c229 community health and population focused nursing field experience social media campaign PDF

Preview

Summary

c229 community health and population focused nursing field experience social media campaign PASSED FIRST ATTEMPT...

Description

1

Social Media Campaign

Erin Williams White Western Governors University C229: Community Health and Population-Focused Nursing Field Experience Professor Marlene Lockridge June 28, 2021

2 Social Media Campaign A. Time Log See attached file.

B. Community Health Nursing Diagnosis Increased risk for obesity among impoverished adults residing in Haywood County, North Carolina, related to knowledge deficit regarding nutritional needs/available nutritional resources and available physical exercise resources, as evidenced by an adult overweight and obesity rate of 64.5% (as reported by the 2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment), compared to the national adult overweight and obesity rate of 66% (as reported by Eat Smart Move Smart North Carolina).

B1. Health Inequity, Resources and Underlying Causes There is an evident health inequity among the impoverished adults in Haywood County (HC) and the prevalence of overweight and obesity. The overall rate of persons living below the poverty line in HC is 16.7%, and 23% of HC adults are food insecure, meaning they do not have reliable access to affordable, nutritious food. (2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment, 2019) The easier access to fast food establishments (0.65/1000 residents), in comparison to access to grocery stores (0.17/1000 residents), recreational facilities (0.1/1000 residents) and farmer’s markets (0.07/1000 residents) means that there is a definite risk of increased poor food choices that can negatively impact weight and overall health. (2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment, 2019)

3 Currently, there are numerous recreational and nutritional resources available to HC residents of all ages and levels of income. As a town in Western North Carolina, there is plenty of access to hiking trails all over the county, as well as local government and community-funded/ sponsored resources such as the public walking trail at Lake Junaluska (which includes mile markers and access to a community pool and kayaking/paddleboard launch), recreational centers in the towns of Waynesville and Canton, Haywood Regional Medical Center’s Health and Fitness Center (which is open to the public for a monthly fee), and numerous church, school and public playgrounds and sports complexes. There are also nonprofit programs such as Locker Room (provides sports gear to athletes/children of low-income families) and Girls on the Run (focuses on girls’ emotional and physical health, and inclusivity with organized, interactive group activities). (2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment, 2019) Some of the nutritional resources available in HC include the MANNA Food Bank/United Way of HC, Haywood Christian Ministries food pantry, Haywood Gleaners (collect leftover crops after commercial harvesting), Meals on Wheels, the community garden at Grace Church, school nutritional programs, and WIC and SNAP programs. (2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment, 2019) There are various HC farmer’s markets that accept SNAP supplementation, and a program called Backpacks of Love (supplied by the Rotary club, churches, schools, and MANNA food bank) which supplies backpacks filled with food items to food insecure, and sometimes homeless, children in HC. In addition, the Haywood Pathways Center (in partnership with Publix Supermarkets) provides shelter, counseling and meals to guests of the Center and dinner to anyone in need within the community. (2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment, 2019)

4 According to data collected from the Haywood County Community Health Assessment (2019), the major apparent causes of overweight and obesity throughout the county include various factors such as: limited public transportation (appointments are required and no weekend access- this could negatively impact impoverished persons hypothetically living closer to fast food establishments than grocery stores, farmers market, etc.), generational obesity, limited sidewalks and bicycle trails, lack of continuity of sidewalks and bicycle trails, overall lack of time and knowledge regarding how to budget, buy and prepare nutritious foods, higher prevalence of fast food institutions (than healthier alternatives), and communities built to accommodate driving vs. walking. In addition, residents living below the poverty line may not know about the resources available to them to supplement more healthy food options and support physical activity. These factors are likely to lead to unhealthy diet choices and decreased physical activity.

B2. Statistics and Evidence-Based Practice Eat Smart Move More NC (ESMMNC) is a “statewide movement promoting opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play, and pray”. (Eat Smart Move More NC, 2020) According to ESMMNC (2020) The rate of obese adults in HC increased from 27.9% in 2015 to 32.6% in 2018, and the most recent rate of overweight and obese adults in HC is 64%, in comparison to the statewide rate of 68% and the national rate of 66%. Studies have shown that a diet rich in whole fruits and a variety of vegetables (from all sub-groups), less than 10% of calories consumed from added sugars, and at least 150-300 minutes/week of moderate aerobic exercise, or 75-150 minutes/week of vigorous

5 aerobic exercise (combined with strength training of all muscle groups at least twice weekly) are effective ways to reduce overweight and obesity and improve overall health.

C1. Social Media Campaign Objective The main objective of my social media campaign will be to increase awareness to accessible resources, nutritional and physical activity related, among adults living below the poverty line in HC. In turn, this could potentially decrease the risk, and reduce the rate, of overweight and obesity among this population. Additionally, the campaign will serve to educate this population on nutritional needs and physical activity recommendations.

C2. Social Marketing Interventions Two potentially effective social marketing interventions are Facebook and YouTube. These are the two most popular social networking platforms in the world, and both are user friendly and allow users to easily share and learn new information. Among the currently popular social media platforms, Facebook and YouTube seem like they would be the most relevant for adults, specifically my chosen demographic, since both can be easily accessed from areas with free public Wi-Fi. Facebook could be used to create a Healthy Haywood County Community page specifically focused on nutritional and physical activity resources, and provide links to these groups’ pages for further inquiry. The page could also highlight nutritional needs and physical activity requirements, and provide insight to healthy food substitutions, the healthiest options when eating at fast food and other restaurants, and time- and budget-friendly recipes. Since HC has a large farming community, the page can also be season-specific and highlight the best and

6 cheapest times to get certain produce. YouTube could be utilized by the contribution of physical trainers, dieticians, nutritionists, medical staff, leaders, and others within the community to provide free workout videos (different options to make them seasonal, weather and ability appropriate), encourage the use of hiking and/or biking trails, educational and informative cooking videos and demonstrations, and educational videos to show the long-term negative consequences of obesity. These videos could be made with the intention to focus on affordability, and accessibility of resources and equipment, with options for users to modify to fit their own lifestyle and budget.

C3. Social Media Platform and Benefits As the most widely used social media platform in the world, I would choose Facebook to implement my social marketing campaign, since I believe it would reach the people of HC more than YouTube. As mentioned before, Facebook can be easily accessed via free, public Wi-Fi, whether people have their own devices or need to use those offered by the community, such as library computers, and allows interaction between posters and followers. Since users can comment on, react to, and share posts, this interaction would increase communication, feedback and clarification within the community and in doing so, increase awareness of needs and available community resources regarding nutrition and physical activity. The main benefit of using Facebook to campaign to my chosen population is the access to a wealth of information. The Healthy Haywood County Community Facebook page can be organized and run by more than one person, so representatives for each category (nutrition, recreation, budgeting, resources, medical, etc.) can run and contribute to the page and provide information and links pertaining to each category. These posts can be thematic, seasonal, or

7 based on community requests and needs. Another important benefit of using Facebook to campaign to my chosen population is the fact that it is free. This affords the people in my chosen demographic (adults living below the poverty line), to have access to valuable information that will guide them in the prevention, treatment and reduction of obesity, in turn increasing their overall health and quality of life.

C4. Benefit to Target Population The greatest benefit to my target population will be the awareness of accessibility to resources available to the community to meet nutritional and recreational needs, and knowing that they have healthy options and resources. Once the social marketing campaign is implemented and utilized, awareness will quickly spread throughout HC, in turn leading to the reduction of obesity and improvement of health among adults living below the poverty line in HC. Not only will this benefit the current generation of users, it will also provide the tools and knowledge to break the cycle of generational obesity within the community.

D. Best Implementation Practices When choosing the best platform to implement a social media marketing campaign, the organizer(s) must consider/choose a platform that will reach the most people effectively, especially those among the target population. Accessibility, user-friendliness and cost are also important factors, as these will enable the population to be successful in using the platform. In addition, it is important to know the target audience and communicate in a way that they will understand, in order to ensure user success. The information conveyed should be relevant to the HC community, accurate, time-relevant, easy to interpret, and it should allow users to engage

8 with administrators and each other to promote a community feeling and confidence that what they are learning is valuable. For example, instead of just posting articles and facts, posts, videos, and demonstrations can be worded with information to encourage the reader/user to self-reflect on how the topic applies to them, and include links for further inquiry.

E1. Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities The key stakeholder in the proposed social media marketing campaign would be the target population, HC adults living below the poverty line. Although they are not running or overseeing the Facebook Page, their feedback and interaction will determine the efficacy of the campaign and lead to necessary changes made to ensure that it is having the desired effect in teaching the community. Community persons such as doctors, mid-level practitioners (Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners), nutritionists, dieticians, health coaches/personal trainers, nurses, and community leaders will also be greatly involved, as some of these people may be overseeing and running the page and gathering/contributing information throughout the community to make accessible to the users of the page.

E2. Potential Partnerships Private partnerships with grocery stores, churches, and existing nutritional/recreational resources can be established to provide the most up to date information regarding scheduled events, food bank hours and locations, and to collaborate on providing resources to the target population. Public partnerships can be made with Duke LifePoint Healthcare, as this is the only health system in Haywood County, and with the Haywood County Health Department to aid in supplementing factual, up to date, statistical information relevant to the target population.

9

E3. Implementation Timeline While obesity is a prevalent, increasing issue in Haywood County, the solution will take a significant amount of time, as overweight and obesity are multi-faceted issues. Eight months would be a reasonable timeline for the implementation of the Healthy Haywood County Community Facebook page. The first two months will be spent on the gathering necessary information and development of the page; the next four months will be the launch of the page, including gaining members and invoking engaging interaction among members; the last two months will be spent in evaluation, making the necessary changes to the page (including determination of relevant posts/information, evaluating community feedback, assessing efficacy of partnerships, etc.) in order to ensure that the community and target population are positively impacted by the page.

E4. Evaluation of Campaign Efficacy Community and target population-focused feedback are important methods in determining the efficacy of the social media campaign. This subjective information can be gathered via polls and surveys on the Facebook page, as well as feedback gained via direct messaging and posts made by group members/users. In addition, evaluation of overweight and obesity rates among adults in Haywood County, especially those living below the poverty line, would be an objective way to gauge the efficacy of the Facebook page.

E5. Cost of Implementation

10 The implementation of the proposed campaign will be minimally monetary, with the most cost being people’s time and effort. Since Facebook is free to join/form groups, the implementation costs of this campaign will be reflected in production of videos/posts and time spent gathering and organizing data, as this campaign will be conducted on a volunteer basis. Facebook ads and sponsorships can help subsidize the cost of the implementation and continuation of the campaign.

F. Reflection With the prevalence of social media today, the community health nurse can rely on social media marketing to reach a greater number of persons of the target population, as opposed to traditional face-to-face teaching/counseling, or depending on patients to seek out resources or know which (resources) are available. Social media marketing supports the community health nurse’s efforts to promote healthier populations by providing a large outlet to educate the target population, and provide real-time and up to date information, as well as the most current statistical data, in a timely manner, based on member engagement and feedback. Going forward in my nursing practice, I will apply the research and evaluation principles learned through the study of social media marketing in order to allow myself to better understand my community’s needs and become a better advocate for my patients. Familiarizing myself with the resources in my community, as well as welcoming community engagement and interaction/feedback, will allow me to provide the best information to my patients based on their needs.

11 References 2018 Haywood County Community Health Assessment. (2019, March 4). Haywood County NC. https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/2904/2018-HaywoodCommunity-Health-Assessment---3-4-19 Eat Smart Move More NC. (2020). North Carolina’s Plan to Address Overweight and Obesity. https://www.eatsmartmovemorenc.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/ESMMNCPlanToAddressObesity2019.pdf...