Planning Health Promotion & Disease Prevention Programs - Assignment Example

Hypertension Prevention Program Hypertension Prevention Program Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH), a popular program for preventing hypertension. It emphasizes on vegetables, fruits, dairy products with little or no fat, whole grains, poultry, fish, vegetable and nut oils, beans and seeds. It limits sweet, sugary beverages, red meats and sodium. Start with a specific goal. Eating more fruits will not help. Carry an apple, orange or any other fruit every day for work. Losing weight is general.

Be specific and follow a regular meal plan focusing on losing particular weight. Keep a list of which and how much vegetables you want in your food.Get your objectives done with the resources and the support available. Plan a meal timetable within your means. Be realistic to yourself, you may not be able to become a complete vegetarian, but you can incorporate vegetables into your meals twice or thrice a week. Do not plan to lose 30 pounds in one month that is out of your reach (Ostchega & National Center for Health Statistics, 2008).

Instead, you can plan to lose 2 pounds every week. That is achievable and will be relevant to the DASH program. This is a primary prevention program that an individual can work alone’ (National High Blood Pressure Education Program, 1993)Regular exercise at least 30 to 60 minutes per day in a week lowers your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg). For it to be effective in controlling hypertension, SMART goals must be set. Exercise will be effective when you ask yourself what you want to accomplish.

For instance, you can decide to lose weight by walking. A specific exercise goal will help you decide which formula to use to accomplish your objective. To know that you have reached your target, there must be measurement. Do not just walk often, walk for 30 minutes for seven times in a weak. Use a scale to measure your weight and a tape measure to measure your waist before the beginning of weight loss program. This will help you calculate the progress of the program. The program should answer the questions like how much and how often.

The program objectives should be achievable. For example, you cannot start by walking 7miles in 20 minutes but you can start with 1 mile in 30 minutes. The basic question here is, “can I do or have the ability. When you start, the program, ask yourself, do I have enough resources and skills to do this? Do I have the will to work for this objective? It should be realistic and not what you cannot sustain. For instance, you can walk for 30 minutes every day but it is difficult to walk for 2 hours every day.

When do you plan to achieve your objectives? What are the periods to achieve the goal? Time is in the program for the progress to be noted. For example to walk for 30 minutes, five times a week for the next month. ReferencesNational High Blood Pressure Education Program. (1993). National High Blood Pressure Education Program: Working group report on primary prevention of hypertension. Bethesda, Md: The Program.Ostchega, Y., & National Center for Health Statistics (U.S.). (2008). Hypertension awareness, treatment, and control: Continued disparities in adults, United States, 2005-2006.

Hyattsville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics.