Action Plan for Community Educational Project

Action Plan for Community Educational Project

Introduction

Community education creates a compelling and structured way to deal with the challenges of improving public education because it expands the traditional role of the community and creates a mutually interdependent relationship among the school, home, and community (Pabani, 2011). This paper discusses a community health project and action plan, the education goals, the objectives, and the implementation of educational activities for the community. Also, the paper will evaluate the venue for the teaching lesson for the members of the targeted community. Importantly, the paper will assess the nursing interventions and actions that will be important for the community education project.

Action Plan

The major purpose of this community action plan is educating the selected community on the risks associated with the continued use of tobacco, which makes many people to be diagnosed with hematologic cancer. The target audience will be informed about the dangers of overusing tobacco. The education will be based on the objectives of the Healthy people 2020’s Tobacco Use. The objective that will be used to develop the action plan is TU-4, which has the objective of increasing the smoking cessation efforts by adults. According to Healthy People 2020, more than fifty-percent of smokers older than eighteen years have attempted to quit tobacco smoking within the past year (Healthy People 2020, 2010). Therefore, coming up with a community action plan to assist the adults in ceasing from smoking is a top priority.

Goals and Objectives

The goals of the action plan will work hand in hand to assist patients who have hematologic cancer to quit smoking. The primary education goal is the reduction of tobacco use in patients who have been suffering from hematologic cancer. The other purpose of the community education program is developing a patient-centered plan for tobacco cessation. Among the objectives of education for tobacco cessation is the reduction of the population involved in smoking. The other aim is assisting the patients in quitting smoking for those patients who are willing but are unable to stop. Through education on the continued dangers associated with tobacco smoking while receiving treatment for cancer, patients should be open to cease smoking and abide by the guidelines provided (Krejci, 2000).

Implementation

Various steps are taken in an attempt to educate the targeted population in the community. There will be an educational program on the transplant of bone marrow, and all patient populations should be advised to attend. During the educational meeting program, there will be time scheduled for discussing how to cease tobacco smoking. There should be materials presented to all patients and should cover the dangers associated with tobacco smoking (Pabani, 2011). For example, the risks may be the dangers associated with continued use of tobacco products during treatment for cancers and also the dangers of cancer relapse after transplant of bone marrow.

The teaching materials and resources that will be used during the entire program include PowerPoint presentations and handouts. The handouts on tobacco cessation should have a brief description of the dangers and information on how to avoid using tobacco-associated products. The PowerPoint presentations should have images of tobacco products and descriptions of how tobacco affects body organs. The purpose of the education program is educating the audience on diseases such as cancer caused by tobacco products and the long-term impact of smoking.

Budget and Justification

The action plan for the cessation of tobacco is essential for various reasons. There is a higher prevalence of the use of tobacco in the Bronx in New York City state compared to other states in the United States. The Bronx is ranked 50^th in cancer-related deaths in America. The number of deaths associated with tobacco consumption can be decreased by creating a plan and education programs for cessation (Krejci, 2000). The budget required for this action plan is not high, as it includes the printing costs for educational materials. Also, the budget will consist of the expenses of renting conference rooms in addition to paying hired personnel for their efforts during the entire educational program.

Educational Venue

The program for cessation on tobacco use will be a part of a larger patient program for potential transplant of bone marrow. The program is held twice a month at the Markey Cancer Center clinic. I will hold the program in one of the conference rooms available at the cancer center clinic. The application of AV equipment is critical for the PowerPoint presentation during the education program. The audience that will attend the education program includes a clinic nurse and an inpatient care nurse from the bone marrow transplant section. Educational materials such as brochures on quitting smoking will be issued out to everyone present. The materials will have a clear description of the dangers and risks associated with tobacco smoking. Also, the materials will have a description of the risks caused by chronic smoking while receiving cancer therapy in addition to as well as post-transplant of the bone marrow. Finally, education materials will provide resources on how to quit tobacco smoking.

Nursing Action

The nursing interventions and actions to educate the affected population on tobacco cessation are critical in this project. Firstly, the nursing intervention and plan will include educating the audience on quitting tobacco smoking. The patients may be unaware of the risks associated with continued tobacco consumption while undergoing cancer therapy (Pabani, 2011). Secondly, the action will include collaborating with physicians on how to provide medication and referral for smoking cessation. The physicians will provide medication to help the patients to quit smoking if they need their services. Through patient education and collaboration with physicians on smoking cessation, the audience will benefit from resources and medication required to quit smoking.

Partnerships

There are various partnerships that can be formed for the implementation of recommendations on smoking cessation. Partnerships can be established between physicians from the cancer care center. These physicians can help the patients to cease smoking by supplying them with medication. Also, clinical nurses can form partnerships where the nurses are working at the cancer care center act as case managers. These nurses help in fostering a continuous relationship with patients in an attempt to support them with services on smoking cessation. Through a continuous relationship with nurses, there is likely to be positive outcomes for patients who quit smoking (Krejci, 2000). It is expected that tobacco patients will completely quit smoking withing three months after attending the education program. There will be follow-ups to provide further assistance for patients to quit smoking.

Conclusion

There are various steps of the action plan in an attempt to help patients to quit smoking. Direct interventions and objectives are critical if this project is to be successful. Collaboration with other healthcare professionals and stakeholders is important for patients to quit smoking within three months. Also, the action plan must have readily available education materials and a budget that will support the entire program in addition to other expenses that might be incurred during the community education program. For positive outcomes to be experienced, the patients must be supplied with handouts and PowerPoint presentations showing the risks associated with the consumption of tobacco and its related products.

The community education program is needed to educate the patients on risks such as cancer that are caused by smoking and recommended therapies for treatment. The goal is to present the patients with the bone marrow transplant information on smoking dangers. Patients should have all the resources needed to quit smoking through collaboration, education, and continued care. Patients will increase their chances of positive results in cancer therapy if they quit smoking and through transplant of bone marrow.

References

Healthy People 2020. (2010). PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e589962012-001

Krejci, R. (2000). Tobacco cessation program implementation—from plans to reality: skill-building workshop—network model. Tobacco Control, 9(90001), 33i-36. doi: 10.1136/tc.9.suppl_1. i33

Pabani, A. (2011). Healthy Lives, Healthy People: the government’s tobacco plan. Practice Nursing, 22(4), 210-210. doi:10.12968/pnur.2011.22.4.210