ssignment 2: Course Project: Health Promotion Proposal

Health Promotion Proposal

Name

South University

Introduction

Heart disease and stroke continue to pose a major problem to many American citizens, most notably African Americans. Members of this group are highly susceptible to cardiovascular risk factors such as high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes. Moreover, most blacks do not have the appropriate informational and financial support to combat the conditions. Given the relevant health education and financial support, African Americans can be able to tackle the issues of heart disease and stroke more effectively. Ultimately, addressing the issues of heart disease and stroke among the targeted population will have positive implications for the advanced nurse practice role. For instance, it will help in the dispensation of culturally congruent care in addition to eliminating the escalating health care costs afflicting the US. This discussion highlights the goals of health promotion for the plan, outlines the interventions for addressing the goals and delineates the importance of the project for the advanced nurse practice role.

Discussion

As one of the leading causes of death among African Americans, heart disease and stroke threaten the well-being of many members from this population. The goals for health promotion for individuals with heart disease and strokes include promoting the overall well-being of individuals, reducing health disparities and sensitizing the targeted population on risk factors of cardiovascular diseases. The AmericaHeart Association (2013) affirms that the most common risk factors that predispose African Americans to heart disease and stroke include obesity, physical inactivity, unhealthy life choices and self-destructive behaviors such as smoking. Therefore, the primary focus of health promotion will be on primary prevention to address the problems before they occur.

One of the most applicable interventions for addressing the issue of heart disease and stroke among African Americans is health education. According to the American Heart Association (2013), the literacy campaigns should cover a variety of topics including the importance of healthy dieting, the benefits of physical activity and the measures to combat obesity. Talking about healthy lifestyle choices and enlightening citizens about the importance of refraining from self-destructive behaviors should be a cornerstone of the health literacy campaigns. In these endeavors, nurse practitioners should liaise with other stakeholders including community-based organizations, elected officials, advocacy groups and faith-based organizations in order to boost the provision of care among the African American populace.

Fuchs (2011) reiterates that interventions used to enhance social support may also be meaningful in the prevention of heart disease and stroke among African Americans. These supportive strategies may focus on providing informational support, appraisal and emotional support, financial support as well as tangible support. Moreover, environmental strategies aimed at modifying physical surroundings and structures to combat risk factors for heart disease and stroke can be applicable for African Americans . Other interventions include acute case management for people afflicted with the conditions and psychological interventions such as mindfulness-based stress reduction (Fero & Herrick, 2011).

Combating heart disease and stroke among African Americans has a significant implication for the advanced nurse practice role and health promotion plan. Fero & Herrick (2011) contend that nurse practitioners have the obligation of providing culturally congruent care to all individuals. Considering the fact that African Americans have the highest rates of heart disease and stroke among US citizens, it is therefore plausible to conclude that combating these diseases will help in eliminating health disparities in addition to fostering the dispensation of culturally congruent care across the nation. This will also have a positive effect on cost reduction in the healthcare system (Sharma, Colvin-Adams, & Yancy, 2014).

Conclusion

The prevalence of heart disease and stroke is increasing among the African American populace. This calls on all stakeholders to take reasonable measures for attaining goals such as reducing disparities, improving quality of life and reducing mortality rates among African Americans. The most appropriate interventions for accomplishing these goals include health education and coming up with environmental strategies to tackle the risk factors linked to development of heart disease and stroke. Through addressing these problems, advanced nurse practitioners will be able to minimize health care disparities and offer culturally congruent care while at the same time curbing the escalating healthcare costs.

References

American Heart Association. (2013). African americans & cardiovascular diseases. Retrieved October 11, 2016, from https://www.heart.org/idc/groups/heart-public/@wcm/@sop/@smd/documents/downloadable/ucm_319568.pdf

Fero, L. J., & Herrick, C. A. (2011). Introduction to care coordination and nursing management (2 ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Fuchs, F. (2011). Why do black americans have higher prevalence of hypertension? Hypertension , 57 (3), 383–389.

Sharma, A., Colvin-Adams, M., & Yancy, C. (2014). Heart failure in african americans: disparities can be overcome. Cleveland clinic journal of medicine , 81 (5), 301-311.

Assignment 3 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points	Points Earned	Comments
Identified an appropriate goal for health promotion	10	10
Developed or proposed a specific, narrow, and focused intervention to address the goal.	10	10
Provided an explanation of the importance of the project relative to the students’ future advanced practice role.	10	10
Developed a plan to identify the needed data and information for creation of the project.	10	10
Followed APA Guidelines	10	10	See comments in paper
Subtotal	50	50	Great job!
Late Deduction (if applicable)
Total		50	Thanks for your submission. Let me know if you have any questions about points deducted or comments. I look forward to following your project. DF

�Title first line of paper, introduction heading not needed

�Please clarify this statement with more information.

�I’m interested in what you are referring to.