The selected program is obesity. The purpose of the program is to reduce the prevalence of obesity especially among children, which has become a global epidemic affecting children and adults of all ethnic groups, and also reduce the considerable morbidityand mortality associated with obesity (Nmor, 2010). In addition, obesity has been found to be the major risk factor for heart disease. "Recent studies in healthy persons with heart failure exhibited that myocardial lipid content rises with the degree of adiposity and could attribute to the adverse structural and functional cardiac adaptations seen in obese persons" (Nmor, 2010). African American communities and Hispanic communities are at greater risk of overweight and obesity. The food industry spends billions marketing unhealthy food to children. ( Benin, Hall, Mandarino, Nmor, Rayfield, & Robinson, 2009).
Stakeholders for the planning, implementation, and evaluation program
As the obesity rate among children in the United States continues to increase it is crucial that as public health leaders we coordinate activities to reduce childhood obesity. A major key a step to accomplishing requisite diversity is by including diverse stakeholders in the process of planning and evaluating the health program (Issel 2009, P.62). Thus, the stakeholders for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of this program includes families, schools, Africa American communities and Hispanic communities, the food industry and government would be involved in problem solving to reduce childhood obesity. Parents are the most important stakeholders because research revealed that parents molds children’s health behaviors through interactions surrounding food, activity, and social modeling (Benin et al. 2009; Issel 2009, P.62).
Input and throughput elements for the program
Public health officials made recommendations on a nutritionally balanced diet, which is designed to reduce energy intake and to be combined with other supportive interventions to accomplish a healthy body weight in overweight and obese persons of all ages (Lau et al, 2007; Nmor, 2010). In the US the prevalence of obesity has risen from 23% to 31% and 66% adults are consideredoverweight (Christakis, & Fowler, 2007; Nmor, 2010). A "clinical guidelines on the identification, evaluation, and treatment of overweight and obesity in adults" was designed to target adults (age 18 years of age or older) who are at risk of developing metabolic syndrome with a BMI of ≥25. Those with a BMI of 25 to 29.9 are regarded as overweight, and BMI ≥30 considered obese. Treatment should be recommended for obesity when an individual exhibits two or more risk factors (retrieved from American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, n.d.; Nmor, 2010). BMI information should be further evaluated for children and provide alternatives for behavioral change assess that addresses the barriers (Arruda, 2010).
Outcomes of the program
The short-term outcome goals would be to educate parents and community members on how to improve children's diets and increase the awareness about community resources.
The medium term outcome goals would be to encourage parents and children in their communities to discuss obesity in other to change their subjective norms, beliefs or behaviors. Finally, a long-term outcome goal of this program is to decrease both childhood and adult obesity and associated health problems (Benin et al. 2009; McKenzie, Neiger, & Smeltzer, 2005, p.12).
Appraisal
A planning model was used by the program planners. PRECEDE-PROCEED planning model was used by the program planners. The PRECEDE-PROCEED functions in a constant cycle. PRECEDE-PROCEED was initiated by involving the communities of interest in a process of identifying the most significant health or quality-of-life problems. Information obtained in PRECEDE directs the objectives and development of obesity prevention goals in the implementation phase of PROCEED. The same information would also present the criteria against in-which the success of the obesity prevention program would be measured in the evaluation phase of PROCEED (McKenzie et al. 2005, pp.23-25). In turn, the data obtained during the implementation and evaluation phases of PROCEED elucidates the associations examined in PRECEDE between the health outcomes, behaviors and environments that caused the problem, and also factors, which leads to the preferred behavioral and environmental changes. this is imperative because no one program can afford to address all the predisposing, enabling and reinforcing issues for all of the different behavioral lifestyles, and environments that affects all of the health and quality-of-life problems of interest in any community. Finally, intervention should be community-based, that can identify the needs of the targeted community, even if the intervention is aimed at a more specific target subgroups (McKenzie et al. 2005, p.81).
References:
Arruda, R. (2010). Catch 5 for a healthy weight. Retrieved March 15, 2010 from http://www.houstontx.gov/health/WIC/Catch%205%20for%20a%20Healthy%20Weight%20Project%20outcome%202008-2009%20poster.ppt#257,1,Slide 1
Issel, M. L. (2009). Health program planning and evaluation: A practical, systematic approach for community health (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Michel Benin, Katherine Hall, Pam Mandarino, Tina Nmor, Carol Rayfield, Kanisha Robinson, (2009). Prevention of Childhood Obesity. PUBH 8135 - 3. Walden University
McKenzie, J.F., Neiger, B.L., & Smeltzer, J.L. (2005). Planning, Implementing, and Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: (Fifth ed.) A Primer. Pearson Benjamin Cummings
Nmor, T. (2010). Nutrition, Obesity, and Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease: Public Health Biology. PUBH-8170-1. Walden University
