COMMUNITY ACTION PLAN

PROBLEMS FACING THE COMMUNITY AND THE ACTION

PLAN.

Problems facing the communityBeef magazine (2009) about top 10 rural issues for health care reform, and Kaiser Commission, (2010) article about community health centers: opportunities and challenges of health reform with the following being the major problems facing the community:• Poor health care delivery system• Shortage of health care provider and workforce.• Aging population.• Unqualified health care providers.• Uninsurance and underinsurance of the majority community members.• Neglected public health insurance plans.• Poor infrastructure is leading to inaccessibility to health care by the

population.• There are less health care facilities as compared to the available

population.

Effective action plan

• Needs Assessment.• Incorporate the basic health needs.• Create the action plan.• Assign Responsibility.• Seek funding.• Implement the action plan.• Conduct Evaluation.

1. Needs Assessment.

This will be done through:a. Questionnaires-the community members are asked questions

about the health state of the community members.b. Interviews- another efficient way of direct questioning to a

proportion of the community members(the shareholders-parents, elders, healthcare providers- the needy, youth, etc.)

c. Observation- a mere look at the environment, the daily routine of the community members will give you a grasp of the community health needs.

2. Create action plan

After assessing and discovering the basic health needs of the community: Incorporate those basic health needs in the

goals, objectives and the main strategic plan of the community.

Create awareness programs such as campaigns, education

3. Assign Responsibility

• The youth to conduct road shows around the community, the community local government can sponsor advertising through the media(mainstream and the internet).

• The parents, health care providers, elders, local government, teachers can be assigned to educate the population in their homes, community gatherings and meetings, schools, etc.

4. Seek Funding

• The community leadership can seek funds from the local government, national government, NGOs and donors.

• The community leadership can seek funding through partnerships and initiate programs in the community to mobilize people to raise funds.

5. Implement the action plan

• Holding roadshows around the community thrice a week, for three months.

• Initiate community gathering programs where the community will learn about the need and value of a healthy living, how to live in a clean and healthy environment. There is also need for a regular medical checkup, etc. by the health care providers, elders, and the community leadership. This should go on for six months.

• The community education facilities should also adopt special programs where the students learn about health and healthy living.

• The building of more health facilities, construction of safe roads and the establishment of communication systems in the community.

6. Evaluate

• Carry out research through questionnaires, interviews on the reaction and views of the community to the new ways of ensuring a healthy living.

• Observation to see if the community is adapting to new ways of ensuring a healthy living.

• A program by the healthcare providers to determine if the turn out for regular check ups in the health facilities has increased.

• Ascertain the effectiveness of the awareness programs through the funding are their any interested partners to the partnership? Has the community responded to mobilization programs? Is the local government willing to fund the action plan?

references

• Beef magazine (2009). Top 10 rural issues for health care reform. Accessed from http://beefmagazine.com/health/0514-rural-issues-health-care

• Kaiser Commission, (2010). Community Health Centers: Opportunities and Challenges of Health Reform. Accessed from http://www.nhchc.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/KaiserCHCsandhealthreformAug2010.pdf

• Murphy, F. (2013). Community engagement, organization, and development for public health practice. New York, NY: Springer.

• Coyle, S. (2011). Sustainable and resilient communities: A comprehensive action plan for towns, cities, and regions. Hoboken, N.J: John Wiley & Sons.

• European Commission. (2008). Programme of Community action in the field of public health: Projects funded under the call for proposals 2006. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.