcoming the social aspect. The strategic target population is the African American Men.
The Benefits of the Program
Prostate cancer has been cited as leading in terms of new cancer diagnosis. In addition, it is ranked second in relation to reported deaths from cancer among the Hispanic, White and Black men in the US. According to Zenka (2016), early detection and advanced treatment are paramount to reducing the incidence and the mortality rates. Bearing in mind the racial disparity concerning the high incidence and mortality rates, the initiative will be beneficial in improving the quality of life for the target population.
Budget Justification
For the initiative to run successfully there is the need for adequate financial allocations for the various activities. The projected cost for running the program for one year is $ 80,250.
Salaries and wages
The people involved in the program are expected to earn daily allowances for the one year. The budgetary allocation is 20% of the total cost.
Fringe benefits
The stakeholders that are directly involved in the program implementation will be entitled to fringe benefits, which will be 7% of the projected budget.
Travel costs
There are daily trips that will be made to reach the people in the counties included in the program. The fare charges, lunch, and incidentals are projected to cost 14% of the total costs.
Tools and equipment
In order to aid in the screening and treatment, advanced medical equipment will be required. This will entail equipment and diagnosis tools that allow no or minimally invasive procedures. This will account for the highest cost projected to be 39% of the total budget.
Communication
Funds will also be required to carry out sensitization campaigns and other communication purposes. For the campaigns, the cost will be 12% while the internal communication will account for 3% of the total budget. Also, a budgetary allocation of 5% is set for the unforeseen happenings and to cater for possible inflations.
Program Evaluation
The evaluation will entail both a continuous evaluation to establish the progress of the program and summative assessment to determine the outcome of the project. The continuous evaluation will be carried out by internal evaluators such as the coordinators of the program. The summative evaluation will be carried after the completion of the project. In order to ensure objectivity, external evaluators will undertake the summative assessment.
The parameters to be evaluated will entail investigating whether the program was completed within the stipulated timelines and finances. Besides, the evaluation will investigate whether the targeted population was reached and analyze the results to determine the impacts of the program in reducing disparity and ensuring that more African American men change their attitudes to embrace regular prostate cancer screening.
References
Chornokur, G., Dalton, K., Borysova, M. E., & Kumar, N. B. (2011). Disparities at presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and survival in African American men, affected by prostate cancer. The Prostate, 71(9), 985-997.
Lansdorp-Vogelaar, I., Kuntz, K. M., Knudsen, A. B., van Ballegooijen, M., Zauber, A. G., & Jemal, A. (2012). Contribution of screening and survival differences to racial disparities in colorectal cancer rates. Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention, 21(5), 728-736.
O’Keefe, E. B., Meltzer, J. P., & Bethea, T. N. (2015). Health disparities and cancer: Racial disparities in cancer mortality in the United States, 2000–2010. Frontiers in Public Health, 3(51), 1-15.
Wilkinson, S., List, M., Sinner, M., Dai, L., & Chodak, G. (2003). Educating African- American men about prostate cancer: Impact on awareness and knowledge. Urology, 61(1), 308-313.
Zenka, D. (2016). Prostate Cancer: African American Cancer Initiative. Web.