Health Promotion Essay

1048 Words5 Pages

The overall goal of the health promotion program is to empower individuals to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviors that can decrease the risk of cancer, promote early detection, and increase survivorship as a result. The first specific aim is to increase awareness and knowledge about cancer risk factors (tobacco use, unhealthy diet, physically inactive, etc.) and prevention strategies. The second aim is to promote healthy behaviors to reduce cancer risk by providing support and guidance on how to create and sustain behavior change. The third aim is to increase the early detection of cancer through screenings and preventative measures. The last is to support cancer survivors in managing their health and well-being through strategies for managing …show more content…

The first activity being community cancer screening clinics that provide cancer screening services (mammograms, pap smear, and colonoscopies) to individuals in the community. It addresses the individual and community level by creating a supportive environment for community members to access cancer screening services conveniently and affordably. These social relationships help to form the normative of the community and will shape individual behaviors and attitudes. By providing easy access to cancer screenings this activity promotes early detection of cancer. Regular cancer screenings can help detect cancer at an early stage and reduce the risk of cancer progressing to further stages, thus increasing survivorship rates. Next, the second activity being a healthy lifestyle education campaign that addresses the individual level by providing information on adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors. It also addresses the interpersonal level by promoting healthy behaviors to the individual’s social network (family and friends) through social support and peer influence. Furthermore, the activity addresses the community level by creating an environment that supports a healthy lifestyle to decrease the risk of cancer through education efforts. By educating individuals and promoting healthy behaviors at these three SEM levels, this activity can empower individuals to make positive lifestyle changes that can prevent …show more content…

Obtaining health screenings, cancer risk behaviors, adherence to medical treatment). It is more easily described as how ones personal beliefs or perceptions influence healthy behaviors. There are several constructs that make up the health belief model. A construct is the steps in which individuals change their health behavior. Perceived severity is the belief about the seriousness of a condition and its consequences. The program describes the serious consequences of cancer to increase their perception of the severity of cancer. Perceived susceptibility is the belief about the chances of getting a condition. The program provides education about the risk factors associated with cancer to increase their perception of their susceptibility to cancer. Perceived benefits are the beliefs about the effectiveness of taking action to reduce risk or seriousness. The program emphasizes the benefits of adopting healthy behaviors and engaging in cancer prevention strategies. Perceived barriers are the beliefs about the material and the psychological cost of action (Glanz, 2005). The program identifies barriers that individuals face in taking preventative actions and strategies that can minimize these barriers. There are three factors to perceive barriers: modifying variables, cues to action, and self-efficacy. Modifying variables are the interpersonal factors (skill,