Introduction
Health checks are very important as their results can be interpreted instantly. Having regular medical checks can be helpful in assessing the general conditions of one’s health (Keleher and Mac Dougall, 2011). Actually, maintaining a proper health of the body requires an individual to carry out regular checks rather than reserving it only for the periods he or she is feeling unwell. There is a great disparity on how detailed a medical check should be dependent upon its purpose (Peckan and Hann, 2010). Although it may be brief in some cases, a complete check involves assessing everything from the appearance of the patient to the systems of specific organs. The information that is recorded from the health check becomes the medical record of an individual. Regular health checks in not only important in women and children but also in men. Presented here is a research about regular medical checks as a health issue in men with regard to unhealthy eating habits.
Research
Men are the most targeted group of people in this research. Selecting appropriate research method is vital for success. Poor selection of research methods could lead to disastrous results (Sim & Wright, 2000). The research involved talking to individuals, doctors and health workers, holding meetings with different partnership organizations as well as library research. Even though, there are several research methods that could be used, these approaches provided rather a convincing result.
Some of the crucial questions that were asked included: What are some of the critical health complications in men? How are these complications detected? At what age is it prevalent? How often do men attend regular medical checks? What are some of the measures taken to encourage men to attend regular medical checks? How many men attend health centers and/or hospitals for health check in a day, week or month? Are men interested in medical check? If not, why are they not interested? At what age do majority of men getting regular medical checks? Do you consider yourself healthy? How many times do you see your doctor? What kind of projects can be done to improve the general health conditions? When did you see your doctor last?
Different responses were obtained from different groups of people interviewed. According to health workers and doctors, few men go for regular checks as they do not consider it much necessary. However, there are chronic health issues that require frequent medical check. One such health issue is obesity resulting from unhealthy eating habits (Baum, 2008). Statistics reveal that more than 26% of men above the age of 16 years in England are affected by this health complication. It could cause diabetes and cardiovascular disease which is fatal. From this research, it is important to initiate and promote projects that will help in reducing this menace in the community. The health promotion project therefore will focus on healthy eating and visiting a doctor regularly, especiallyin men.
Audience
The people who are primarily affected by this project are men above the age of 16 years old. It is essential for men to have a regular check to maintain their health condition. On contrary to women who regularly attend medical consultation because of pregnancy and gynecological checks, men are more reluctant in visiting their physician. This could result into buildup of diseases which could become severe and life threatening later in life. According to Nash (2000), regular checks give men a good chance with hushed illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension which may not even show external symptoms at early stages. In addition, an individual is able to consult his physician about diet and exercising precautions. Even though, the personal physician should suggest the best frequency of checks, it is recommended to go for checkups after every six months (Pamela and Haylock, 2000).
Most of these men are in learning institutions or live in their homes but they become occupied with their work that they do not get adequate time to exercise. However, most of their habits are influenced by their elders, health workers and physical trainer. Even though they are already aware of the health complications that can arise as a result of unhealthy eating habits or irregular medical checks, they are occupied with their duties and do not get enough time to exercise or see their physician often.
Another group of people who are likely to benefit from this project are partners of the adult men who are above the age of 50 years, health workers and physical trainers. They do not only influence the decisions of the majority of men but they can as well find this project quite helpful in trying to implement some of their policies in the community.
Stakeholders
Effective engagement of stakeholders is very essential for the implementation of the project (Zwikel&Smyrk , 2011). However, it is important to identify their level of influence on the project, their purposes and develop a good strategy to manage the overall process of engagement (Linman, 2011). The most important stakeholders in this project includes; the elders in the community, community leaders as well as community health workers since they greatly influence the behavior of men, women and children in the community.
The stakeholders will be approached in two ways. First is by defining their input or commitment to the managing team and their communications to the management team and to themselves. A formal meeting with the stakeholders will not only help in identifying their feelings about the project but will also provide an opportunity to convince them about the benefits of the project. In addition, their roles as well as their level of participation can be defined. This is necessary to develop a good rapport between the team, the stakeholders and the whole community (Phelps and Hassed, 2010). The community elders will assist to encourage men to accept this project and realize its importance. The community leaders will enforce the regulations and policies about the project in the community while the health workers will help to conduct public education on the benefits of the project. The collaboration of different stakeholders is vital for proper implementation of the project (Hill, 2001).
Developing a partnership
Partnerships also contribute considerably in this project. Besides the role of stakeholders, partnerships can really boost the overall performance of the project. However, there are practical partnership issues that can never be ignored. For instance, the duration of partnership, whether the organizations in question would like that partnership and the strengths as well as weaknesses that these organizations may bring to project. It is important also to develop a good strategy for managing the alliance with these partner organizations (Hossenlopp, 2010).
The partner organizations for this project include the community-based organizations, Church organizations, the Youth groups as well as non-governmental organizations. The community based organizations in collaboration with other organizations and stakeholders will help in conducting education as well as participating in different construction works as the project may require. Also the youth groups will help in creating public awareness and also other activities that the management team may consider appropriate for the proper implementation of the project. The non-governmental organizations will help in providing of an alternative source of funds to the management team, stakeholders and different organizations.
Even though the broad benefits of partnering with these organizations may be readily obvious to partners, still they need to establish an explicit aims for the partnerships. If there is any ambiguity in the objectives of partnerships, there will be increased chances of partners facing a difficulty to develop a clear strategy and even complicate the implementation process (Kernzer, 2003). To approach a potential partner, clear explanations of how getting involved with the project will be important to them. For instance, besides getting the publicity that most organizations need, they will get compensation as well as marketing some of their products, especially healthy foods that could help in curbing obesity and encouraging weight loss. For successful partnership, regular meetings are necessary. There will be meetings at the end of each and every week to update the management team on the progress of the activities of the each organization. Phone communication is also encouraged in case an issue could arise that requires the attention of the management team. However, the term of partnership will end upon the successful completion of the project.
Conclusion
Regular medical check is essential not only in men with history of certain diseases but also to maintain proper organ functions. Besides, any symptom of a disease can be detected early enough for proper treatment. An individual who does not attend regular medical checks risks his or her life. Even though this is a health issue focused on men, proper implementation of projects in the community can greatly help in eliminating this culture with respect to fatal lifestyle diseases such as obesity.
References
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Hill ,C. (2001). Public Involvement– Making it Work: Denver, CO: American Water Works Association.
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Keleher, H. & MacDougall, C. (2011). Understanding Health. (3rd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.
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Linman, D. (2011). Stakeholder Engagement planning-two steps for engaging stakeholders in project implementation. Web.
Nash, M. (2010). Health and Well-being in Health Nursing, New York, NY: McGraw-Hill International.
Pamela, R. & Haylock J. (2000). Men’s Cancers: How to Prevent Them, How to Treat Them, How to Beat Them. Alamenda, CA: Hunter house.
Peckan, S. & Hann, A. (2010). Public Health Ethics and Practice. Bristol : The Policy Press, 2010.
Phelps, K. & Hassed C. (2010).The Integrative Approach. Elsevier: Sydney.
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Zwikel, O. & Smyrk J. (2011). Project Management for the Creation of Organizational Value. New York, NY: Springer.