Wellness Education Program Proposal Nursing Essay

Wellness Education Program Proposal

Wellness Education Proposal

Introduction

The burden of chronic illnesses in New York City has reached disturbing levels. The Administration of the State has identified this phenomenon as one that requires more attention than is currently being offered. In that regard, it has rolled out tremendous programs that are aimed at preventing the development of chronic diseases. However, these programs would require massive investment, which the State does not usually budget for (Bauer, Briss, Goodman, & Bowman, 2014).   It is with this understanding that Joywo was created in 2010 (Bauer, et al., 2014). The non-profit organization aims to improve the general health and improve the wellness of the people in the State by starting with the city of New York. The specific purpose of the organization is to assist the effort that the city administration has put in to address the challenge of chronic illness. Joywo seeks to achieve a healthy populace through rolling out wellness education programs.

Our institution understands that it cannot be the cure for every aspect of chronic illness to all groups in a population and that is why we identified the greatest risk factor for chronic illness in the city and sought to focus on it. Obesity among the residents of New York City is thought to be one of the major contributing factors to the high prevalence of chronic illnesses. Our focus on prevention strategies informs our target of reaching out to school going children and vulnerable populations in the community. In achieving successful campaigns, we make use of the leadership of the diverse tribal and religious organizations to make use their resources and influence to get our message across. This is our 155th campaign on healthy living where we plan to educate the communities on the benefits as well as the initiatives they need to undertake to avoid the risks for chronic illnesses.

Burden of Chronic illness

New York City, like all other cities in the nation, is faced with a grave crisis of obesity. It has been established that obesity leads to a myriad of other chronic illnesses and consequently it is among the top leading causes of preventable death. Statistics suggest that about 60% of New Yorkers are either overweight or obese (35% overweight and 25% obese) (Yach, Hawkes, Gould, & Hofman, 2004). The hardest hit communities are those suffer from the already existing health and economic disparities. The rates of overweight and obesity among the Blacks and Latinos and those with low incomes can get as high as 70% in some areas (Sturm & Hattori, 2013). Among the children aged between 6-11 years, 20% are obese with even more nearing obesity (Sturm & Hattori, 2013).

The contribution of obesity to the development and manifestation of other chronic conditions like diabetes, hypertension, blindness and disability is well documented. Studies show that New Yorkers of African origin are three times likely to succumb to diabetes as the whites while the Hispanics are twice as likely to as the whites (Sturm & Hattori, 2013). Regarding the costs, estimates indicate that more than &150 billion is being spent in medical costs in addition to absenteeism resulting from obesity accounting for more than 4.5 billion dollars every year (Cawley & Meyerhoefer, 2012).

Benefits of Health promotion and Prevention

With these statistics, we are persuaded that with proper investments in the prevention strategies, huge amounts of savings could be realized. Studies have established that a small investment of $10 towards community programs that raise the bodily activity, stop the harmful habits of smoking, the country is able to make a total of $16 billion in savings (Cawley & Meyerhoefer, 2012). Besides, the residents’ quality of life will be improved and achieve a longer life. This means a reduced burden for the families and communities.

Economic Impact of Health Promotion

We purpose to realize a healthy city where the rates of mortalities from chronic diseases are significantly reduced through creating awareness and educating the vulnerable populations of the risks associated with living unhealthy lifestyles. The emphasis on the prevention of chronic diseases is supported by studies that show the economic benefits linked with such an endeavor.  It is documented that the cost of health care provision has been rising at a rate of seven percent each year. Rough estimates indicate that the cost of health care will hit $4.3 trillion in 2017 (Have, 2014). As indicated above, proper investments in prevention strategies will yield increased productivity and value for the money. When the execution of these strategies is done at an earlier opportunity, the impacts of the benefits will be higher. Moreover, primary prevention stops the onset of diseases which has a direct impact in reduced delaying or avoiding the costs of treatment.

The studies have informed our project where we focus on reducing the risks for onset and development of chronic illnesses through personalized interventions and community engagements. Education and wellness programs help individuals to make choices of living a healthy life.

Ethical and Legal Considerations

Our organization has realized the importance of adhering to the other considerations that clearly not core to the program activities of educating and offering guidance on matters of nutrition. We, therefore, pay serious attention to the ethical and legal factors that influence our programs. In carrying out our activities, we shall be guided by the rules and regulations set by the NYS Department of Health (Maville & Huerta, 2012).  In particular, we shall consult the Division of Chronic Disease Prevention for the necessary legal permissions to be able to roll out the program. We shall also purpose to market some of the regulations that have been created by the city in its effort to get the residents healthy (Have, 2014). Such measures include the provision of tapped water in various sites to encourage more people to drink water as opposed to the sugary drinks and the active design policy that sees more residents engaged and walk more. Bicycling streets help people to stay active and avoid risks of obesity.  In implementing the program, our staffs who include trained nurses, physicians, nutritionists and fitness coaches shall uphold the professional code of ethics (Maville & Huerta, 2012). We shall strive to ensure no harm is done to the participants. Besides, we shall uphold the highest levels of competence and all information gathered from the exercise shall be kept confidential and used only for the purposes of the promoting healthy living. Before carrying out any interviews or gathering any information, we shall seek the consent of the concerned individuals (Have, 2014).

Strategies of implementing the wellness plan

The heads of institutions shall be trained and encouraged to make use of the available PE time to promote the objectives of the programs. The students shall be encouraged to be proactive and be personally responsible for their health and fitness. This is achieved by educating them the significance of physical activity to their health and scholastic goals.

For teenagers and adults, the teaching shall focus on the holistic approach to health. This approach argues that the health of the body is connected to the mind. Teaching them that physical inactivity, the type of food they consume are main causes of chronic illness. They shall also be taught on how to set goals and plans and how to execute (Maville & Huerta, 2012).  

Incorporating CAM, Traditional and Holistic approach

Having trained health care professionals that understand the implications of complementary and alternative medicine will go a long way in helping us achieve the goals of respecting the communities and their cultures. We shall make use of the tribal and religious leaders to reach out to the community. These leaders shall be trained on the objectives of the program and their role in reaching out to the community. We shall integrate the proven CAM therapies with conventional medicine in achieving our goals. Such therapies like acupuncture, yoga, and practices like Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasize on people to keep habits that keep the body healthy shall be used (Maville & Huerta, 2012).  

Evaluation

We shall carry out an ongoing monitoring and evaluation where the progress and outcomes of the program are continuously monitored. In schools, the teachers shall be responsible for the evaluation of the project. For adults in the communities, the tribal and religious leaders shall be encouraged to corporate with our supervisors to record the progress of the participants. The collected data shall be analyzed to help us draw a picture of the achievements of the program and use it to secure funding for the succeeding year.

Budget

Phase	Work Description	Costs
One	Training the Trainers Stakeholder Mobilization	$20,000 $95,000
Two	Launch of the Program and execution	$455,000
Three	Monitoring and Evaluation	$36,000
	Total	$606,000

References

Bauer, U. E., Briss, P. A., Goodman, R. A., & Bowman, B. A. (2014). Prevention of chronic disease in the 21st century: elimination of the leading preventable causes of premature death and disability in the USA. The Lancet, 384(9937), 45-52.

Cawley, J., & Meyerhoefer, C. (2012). The medical care costs of obesity: an instrumental variables approach. Journal of health economics, 31(1), 219-230.

Have, M. (2014). Ethical aspects of obesity prevention. Best Practice & Research Clinical Gastroenterology, 28(2), 303-314.

Maville, J. A., & Huerta, C. G. (2012). Health promotion in nursing. Cengage Learning.

Sturm, R., & Hattori, A. (2013). Morbid obesity rates continue to rise rapidly in the United States. International journal of obesity, 37(6), 889-891.

Yach, D., Hawkes, C., Gould, C. L., & Hofman, K. J. (2004). The global burden of chronic diseases: overcoming impediments to prevention and control. Jama, 291(21), 2616-2622.

Wellness Education Program Proposal Essay

Wellness Education Program Proposal