Payson, Utah Community: A Heart Health Intervention



Outcome: Manage the direct & indirect care of individuals, families, groups, communities, & populations to promote, maintain, & restore health.To me, this learning outcome is related to Community Health Nursing. This was one of the most interesting courses in the BSN program. We were to assess a community, something I had never thought about doing before. I learned a great deal about my home town and the areas that were in much need of improvement.After conducting our community assessment we were to plan and implement a project to help the struggling areas of our community. I decided to complete my project on the topic of heart health as it was the number one cause of death for my community. This bothered me as in most cases it can be prevented with lifestyle changes. To complete my project I taught an elementary school class, middle-aged group, and one elder about heart health. It was a rewarding project.In summary, this learning outcome provided a different point of view in the area of community health nursing. In my line of work I am constantly looking at my patient as a single individual so to learn to shift my focus to look at the community as my patient was a great learning experience. I will continue to apply this learning outcome to my future practice by striving to volunteer for and advocate for my community.Attached is my community health project paper.Payson, Utah Community: A Heart Health InterventionKjersti T. YorkDixie State UniversityPayson, Utah Community: A Heart Health InterventionThe city of Payson, Utah was researched and observed for this project. Payson was found to have a need for improved heart health. A secondary problem of suicidal occurrence was identified, but the writer of this paper identified heart health as the interventional problem. According to the Center for Disease Control (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011) the leading cause of death in the United States is Heart Disease. This is disappointing yet motivating as Heart Disease can be prevented in many cases with a healthy diet and exercise. This paper will outline the findings of the community assessment and discuss the intervention implemented. The intervention consisted of a heart health lecture and game conducted at an elementary school in the town. Survey method was used to assess the accomplishment of the intervention. Conclusion: Before the intervention 18/25 students claimed to get 30 minutes of physical activity outside of school, after the intervention the numbers increased to 20/25 munity Assessment and AnalysisThe following sections will discuss the community of Payson, Utah and what was discovered during the community assessment. Also discussed will be the targeted population of this project. Community AssessmentThe city of Payson, Utah was assessed by the research of numerous websites including the U.S. Census Bureau and Utah Health Department. Windshield survey and talking with community members also provided useful information for this project.The following problems were identified in the community of Payson, UT. These problems were identified when compared to state and national averages or stated as concerns by members of the community: Heart Disease, Obesity, Suicide, Air Quality, and Malignant Neoplasms.According to the Utah Health Department (2011) the top 3 leading causes of death in Utah County were: Diseases of heart, Malignant Neoplasms, and Cerebrovascular Diseases. The average age at death was 70.27. Only 54.7% of adults achieved the recommended physical activity. The Heart Disease Deaths per 100,000 population was 85% compared to the state percentage of 70.1%, Utah County is significantly increased. From the experience and research of Payson, Utah it is concluded that the strengths of the community is in the area of crime. The crime rate is significantly lower than national average. According to HomeFacts (2013) Payson has a score of 32.64 for their total crime index, compared to a national average of 100, this is a substantial strength in the community.Target PopulationBrent York (2013), a previous city council member and mayor was interviewed. He identified the health problem of heart disease, psychosocial problem of suicide, and environmental problem of air quality.The target population for my intervention on Heart Disease would preferably be the young. Thomas A. Edison said “The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.” Prevention of disease is preferable to treatment of disease, thus I will aim my intervention at the young population.Problem IdentificationThe community health diagnosis created by the writer of this paper is: Increased risk of mortality due to heart disease among Utah County residents related to inadequate exercise, poor diet, and lack of education as demonstrated in health statistics by the Utah State Health Department and stated by members of the community.Goal and ObjectivesGoal of the intervention: reduce heart disease in Payson, Utah. Healthy People 2020 has a similar objective: increase overall cardiovascular health in the US population. The outcome objective of this intervention is: by December 2015 as a result of increasing community knowledge of heart disease and heart health the percentage of citizens in Utah County that achieve the recommended physical activity will increase 1.3% points to 56% by 2015, as measured by the Utah County Health Department compared to the 2012 findings. The impact objective for the intervention is: by January 1 2014 100% of Mrs. Knudsen’s fourth grade class will report getting the recommended amount of activity every day.ResourcesResources used for this intervention were the Barnett Elementary School gymnasium and Mrs. Knudsen’s fourth grade classroom. Additional resources were exercise equipment, posters, markers, paper, snacks, and heart health information obtained by the Center for Disease Control Website. ConstraintsThe only constraint experienced was difficulty coordinating time off work and school to travel to Payson during a school day, but this challenge was munity Based InterventionThe intervention implemented was directed at a fourth grade class at Barnett Elementary School. The writer of this paper completed a lesson with the class on the heart. Before any teaching was completed a survey was taken on how many of the student got 30 minutes or more of exercise everyday outside of school. After the survey, details about what the heart does, how to keep it healthy, and why it is important to keep it healthy were taught to the students. Following the lesson about the heart students learned how to take their pulse. They were then taught how to increase their pulse, and played a game that included many different activities that raise the heart rate. ConclusionThe effectiveness of this intervention was evaluated by survey method. Before the intervention was implemented a survey was taken, asking the children if they got 30 minutes or more of activity that raised their heart rate everyday outside of school, 18/25 students answered yes. After the intervention was implemented the same survey was completed and 20/25 students answered yes.In conclusion, the intervention was effective in promoting heart health to the young population. There is a need for additional education. If education about heart health can be increased at a young age perhaps the incidence of heart disease, and the prevalence of heart disease deaths will be decreased.ReferencesGood Reads. (2013). Thomas A. Edison Quotes. Retrieved from Homefacts. (2013). Local health safety and environmental hazard information. Retrieved from Center for Health Statistics. Center for Disease Control, FASTSTATS. (2011). Leading causes of death. Retrieved from website: City. (2013) Payson city experience the many layers. Retrieved from Department of Health. (2012). 2012 Utah state wide health report. Retrieved from Department of Health. (2013, February 25). Utah's public health data resource. Retrieved from ................
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