Statement of Need
Chlamydia and other similar infections are common problems in the US, which are usually caused by unsafe sexual activities. According to Wiesenfeld (2017), the infection is spreading at a high rate every year, and in 2015 the number of new cases was about 1.5 million. A new campaign called DC STIs will be aimed at spreading information about free STI tests among people living in Washington DC.
Policy Mechanism
The policy used in the campaign is called DC-SAPP, and its mission is to reveal the real threat of different infections. Moreover, explain to the mayor the reasons to invest in the work. According to Office Planning (2022), the problem of spreading infections in Washington DC is not as significant as in other parts of the US. However, the mayor should be ensured that it is crucial to maintain a relatively stable position in this area and invest money to make people more aware.
Convincing Strategy
- Meetings with the mayor and office staff
- Lectures among young people
- Advertising
- Communication with partners
We will arrange 4 meetings during the following month with the mayor and the office staff to present a short report regarding the action plan. The report will include specific activities like advertisement and education plan with all estimated costs. Once the funding is received, specific lectures will be conducted every week among students to explain different types of infections. This type of study can help increase the general knowledge of threatening infections in 3 months and decrease the number of cases in the United States.
Moreover, we will spend a significant part of the funding on the advertisement. Strong advertising and close relationships with partners should help us attract more people suffering from infection and increase awareness by the end of 2023. The advertising will require about $3,000 to build about 10 billboards in the inner city where people spend most of their time. Moreover, we might need an additional $1,000 to employ part-time medical suppliers and epidemiologists. We plan to spend around $500 on hall rent and a zoom license to conduct meetings. To make the campaign plan straightforward, we are developing a website where our partners post crucial information needed in the fight against infections. Consequently, $200 will be needed to support the IT system. The mayor and his colleagues will have a chance to visit our website and better understand the campaign and its responsibilities in 5 minutes.
Communication is crucial, and with the help of partners, it might become possible to attract more patients who care about their health. Partnership with health services is also crucial as they can help present the problem of different infections in more depth to reveal the evidence that can help receive funding. For instance, one of our colleagues is DC Hospital, which provides updated information about current patients and produces real-time STI data to present to the mayor. Following the logic model step by step will make it possible to achieve our target audience who are conscious about their health.
Partners
The campaign will partner with several health organizations to become more powerful. These include:
- Planned Parenthood DC can help provide high-quality sexual health services and educate young people to understand different contraceptive options. The organization’s director will conduct lectures, and by communicating via Zoom, we will set specific topics every week.
- Get Checked DC provides several advanced testing programs, and we can partner with them to expand our testing abilities. Laboratory professionals will help us collect tests and keep in touch with them using mobile phones to speed up the process.
- Children’s National- Youth Pride Clinic is oriented toward young people from LGBTQ society. We will increase young people’s awareness by communicating in person in charge of the head of the clinic.
- Church leaders in wards 7 and 8 are in charge of the participants in the campaign, and they can also influence people with a strong voice. The communication will be conducted through visitors who have many connections in their outside lives.
References
Office Planning (2022). About ward 8. DC.gov.
Wiesenfeld, H. C. (2017). Screening for Chlamydia trachomatis infection in women. The New England Journal of Medicine 376, 765-773.