Introduction
There has been a strong urge to change the usual lifestyle so as to accommodate healthy living among the Americans. This has been triggered by the negative impacts of unhealthy living such as eating unbalanced diet, smoking, drinking and failure to keep fit. However, the main cause that has been attributed to unhealthy living in the community is lack of proper knowledge on how to stay healthy. This is despite the fact that most people are aware of the importance of healthy living. The community should actively engage itself in a project that will promote healthy living among its members. The health promotion project is designed to develop health knowledge and strategies within the community. The program was first promulgated in a report by the Canadian government in 1974 advocating for healthy living among individuals and organizations both mentally and physically (Clark, 2002). The program has continued to gain popularity in different communities. New Jersey has not been left out in this quest of promoting a healthy lifestyle among its people. The young and the old generation are encouraged to participate in different health programs to prevent diseases caused by unhealthy living.
Adolescent Population In New Jersey
A huge population of adolescents in New Jersey is suffering from obesity and other health complications due to their unhealthy lifestyle. The population, which is comprised of children between the ages of 13-19, is putting their lives at risk due to their current livelihood. A research conducted by Department of Health and Senior Services in New Jersey indicated that obesity was among the major causes of preventable deaths among the adolescents. In 2004, the Department of Education found out that 20% of adolescents were obese. The figure rose in 2007 to hit 31%. The recent study conducted last year ranked New Jersey among the least obese states in America. However, it is important to note that the obese rate had risen to 35%, which is still considerably high (Grossman, 2011). Obese teens are likely to suffer from chronic diseases in future such as heart complications, cancer, self low esteem resulting to depression, high blood pressure among other preventable diseases.
The efforts to curb unhealthy living in New Jersey are still underway. The state has set stricter nutritional standards in all schools in New Jersey. The foods with minimal nutritional value have been banned and in its place introduction of healthy foods such as low-fat milk and fresh fruits. A Mayoral campaign has also been launched in almost all the communities in New Jersey. The campaign aims at providing mayors with workable tools and affordable programs to be utilized in the communities. On the other hand, the state has also invested in city parks to provide ample and safe exercising grounds to every member of the state. The school curriculum has also been revised by the Board of Education to include fitness and nutritional knowledge. This will enable the adolescents strive to maintain the required weight.
However, despite all the efforts by the state to ensure healthy living among the youths in New Jersey, a specific hypothetical fitness program has not been implemented in schools to ensure that they engage in physical exercises to keep fit. Physical exercise is very important among the youth. The main goal of this paper is therefore to propose the implementation of a health promotion program for the adolescents in New Jersey as part of the community-based project.
Implementation Of A Health Promotion Program
There are many forms of health promotion programs designed to suit all genres of people in the community. Nevertheless, the programs play the same role to ensure that healthy lifestyles are maintained by the individuals taking part in the health programs. The community-based health promotion initiative ensures participation by all members of the community. The initiative begins at the family level and gradually involves all the other members of the community including the media, educators and community organizations. For any program to be effectively implemented, appropriate community strategies should be taken into consideration. A community needs to support and incorporate the promotion program. Efforts taken by New Jersey to ensure healthy living is proof that the community will be willing to support the program for the sake of their children.
For the program to be implemented in New Jersey, it is important to first conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the community and to fully understand them. The needs assessment should be conducted effectively to ensure meaningful input into the project. The project should have clear goals and objectives to determine its success. Clear roles of the participants should be explicitly stated to hasten the process and produce desired results. The data to be collected in our needs assessment will be influenced by various factors. One of the influencing factors will be the cost of the project. The proposed project should be used by all the adolescents in New Jersey regardless of their sex, race or economic background. It should be cost-effective to include the needs of indigent and undeserved adolescents. The other factor is the population to be assessed. This should be decided at the initial stage of implementation.
The hypothetical program to be adopted to assess the health fitness of the adolescents in New Jersey will utilize the Fitnessgram to generate data from the individuals. The health promotion program to be delivered will meet the demands of all the adolescents in New Jersey. The feasibility of this program will be made possible through legislation policies, financial aspects and participant’s commitment.
Goals and Purpose Of The Program
For the project to succeed, it should achieve the set goals and purposes laid down at the implementation stage. The participants of this program are adolescents struggling to keep physically fit. The obesity dilemma among the adolescents in New Jersey is a looming epidemic that could cause the state a lot of money if not curbed early enough. The program is therefore aimed at ensuring that the adolescents engage in physical fitness programs to stay healthy.
The main purpose of the promotional health program is to help the adolescents achieve and maintain an optimum health status through physical fitness program. The program is also aimed at achieving provision of health education in schools to reduce health complications among the adolescents. The y will also be able to conduct a self-assessment test to reflect on their personal physical health through the Fitnessgram analysis.
The other goal of the program is to evaluate the participants’ plan and enable them make essential changes to achieve the fitness goal. This will be achieved by the participants coming up with personal fitness plans (Lorraine and Hernandez, 2010).
The Fitnessgram Intervention Program
The Fitnessgram program is used to collect data and report the findings. It is used to assess the fitness level of an adolescent and determine how healthy they are. The tests conducted to determine the health standard are comprised into five categories. The participant is given an activity to test the muscle and aerobic endurance, muscle strength, body flexibility and its composition. The results of each individual is compared to the health fitness standards that has been set using the age and gender as indicators to measure good health. Most parents attribute the use of Fitnessgram to professional athletes and do not see the importance of its application on their children. This is not the case.
Why then is using Fitnessgram important? Fitnessgram assesses the physical fitness of an individual through physical activity. The physical activity is important to minimize health complications such as heart diseases, hypertension or even diabetes mellitus. It further helps to improve both the mental and physical health of the individual. The physical fitness, which is an outcome of the activity, improves the quality of life of the individual.
Fitnessgram assessments give accurate information about the health status of the child. The information is displayed in an ‘easy to understand’ format and is preferred by both teachers and parents to gauge the health of their children. The participants are therefore taught how to be fit and healthy throughout their lives. Fitnessgram is therefore appropriate in our health promotion program to collect and measure the appropriate data.
Methods Used To Collect Data
Participants
The participants will be students aged 13-19 from elementary schools in New Jersey. The project will take into consideration students from different socioeconomic status. Participants will require approval from their parents or guardians, the school principals and the Health Board. It is therefore important to obtain the general approval of the community beforehand to ease the process. The participants will be recruited based on their previous health histories and current physical fitness.
Procedure
The participants will be required to engage in regular physical activities for a few days before the actual test. During this period, Fitnessgram will be used to conduct different physical activities. The participants will be educated on the importance of the activities and the need to give accurate information. This education motivates the participants to participate freely in the physical activities. The participants will engage in activities such as curl-ups, trunk lift and aerobics to exercise the cardiovascular muscles (PACER test). In the process, the participants will be required to fill the scorecards that will be handed back to the researcher.
Data Sources
One of the sources to be used to collect data will be use of questionnaires. The participants will be required to answer questions on their experience during the physical activities. The other source is through follow-up interviews. Based on the questionnaires filled by the participants, the researcher will further conduct an interview to confirm the information entered in the questionnaires. The last source is the use of field notes. These are notes taken by the researcher during the entire process through keen observation.
Data Analysis
From the above data sources, a constant comparative method will be applied to analyze the data. This method entails collecting both the written and verbal data from the sources used. A theme is then identified using the particular data and the results recorded in a simple format.
Literature Review Supporting The Program’s Effectiveness
According to Meredith and Welk (2010), the validity and reliability of Fitnessgram has been measured by applying both scientific and measurement knowledge. The results from Fitnessgram are derived from scores that are known as Healthy Fitness Zone (HFZ) derived from each activity test. Researchers argue that exposing students to regular physical activity in childhood shows correlation in future healthy lifestyles of the same students in their adulthood. Matthews and Kostelis (2011) prefer Fitnessgram over other fitness batteries used to test the physical fitness. The standards of Fitnessgram were validated by a panel of experts who applied their professional analysis to test the normal and empirical data. The research conducted by the experts in 2000, gave valuable feedback on its effectiveness to evaluate and improve the youth’s level of physical fitness (Matthews and Kostelis, 2011).
Morrow, Jackson and Disch (2010) argue that the program is rapidly gaining popularity in schools and more than 10 million youths in America and Canada have been tested using Fitnessgram. The youth who have been using the fitness program have physically developed and are leading healthy lifestyles compared to their counterparts who have not yet started the fitness program. Physical education programs that include use of aerobics have increased established health benefits. Fitnessgram has been favored for being cost effective and providing accurate data.
Weaknesses Of The Proposed Project
The implementation of the project may be faced by various obstacles such as lack of financial backing and willing participants. However, government support will be necessary to support the project and a promotion campaign is undertaken to market the project to the community. With the field still experimenting on other interventions, the community might be resistant to this new intervention and demand for one that can take measurements directly.
Health Promotion Strategies
For the intervention to be readily accepted in the community, certain strategies should be applied to market it. One of the strategies to be used is through educating the community. This can be done by designing educational materials such as brochures, newsletters and pamphlets. The materials should give the description of the intervention, the participants to be engaged and the method of collecting data. The community needs to understand the consequences of the program. This will help the community to develop a positive attitude towards the intervention. The other strategy is through social marketing. The marketing can be done through campaigns. This is important as a mode of publicizing the intervention to the community. Use of lobby groups and media is ideal to get the public attention required.
The Future Operational Feasibility
For the program to continue operating even after the implementation stage, it is important to involve the state in the implementation. This will ensure that the program be legislated and be made mandatory to all the adolescents in New Jersey. The operation will also be influenced by the operational costs and hence it is important to look for a donor to sponsor the project. This will ensure that the project does not collapse in the near future due to unavailability of funds. The other recommendation to ensure the future of the program is involving the community to actively participate in the project.
Conclusion
Obesity and other health complications among the youth in New Jersey should be dealt with early enough. Failure to curb the problem will render the future generation useless. The causes of these complications are preventable and it is up to the community to stand up and fight for their children’s future. The proposed intervention program will be a success and should be adopted by the state.
Reference List
Clark, C.C. (2002).Health Promotion in Communities: holistic and wellness approaches. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Grossman, M. (2011). Economic Aspects of Obesity. Chicago: University of Chicago.
Lorraine, B. and Hernandez, M. (2010). Foundation Concepts of Global Community Health Promotion and Education. Canada: Jones & Barlett Learning.
Matthews, T. and Kostelis, K. (2011). Designing and Conducting Research in Health and Human Performance. USA: Wiley Publishers.
Meredith, M. and Welk, G. (2010). Fitnessgram and Activitygram Test Administration Manual. Boston: Human Kinetics.
Morrow,J., Jackson, A. and Disch, J. (2010). Measurement and Evaluation in Human Performance. Boston: Human Kinetics.