HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020, LONG-TERM AND SHORT-TERM GOALS, AND INTERVENTION

Healthy People 2020, Long-Term and Short-Term Goals, and Intervention

Felisha jones

[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

Author Note

Healthy People 2020, Long-Term and Short-Term Goals, and Intervention

The collection of demographic information is necessary to evaluate the needs of a local community to be able to diagnose its problem and develop appropriate health interventions and improvement plans CITATION Nie19 \l 1033 (Nies & McEwen, 2019). The purpose of the paper is to examine and assess a community health problem within Franklin county against Healthy People 2020 goals, by utilizing the prevention framework suggested by Milio (1976) in order to devise short and long-term interventions to aid disease prevention efforts in the community.

CVD in Franklin County

An examination of the mortality rates from Franklin county's population demographics reveals that heart disease and cancer are among the leading causes of death. Although the county seems to fare better than statewide rates, nearly 3.84% of the population above the age of 18 have been diagnosed with CVD CITATION PRC13 \l 1033 (PRCHN, 2013). It is relevant because CVD remains the leading cause of mortality across the nation. Among the behavioral risk factors identified in the community include poor nutrition, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle, and living a generally unhealthy lifestyle.

Analyzing CVD through Milo’s Framework of Prevention

Milio (1976) suggested that the lifestyle and health choices of an individual are affected by convenience, cost, and availability more compared to any knowledge they obtain through education. In the case of CVD, two propositions from Milio’s framework can be applied. Firstly, the community’s state of health is a result of having too much or too little of health-sustaining resource, thus the affluent indulge in an excess of food, alcohol, and soda. In Franklin County, it is convenient and inexpensive to buy fast food even for low-income populations, and most of the available options come with super-size deals for a small price difference. Secondly, Milio (1976) suggested that people’s choices are based on their perceived community or individual resources, and thus the prevalence of obesity and CVD within Franklin county can be explained by the lack of physical fitness facilities compared to the available number of fast food restaurantsCITATION Moh \l 1033 (Mazidi & Speakman, 2018). For every 62 fast food outlets, there are only 11 fitness centers for a 100,000 population within the county CITATION Pur18 \l 1033 (Purdy, 2018).

Comparison with Healthy People 2020 National Goals

The healthy people 2020 launched an initiative in 2014 to enhance cardiovascular health through the treatment, detection, and prevention for CVD risk factors, especially through prevention of CVD associated events, to reduce overall mortality. In Franklin County, the mortality figures for CVD are 132.50 for every 100,000 people, which is significantly higher than the 100.8 value targeted by the Healthy People 2020 goal CITATION PRC13 \l 1033 (PRCHN, 2013). To obtain the set targets, major improvements within the community’s lifestyle, physical activity, and diet have to be made CITATION Hea141 \l 1033 (Healthy People, 2014).

Long-Term and Short Term Goals

To achieve the Healthy People 2020 goals, an appropriate mix of short and long-term exercise and nutrition goals have to be set to decrease the prevalence of CVD associated morbidity and mortality, while addressing the underlying factors related to availability, and cost of resources, as specified by Milio’s (1976) framework. In this regard, public health nurses should collaborate with other community organizations and agencies to launch motivational exercise programs, in a way that people find convenient and easy to influence the social forces at play. The recommended exercise would be 30 minutes, every 5 days, which includes 75 minutes of vigorous and 150 minutes of moderate exercises for adults, involving strength training and aerobic exercises. A long-term intervention would be to launch nutrition education through school curriculums, booklets, health education programs, and mass media to draw stakeholders into using less hydrogenated oils, replacing them with omega-3 fatty acids and vegetable oils. They would also be guided to introduce healthier food options such as half-portion size in fast food restaurantsCITATION Sha151 \l 1033 (Sharifi & Amani, 2015).

In conclusion, reaching the Healthy people 2020 goals for reducing CVD prevalence requires nurses and community health professionals to encourage healthier lifestyle goals, which includes healthy nutrition and physical exercise to control the risk factors. Long term interventions to encourage stakeholders to adopt healthier alternatives in fast food chains, alongside the promotion of exercise regimens would enable a significant reduction in CVD associated mortality rates.

References

BIBLIOGRAPHY Healthy People. (2014). Heart Disease and Stroke. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from ODPHP: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/heart-disease-and-stroke

Mazidi, M., & Speakman, J. R. (2018). Association of Fast-Food and Full-Service Restaurant Densities With Mortality From Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke, and the Prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus. Journal of the American Heart Association, 7(11), 1-13.

Milio, N. (1976). A framework for prevention: changing health-damaging to health-generating life patterns. American Journal of Public Health, 66(5), 435-439. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1653306/

Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2019). Community/Public Health Nursing (7th ed.). Saunders.

PRCHN. (2013). Franklin County: Full Health Indicators Report. Cleveland, OH: Prevention Research Center. Retrieved from https://www.prchn.org/Downloads/CHNA%20Franklin%20County.pdf

Purdy, N. (2018, January 5). Recreation and Fitness Facility Access. Retrieved May 21, 2019, from Healthy Franklin county: http://www.healthyfranklincounty.org/recreation-and-fitness-facility-access

Sharifi, N., & Amani, R. (2015). Nutritional interventions to reduce cardiovascular risk factors: an Iranian perspective. Nutrition and Dietary Supplements, 7, 51-60.