Introduction
The Chesapeake Health Department is committed to reducing obesity in the city. To make a significant impact on the health of the residents, the Chesapeake health department director must focus on a multi-faceted public health approach that includes education, policy change, and community engagement to meet the needs of obesity concerns in the area. A public health intervention program is designed to improve a population’s health by addressing specific health risks. These programs can be targeted at individuals, families, groups, or entire communities and can take many forms, from educational campaigns to policy changes.
Needs Assessment
Many factors contribute to obesity, including diet, physical activity, genetic factors, and sleep. To effectively address obesity, it is essential to understand the community’s needs and the available resources. Chesapeake, VA, has a population of 251,269 (Greater Hampton Roads, n.d), and according to the CDC, the obesity rate in Chesapeake is 35.8%, which is higher than the national average of 26.7% (Greater Hampton Roads, n.d). Many resources are available to help people in Chesapeake lose weight and maintain a healthy weight. These resources include weight loss programs, fitness centers, and nutrition education. Chesapeake Health
The department has many resources available to address obesity, including a Healthy Chesapeake program, which offers nutrition education and physical activity classes, and a weight management program. The Chesapeake Health Department also has a community garden, which provides fresh produce to residents, and a farmers’ market, which offers fresh fruits and vegetables (Chesapeake Health Department, 2022). The organization receives donations has various volunteers and workers that can assist with lowering obesity levels in the area.
Education
One focus of the program is to increase public awareness of the dangers of obesity and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. This will include working with local media to promote healthy messages, hosting community events and workshops, and developing educational materials for distribution. The company can also hold conferences for healthcare providers on the best ways to screen for and treat obesity (Fair & Soltani, 2021). The company will direct the materials to healthcare providers, schools, and community organizations to cover a large population.
The firm can design a web page referring to weight loss and obesity, covering the weight management needs for children, teenagers, adults, and the old. It can constantly post materials to guide people to healthy living, including exercise plans for all age groups (Chesapeake Health Department, 2022). This will ensure that people learn all there is to understand obesity and how to manage it personally. This information will help people make wise choices with their meals and the need for exercise to prevent or manage obesity.
Policy Change
The Chesapeake Health Department can advocate for local, state, and federal policy changes to support its obesity prevention efforts. At the local level, the department can work with the city government to adopt policies that make healthy food options more available and affordable and create more physical activity opportunities. The department can also support local businesses and organizations interested in adopting obesity prevention policies (Chesapeake Health Department, 2022). At the state level, the department can lobby for laws and regulations that promote healthy eating and active living. For example, the department could support laws requiring chain restaurants to provide calorie information on menus and prohibiting the sale of sugary drinks in schools. At the federal level, the department can work with Congress and the President to pass laws and regulations that support obesity prevention. For example, the department could support the implementation of national nutrition standards for school meals and expand Medicaid coverage for obesity treatment.
Community Engagement
The company will partner with community organizations to promote healthy living. This may include working with faith-based organizations to develop wellness programs, partnering with local businesses to offer discounts for employees who participate in wellness programs, and supporting community gardens and farmers markets. Moreover, the organization will create more opportunities for physical activity by working with the city to develop new parks and recreation facilities (Chesapeake Health Department, 2022). It will also offer free or discounted memberships to local gyms and fitness centers to encourage people to participate in the exercise. Furthermore, the company will approach local grocery stores and restaurants to ensure they make healthy food options more available and affordable.
The company will further offer cooking and nutrition classes to help residents learn how to prepare healthy meals. The company already has a healthy Chesapeake program with various ways to make cost-friendly and nutritious meals to promote health. The information is found on their social media platforms, including Facebook and Instagram (Fair & Soltani, 2021). It can design particular videos on meal plans dedicated to weight loss and managing obesity and encourage people to make them. Since many people spend a lot of time online and are increasingly concerned about their health, the organization can ensure that the information will get to as many people as possible (Fair & Soltani, 2021). It can also hold more community dinners that give people nutritious meals to manage obesity.
Evaluation Plan: Logic Model
The logic model will help evaluate the program by providing a framework as well as identifying the program’s inputs, outputs, and outcomes. The evaluation plan will include qualitative and quantitative methods to assess the program. The program’s goal following the logical approach is to reduce obesity in the city and improve the residents’ health. The program will focus on education, policy change, and community engagement (Fair & Soltani, 2021). The program activities should include developing educational materials, hosting community events, supporting local businesses, lobbying for state and federal policy changes, and offering cooking and nutrition classes.
The outputs of the program should include the number of people reached by the educational materials, the number of community events and workshops held, the number of people who participate in the community garden, and the number of people who participate in the weight management program. The outcomes include the number of people who lose weight, the number of people who maintain a healthy weight, and the number of people who adopt a healthier lifestyle (Fair & Soltani, 2021). More expectations include improved access to healthy diet options at any restaurant and a better understanding of obesity screening options and their importance.
The logic model entails quantitative and qualitative methods to assess the program’s effectiveness. Quantitative methods used in the evaluation include measuring changes in obesity rates among the target population and changes in diet and physical activity patterns (Fair & Soltani, 2021). Changes in obesity rates will be measured using data from the Chesapeake Health Department’s electronic health records and data from the Virginia Department of Health’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.
Changes in diet and physical activity patterns will be measured using data from the Chesapeake Health Department’s Healthy Chesapeake program and data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. For instance, pre- and post-program surveys will identify the rate of changes in participants’ weight, diet, and physical activity levels (Olm et al., 2019). Moreover, the program data approach will assess the number of people participating in the program and losing or maintaining a healthy weight. Surveys can further evaluate changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to obesity among program participants.
Qualitative methods that will be used in the evaluation include focus groups with program participants, as well as interviews with program staff. The focus groups with program participants will assess their satisfaction with the program and perceptions of its effectiveness (Olm et al., 2019). The interviews with program staff will be used to evaluate staff’s perceptions of the program’s effectiveness and any challenges encountered in implementing the program. It will further pinpoint the participants’ experiences and barriers to participating in the strategy.
Political and Social Feasibility
The project is politically and socially feasible as it can solve the issue of obesity to a considerable degree. It can reduce obesity in the city and improve the residents’ health. The project will focus on education, policy change, and community engagement. The expected outcome is that residents will be better equipped to make healthier choices by providing resources and education on healthy eating and active living. Additionally, policy changes will create a more supportive environment for healthy living, and community engagement will help to develop a sense of community and support around healthy lifestyle changes.
Conclusion
The public health intervention program to reduce obesity in Chesapeake is a multi-faceted approach that includes education, policy change, and community engagement. The program is designed to increase public awareness of the dangers of obesity and to improve access to healthy food options and opportunities for physical activity. The program will be evaluated using qualitative and quantitative methods to assess its effectiveness in reducing obesity rates in Chesapeake.
References
Chesapeake Health Department. Chesapeake Health District. (2022). Web.
Fair, F., & Soltani, H. (2021). A Meta‐review of systematic reviews of lifestyle interventions for reducing gestational weight gain in women with overweight or obesity. Obesity Reviews, 22(5). Web.
Greater Hampton roads. Greater Hampton Roads: Indicators: Adults 20+ Who Are Obese: County Chesapeake City, VA. (n.d.). Web.
Olm, M., Stark, R. G., Beck, N., Röger, C., & Leidl, R. (2019). Impact of interventions to reduce overnutrition on healthcare costs related to obesity and type 2 diabetes: A systematic review. Nutrition Reviews, 78(5), 412–435. Web.