Health Promotion Program on Hypertension in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example

Running Head: PROJECT PROPOSAL FOR HEALTH PROMOTION PROGRAM IN SAUDI ARABIA Project Proposal for Health Promotion Program on Hypertension in Saudi Arabia Student Name Student Number Under the guidance of Name of the University Date of Submission APA format Project- Participation of the Community in Decision Making on Health (Hypertension in Saudi Arabia) Introduction According to Ottawa Charter, "health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to well-being” (WHO, 2009). Thus for adequate health promotion, community participation, development of skills, supportive environments, health public policy and reorienting services are very essentiation. Of these, community participation plays a major role in the prevention, early detection and management of any disease. In this essay, the role of community participation in prevention and management of hypertension will be discussed in an effort to gain funds for accomplishment of project related to development and establishment of community awareness and community participation in hypertension, with intentions to decrease the incidence and prevalence of the disease and also reduce mortality and morbidity related to it. Title of the project: Organ damage due to Hypertension is Preventable: Screening and Knowledge for all, 2010. Aims and Objectives The main aim of this project is to enhance the knowlege of all Saudis above 30 years of age about the benefits of early detection and appropriate management of hypertension and thereby allowing the community to take part in various aspecting of decision-making in health care and services pertaining to health care. The objectives are: 1. To screen the members of the community for hypertension. 2. To increase the awareness of the public about hypertension, causes, risk factors, preventive strategies, signs and symptoms, management, complications and prevention of complications. 3. To educate the public about the importance of prevention and appropriate control of hypertension. 4. To encourage and foste community participation in decision making pertaining to hypertension health policies Background Information Community awareness and participation "Active involvement of people from communities preparing for, or reacting to, disasters" is known as community participation. "Involvement of the people concerned in analysis, decision-making, planning, and programme implementation, as well as in all the activities" is known as true participation. The WHO suggests community participation as one of the means of health promotion. Infact, one of the goals of primary health care movement is community participation at various levels of decision making in health like planning, evaluation and management of health services and also ones health. Community participation involves increasing the knowledge and awareness of the community pertaining to the pro grammes and projects concerned to the disease, empowerment of the people to exercise control in the process of decision-making and allowing them to participate right from the stage of planning (Bhuyan, 2004). Currently, community participation is considered as the most appropriate means of health promotion. Several activities have been developed to promote community participation in various health problems at primary health level and these include small projects in localized geographic area to national vertical programmes. Hypertension is a major health challenge all over the world with devastating health consequences like coronary artery disease, stroke and end-stage organ diseases like retinopathy and renal failure. The condition is preventable and development of side effects can be reduced to a large extent. Thus community participation and awareness is critical in the prevention and management of the disease. Prevalence of hypertension in Saudi Arabia Al-Nozha et al (2007) conducted a study as a part of major National Study on Coronary Artery Disease in Saudis or CADISS to determine the prevalence of hypertension in the region of Saudi Arabia in both rural and urban communities and in population age groups between 30- 70 years during which time, the chances of developing hypertension are high. The study was conducted between 1995 and 2000. The results of the study revealed that the prevalence of hypertension in this age group was 26.1 percent. While the prevalence in males was slightly more at 28.6 percent, the prevalence of females was 23.9 percent. The study also revealed that the prevalence of the condition was slightly more among urban population, the rate being 27.9 percent, while the prevalence among rural population was only 22.4 percent. Another important finding in the study was that the prevalence of coronary artery disease among hypertensive was atleast twice (8.2 %) as much in normotensive patients (4.5 percent). In another study by Abolfotouh et al (1996), the researchers evaluated the prevalence of hypertension in population above 10 years of age and found that the over all prevalence was about 11.6 percent in South western Saudi Arabia. Thus it can be said that hypertension is a significant health problem in saudi Arabia with dire health consequences. Community participation and awareness in hypertension It is very important to prevent and manage hypertension in any community because of the disastrous consequences it is associated with. According to the WHO (2003), "hypertension is already a highly prevalent cardiovascular risk factor worldwide because of increasing longevity and prevalence of contributing factors such as obesity." Cardiovascular disease accounts for one third of global disease and most of the cases are preventable through appropriate lifestyle modification and control of hypertension, hyperlipidemia and glucose intolerance. The WHO (2003) has recognised hypertension as a significant prevalent risk factor for cardiovascular disease in the industrialised world because of longevity, unhealth diet, sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Hypertension accounts for more than 7.1 million premature deaths world wide. Research has shown that adequate treatment of hypertension decreases the risk of stroke by 40 percent and decreases the risk of myocardial infarction by 15 percent. Despite such evidence, hypertension is managed inadequately all over the world. Research has shown that adequate and appropriate treatment of hypertension prevents cardiovascular diseases and enhances life (WHO, 2003). Despite this, world wide, hypertension is being treated inadequately, including in Saudi Arabia. Several researchers have opined and proved the importance of community awareness and participation in the prevention and management of hypertension. Anselmi et al (2004) conducted a community participation program to control hypertension in the district of Ecuador. In their study they found that discussion of various stories of the patient with community members, health promotion through nurses and community health promotors and cheap availability of treatments were important strategies in the prevention and management of hypertension. According to a study in Saudi Arabia (Al-Nozha et al, 2007)"aggressive management of hypertension as well as screening of adults for hypertension early to prevent its damaging consequences if left untreated" along with "public health awareness of simple measures, such as low salt diet, exercise, and avoiding obesity, to maintain normal arterial blood pressure." Some researchers have opined that control of the disease is possible through strategies that aimed at enhancing compliance to medication, physician education and behavioural technique modification (Abolfotouh et al, 1996). Program Area Coverage The program will be implemented throughout Saudi Arabia. According to WHO (2009), the population of Saudi Arabia is about 24, 807 thousand, with a growth rate of 2.3 percent. Target Population The program will target citizens of Saudi Arabia and special focus will be laid on individuals above 30 years of age. Methods/strategies/interventions The main purpose for choosing this particular health promotion program is because of the fact that community screening, participation and awareness has been a proven strategy for prevention of hypertension-related complications like coronary artery disease, stroke, end-stage renal disease and retinopathy. The program will be carried out in various clinics, primary health care centers, social service organizations, employee associations and community health centers. As far as possible, the program days will coincide with the community or employee meetings or when the local leaders hold meetings. Besides these programs, door-to-door campaigns will be held with intentions to reach out to large number of people. One of the main reasons for development of complication related to hypertension is lack of awareness of the disease and strategies to control the disease. Helping individuals to improve their own health by means of empowerment ensure that people have adequate knowledge of the disease, thereby changing the attitudes and behaviours of the people towards the disease. Community screening and participation for hypertension helps in the early detection and appropriate management of hypertension and allows better medication compliance, screening of complications and regular follow-up. The patients will also know when to seek medical assistance and how to modify their diet and lifestyle factors towards improvement of health. The knowledge is enhanced through health education and activities which promote health. The information imparted will be pertaining to dietary modification, exercise and physical activity, screening for complications and monitory of other factors which contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular disease like diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, smoking, sedentary lifestyle and obesity. Community screening will include physical examination and check-up of blood pressure and also tests to evaluate comorbidities like blood sugar levels and lipid profile. The following stages will be implemented in the program: preparing the community for screening for hypertension, identifying risk population for hypertension, increasing the awareness about hypertension, educating community about hypertension and implementing appropriate thoughts through out health care system in Saudi Arabia. Permission and ethical issues The letters of approval will be obtained from the concerned university, tutor, head of research, ministry of health and directors of health. Medical laws and ethics, professional code of conduct and professional code of practices will be strictly followed through out implementation of the program. Personnel Qualified nursing staff employed by the government or working in various fields of health promotion activities will be enlisted and invited to help in the program. Besides these professionals, nursing students from various local schools and universities will also be enlisted and deputed to help the qualifies staff. All those recruited for delivery to educate community members will be trained using a power point presentation by qualified professionals in the filed. besides the presentation, the service providers will also be provided with booklets about hypertension and what information needs to be imparted to the members of the community. Evaluation The program will be evaluated in between the program and after completion of the program. The purpose of evaluation is to check is the program is a successful one in terms of positive impact on health outcomes (Parahoo, 1997). Through evaluation, it is possible to know if the aims and objectives of the program were met, thereby assessing as to whether the program is a success or a failure, and also to undertake corrective measures (Elaine, 2005). For the purpose of evaluation, studies which have determined the incidence and prevalence of diabetes in Saudi Arabia will be retrieved and compared with health records from the Ministry of Health pertaining to new cases of hypertension. The compliance with treatment of follow-up protocols, screening for hypertension, screening for complications and number of complications will also be evaluated. Structures questionnaires will be put to randomly selected community participants and the questionnaires will include about information pertaining to hypertension. Through the answers to the questionnaire, community awareness and education will be ascertained and evaluated. References Abolfotouh, M.A, Abu-Zeid, A.A.H., Aziz, M.A., et al. (1996). Prevalence of hypertension in south-western Saudi Arabia. Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal, 2(2), 211- 218. Al-Nozha, M., M., Abdullah, M., Arafah, M. R., et al. (2007). Hypertension in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Medical Journal, 28(1), 77- 84. Anselmi, M., Caicedo, F., Caicedo, O. (2004). Community participation as a strategy of hypertension control in a health district of Ecuador. Assist Inferm Ric., 23(1), 5-13. Bhuyan, K.K. (2004). Health promotion through self-care and community participation: Elements of a proposed programme in the developing countries. BMC Public Health. Retrieved on 11th of June, 2010 from http://www.biomedcentral.com/content/pdf/1471-2458-4-11.pdf Elaine, M. M., (2005). Health Bulletin – Promoting Healthy Behaviors. Washington DC: Population Reference Bureau. Parahoo K. (1997). Nursing Research: Principles, Process and Issues. Macmillan WHO. (2009). Health promotion and community participation. Retrieved on 11th June 2010 from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/emergencies/em2002chap15.pdf WHO. (2009). Country profiles: Saudi Arabia. Retrieved on 11th June 2010 from http://www.emro.who.int/emrinfo/index.asp?Ctry=saa WHO. (2003). WHO/International Society of Hypertension statement on management of hypertension. Journal of Hypertension, 21(11), 1983- 1992. Read More