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Health Promotion Plan Assessment Sample Paper

Health Promotion Plan Assessment Sample Paper

Over the past few years, the number of tobacco users has decreased. Statistics show that China has the highest number of tobacco smokers, and India has the highest number of non-smoke tobacco users globally. The number of men smoking is relatively equal to the number of men. Tobacco contains carcinogenic compounds that are harmful to individuals. Studies show that as the total number of smokers decreases, the number of adolescents and young adults smoking tobacco has been rising.

These findings prompt research into the causes and ways to decrease young adults and adolescents smoking. Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable diseases, disability, and death in the United States.  This paper aims to develop a tobacco cessation plan among adolescents and the youths, highlighting objectives and expected outcomes.

Tobacco Use

Tobacco use entails abusing the various products of tobacco plant leaves. Tobacco is used in various ways, such as smoking, chewing, or sniffing. Tobacco is most often smoked compared to other means of tobacco use. The healthy people 2020 initiative identifies tobacco use as one of the significant factors affecting community health and wellness. The initiative entails goals, discussed later in this paper, that address tobacco use.

The CDC associates tobacco use with various illnesses and a primary causative agent of various conditions such as many types of cancers, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, asthma, osteoporosis, and cataracts. Statistics claim that over 34 million people in the U.S. are active smokers and many others are passive smokers. Tobacco use affects active and passive smokers at relatively similar rates.  Non-smoke tobacco use is associated with increased incidences of mouth cancer.

Tobacco is a stimulant whose effects only last for a short time. Most of the time, people use tobacco due to addiction and dependency (Eaton et al., 2018). Most people who have used it for a long time claim to desire to stop using it, but they cannot stop due to its withdrawal effects, such as severe migraines. They claim not to ‘function effectively’ when they have not smoked (Eaton et al., 2018).

As mentioned earlier, the number of adolescents and young adults smoking has been rapidly rising. Studies have associated the rise with indulgence in variant forms of pleasure-seeking behaviors such as e-cigarettes and smoking shisha. Peer pressure has played a huge role in seeing many young adults into tobacco use through these variant forms. The CDC states that peer pressure has also been the leading cause of starting smoking behavior (CDC, 2020b).  Peer pressure is usually at its peak in adolescence and young adulthood when the students are trying to fit in, be conspicuous, or just curious.

Tobacco use is notorious for causing dependency and addiction. The development of tobacco dependency occurs after a short period of frequent use (Eaton et al., 2018). The chemicals in tobacco, nicotine, are notorious for causing dependency. Management of tobacco dependency is quite complex, time-consuming, and high because it requires rehabilitation services. Once the young generation starts the smoking behavior, it is usually challenging to stop, and continue with it into adulthood (Eaton et al., 2018).

Affected Population

Virtually everyone is affected by tobacco use directly or indirectly. Statistics claim that men and women use tobacco in relatively similar percentages with only slight variations in different nations (Healthy People 2020 n.d.). People are affected directly as active smokers and indirectly as passive smokers. Society suffers when affected people suffer morbidities or are deceased.  The widespread reduction in the number of smokers can be attributed to population sensitization and implementation of tobacco use reduction initiatives.

These include mass media education on tobacco effects. According to CDC statistics, the number of active smokers has decreased from 20.9% in 2005 to 13.7% in 2018 (CDC, 2020b). Among the 13.7%, the number of young adults and adolescents is considerably high, an issue of significant concern (Peacock et al., 2018). Global statistics claim that over 11% of the youth smoke tobacco. Managing tobacco use of individuals in this age bracket is critical in promoting tobacco use cessation (Peacock et al., 2018). Once the behavior is mitigated at an early age, the individual is highly unlikely to indulge in tobacco use again and thus. They are also able to avoid diseases associated with smoking.

Over 99% percent of the population make their first smoking attempt by 26 years of age, which has a significant bearing on smoking behavior (Peacock et al., 2018). If the first smoking attempt is prevented, the smoking behavior would be conclusively managed/mitigated (Groner and Balks, 2020).

Education Session

From the evidence presented in the paper, the young population often decides to start using tobacco due to peer pressure and misinformation. When the young population is equipped with adequate information, they will most likely make sound decisions, cease smoking, or fail to attempt smoking. Thus, the number of youths smoking shall significantly reduce (Groner and Balks, 2020). The education sessions are tailored to help young adults and adolescents stop tobacco-using behavior. The health belief model is instrumental in creating a theoretical framework for the educational sessions.

The sample population shall be two institutions with tobacco-using students. The participants are active tobacco users. The two institutions, Forever Young High School and Achievers College are the best decision because they contain the desired age groups, that is, the adolescents and the young adults. The education sessions shall inform the students on the health risks associated with tobacco use and the benefits of living a tobacco-free life.

The education sessions shall relay information to the students present, which shall further be relayed to other society members, especially the young population reducing smoking significantly. The education sessions shall also involve providing relevant contact when an individual needs help with rehabilitation and smoking cessation.

Identified Health Goals

The health promotion’s main goal is promoting tobacco use cessation among adolescents and young adults. Another goal is influencing behavior change among active smokers. Sensitizing the young generation on complications associated with tobacco use is another goal. The goal is to ensure informed decision-making of current and future generations. The constructs of the health belief model are instrumental in reinforcing people’s behavior. When the young are aware of the risks associated with tobacco use (perceived severity) and benefits of cessation (perceived benefits), they are likely to stop the tobacco use behavior.

Objectives Of Education Sessions

The main objective is meeting the goals outlined in the health promotion plan. Other objectives include increasing health education participation and promoting smoking cessation among the students (adolescents and young adults). The education sessions shall also seek to determine the reasons why people decide to start smoking. The reasons can thus be addressed directly, leading to decreased tobacco use. The education sessions shall also help the youth develop personal goals that align with health promotional goals. They shall help create good relationships with the youth and lay a foundation for developing new ways of reducing tobacco use among the young generation.

Session Outcomes Evaluation

Different evaluation methods are employed in assessing the outcomes of the health promotion plan. As aforementioned, each participant shall fill in a journal denoting the progress throughout the sessions. The participant can express their subjective experience, feelings, and lessons from the educations lessons. After every session, the participants are allowed to ask questions which are promptly answers. A survey on the progress is carried out every two weeks to showcase the participants’ population’s general progress. Evaluation of progress is critical in showing the impact of the education sessions, denoting areas of improvement, and aligning the session to the health promotion plan goals.

Session Changes And Their Impacts

The educational sessions had a good outcome. The number increased to twenty participants in subsequent sessions, and the participants verbalized and exhibited decreased tobacco use. They also showed a greater desire to cease tobacco use. The number of sessions was less frequent, and from the evaluation data, there was the need to increase the sessions to at least an education session weekly. Increasing the sessions shall increase the surveillance done and also contact time to ensure exclusive teaching. With increased surveillance, the study participants are stimulated to follow the rules more keenly. A decision to take the participants’ numbers was made and was instrumental in effecting follow-up. The students revealed more information in follow-up sessions, and many received the help they sort for.

Educational Session’s Outcomes Against The Healthy People 2020 Goals And Leading Indicators.

The healthy people 2020 initiative recognizes tobacco use as one of the major factors leading to common health conditions. Thus, it is imperative to ensure the health promotion plan is in line with the healthy people 2020 initiative goals. Healthy People 2020 initiative goals related to tobacco use include reducing tobacco use, reducing tobacco use initiation, and reducing tobacco use among adolescents and young adults (Healthy People 2020 n.d.). The health promotion plan main objectives reflect on the goals regarding tobacco use indicated in the Healthy People Initiative 2020

Conclusion

To effect tobacco cessation, an elaborate health promotion plan must be in place. As seen above, mitigating tobacco use as at a young age is instrumental in determining the number of tobacco users in the future. The government, responsible bodies, and societies have a collective duty to ensure tobacco use cessation. Elaborate and specific objectives are instrumental in determining the success of the health promotion plan. The choice of the target population is very important because having a representative population ensures data collected can be inferred to affect tobacco cessation in the whole population. The data collected is also instrumental in planning strategies to mitigate tobacco use among young adults and adolescents.

References

  • CDC. (2020b, July 7). Youth and tobacco use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.html
  • Eaton, D. L., Kwan, L. Y., Stratton, K., & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2018). Dependence and Abuse Liability. In Public health consequences of e-cigarettes. National Academies Press (U.S.). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK507178/
  • Groner, J., & Balk, S. J. (2020). Addressing Teenage Tobacco Use: Still an Urgent Issue for Pediatricians. Pediatrics, 146(4). DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-010595
  • Healthy People 2020. (n.d.). Tobacco use | Healthy people 2020. Healthy People 2020. Retrieved from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/tobacco-use
  • Peacock, A., Leung, J., Larney, S., Colledge, S., Hickman, M., Rehm, J., Giovino, G. A., West, R., Hall, W., Griffiths, P., Ali, R., Gowing, L., Marsden, J., Ferrari, A. J., Grebely, J., Farrell, M., & Degenhardt, L. (2018). Global statistics on alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use: 2017 status report. Addiction, 113(10), 1905-1926. doi:10.1111/add.14234