Health Promotion Plan
Community Health Concern
The Coronavirus originates from a family of viruses known as coronaviruses. Coronaviruses are known to cause different respiratory ailments, such as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Health officials identified a new Coronavirus that is believed to bring about Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV-2) (Hu et al., 2020). The specific disease that this virus causes is referred to as Coronavirus disease 2019 abbreviated as COVID-19. Following the outbreak of this particular disease in 2019, the World Health Organization announced the outbreak of the illness a pandemic (Hu et al., 2020). Since the outbreak of COVID-19 was declared an epidemic, the disease has claimed a considerable number of lives and affected a lot of community members both mentally and physically. The effects that COVID-19 has had on the community make it a significant community health concern that needs to be addressed adequately.
The deaths that COVID-19 has left in its wake are wreaking mental havoc amongst members of society. The fact that there are no medications currently to treat affected persons is even more startling. Different statistics by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other medical bodies indicates that the most affected population in the community is that of the elderly (Loan et al., 2018). Statistics from the World Health Organization suggests that more than 95% of the deaths reported in the wake of Coronavirus occurred in persons that are above the age of 60 years. An estimated 50% of these global deaths were reported in persons above the age of 80 years. This means that aged individuals in society require more care and support in comparison to the younger generation. The various psychological changes amongst the aged population and decreased immune function is what makes this population of the community more susceptible and vulnerable to COVID-19 more than the rest of the population.
As such, there exist a substantial need for various health promotional strategies in a bid to curb the spread and prevalence of this health concern amongst the elderly population of the community. To promote the health of the elderly and ensure their wellbeing amidst the Coronavirus disease, it is essential to put in place different strategies that can help this individual group of the population. First and foremost, it is significant to ensure that the elderly members of society do not interact much with other persons in the community. This can be achieved by avoiding mass gatherings and other, more significant events. It is fundamental to ensure that this population remains clean by continually washing their hands and sanitizing with alcohol-based sanitizers and soap (Flanders, 2018). By advocating for the prevention of COVID-19 amongst the elderly population in the society, deaths that would have otherwise threatened the population of elderly persons in society will have been prevented, and the lives of the elderly in the community made better.
Agreed Upon Health Goals
My neighbor Ramonda Johnson is an elderly lady who falls in the category of persons most affected by the COVID-19 disease. I approached Ramonda about the health promotion activity that I am conducting, and she is willing to participate in this educational session that describes COVID-19 and the different health improvement strategies that can be used to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus. Ramonda has already given me her contact details (501-952-2222), and I shall be meeting her on 04/10/20 from 0900-1030 at her home in Mayflower, Arkansas. The meeting shall be to interview her about the COVID-19 concern and probably came up with different positive goals that we can discuss with the community concerning the issue of Coronavirus. By asking Ramonda what her goals were in relation to COVID-19, we were able to develop and come up with SMART goals that will help different age advanced members of society with their health promotional needs.
The first goal that we came up with involves preparing various stakeholders in the community for a disaster. Multiple stakeholders in community health might not be well aware of the pending disaster with the onset of the Coronavirus and, most specifically, amongst the elderly population. As such, it is significant to have different stakeholders in health be prepared for the danger that lurks amongst society members. The second goal is to educate members of society on the need to take care of themselves and their elderly. Awareness and education are an essential aspect of defeating the novel Coronavirus. Most of the society members might not be well-versed with the entire issue of COVID-19 and its effects on the elderly persons of the population (Flanders, 2018). As such, it is essential to educate persons in society on how to take care of the elderly in a bid to promote their safety.
The last goal is to liaise with law enforcement officials to ensure that the different policies and regulations that have been set to ensure the wellbeing of society members have been followed. A majority of the youthful population in the society are not keen on following the directive issued towards the prevention of COVID-19. This carelessness puts the elderly population, who are more susceptible to the disease in danger. As such, it is significant to ensure that law enforcement authorities enforce the different policies put in place.
References
Hu, Z., Yang, Z., Li, Q., & Huang, Y. (2020). Nomenclature: Coronavirus and the 2019 novel coronavirus. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202002.0380.v1
Flanders, S. A. (2018). Effective patient education: Evidence and common sense. Medsurg Nursing, 27(1), 55– 58.
Loan, L. A., Parnell, T. A., Stichler, J. F., Boyle, D. K., Allen, P., VanFosson, C. A., & Barton, A. J. (2018)Call for action: Nurses must play a critical role to enhance health literacy. Nursing Outlook, 66(1), 97–100.