Healthy Policy for a Large Mining Company Operating in South Australia - Research Paper Example

Healthy Eating Policy for a Large Mining Company Operating In Rural and Remote South Australia) Background Information on the Health Status of South Australia Mining Industry A study conducted indicates that there are a number of factors present in the coal mining industry. They are risk factors known for the cause of coronary heart disease and cardiovascular disease and they are found in higher levels than the general population. Lifestyle factors are the known causes for these diseases; information available on lifestyle factors indicates the following as causes of heart disease and they include lack of exercise, stress, poor diet, smoking and alcohol abuse (Bofinger and Ham 2002, p49). According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW), coronary heart disease is the major and the largest cause of death in Australia. Coronary heart disease consists of angina and acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) (Bofinger and Ham 2002, p50). AIHW defines risk factors as characteristics, determinants or exposures that are linked with the greater risk of ill health. In cardiovascular disease, the risk factors entail behavioural, physiological, and genetic factors (Bofinger and Ham 2002, p50). Behavioural risk factors have influence on the physiological risk factors such as physical inactivity and poor diet. These factors can result into an individual becoming obesity or overweight, and having high blood cholesterol and high blood pressure. The following risk factors for coronary heart disease are preventable; high blood pressure, obesity and overweight, tobacco smoking, high blood cholesterol, and insufficient physical inactivity (Bofinger and Ham 2002, p50). A study conducted by Bofinger and Ham concluded that there was no significant difference in death caused by coronary heart disease between the coal mining industry in South Australia and the general population. The distribution of the disease was consistent that of the general population. A number of factors show that there is an increased risk that is expected in the future; these risk factors are associated with the lifestyle factors (Bofinger and Ham 2002, p54). The levels of physical inactivity between the general population and coal miners did not have a significant difference as shown in the table below. Table 1: Levels of physical inactivity Population Group 18-29 30-44 45-59 60-75 18-75 (Overall) General Population (AIHW, 2001) 31.3% 46.5% 50.0% 46.0% 43.3% 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 Overall Coal Mining – All Groups 28% 40% 45% 43% 49% 42% Source: Bofinger and Ham 2002, p53. Possible Nutrition and Food-Related Problems to Be Addressed The nutrition and food-related problems that are to be addressed by this policy (healthy eating policy) include the risk of acquiring coronary heart disease and becoming overweight or obese. Alpha Mining Company has noticed that its workers are putting on weight and this has resulted in a number of health problems such as obesity and coronary heart disease. Absences due to sick leave and loss in productivity are as a resultant of the mentioned health problems. The policy will address coronary heart disease and obesity problems in Alpha Mining Company. Background Information Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] (2010, par. 2) consider an adult who has a BMI that is 30 or higher to be obese. Obesity is a factor that is known to cause coronary heart disease; thus, the policy will tackle the coronary heart disease and the associated risk factors. The information concerning coronary heart disease will be gotten from a number of sources such as the internet. Coronary heart disease is believed to be caused by the accumulation of plaques in the heart arteries; this heart condition may also be called/is also known as the hardening of the arteries. Fatty materials and other components create a plaque accumulation on the walls of the coronary arteries. The main work of the coronary arteries is to transport blood and oxygen to the heart. The build-up of the plaque affects the arteries causing them to get thin; this in turn affects the blood flow to the heart as it slows it down (PubMed Health 2011). A risk factor of the heart disease is normally taken to be something or anything that may increase the chances of the acquiring it; some of the risk factors of the heart diseases cannot be changed but others can be. Some of the risk factors of the heart diseases that cannot be changed include age, gender, genes and race. There are many lifestyle diseases that are basically considered to be of great risk to the heart as they increase the rate of acquiring the heart disease (PubMed Health 2011). Living a healthy lifestyle is one of the ways that the occurrence of coronary heart disease can be prevented. Some of the risk factors that are associated with the heart disease that can be changed include; avoiding the use of tobacco as well as smoking, doing exercise frequently (this may at least be 30mins a day for 5days or more a week), eating a well-balanced diet because it assist in the maintenance of a healthy diet (the body mass index [BMI] for men and women should be 18.5 and 24.9 respectively), regular check-ups and treatment for depression, women who are vulnerable to heart disease are advised to take omega-3fatty acid supplements, and they should limit their alcohol intake to one drink per day and not more than 2 drinks for men (PubMed Health 2011). Nutrition is considered the most important factor in one’s health as it helps in controlling some of the risk factors of the heart disease. People are always advised to eat meals that are well balanced. The following habits can assist in the control of these risk factors associated with heart disease; (a) eating a diet that is rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains, (b) taking lean protein dishes such as fish, legumes, beans and chicken, (c) reading labels carefully, (d) staying away from saturated fats and anything that might contain partly hydrogenated or even hydrogenated fats as the products are normally loaded with unhealthy fats, (e) taking low fat dairy products (this maybe 1% milk and low- fat yogurt), (f) eating fewer animal products (this includes cheese, eggs or even creams), and (g) avoiding sodium (salt) and fats in fried foods, baked foods and processed foods (PubMed Health 2011). Key Stakeholders Stakeholders are individuals who have a share in a certain system or issue. They can be organizations, individuals, groups of people and institutions. Stakeholders are those are affected and affect decisions, actions, or policies within a certain system (ICRA n.d., p1). A key stakeholder is an actor who is considered to have a significant influence on the success or the effectiveness of the policy (ICRA n.d., p2). The key stakeholders in this policy include the mine workers, the management of Alpha Mining Company, the trade union, and the government of Australia. The mine workers are the key stakeholders since the policy will affect and be affected directly by the policy. Coronary heart disease and obesity is common among these individuals. These individuals will be engaged through offering the information required regarding their lifestyles. The management of Alpha Mining Company will offer information regarding the chances available to change the lifestyle (lifestyle associated with the cause of obesity and coronary heart disease) of the mine workers. The trade union is a representative of the mine workers and their place in the policy is to offer information on the best practices available to reduce the risks associated with coronary heart disease and obesity. The government has its own policies on healthy eating habits and the information from these policies will guide the formulation of Alpha Mining Company healthy eating policy. Potential Enablers and Barriers to the Policy Development Process The potential enablers to the policy development process include the mine workers and the management of Alpha Mining Company since they are directly involved with the policy formulation. Another factor that may promote the formulation of the policy is the existing health policy in Australian government. These stakeholders will be involved directly and actively in the policy development process. Potential barriers to the development of the policy include lack of an institutional framework, low levels of policy attention, financial barriers, low quality, low confidence, missing capacity and knowledge gap (Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development [GNESD] 2007, p14). The success of the policy development process will depend on how these barriers will be addressed. These barriers can emerge at any stage of the policy development process. Another potential barrier that may prove difficult to overcome is the public policy formulation in Australia; there is no official statement on what entails a good policy similar to those in governments such as Britain, Canada and New Zealand. These barrier factors include arbitrary timing of the elections, the electoral cycle, and the legacy of the federal system in which the Commonwealth government does not have the primary responsibility of addressing the citizens’ requirements in areas such as health and education (Curtain 2000, p43). National or State Macro Nutrition Policies in South Australia South Australia has a macro healthy policy that will support the development of the Alpha Mining Company health eating policy. The aim of the South Australian Food and Health Policy is to enhance the health of the South Australians and minimize the preventable burden of disability, early death, and food related illness (Department of Human Services 1999, p2). In the section “Food for Optimal Health and Enjoyment”, the policy states that the consumption of certain diets can offer control to some disease symptoms, enhance the quality of life and offer a sense of well-being. The policy gives examples of diseases in which the diet plays an important role and they include diabetes, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and HIV/AIDS (Department of Human Services 1999, p3). Information Contained In the Policy Document The policy will contain the following information: Background and the importance of the health eating policy for Alpha Mining Company. Coronary heart disease information (causes and prevention of coronary heart disease). The policy statement (the policy vision, the policy context, the policy principles). The action areas (the lifestyle of the mine workers, change in the diet, inclusion of exercise activities, regular check-ups and treatment for diseases such as depression). Implementation and evaluation. Program activities that will assist in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of the healthy eating policy include establishment of program of governance and administrative arrangements, establishment of performance monitoring and reporting arrangement, identification of efficient and effective interventions and the development of an integrated health promotion implementation and action plan. Some of the impacts expected include adoption of healthy lifestyles (increased physical activity and increased healthy eating). The outcomes expected include improved quality of life, reduced prevalence of overweight, obesity, reduced mortality, and morbidity from chronic disease. Implementation and Evaluation of the Policy Sycamnias (1999) states that there are eight stages in the implementation of a policy: the following eight stages will be used to implement and evaluate the healthy policy; (1) problem initiation – the issues of concern are brought into light, in other words, the issue is defined (Houlihan 1991, p251) [the issue in this case is workers becoming obesity and increase in problems such as coronary heart disease] (2) information collection – it is designed to offer the decision makers with adequate information to make sound judgments on the current effect of each state and then create responses coupled with reasons for their conclusion [information will be collected from the mine workers and the management of Alpha Mining Company], (3) consideration – it entails the clarification of the reasons for the problem [the problem is associated with lack of exercise and poor eating habits among the mine workers], (4) option analysis – a choice is made on practicability and the available resources [the available resources in Alpha Mining Company include a flexible working schedule which can include exercise activities, government health policy and a considerate Alpha Mining Company management], (5) decision – the major issues and the information collected in the previous stages are looked at, (6) implementation – it entails the decision stage through procedures such as mechanisms, legislation and policies, the policy moves from its adoption state to implementation state and within this stage there are many steps which are complicated (Grady and Hinshaw 2010,p45) [it will entail creation of a policy that will address the health problems of the mining workers which are associated with poor eating habits; the major steps to address these problems will be to adopt a healthy lifestyle such as health eating and physical activity], (7) evaluation - the results of the policy are reviewed in order to measure its effectiveness, and (8) maintenance, succession, and termination. The problems of the mining workers as described in the implementation process will be dealt with by adopting a healthy lifestyle which will entail healthy eating and physical activity. Health eating will help in avoiding accumulation of the risk factors in the mine worker. Physical activity will assist in reducing fats within the body of the mine worker and also assist him in keeping fit. It is important to note that effective translation of the policy into action will require proper delegation of the authority among the key actors in the policy development process (Htwe 2006). The policy will be evaluated based on the following questions as described by California State University Long Beach (n.d.): “1) was the problem correctly identified, or was the correct problem identified? 2) Were any important aspects overlooked? 3) Were any important data left out of the analysis? Did this influence the analysis? 4) Were recommendations properly implemented? 5) Is the policy having the desired effect? 6) are there any needs for modification, change, or re-design? What should be done differently next time?” (California State University Long Beach n.d.). The resources required will include information from the mine workers regarding their lifestyle (both exercise and eating lifestyle), information from Alpha Mining Management regarding the incentives they have put to address the issues of the mine workers lifestyle, and support from the government in terms of the enacted health policy. The process of the policy formulation, implementation and evaluation will take close to 2 years. Conclusion The healthy eating policy will help in the reduction of the outstanding problems among the workers in Alpha Mining Company. The problems include increase in weight and the development of diseases such as coronary heart disease. Among the measures that will be implemented by the policy include development of a healthy eating habit and making it mandatory for the workers to exercise. The impact of the policy will be measured by factors such as increased physical activity and increased health eating. The expected outcome is increased quality of life, reduced prevalence of overweight and obesity and reduced mortality and morbidity from chronic disease. References Bofinger, C. & Ham, B. (2002) Hearts, health and coal mining, Queensland Mining Industry Health & Safety Conference 2002, 4-7 August 2002 Townsville, Australia, pp1-164. California State University Long Beach. (n.d.) PPA 670 Policy analysis [Online]. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010) Defining obesity and overweight [Online], CDC. Available from: [Accessed on 19 Aug. 2011]. Curtain, R. (2000) Good public policy making: How Australia fares. Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, 8(1), pp33-46. Department of Human Services. (1999) South Australian Food and Health Policy 1999. Government of South Australia. Global Network on Energy for Sustainable Development [GNESD]. (2007) Renewable energy technologies and poverty alleviation: Overcoming barriers and unlocking potentials [Online]. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. Grady, P.A.& Hinshaw, A. S. (2010) Shaping health policy through nursing research. New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company. Houlihan, B. (1991) The government and politics of sport. London, UK: Taylor & Francis. Htwe, M. (2006) Formulation, implementation and evaluation of health research policy [Online], World Health Organization. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. ICRA. (n.d.) Stakeholders – Key concepts [Online], ICRA. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. PubMed Health. (2011) Coronary heart disease [Online], PubMed Health. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. Sycamnias, E. (1999) The policy program implementation evaluation cycle [Online]. Available from: [Accessed on 9 Aug. 2011]. Read More