Plan Of Health Promotion Intervention Health And Social Care Essay

BACKGROUND

The relationship between people and their jobs is diverse and complex. People have many different reasons for working and have many different experiences during their working lives. They may, for example, change jobs, take a career break, or choose a different work pattern (Nice et al, 2008). For employers, promoting healthy eating and activity means ensuring that employees have access to a balanced range of food and drink which helps maintain their energy and productivity at work and which contributes to an overall balanced diet. However, while every employee must be free to choose what they eat, employers should support them in maintaining their health by raising awareness of how diet and physical activity contribute to their health and wellbeing; by ensuring that an appropriate range of healthier choices is available to them at work and by providing a physical and social environment that supports healthier choices (Department of Health, 1994). It is estimated that 60% of the population do not participate in levels of physical activity that will promote good health. Many of these people are in employment. In today’s society, sedentary lifestyles are on the increase and this is a growing concern, thus, it is important that people are targeted appropriately. With almost half the Irish population employed, what better place to encourage a more active lifestyle than in the workplace. It has also been shown by the centre for health promotion studies that the workplace has been suggested as a favourable area for the promotion of exercise:

“Because of established channels of communication, existing support network and opportunities for developing corporate norms of behaviour”

(Centre for health promotion studies, 2001)

Current recommendations state that all adults need at least 30 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity on most days of the week which is necessary for health benefits (Health promotion unit, 2001). Recent research shows that most Irish people are not as active as they need to be for their health. Due to time constraints people are finding it more difficult to allocate parts of their day to physical activity because it can assist those who generally cannot find the time outside their working hours, for example, a 20 minute walk during lunch or walk to and from work. The national health and lifestyle survey (2003) showed that 21% of people do not take part in exercise at all in 1998, this figure increased to 28% for the year

2002. Therefore, it is evident from these figures that physical inactivity has increased which leaves people at risk of premature death, chronic disease and disability. However, it is clear that society today has become more competitive and this is reflected in the workplace. Stress-related illness is more frequent due to increasing stress levels in our daily life. It has been seen that, physical activity can reduce stress; therefore, facilitating physical activity initiatives will make a difference to the health and wellbeing of the workforce.

OVERALL AIM & OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

The overall aim is to provide working people with knowledge and resources for promoting physical activity in the workplace. We want to create a workplace where a strong link is seen between work and health, where everyone aspires to a healthy and fulfilling working life, and where health conditions and disabilities are not a barrier to enjoying the benefits of work.

The objective of this is to promote the benefits of a physically active workforce and to provide a structure in order to make it easier to encourage the workforce to be more active through:

Increasing awareness of the importance of physical activity, educate employees and how their health affects their health.

To improve the health of employees.

To help people help themselves.

To get employee’s more active during their regular working days.

“An active workforce is a healthy and happy workforce!!!”

PLAN OF INVESTIGATION

On March 22nd and 23rd 2010, a conference on the promotion of physical activities in the workplace will be held at Fermanagh House, Enniskillen. The two day meetings will provide an opportunity for small groups of local business men and women, invited using the network and community knowledge of the Fermanagh Community Development Agency to interact intensively; the conference format will allow an informal discussion after the presentation, sharing of information and perspectives among people of diverse interest, training and background.

Additional areas explored during the conference will nclude:

Objectives of health promotion programs.

Definition of terms.

Target population and types of health promotion programs.

Communication and coordination within and between programs

Employer’s involvement.

Because of the complexity of the issues, a few background papers will be presented and discussed. Some of the areas to be highlighted in the presentation are methodologies, costs and funding, as well as management, social support networks and family. Implementation of the interventions within the Enniskillen community will be over a 12 week period (post conference meeting) so that we can work in different localities at appropriate times, to explore views before and after implementation of these changes. The focus group meetings every week promoting physical activity are likely to explore what the respondent understands by a healthy and physical active lifestyle and the effects on behaviours and also access to resources, motivation, family and social support networks, incentives and preferences for physical activity with reference to the local built environment, amenities and transport infrastructure.

Schedule

The following is the schedule for week one at baseline and week twelve post-intervention. It is hoped to visit these workforce groups commencing late March, early April. This is a twelve week program. On week one, I will visit the groups as a whole to give a one day conference meeting including a presentation on how to promote physical activity in and outside the workplace, issue activity quiz (appendix) and take information from each adult participating in the program. In the following eleven weeks, the ‘sport and health outreach program’ will be introduced into the workplace (weekly activities recorded). Various activity programs will be undertaken by the adults to increase their health and activity levels. (Table 1) The following is a schedule of our programme of activities to be undertaken:

SPORTS AND HEALTH OUTREACH PROGRAM

SPORTS PROJECT

Week

Teaching Theme

Introduction To Sport for Life, Measurements (baseline)

Heart Health 1

Heart Health 2 : 60 minutes A Day of Active Play

Mr & Ms Muscles 1

Mr & Ms Muscles 2

Physical Activity Outdoor

Physical Activity Indoor

Eat & Drink Smart

Eat 4 Energy

Eat Smart, Move More (energy in must equal energy out)

11.

Feel Good

Team Building and Review What is Physical Activity? What is Health? Measurements ( post-intervention)

Table 1

On the last week of the twelve week program, I will revisit the participants for a follow up conference meeting to give a final talk and discussion on health in the workplace and to evaluate the problems and issues which may have arisen. The following is a list of areas in which the sport and health outreach program will be undertaken:

INTERVENTION AREAS FOR THE PROGRAM

Week 1 & 12 ; Baseline and Post-intervention Areas

Group 1 (Monday)

Group 2 (Tuesday)

Enniskillen Town

Kesh

Belcoo

Tempo

Ballyinamallard

Edenery

Evaluation of the intervention

Evaluation should be considered as a tool designed to answer questions related to whether objectives are being met or not. Therefore, for evaluation purposes the nature of the planning process, copies of all material utilized and minutes of project meetings can be valuable in trying to correlate changes in dependent areas, such as awareness of the program’s existence and what was being offered. To evaluate the project, a health survey will be completed by participants and used to gather baseline and post-intervention information. The health survey will include questions related to their current levels of physical activity. In addition to this participants will be asked to log onto a website where they will record the activities taken every week over a 12 week period. Team captions are able to view these details and encourage active participation in the staff challenges.

LIMITATIONS OF PROPOSED INTERVENTION

Sedentary work doesn’t provide much opportunity for exercise/ long work hours.

Lack of motivation to work/ prefer other forms of exercise.

Cold weather during the start of the program/ end of day light.

Conference room to big, people scattered in different groups

Recruitment of people/ work involvement.

Time constraints.

“SO…….. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH AND GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS”

REFERENCES

Centre for Health Promotion Studies, (2001), An evaluation of the happy heart at work programme: On behalf of the Irish Heart Foundation, National University of Ireland Galway; July 2001

Centre for Health Promotion Studies, (2003), The National Health and Lifestyle Surveys: results of National and Lifestyle Surveys SLAN {Survey of Lifestyle, Attitudes and Nutrition} HBSC {Health Behavious in school aged children}, National University of Ireland Galway; April 2003

Department of Health (2004) Choosing Health Making Healthy Choices Easier. London:TSO

Fox, K., (1994), Understanding Young People and their Decisions about Physical Activity, B J P E, 25 (1), 15-19

Health Promotion Unit, (2001), Get a life, get active handbook. A handy guide of physical activity for a healthier heart, Ireland needs a change of heart campaign, 2001

Nice, K. (2008). Changing Perceptions about sickness and work: judging capacity for work and locating responsibility for rehabilitation. Social and public policy Review Volume 2, number 2; Berthoud, R. (2007). Work-rich and Work-poor: three decades of change The Policy Press and Joseph Rowntree Foundation; Waddell, G. and Burton, A. K. (2006). Is work good for your health and well-being? TSO.

Trost SG, Sallis JF, Pate RR et al (2003), Evaluating a model of parental influence on youth physical activity. Am J Prev Med 2003; 25: 277-82

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