The Community Health Intervention Proposal. Paper Example

Description of the Problem

2016 statistics from the CDC show that over 56,000 people in America died from Influenza between the year 2012 and 2013. A 2014 report by the American Psychological Association compiles data from various scholarly articles written within the last decade and notes that despite the U.S being one of the richest nations, not all people living in the country have ready access to healthcare services. The difficulty in accessing health services mean that low-income earners are at risk of contracting ailments that are in most cases preventable. Therefore, there is a need for relevant stakeholders to come up with plans that will combat the spread of the diseases and provide treatment to those at risk.

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Statement of Problem and Purpose of Intervention

Healthcare is not readily accessible by low-income earners in America. Persons living in poverty are at a higher risk of contracting ailments due to their economic status. The existing methods of community health intervention strategies are not adequate when it comes to combating illnesses. This community health intervention proposal seeks to identify the link between poverty and diseases. The plan will also examine the various health intervention strategies that are in use to determine their effectiveness. It will also be an informative tool for decision-makers within the healthcare sector.

Section Two

Annotated Bibliography

Grotto, I. & Grefat, R. (2014). Intervention programs to increase influenza vaccination in Israel: which is the preferred one?. Israel Journal Of Health Policy Research, 3(1), 19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/2045-4015-3-19

This research mentions that many vaccine-related intervention programs in Israel seek to address the spread of influenza. The researchers note that despite the existence of many vaccine intervention strategies, the coverage rates are low. As such, this study examines the various intervention programs that target the spread of influenza in Israel. The researchers then use data to determine which of the measures is better than the others. The scholars make use of a telephone survey and questionnaires to gather data from the various respondents. The findings show that the members of the population who had frequent patient-physician interactions had higher chances of sticking to their vaccine guidelines. As such, the study recommended that frontline caregivers and primary physicians should be involved in the development of health intervention programs.

Vera, D., Hora, R., Murillo, A., Wong, J., Torre, A., & Wang, D. et al. (2014). Assessing the impact of public health interventions on the transmission of pandemic H1N1 influenza a virus aboard a Peruvian navy ship. Influenza And Other Respiratory Viruses, 8(3), 353-359. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/irv.12240

This article examines the effectiveness of health intervention strategies on the spread of diseases in a confined environment. The researchers use of a case study approach in their investigations and collect data from a Peruvian naval ship whose crew had been infected by the H1N1 virus. The study uses a simple stochastic epidemic model to determine whether the measures that were taken by the Peruvian Navy (alongside the U.S Navy Medical Research Unit) were sufficient. The study finds that the intervention measures used resulted in a 54 percent decline in the number of potential infections. Some of the intervention strategies used include hand washing, isolation, cough etiquette. Thus, the researchers conclude that if rapidly implemented, reactive control interventions can reduce the spread of influenza. This research is relevant to this health intervention proposal because it provides guidelines on the best ways to tackle a flu outbreak.

Chen, J., Chu, S., Chungbaek, Y., Khan, M., Kuhlman, C., & Marathe, A. et al. (2016). Effect of modelling slum populations on influenza spread in Delhi. BMJ Open, 6(9). Retrieved from http://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/6/9/e011699.full

This article seeks to determine the consequences of a simulated influenza epidemic in the high and low-end areas of the Indian capital, New Delhi. The researchers state that slums are predominantly unsanitary locations and they provide microbes with an ideal environment to thrive. As such, their investigation seeks to determine whether their hypothesis is correct. The study is conducted using a SEIR (susceptible, exposed, infected, and resistant) model. The model reproduces a hypothetical scenario where the disease is spreading in the two different environments (high end and low end). Also, it includes the demographic factors associated with each environment. The researchers find that their assumptions were correct. Additionally, they realized that current estimates do not factor in between 10 and 50 percent of all infections. This study is relevant to this proposal because it shows how to make use of a SEIR model to determine the spread of diseases across different demographics.

Sloan, C., Chandrasekhar, R., Mitchel, E., Schaffner, W., & Lindegren, M. (2015). Socioeconomic disparities and influenza hospitalizations, Tennessee, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 21(9), 1602-1610. http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2109.141861

This study examines whether poverty in Tennessee is related to the influenza hospitalization rates within the state. The scholars consider the flu incident rates between different regions of Tennessee while factoring in the economic status of the population group. The study collects data from the Tennessee Emerging Infections Program and divides it into regions to gain meaningful data. Moreover, the research uses laboratory testing to verify the various strains of illnesses that were affecting the patients. They conducted the tests using antibody staining, transcription PCR, and direct/ indirect antibody staining. The scholars note that the rate of hospitalization was directly proportional to the rise in poverty levels across the state of Tennessee.

The study also notes that other factors such as crowded homes and densely populated neighborhoods (characteristics of low-income areas) increase the influenza infection rates. Other parameters that were examined by the researchers include race and age. The study finds that minority groups such as African-Americans are more likely to be hospitalized when compared to their Caucasian counterparts. When the age groups across poverty lines were examined, the researchers also determined that age groups living in poverty were at a higher risk of influenza infection. This research provides this community health intervention proposal with various approaches to use in determining the relation between poverty and disease.

Kumar, S., Piper, K., Galloway, D., Hadler, J., and Grefenstette, J. (2015). Is population structure sufficient to generate area-level inequalities in influenza rates? An examination using agent-based models. BMC Public Health, 15(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-2284-2

The researchers of this study note that the influenza rates in New Haven County are higher in low-income areas as compared to the wealthy neighborhoods. As such, the researchers set out to find the relation between the income inequality between the regions and the influenza rates. The research makes use of demographic data such as age-groups, and household sizes to draw comparisons between the low-income regions and the wealthier neighborhoods. The study makes use of a simulation model to determine if it is true that poverty increases the rate of influenza infections. The simulation goes on to make simulations for other diseases such as asthma.

The results of the simulation show that people who live in low-income areas had a significantly higher chance of contracting infections such as influenza and pneumonia. Also, they were at an increased risk of developing asthma. The researchers used data from the simulation to develop comparisons with real life scenarios. They noted that the simulation was in line with the cases recorded in reality. This study is significant to this community health intervention proposal because it provides support to the main idea in this proposal that poverty does have an effect on the influenza rates. Further, the study offers some solutions to the problem that will be useful in this proposal.

Grantz, K., Rane, M., Salje, H., Glass, G., Schachterle, S., & Cummings, D. (2016). Disparities in influenza mortality and transmission related to socio-demographic factors within Chicago in the pandemic of 1918. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences, 113(48), 13839-13844. Retrieved from http://www.pnas.org/content/113/48/13839.full.pdf

This publication takes a historical look at the spread of H1N1 influenza in Chicago during the 1918 outbreak. The researchers seek out to determine whether the socio-demographic factors within Chicago contributed to the rate of deaths during the 1918 outbreak. The researchers obtained the old town maps and compared the incidence records with the economic status of the people living in the various areas. The study makes use of a Poisson model to incorporate socioeconomic factors such as literacy, employment, and household sizes. The researchers hold the following assumptions. One, literacy determines the socioeconomic status. Second, the rate of home ownership goes hand in and with access to healthcare and financial stability.

The findings of the research show that there was a significant correlation between the spread of the 1918 influenza outbreak and the socio-economic status of the population group. The study notes that despite the high mortality rates across socio-economic lines, the virus had greater effects on poor people. The researchers looked at the rate of deaths per week and found out that in low-income areas, the rate was higher than in well-off areas. They conclude that people who were illiterate were less likely to gain access to medical services. As such, they suffered most. This study is relevant to this community health intervention proposal since it provides the proposal with a historical comparison of the situation. Additionally, the study informs this proposal on the various risk factors associated with the spread of influenza.

Section Three

Relevance of the Community Health Intervention Proposal

This community health intervention has two main goals. First, it seeks to determine the type of relationship that exists between poverty and health problems (primarily influenza) within the town of Malden and in the overall state of Massachusetts. Secondly, this proposal will examine the effectiveness of various intervention strategies and offer remedies to the health problems within the area based on the results of the research. This research is important to the local population in the following ways. First, it provides a linkage between statistical data and public health decisions. The findings of this research will help decision-makers to develop relevant strategies to address the influenza rates in Massachusetts.

It is necessary to determine the link between social problems and the health of people. If such a link exists, then it will be useful when it comes to developing informed policies that address social problems. This research will also provide the public with information that goes beyond their current knowledge about diseases since it will address the challenges that plague existing measures and the best alternative techniques to adopt.

Data Sources and Data Analysis

This community health intervention will make use of multiple literatures from reputable journal databases that include (but not limited to) JSTOR, SAGE and the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on health and Well-being. Most of the data that will be collected from...