Health Promotion Proposal Program

1

Health Promotion Proposal Program

Program Planning

Fall 2016

Health Choices

Official Summary

Organization

The organization that I have chosen to give my proposal to is not your regular health center or sports complex. This place is an everyday area that many people visit for food and fun. This place also happens to be where I work as a bartender, I am going to propose my program to Dominic’s Tavern in Bellmawr NJ. I believe this will be a good place to promote health because it is not your regular health centered organization currently. Many people will do their proposal to organizations within the health environment (gyms, rec centers, sports complex’s etc) but where I believe more programs need to be implemented are in places that are not health centered already. The people that come here are everyday people that are the most in need to being educated on their health choices. The purpose of the organization is not to promote health which is why I believe it to be one of the best places to offer some new healthy choices to the people that come in every day. The purpose of the organization is to give people good serve each day to they come back.Currently, Dominic’s is not a health centered organization, in fact Dominic’s promotes unhealthy choices. The choices that are the three top causes of death in the United States are most common at Dominic’s. Smoking Tobacco, Poor diet/exercise, and alcohol consumption.

Target Audience

My target audience will those all ages that enter the restaurant, male and female, mostly customer affiliated but not restricted to. The audience I would like to reach are those who are unaware of the poor health habits that they are contributing too. I am targeting those people who are smokers, and eat a poor diet because most of the customers who do have asked me about my choices. Targeting those who consume alcohol will be detrimental to the business, diet and smoking is very targetable. I have already had multiple co-workers and customers tell me they want to quit and ask for diet plans. This is where I believe I can make the biggest impact on the population given at Dominic’s. The implementation may come to a nutritional program planning, nutritional counseling, or even a health foods choice menu. The audience of all ages will be surveyed on their choices and habits while I work at the bar. Throughout my time spent there I will come forth with an adequate health program that can promote health and also be profitable to the organization.

Program Rationale and Evaluation

The health issue that I am targeting is the over consumption of fatty greasy foods. These foods occur in the common American diet, they are full of saturated fats, added sugars, sodium, and lack nutrient density. But not only the American diet, you cannot expect to live a long healthy life if you do not take proper care of your body, and means what you put into it. The USDA argues that nutrient dense foods are those that are “wholesome foods with little or no saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars”(Choosemyplate, 2016) Normally these foods are also fortified with vitamins and minerals that help with regular bodily functions of the body. My goal for this program is to influence a population ranging from seventeen years of age to sixty years of age who eat these foods and are lacking in their diet. These people may also be suffering from certain ailments because of their food choices which will help me to influence their choices. This is the main problem with this health issue, the high consumption of these three areas cause aliments like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, and so forth which eventually lead to early death. Consequently, about 82% of the target population that took the survey wanted to change their diet because of certain said health issues. A Nation survey sponsored by the government states that 57% of Americans are now concerned with their diets and 54% want to achieve a healthier diet.(Mukherjee, 2013) According to the American Society of Nutrition “Intakes of saturated fat, and to a lesser extent Trans fats, are important determinants of LDL cholesterol, which is a causal risk factor for CHD.”(Clarke, 2010) So to address this issue I propose in the organization setting to add in a healthy choices menu. This menu will give those a chance to make the correct choice when it comes to their foods. During the implementation of the program all those ordering food will also be made aware of the menu beforehand and influenced to try it. Also, employees will be educated on the benefits that this menu can bring to the consumers life. The accurate risks and benefits of the program and health service will be communicated to each of the participants. Additional services will also be provided to those wanting to pursue a life style change outside of the restaurant. Predisposing, enabling and reinforcing factors will all be measured in the surveys. The MAP It model is used for this program to bring people together to assess the health needs and implement the program to the target population.

Needs Assessment:

When working in the bar I ask my coworkers and also my costumers if they would be opposed to a healthy choices selection being on the menu. Here we used a simple assessment to collect our data in survey form. Many of them said they would not be opposed and asked what types of foods would be on the menu. Therefore, I did a follow up survey on about fifty people within the bar setting. Within the survey twenty five questions were asked about their diet and what their thoughts about a new menu being added were. Thus, 77% of those who took the survey admit to eating a diet high in saturated fats and added sugars. Also, 82% of those who took the survey wanted to change their diet for varies reasons, health issues being the top issue. Next, 68% of survey takers said they would give the health foods menu a chance if it were to be made available. This helps me to believe that people want to change their habits and he program has a possibility of also being profitable for the organization. Finally, I surveyed how much exercise each person gets per week, only 13% of those who took the survey get one hour of exercise daily or seven to nine hours weekly. This is another factor I would like to possibly work on with the program and can be addressed with people who wish to follow up on services provided.

Goals and Objectives:

The highest goal of the program is to reach at least 50% of the people about certain health risks that follow from eating the common American diet. At the beginning of the program people will be told about the new menu and given insight of the services following the program. When being told about the program associates will be specific on the goals of the program and if further education is require be directed for specific programming. Of those who have been told about the program 82% wanted to change their diet towards a healthier one. Also, of those who wanted to change their diets 21% said they would possibly pursue follow up programming. The impact of these effects will all reflect 3 months after on the evaluation procedure below. Next, to have 40% of the population at least try an item from the healthy choices menu during the 3 months. At the beginning of the program associates will be given health initiative information to promote the success of the program. Associates will relay this information to the customers in hopes to entice their appetite towards the health choices menu. Of the customers who decide to eat from the menu 20% proceed to follow up programming. Also, of those eating from the menu 25% tell others about the food menu. The outcome of this is to after 3 months have at least 10% change their diets to a healthier one or 15% proceed to follow up programming for diet change, thus increasing overall quality of life. Evaluation of goal 2 will be accessed in the evaluation survey questions. Next, have 35% of those who try the menu keep pursue follow up services and advice from me or another manager. Follow up procedures for consumers may range anywhere from diet advice, exercise advice, or even stress relief. These goals are believed to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time specific. They can be achieved with the correct marketing of the program to the target population.

Evaluation Procedure:

For the analysis of ending procedures a simple survey will be given to those to have tried any of the services rendered. There will be a 3 week span where people will be given this survey after the program has run for the first 4 weeks. This will give us our impact assessment, after another 2 months the population will be given the same survey and results will be compared to view long term results. Survey questions will ask which foods they chose and why, if they liked the alternative foods, and how they heard of the initiative. Questions will also shed light on those who pursued follow up procedures, and if they stuck to the menu or relative healthy eating since then. This is going to be a very low cost program as all the materials are already at hand we are only altering the preparation of food. As for follow up procedures depending on what the customer wants service cost may render. Waitresses and bartenders will give these simple surveys to those who have tried the menu and then collect if afterwards. Variables include age, gender, and ethnicity. These variables will give some insight on who is willing to try knew options to reduce health risks for themselves. Also, the most crucial variable will be education, being highly educated not just in the health field but educated at all plays a huge role in people’s decision making. Our SWOT analysis shows that we have very personable people who are strong in their ability to market the program to customers. Although, our weakness is that Dominic’s is not very well known for its healthy food choices so it can somewhat difficult to convert someone to that choice. One opportunity that was thought of is having a weekly special on the menu to give the customers a new exciting choice. We also took suggestions from customers on what they would like to see. These suggestions were not always on the healthy side which lead us to believe they did not have the proper education on how their food choices effects their health. Threats to the program include those mostly internal, many customers are loud and obnoxious, if they do not like something then the entire bar will hear about it which could be a downfall later in the program.

Theory Rationale and Relationship

For the implementation of my program I am choosing to build its foundation around the MAP IT Model. This theory breaks down into 5 constructs that encase the synopsis and outline of the plan for individual programs. These constructs are Mobilization, Assessment, Plan, Implement, and Track. Thus, each of these constructs have their own individual role in the process of the program and are all equally important in its success. Mobilization is the gathering of people and organizations that wish to achieve a health goal or standard in a certain area. This goal can range from a wide spectrum of ideas within the health field. But for my specific program the people involved mostly are my co-workers and managers. The organization of Dominic’s Tavern is on board for helping organize a successful program. Thus, we conducted a Needs Assessment that formed me of the second step within the MAP IT theory. Assessment, this area is embodied around identifying what are the dire needs within the community you are trying to reach and what strengths you have to reach them. Thus, with our assessment I have found that people’s diet and smoking habits are the most prevalent. Here I have found that 82% of individuals who have taken the initial survey wanted change their diet and 68% said they would try the healthy menu if offered. Next, we implement the Plan phase our program where we want to be as a community and how we are to get there. With many conscious thoughts can consideration of co-workers I decided that a healthy choices menu would be the best possible route to a significant change. Here we will be doing an 8 week trail of the menu with the materials that we have in house already. Thus, financial stress will be taken off of Dominic’s and the community has healthy alternatives. During the 8 weeks of implementation we will monitor and push the idea of our new menu to our community. Also, follow up services and counselling will be offered to the community if people are interested in more in-depth specific information that may pertain to them. After that, the implementation of the program will begin, a small section of the menu will be added with health choices of foods that are nutrient dense and provide a reduction of fatty, sugary, starchy foods. Each and every co-worker will be informed of the implementation and what their role in it will be. Thus, the 8 week period will commence and we will ensure the community knows of the new menu and the follow up services afterwards. Here we wish to make a significant impact of the health conscious thinking of those within Dominic’s Tavern. Finally, we will Track our progress to see just our successful we were. After that, first 4 weeks after development we will conduct an initial survey to view the impact of the program. Here we will see any need of adjustment towards the impact of the program initially. This is to see how many people we have reached and are now aware of the ideas we are proposing and if we need adjusting. Next, after the program is finished in its 8th week we will be giving the same survey that now also consists of follow up questions, in hopes that the results have gone up from the original surveys. I believe that this will be the best model to implement because it is very hands on and statistically sound. We are able to work with the customers and give them the choices that they want while at the same time see how many people we are reaching in exact numbers. This gives us the statistical advantage over theories like “Stages of Change” or Behavioral Theory Concepts. There is a lot less focus on the factors that influence behavioral mentally and more focus on the statistical data which tells us where we are lacking. Which we can in turn through our Tracking plan an adjustment accordingly. The main reason why I think we will be so successful is because we are not focusing on why people change and trying to tweak the person. We are focusing on how the community are reacting to our program and then altering the program in ways that fits the community. Which, within my life time I have found that changing someone is much more difficult than changing the approach to a plan or program.

Program Description and Lesson Plans

Dominic’s Tavern, 100 E Browning Rd, Bellmawr. The Vision for Dominic’s Tavern is to make a high profit from the program. Hopefully with the enthusiasm of the community the healthy choices menu will be added to the currently existing menu. We are targeting all of those ages 18-60 years of age of all races and genders, generally those who are eating an unhealthy diet and wish to change it. Our mission is to gain followers of at least 30% of the population that is exposed to the program. Within the 8 weeks of implementing the program we will be providing a health choices menu to the pre-existing menu at Dominic’s Tavern. Here we will give people the option for a more healthy choice that will benefit their health in the longer term without effecting the profitable income at Dominic’s. From day to day for 8 weeks servers will be promoting the new menus to the community at Dominic’s, also if possible reviews of the food on the menu will be submitted and released to the populace to promote the habit further. Prior to the start of the program servers will be educated in 2 different sessions, each 2 hours long, on what we will be promoting to our cliental and our overall goals. In addition to the menu we will providing person counseling and programing services to those who wish to have a follow up interview with me. During the follow up interviews I will discuss with the individual what their goals are and how to reach them. For example, if they wish to start losing more weight and they are big of drinking soda and highly fatty saturated foods. I would then covet them to replace soda with water or at least fruit juice and each more whole nutrient dense vegetables. This will create almost a detox for their body, the water will cleanse the blood and liver of toxins and the roughage with help clear the intestines of impurities. Additional follow up interviews may be provided to those who wish to have more extensive counselling. Most of the education will take place in the follow up interviews as they will be more in-depth to personalized needs and benefits. We will go over how they got to where they are now, long term and short term goals, create a plan that is SMART, and have them follow it for 4-8 weeks. After the 4-8 week period we will meet with them again and see how things have gone and counsel them further on what is benefiting them and what is holding them back from success. But with the general implementation, basic information will be given from servers about what is in the food and possible health benefits if desired. After 4 weeks we will conduct our first initial survey to identify our impact assessment of those within the community. The main form of education will come from the follow up interviews given to those who take to the program. If adjustments of the program is needed from the data collected then we will make adjusts in the according areas. The menu that would implemented provides a SMOG reading level of an 8th grader. For example, “Thin sliced Turkey topped with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and garlic aioli wrapped in a whole grain tortilla.” Thus, the main readability is very understandable and clear to all those who read it. For those who wish to seek programing and counseling the SMOG reading level is around 13 or just above a high school graduate. This is because many healthy terms and scientific words with rationale will be presented for evidential arguments. Overall, the MAP IT approach will help use to give people the opportunity to choose a healthy alternative and also change their lifestyle. Those who wish to make a significant change will seek counseling from us but those who do not will still have access to the menu and all programming if wanted. Thus, those who are ready for change and ant change will work with us in the end to make and impact.