Assignment 1– Community/population needs assessment

Choose one of the following populations or a subgroup of one of these populations:

• An occupational group
• Teenagers in Australia
• Prisoners in Australia
• International prac students may chose the community/region they are visiting

You are required to describe a population or community and discuss the social determinants of health and health issues within your chosen population or community. Reflect on what you learnt in your mental health, Child health and Culture units and think back to Foundations when you studied developmental theories. You need to define your population and present demographic and epidemiological data to support your description of the health issues. You need to narrow down your health issues and show the significance of a particular issue to your chosen population or sub-group of your population. The health issue and population will be the central part of your next assignment so they must be clearly stated in your conclusion. Please remember to focus on a health issue for which you can develop a health promotion program. It is highly recommended that you undertake assignment 2 at the same time.

Demographics

In this section you need to show that you can find and use epidemiological data (statistics) to describe your population group. For example: If you chose 'Aboriginal teenagers' as your population (you can narrow it down even further, perhaps Aboriginal girls living in remote communities of northern WA, if you have enough data about that population); you would give a broad description of this population (age, gender, location, etc) and then compare these data to the rest of Australia and/or changes over time in order to give some context and meaning to the data. Make sure you compare groups using the same measurements (percentage, ratio etc) so that they can be appropriately compared.

Health Issues

Outline the health issues (e.g. Infectious diseases, injuries, dental, hearing etc) relevant to your population. Give a broad overview and then narrow down and be more specific; e.g. you may find data to show that STIs are a particular problem for your population and the focus of your health issue is then about sexual health. You can assume that the reader has basic knowledge about your health issue so there is no need to describe the pathology/signs/symptoms etc unless it is specifically relevant to your health issue.

Social determinants of health (SDoH)

Now that you have narrowed down both your population/community group and health issues to a manageable level; you need to outline the social determinants of health that relate to your target group and health issue. You should address at least three different SDoH but some of you will cover more – it depends on how well you keep to the word limit and the significance of your social determinants.

Assignment 2– Health Promotion Grant application

This assessment aims to evaluate your application of health promotion principles. Please imagine you are a nurse wanting to implement a health promotion program to a specific group of your clients. The program requires some funding so this assignment is based on Healthway WA guidelines for health promotion grants. You may find it useful to look at the Healthway WA website under the 'Grants tab'. You must use the headings below and stick closely to the suggested word limits.

Using the health issue you identified as significant in the first assignment; research programs that have been used to address these issues and explore how they may be adapted to your population. You need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of the programs and present a convincing argument as to why your program should be funded. Imagine that the Lecturer has a big bucket of money and wants to give it to the most deserving projects!

Be clear about which aspect of PHC (prevention, screening or rehab/support – see levels of PHC) your program is aimed at and link it to the Ottawa charter or Millennium goals or Australian Government priorities or some other significant organisations priority areas to show how important your project is (for ideas look under the 'assignment resources' tab). This assessment is an opportunity for you to demonstrate that you have met the learning objectives so you should make reference to your text book and other materials when you discuss your project. For example, education programs should be based on health literacy and/or teaching theory.

Project title: use this title as your Turnitin submission – it must describe your project/health issue and population

Population and Health Issue (500 words): Define and explain the relative importance of the health issue to be addressed with your target population. Justify with supporting data where possible. This is essentially a summary of your first assignment but do not copy and paste it! Use your paraphrasing and summarising skills and make every word count. Remember to reference your sources. This section should be persuasive and show the reader that this is a problem that needs to be addressed. Highlight how the project fits with PHC priorities. Include some discussion about the SDoH that relate to your population

Project description (500 words): Give a clear and concise description of the project you want to do. Outline the health promotion activity or program in detail. Describe existing projects strengths/weaknesses and describe what is innovative about your plan. For example: you could adapt a program for a different health issue or population and show how it could work with your target group. There are marks here for creativity and critical thinking!

Objectives (500 words for this section): Your objectives should describe the changes the project will bring about, these should be specific and measurable (SMART or RUMBA).

Strategies: List the strategies and activities that will be used to achieve your objectives.

Budget estimate: Give a breakdown of how the money will be spent. Use a table with a short explanation (100 words). A budget allows the marker to assess how realistic your objectives and strategies are and how well considered your project is. There is no maximum amount you can ask for as some people will choose small localised projects and others large national programs. Do not expect professionals to volunteer their time and resources.

Timeline estimate: use a table with a short explanation again to show how realistic and achievable your plan is.

Evaluation Finally, your evaluation should measure the achievement of your objectives. Ensure each strategy is addressed. Ask yourself: How will I know if this project was effective and met the objectives? (Remember this is a plan for evaluation do not write as though you have actually done the project).

Working in partnership with others (200 words): List the details of key groups with whom you would have consulted and collaborated during the development of this project (for example – local business, Shire, Indigenous Organisations, community, corporate sector or service groups) and indicate if they are directly involved in the project/event (for example – regular ongoing advice, funding etc). How will you involve the community in the planning and implementation of this project? How will you disseminate the results of your project back to the community and others?

Sustainability (200 words): Outline how the project or aspects of the project will continue after the grant is spent and how the resources will be disposed of for example: if you bought a Bouncy Castle for a family fun day – what would happen to it after the project was finished?

Population and Health Issue

Australian adolescents experience several risks related to the development of debilitating health conditions, including behavioural disorders, cardiac abnormalities, diabetes and seizures (Seifert, Schaechter, Hershorin, & Lipshultz, 2011). An unhealthy lifestyle and unsafe practices further predispose their health condition towards active and sustained deterioration. The development of eating disorders because of abnormal dietary habits leads to nutritional inadequacies and associated complications in the target population. Adolescents across the globe experience premature death and morbidity under the sustained influence of the absence of exercise, poor eating, sexually transmitted diseases and tobacco abuse (WHO, 2017). Most adolescents experience the pattern of preventable chronic disease conditions and mental illnesses that lead to the development of pregnancy complications, violence, suicide and traumas (WHO, 2017).

Mental health diseases in Australian adolescents remain undiagnosed under the acquisition of adulthood. Health conditions including early pregnancy/childbirth, meningitis, diarrhoea, lower respiratory tract infections and HIV infections pose a serious health risk to adolescent individuals. Meningitis, diarrhoea, road traffic accidents, self-inflicted injuries, respiratory manifestations, interpersonal violence and early pregnancy/childbirth are some of the predominant causes of mortality in Australian adolescents of 15-19 years of age (Salam, Das, Lassi, & Bhutta, 2016). Malnutrition is another big cause of premature mortality in adolescent groups. Indeed, obesity, tobacco abuse, depression, alcoholism, unsafe intercourse, substance abuse and antisocial activities include some of the major unhealthy and unsafe practices that potentially lead to the establishment of chronic disease states, autoimmune diseases, sexually transmitted conditions, homicidal/suicidal tendencies, traumatic conditions and cancers in the adolescent population. The social adversities, including sustained neglect, maltreatment and sexual abuse, substantially increase the risk of the affected children in terms of developing the health adversities attributed to major depressive disorder, substance abuse, depression and anxiety (Capturing Social and Behavioral Domains in Electronic Health Records: Phase 1., 2014). Health risk behaviours emanate from childhood onward and adversely impact the individuals until adolescence and adulthood across the community environment. The prevalence of ADHD in Australian adolescents adversely impacts their education pattern and academic development (Lawrence, et al., 2015). The pattern of sexual assault experienced by the male and female children reciprocally impacts their intensity and prognosis of ADHD (Ebejer, et al., 2012). Indeed, social factors at the national, community, family and personal level considerably influence the pattern of health and wellness adolescents across the community environment (Viner, et al., 2012). The absence of a protective environment and family support leads to the development of several behavioural deficits and associated psychosocial conditions in adolescents. Their risk of physical abuse increases substantially, which adversely impacts their prospective physical and emotional growth and development. Evidence-based literature reveals the infrequent visits of adolescents to primary healthcare centres (Nordin, Solberg, & Parker, 2010). However, they frequently undertake non-preventive healthcare visits for attaining the treatment of their prevalent conditions (Nordin, Solberg, & Parker, 2010). The rare utilization of preventive and prophylactic healthcare interventions by adolescents considerably elevates their disease burden and increases their risk of developing prospective health adversities and associated mortality.

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