Cardiovascular disease prevention in a high income country (HIC)
Order Description
Project Plan

You are required to prepare a Health Promotion Project Plan for a defined health issue. Your project plan should be for a small sized project that will run for approximately one year and has $50 000 of funding.

The preparation of a project plan is an important competency for any health promotion practitioner forming the basis of funding proposals, strategic planning etc. Some areas as budget, evaluation and sustainability will follow in subsequent years of study.

The project plan will hone your skills in being able to provide a rational argument as to why a particular health issue is worthy of a health promotion intervention. As a health promotion professional you will be faced with having to provide evidence as to why a particular project should receive funding and resource support. You need to clearly articulate what the problem is, why it is a worthy area for intervention, who the target group or community is, and what factors contribute to this health issue.

You will need to present evidence that justifies the development of a health promotion intervention to reduce the stated problem (evidence could include data on the nature of the problem, why it is a problem, severity, numbers of people affected, who is affected – age and gender distribution, trends, cost to the community, importance of the problem compared to others). You will not be carrying out your own data collection but relying on available data sources. This may mean that you need to make inferences from regional, state-wide and even national data, applying that to your selected target group/community.

Students MUST choose a topic from the list below. The health issue and target group must align with the topic, you will score zero if you choose a topic outside the list below.

1. Dengue fever prevention in a low and middle income country (LMIC);

2. Cardiovascular disease prevention in either a LMIC or a high income country (HIC): or

3. Skin cancer prevention in either a LMIC or a HIC.

This assessment is a combination of written academic text and tables and figures to show how the ideas fit together. Samples will be given in tutorial and on Blackboard to illustrate this. Your assessment should be no more than 1600 words of text, plus tables, figures and a reference list. The following headings must be addressed to score maximum marks.

Introduction: overview of the main points to be covered in this assessment.

Health issue: describe and discuss the health issue, why it is a health problem, consequences and importance of the problem compared to other health issues, the scope of the problem (include graphs or tables if available) and cost of the problem: both tangible and intangible costs and comparison with other health issues. This should be a discussion written in an academic style and must include references.

Target group: who is the group most affected, who could a health promotion program be aimed at, who will your program be aimed at? Include a geographic and demographic profile, with details such as age, sex, ethnic background, SES status, and numbers (your choice must be evidence-based). In identifying your target group it is advisable to restrict the size of the target group to a small geographical location (e.g. A metropolitan suburb or a country town) or you could use a settings approach (e.g. A small cluster of schools, a worksite with 50-200 workers, or an institution such as a hospital/university). This should be a discussion and must include references.

Psychosocial models or theories: discuss how these underpin your approach and the program you are planning. Do not simply describe the model you must show how these may inform your overall program plan. This should be discussion (and may inlcude a figure) and must include references.

Risk and contributing factors: identify the main risk factors for the health issue; these should be a bulleted list (minimum 4 – maximum 10). Prioritise and list the 4 main risk factors together with the contributing factors for each risk factor. The contributing factor must be evidence based. A table format is preferred, and a suggested template will be provided on Blackboard

Project Plan: A table format is preferred, and a suggested template will be provided on Blackboard. The Project Plan should include:

1. Title of the proposed program: e.g. Seniors Pedestrian Injury Prevention Program (SPIPP) (Be creative and think about what would appeal to your target group.);

2. Program goal: A SMART program goal for your health promotion program;

3. Objectives: You will need to specify three (3) behavioural and one (1) environmental objective. (Ensure that they are SMART.) Your objectives should describe expected changes in such areas as health indicators, behaviour, awareness, participation, knowledge, attitudes, skills, as well as structural or policy changes. These will be in table form.

4. Proposed strategies: these must be clearly articulated and provide enough detail for the reader to get a good sense of what you are implementing over the course of a one year program.

In selecting strategies, clearly illustrate a relationship between the objectives and each chosen strategy.
List and describe selected strategies along with the relevant details (they may include but not be limited to: mass media; group approaches; individual contact approaches; and policy and structural changes). This assessment should include a detailed description of each of your strategies and needs to be realistic so keep in mind your 12 month timeline and finite resources.
You should justify your choice of strategies with reference to the peer-reviewed and grey literature.
Conclusion: discuss the main conclusions arising from the information you have presented in your report justifying why this is a health problem that should ultimately receive funding and resource support for a health promotion program and if appropriate suggestions for future action. However, they must be logically derived from the information presented. Do not introduce new information into your concluding comments. References: Citing appropriate in-text references, and a comprehensive reference list provides support for your ideas. Please use APA referencing and prepare your reference list in accordance with the Guide to Assignment Presentation (GAP). References should be up-to-date and include a majority of peer-reviewed references. An over reliance on secondary sources and web based references will score a lesser mark.