1. Community Health Planning Project<br />NURS 470 – Community Health Nursing<br />Purpose of Assignment<br />The purpose of this assignment is to utilize the health planning model to improve aggregate health and to apply the nursing process to the larger aggregate within a systems framework<br />Student Approach to Assignment<br />Our group approached this assignment based on the needs of our aggregate. Within weeks of being assigned the church that we are now working with, we created a survey which collected demographical data as well as information about what each participant believes to be his or her health problems. The majority of the patients believed that their weight and blood pressure were their biggest concerns.<br />Reason for Inclusion of this Assignment in the Portfolio<br />I believe that reaching out to the community has changed my views about this specialty of nursing and I feel that we are beginning to make an impact on the participants of our Biggest Loser competition. The following program objectives are met in this paper:<br />Critical Thinking<br />Revises actions and goals based on evidence rather than conjecture<br />Because the majority of Americans are concerned with their weight, we initially thought that this would be the biggest problem of our aggregate. While this was true, it seemed that most of our participants were concerned with their weight because of the knowledge that it was affecting their blood pressure making it higher than it should have been. Based on this information, we determined that we would continue the Biggest Loser program of the previous group so that the participants could lower their weight by making healthier choices and incidentally, lower their blood pressures.<br />Communication<br />Expresses oneself and communicates effectively with diverse groups and disciplines using a variety of media in a variety of contexts<br />Communication methods with our contacts at the church included several e-mails about plans, meetings, and announcements and in-person contacts through meetings. We have also had these same methods of contact with our Sentara contact person who has given us educational information handouts for our participants as well as provided us with the flu shots to give at two churches.<br />Teaching<br />Uses information technologies and other appropriate methods to communicate health promotion, risk reduction, and disease prevention across the life span<br />Throughout this semester, we used methods such as setting an example of portion sizes and providing opportunities to make our aggregate healthier. By encouraging them to make healthier choices, we can help them reduce their risks for diseases. For example, by reducing the aggregate’s weight we believed that we would be able to lower their blood pressure. Participants involved ranged in age from early twenties to seventies and above.<br />Evaluates the efficacy of health promotion and education modalities for use in a variety of settings with diverse populations<br />During this semester we health two health fairs to provide the aggregate with free flu shots. These fairs also included information on proper hand washing and blood pressure screenings. Every age came in for our flu shots, but unfortunately we could not provide shots to those under eighteen. After being present in the church for the entire year, we had several people that thanked us for providing the flu shots as it has helped them remain well throughout the winter. <br />Leadership<br />Assumes a leadership role within one’s scope of practice as a designer, manager, and coordinator of healthcare to meet the special needs of vulnerable populations in a variety of practice settings<br />We have designed several milk-long walking paths around the church’s neighborhood and have come up with different methods to help our participants lose weight to reduce their blood pressure such as the walks, yoga classes and a Wii family night among others. Weekly weigh-ins are schedule to occur each Sunday between church services. The walks will occur each Saturday morning around the neighborhood and the Wii family night is designed to bring the entire family together for fun fitness. <br />Initiates community partnerships to establish health promotion goals and implements strategies to meet those goals<br />We have initiated a relationship between this church and our group of nursing students to help change their lifestyles. By immersing ourselves in the church’s extracurricular activities, we are helping the participants to make healthier choices so that they may lose weight and lower their blood pressure.<br />