week 3 and 6

SWOT Analysis and Financial Consequences of Proposed Cancer Initiative

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SWOT Analysis and Financial Consequences of Proposed Cancer Initiative

As stated in the week three proposed population health initiative, cancer is the leading cause of death and highest recorded disease in the San Diego area; for this reason, it was selected as the health issue. According to the Minnesota Department of Health (n.d), a detailed SWOT analysis enables an administrator to attain a strategic plan for an initiative by listing the necessary strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Thus, this executive summary will provide a SWOT analysis of the proposed cancer initiative, taking note of the role of social and economic determinants in the assessment of San Diego community’s needs.

Definition

A SWOT analysis allows managers or administrators to examine the internal as well as external factors, which may create an impact on a given organizational initiative. In essence, this is achieved through investigating the inner strengths as well as weaknesses, the opportunities that are available for its development, and the impending threats that the external environment poses (Harrison, 2010). Even though it is widely applied in industries, it can also be of significance in the healthcare sector. Indeed, it is a useful tool in decision-making.

SWOT Analysis of Proposed Population Health Initiative

First of all, the analysis will entail collecting and evaluating the relevant data for this initiative. For instance, the data may include the population demographics of the San Diego community, its health status, the source of funding for the project, and the conventional medical technology being used in the county. According to the demographics of San Diego, the population is balanced since the gender indicator for the males and females is practically 50-50 (“Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties,” 2016). On the other hand, it has a diverse ethnic background since almost every community is represented in it. Statistics indicate that cancer is the leading cause of death in San Diego, and also the second leading disease causing death in the US. Regarding the funding of the initiative, most healthcare public facilities in San Diego acquire resources from the state (“Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties,” 2016). It is also important to take note of the medical technology applied in cancer treatment and, therefore, identify if there is a need to upgrade it for the initiative to be successful. After collecting and analyzing all the above-mentioned data, as the administrator of the project, I will need to assess my abilities in the areas.

Second, the analysis will now classify the data on the initiative into four groupings: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Ideally, from the definition of SWOT analysis, strengths and weaknesses stem from the internal factors, which are likely to affect the initiative. On the other hand, opportunities and threats emanate from the externals aspects.

Third, a SWOT matrix will be developed for this health initiative. The Table 1 below summarizes the SWOT matrix for the initiative.

Table 1: SWOT Matrix of the Cancer Initiative

Strengths. These are viewed as internal factors that have led to outstanding achievements in other similar initiatives (Harrison, 2010). They include the availability of qualified and excellent medical personnel in the San Diego County, implementers energetically devoting themselves to the initiative, outstanding facilities and quality of healthcare in hospitals, and high efficiency of the administrator.

Weaknesses. These are internal factors that are likely to increase the cost of the initiative or reduce its effectiveness (Harrison, 2010). They include lack of enough resources, public awareness, medical education on cancer, and primary care to cancer patients. Essentially, the weaknesses can be disintegrated further to identify the underlying ones.

Opportunities. According to Harrison (2010), these are significant openings that the administrators should maximize on to increase the chances of the initiative being a success. They include increased community cancer awareness programs and government funding towards healthcare programs as well as a growing ethnically diverse community in San Diego. For instance, the latter has an opportunity to create the county as a perfect platform for data collection and a health initiative.

Threats. These are external factors that may negatively affect the initiative (Harrison, 2010). They include a reduced number of people willing to take cancer tests, hospitals competing for specialized medical personnel who are capable of handling cancer treatment, and the unwillingness of individuals to attend organized seminar meetings on cancer.

Finally, the SWOT analysis will be incorporated into the decision-making process to help the administrator ascertain whether the initiative is viable.

Role of Social and Economic Determinants in Assessing San Diego Community’s Needs

In essence, analyzing a community’s health needs enables administrators to understand the obstacles to healthcare improvement within it. Thus, the same information can be used to ascertain the relevance of this initiative towards the San Diego community. It will also help in formulating the best strategies to employ in addressing this cancer initiative in San Diego.

More specifically, social and economic determinants are key in assessing a community's health needs. For instance, once it has been identified that the cancer patients in San Diego do not have adequate access to primary care, the concerned administrator can develop a strategy to impact this social determinant. In addition, they provide insight on the top priorities that should be considered when implementing initiatives. For example, poverty has been identified as a social determinant in San Diego as most people cannot afford to seek regular checkups. More specifically, the condition emanates from the low-income levels of people within the county. Thus, if the county government addresses this issue, the health status of the people is likely to improve.

Direct and Indirect Financial Consequences for the Proposed Cancer Initiative

For any initiative to be successful, money must be pumped in to facilitate its implementation. The proposed cancer initiative will require funds to accomplish its objectives: a creation of public awareness of cancer, an organization of seminars and voluntary tests, and increasing facilities as well as specialized staff in hospitals. An estimated amount of $45,737 will be required to implement it successfully. Thus, this will directly affect the organization financially as the cost is expected to be drawn from its coffers. On the other hand, funding the initiative may indirectly affect the other personnel since implementing it could mean slicing the financial resources allocated for other programs or initiatives. However, in summary, it is prudent to fund it since the result would mean a reduced number of cancer patients in San Diego County as well as better care for the existing ones.

References

Harrison, P. J. (2010). Essentials of strategic planning in healthcare. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press.

Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties. (2016). San Diego 2016 community health needs assessment. San Diego, CA: Penn and Delange.