Implementing Rural Mobile Immunization Clinic - Research Proposal Example

Project Plan: Implementing Rural Mobile Immunization Clinic Name Institution Implementing Rural Mobile Immunization Clinic Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Executive Summary 3 Introduction 3 Situation analysis 4 Rationale 4 Feasibility analysis 6 Internal environmental factors 6 External environmental factors 7 Technology 8 Economics 8 Legality 9 Operations 9 Schedule 9 Analysis of stakeholders 10 Target group 10 Goal and Objectives 11 Goal: 11 Objectives: 11 Project Activities 11 Timeline 12 Evaluation 13 Budgets and resources 13 Risks management 14 Conclusion 14 References 15 Executive Summary Studies prove that there is low childhood immunization access in rural areas. The trend is as well evident in developed countries such as Australia. Regardless of the varied underlying factors, one of the major factor is the accessibility to the immunization centres. Unemployment, low maternal education, overseas births and single parents’ status constitutes some of the factors that contribute observable low immunization trends globally, particularly in Australia. The provision of the government immunization services remains inaccessible, and if accessible then it marred with late commencement of the immunization program or maternal mental instability. Notably, some children experience low immunization access due to a combination of the aforementioned factors. The project aims at establishing a solution to immunization in the remote areas by use of mobile immunization model. The objectives of the rural immunization clinic implementation differ. The objectives include enabling access to immunization, enhancing both metropolitan and regional collaboration of health care providers in provision of health services. Lastly, the adoption of the mobile immunization will reduce the hospital occupancy of children seeking immunization. Introduction In the recent past the role of immunization is averting disease is notable. Most people living in the rural areas continue to experience limited access to the immunization centres. The rationale of immunization relies on the availability of the necessary resources that help combat the development of secondary diseases. The process of immunity involves the inducement of an immune response that limits the reemergence of certain health condition. However, due to the continuous existence of susceptible, constant immunization is important to keep checking on the emergence of the disease since its spread is likely to contribute to health and economic implications. To curb early apprehensions maximum immunization standards are important which relates to the need of this project to establish a rural immunization clinic using the money acquired. According to the data of the Australian Immunization Register, the percentage of fully immunized children continues to decrease. Observably, during the last quarter of 30 June 2015, an approximated percentage of 58 obtained full immunization in meningococcal C and dose 2 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). Notably, the number continues to depreciate compared to the data of the 2014 cohort, which stood at 64% (Bell and Merrick, 2010). Similarly, from the data children living in urban centres recorded a higher number of immunized group as compared to their rural counterparts. Meningococcal and dose 1 varicella should be administered at the ages of 12 months and 18 months respectively (Hull and McIntyre, 2006). However, a conversation with the mothers of the rural children revealed that those children acquired immunization at a later than the recommended time. Situation analysis Rationale According to research, the residents of the Western are disadvantaged in regards to healthcare specifically immunization of young children. Health and wellbeing is one of the determinants of a standardized living and constitute one of the basic needs for a fulfilling life. Importantly, the health of a child determines the behaviour of that child and his or her developmental stages into adulthood. Therefore, it is the priority of the project to establish a mobile immunization clinic on the Western part of Australia to ensure easy acquisition of the immunization services to the children. The optimal rational of the project lies upon the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), which assert that the number of children death in Western Australia is on the rise (Royle and Lambert, 2015). In fact, the detailed data denotes that children in the Western Australia are three times more prevalent to death due to inaccessible immunization as compared to their counterparts who live in other regions. Notably, the number of people living in rural areas of the Western Australia is three times more than the number of those living in the urban centres. Due to that great population, these people record higher birth rates leading to the incurrent medical complications. Specifically, rural dwellers live in abject poverty limiting the essence of taking their children for immunization. In fact, such families sometimes do not even afford what to eat. The drive of this project if enable the poor children living in the rural areas access immunization at their doorstep minimizing the costs of travelling to health facility centre. According to ABS, children living in remote areas express a 2.3% prevalence to death due to lack of immunization compared to their peers who reside in the metropolitan areas. Among the constituents of the Western Australia are the Torres Strait Islanders and the Aboriginals. The aforementioned communities show a higher mortality rate, which presently at three times higher than other populations. In the same manner, their children portray a higher death rate due to lack of immunization (Isaacs et al., 2005). During the past one decade, the trend has been steady posing the need to act. In the event, the reception of the fund is important in accomplishing the reduction in the number of children succumbing to death due inaccessibility of immunization programs. The shortage of health care providers forms the major reason of high child deaths in the region. The project aims at enhancing specific strategies such as medical infrastructure and accessibility through the application of mobile immunization clinic. The ratio of some of the immunizable diseases remains high in the Western Australia than other places within Australia. The table below shows the community providers of immunity services in various states, keeping focus on the midwifery and public health unit. State of immunizing provider Provider Type ACT NSW SA WA Council - 4.81 17.9 5.26 State Health Department 13.05 0.00 0.06 5.45 Flying doctor service - 0.02 0.09 65.48 Medicare GP 48.23 85.23 65.22 0.53 Aboriginal Health Service 0.12 0.49 0.52 0.21 Community Health Centre 37.98 7.05 8.17 19.53 From the table, it is clear that the trend of immunization in the Western Australia (WA) region is low raising the need to establish an alternative model curbing the deficit of immunization. The comparison with other states in the metropolitan region shows reduced trend of the accessibility of immunization for children (Wu et al., 2015). Observable, the highest immunization rate is by the Flying doctor service, which is a mobile immunization project. The other models of immunization show only a negligible access to the Western Australia. Feasibility analysis Internal environmental factors The project aims at supporting children in the rural communities with a focus on the Western Australia. Nevertheless, varied factors within the organization determine the ability of the organization to meet the defined objectives. The willingness of the staff of the organization to serve the community is one of the factors within the organization that determines the accomplishment of the desired objectives. Importantly, for the achievement of the goals of the organization, internal communications play a crucial role and needs improvements. In order to improve communication and the whole process of social community responsibility staff motivation is paramount. Mobile clinic is dependent on technology to ensure ambient service. In order to remain effective, constant maintenance of the machinery such as injection devices and storage mechanisms of the vaccines is important. Additionally, other internal environmental factors that are likely to affect project constitutes the culture within the project, leadership principles of the project manager and the vision of the project. Evidently, the project manager is the determinant component in the accomplishment of the project. The success of the underlying project requires a visionary project manager who possesses strong leadership skills, has good communication models between the participants and the staff. Conversely, poor communication and semi-motivational relations is likely to create a rift among the participants as well as the staff leading unconnected operational culture. External environmental factors Technology The project will apply technology in its operations. For instance, the use of mobile immunity testing devices and mobile communication systems will require the knowledge of technology. Additionaly, there will be a need to create awareness of the planned mobile activities through posters creating technological knowledge of a printing machine. The knowledge of telecommunication is also essential in communicating with the stakeholders and the various service providers at the regional level. A strong network is important too. Failure in any of the aforementioned technologies will affect the project, sometimes likely to stop the project halting the immunization process. Economics The project of rural mobile immunization is a small project run by a non-profit organization. The amount to be used in the project is $ 150, 000 over a period of three years. The project aims at reducing the prevalence of deaths due to untimely immunization or total inaccessibility to the same. The project will focus on benefiting the residents of a small community within the Western Australia region. The exact cost of benefit to the people depends on the underlying calculations in the region, which will determine the exact capital of the entire project. Importantly, the cost of preventing the consequences of lack of immunity is higher than the cost of curing it. In fact, the curing cost might triple the prevention costs due to complications. Legality In order to maintain a high quality of work, adherence to the Privacy Act 1988 is important. In medical practice, information form the participants must be confidentially handled. Consideration of The Immunity National Policy is important in ensuring the success of the project (Williams, 2005). The project will focus on people aged between 6 months and 24 months. Even though these are young group of participants, the act of confidentiality is important regardless of their ages. Other health regulations will be sought as defined by the Australian Health Minister. Operations The achievement of the goal of the project relies on the teamwork of all the team members. Regional health providers will be important in identifying the existing need of immunization in each region within the community. The trainers and project planners who will aid in helping the project succeed (Edwards, 2001). Other people that will also facilitate the operational structure of the project are the volunteers who will be moving round with the various regional providers informing the population of the mobile immunization clinic. The team of volunteers will be motivated through a reward. The stakeholders are as well important in overseeing the progress of the project. Additionally, the Practice Nurses and the GPs will play an important role in assessing high risks and determining referrals if need be. Schedule Upon the approval of the mobile immunization project, the project will run for three years commencing from 1st of January 2017 to 31st December 2019. The analysis of the time framework is capable of creating an effective change in the immunological cycle of the participants especially on focus to some of the recurrent immunological conditions. The goal of the project will ensure each child within the stipulated ages receive immunization against all the major diseases. Additionally, the establishment of the administrative framework, advertisement of the project, recruitments of team members and volunteers will take place between March 1, 2016 to November October 30, 2016. The initial stages of establishing the project will take ten months. Analysis of stakeholders The list below shows the stakeholders in the project from the high importance to the low importance. The stakeholders outlined are important for the accomplishment of the project who are consulted or included in the project. Stakeholders consulted Stakeholders involved Western Australia Medical Department Board of Executives of Immunization Health Information Managers The Local WA community Curtin University Hospital Executives GPs and Practice Nurses in the region of study Group of Volunteers Target group The target group constitutes children of both gender and from all ethnic groups living within Bentley, Western Australia. The project will focus on children aged between 6 months and 24 months. Due to the lower age of the participants, the immunization project will also focus on educating their parents on the need of immunization. The target population is the ages that record high rates of immunization, especially in the region. The project will also cover the surrounding region, 30km from the central point (Hull et al., 2003). Participants with serious needs will be referred to WA for further treatment. Goal and Objectives Goal: The project main objective is to curb the rising cases of lack immunization of children Bentley, WA over the next four years through mobile immunization clinic. The project will apply cost effective models of vaccination to prevent further occurrences of the immunization impediments. Objectives: 1. To help the disadvantaged rural residents acquire immunization easily at the right time at specialized mobile clinics. 2. To reduce the travel period to ensure effective and efficient utilization of the available resources 3. To lower the health care costs among children especially in acquiring education Project Activities Place the participants in groups depending on the regions of the residents and plan for their visit at specific days. At this stage, the parents will be notified on the various timelines of operation to ensure maximal operation of immunization. Seeking evaluation feedback from the parents of the immunized children on a 4 monthly period to determine the progress of those children Education sessions with the parents of the children Every month, the technical team of consultants will conduct a 30 minutes training sessions for the parents of the immunized children and the public. The topics will relate to understanding the concepts of immunization with inclusion of nutrition components since they create a greater effect on the children and immunization. It will also involve the training of the physicians on how to use the mobile immunization system and how to communicate with other nurses and technical assistants if there is need. Timeline Evaluation It is important to determine the outcomes of the incidences of immunization to providers and the stakeholders. The needs of the three with inclusion of parents mutually depend on each other for the establishment of concrete solutions. The outcomes are important in creating healthcare safety. Similarly, the outcomes provide the need for further medical research to establish the cause of increase in immunological diseases in the region. The target group develops a mechanism of concern ensuring adequate and accessible medical attention. In addition, the information is important in providing the necessary skills and experience of mobile immunizations. The need of the care services plans reflects the exactness of the aims and performance of the mobile immunization. The resulting data provide essential foundation in developing results. Budgets and resources Resource Type Cost Justification License Material $250 Legal document that ensures coverage of the operational area High resolution medical specialized camera Equipment $16,700 Captures images of high resolution to establish the required immunity 1 Trainer Human resource $ 890 (per year) Educates the parents of the immunized children Maintenance Human Resource $750 (per year) Ensures annual checks and monitoring of the operation systems Technology Coordinator Human Resource $12,000 (per year) Receive referrals and coordinate the appointment. Maintains communication Travel Human Resource $3000 Movement of the trainers and technicians from one region to another Vaccines Medical $ 480 (per year) For immunization Risks management The determination of the outcomes of the patients is important. The performance of clinical research undergoes a series of risks, which must be importantly dealt with due to their possible. The table below shows the risks in the immunization process. Risk Impact solution Maintenance of mobile clinic throughout the years The cost is expensive and not easily affordable Doing the mobile clinic in phases Negative perception of the target group Keep away from the mobile clinic Prior education to enlighten parents first before the onset of the project Advancing technology Changes the model of immunization, rendering mobile clinic useless Constant updating of the medical systems of immunization Conclusion Most of the rural children received immunization at the age of 24 to 27 months old. Additionally, the rates of immunization coverage continue to decrease due to the inclusion of more vaccines due to the escalation in the number of diseases that a child needs to be vaccinated against. With the rise in population pertinent strategies is important to ensure that the children in the rural areas acquire the needed immunization at the appropriate time. References Bell, E., & Merrick, J. (2010). Rural child health. New York: Nova Science. Edwards, B. (2001). Immunisation survey of two-year-old children in Western Australia 1995. Hull, B., & McIntyre, P. (2006). Timeliness of childhood immunisation in Australia. Vaccine, 24(20), 4403-4408. Hull, B., Lawrence, G., MacIntyre, C., & McIntyre, P. (2003). Immunisation coverage in Australia corrected for under-reporting to the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27(5), 533-538. Isaacs, D., Lawrence, G., Boyd, I., Ronaldson, K., & McEwen, J. (2005). Reporting of adverse events following immunization in Australia. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 41(4), 163-166. Royle, J., & Lambert, S. (2015). Fifty years of immunisation in Australia (1964-2014): The increasing opportunity to prevent diseases. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health, 51(1), 16-20. Williams, R. (2005). Developing a Mobile Pharmacist-Conducted Wellness Clinic for Rural Montana Communities. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 45(3), 390. Wu, Q., Fu, X., Jin, Z., & Small, M. (2015). Influence of dynamic immunization on epidemic spreading in networks. Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and Its Applications, 419, 566-574. Read More