Social Action Plan to Treat Obesity - Research Proposal Example

SOCIAL ACTION PLAN: OBESITY Student Names Student numbers Institution Instructor Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 OBESITY 2 Back ground to the issue 2 Objectives of the social plan 4 Proposed Actions 5 Anticipated Outcomes 6 Key Roles and Responsibilities 7 Timeline and resources 8 Key risks 8 Evaluation Method 10 List of References 14 OBESITY Back ground to the issue Obesity is the condition of having too much fat in the body due to their genetics or environment.. In Australia, as stated in Australian Institute of Health and Welfare website, every three in five adults are overweight and obese which are over twelve million people. Every one in four Australian children are obese and it is also reported that there has been an increase in obesity in Australia of about 5% since the year 1995. This means that more than 60% of Australian adults are obese. Therefore, it is significant for the issue of obesity to be addressed since it affects majority of our population (Austrian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007). Obesity affects people of all ages. In previous years, obesity was only present in adults but at the moment, there are increasing cases of child obesity. This is due to inactivity among children and technological advancements that have replaced physical games with computer games. Child obesity means that children will grow into adults when they are obese and this poses a great risk to the economy and population of the country (Mayo Staff Clinic, 2014). Many cases of obesity affect the economy of the country in many ways. Firstly, the government has to spend more on health measures used to treat it because majority of the population are patients. Secondly, it affects the rate and quality of work done where people are employed. Obese people get tired faster than normal people and they may develop health complications that will require their absence from work sometimes. Low production at work will directly affect the economy of the country. It is therefore important for action to be done to reduce obesity (Olds et al, 2010) The high prevalence of the disease is what has created the need for the social action. The company that has been used in this action plan is Dominos Pizza Enterprises. It is headed by Don Mej and is one of the biggest pizza chains in the country. Apart from Australia, it extends to six other countries and has more than twelve thousand stores and more than twenty six thousand employees. It is a supplier of various pizza delicacies (Dominos pizza enterprises, 2012). Objectives of the social plan The main objective of the social plan is to understand the facts about obesity. The major reason why obesity prevalence is so high is due to the fact that most people do not understand the disease. Therefore, the first objective is to understand its causes and risks. The resources that are required for this objective are information centers such as libraries, books, journals, media news and publications and the internet. Health centers are another source of information on obesity. The second objective is to create awareness of the disease. Obesity is a disease that is preventable by involving ourselves in healthy lifestyle. If majority of the people understood its causes then its prevalence rate would not be as high as 60%. Therefore, this creates the need for awareness through educational methods. This involves talks on obesity with individuals and groups of people. The third objective was to help in measurements of Body Mass Index of students and people so as to help in awareness of the disease. The significance of this objective was to help others to know if they were normal, underweight, obese or overweight. This objective requires a weighing machine, a height measurement instrument or tape and a calculator. These resources are easily available and accessible. Proposed Actions The actions that were proposed in achieving the objective of understanding the facts obesity include researching on the internet for statistical facts, reading media publications that have talked of the issue, reading books on obesity that are present in the library, interviewing people and other students on the issue and consulting medical personnel that understand the disease. After these methods, group members had to analyze all the information and come up with a summary. All these methods helped in obtaining details about obesity. In order to achieve the objective of increasing awareness of the disease actions that we involved ourselves in are discussions with friends and families, one on one talks with other people including students, spreading obesity brochures that were available in health centers and using the social media as a platform to spread the facts about obesity. This also involved making printouts on details of obesity and putting them on notice boards that are used by student and staff. To achieve the objective of informing people about their Body Mass index, measuring points were set up within and outside the school. The measuring method involved portable tools that could be used anywhere. This action involved a brief talk with a person and encouraging them to know their Body Mass Index. After the measuring, the calculations were then and compared to the chart of obese and healthy Body Mass Index values. People who were proved to be obese were given directions to visit a health centre. The BMI measurement is a calculation which involves dividing ones weight in kilograms by their height in squared meters. An obese person will have BMI that is greater than 30. People with a BMI of 25 to 30 are considered overweight and those of BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 are considered normal. Any lesser value of BMI will mean that one is underweight (Cameron et al, 2003). Anticipated Outcomes The expected outcome of researching and finding out the details about obesity were to help team members to learn about obesity. It was expected that each team members will understand obesity and facts about it so as to be able to create awareness on it. The researching was expected to produce statistical facts about obesity prevalence in Australia, its causes, prevention, symptoms, diagnosis, complications and treatment. Most of the health facts were to be obtained from websites, books and health institutions. The interviews with people were to help in understanding what knowledge people had on obesity. It was relevant to undertake a study that will show how much other people knew about obesity so as to know areas that will be emphasized on during awareness. In addition to this, the researching phase was to help in falsifying any stereotypes that are associated with obesity. The anticipated outcome from spreading brochures, talking to friends and families about obesity is that there will be more people with understanding on the causes, prevention and treatment of obesity. It was expected that anyone who read posters or got involved in small group talks on obesity will have a clearer understanding of the disease. The expected outcome in measuring the Body Mass Index of other people was to help others to understand their position. All measurements were to be recorded so as to create a statistical report on how many of the tested people were obese and how many were not. According to the statistical report by Australian Institute of Health and Welfare it was expected that majority of the people measured will have BMI values that are greater than 30. Key Roles and Responsibilities Key roles in the action plan include management of the team, planning of meetings and setting timelines, coordinating of team activities, writing of minutes discussed in meetings, writing progress reports, managing the finances and ensuring communications. It was significant for team members to have an organizational structure. As stated in their website, Domino’s Pizza Enterprises’ (2012) hierarchical organizational structure is as shown; Timeline and resources The action plan was completed in three weeks. The first week involved team members researching on facts about obesity and understanding them. All goals of the social plan were identified and the timelines for each objective were set in the first two days. The main resources for this action plan were all available education materials that focus on obesity. The most helpful of these were medical personnel and books about obesity. Some health institutions were involved in answering interview questions on the obesity. The obesity awareness and Body Mass Index measurement happened simultaneously in two weeks. The awareness program required resources such as time, obesity brochures and obesity print outs. The measurements of BMI were done at the same time and required the weighing machine, a ruler for measuring heights and a calculator. Writing materials were needed to record the outcome of the BMI tests so as to do an analysis of what percentage of people measured were obese. Key risks One of the major risks encountered in this work plan is misinformation. One of the information sources used was the World Wide Web. Some websites are written by individuals who are misinformed and they may end up quoting wrong facts in their articles. Therefore, information from websites is not reliable. This was handled by confirming controversial facts from medical personnel and health books on obesity. Another key risk encountered was working with diverse people. The action plan required interviewing people in the medical field, fellow students and people in the general public. This was affected by cultural and personality differences. It was harder to relate with some people than others. This was solved by clearly explaining the intention of the social plan and using official identification. A minority of people did not want to have their Body Mass Index to be measured and some took the results negatively. It was hard to explain the health effects of obesity to patients that had obese. Some of the effects such as liver problems, heart problems, cancer and diabetes effects were not easy to communicate. This was solved by ensuring that the people who tested positive for obesity were directed to a physician (Henry, 2014). Obesity in children is not measured in the same way as obesity in adults. This was a great large risk for us because the Body Mass Index measurement does not work for children. According to Obesity Action Coalition (2014), obesity in children is measure using a BMI-for-age percentile method which can only be confirmed by a physician. Therefore, it was impossible to measure obesity in children who were interested in knowing their BMI. These were referred to a health institution. Some students and public lacked interest in the issue and hence limited the number of people that were interviewed. Evaluation Method The objective of personal research to get facts on obesity was expected to enable team members to understand the details on obesity. This was successful because team members were able to discuss and draft a summary on obesity. This was evaluated through question and answer sessions held during the discussion that was held at the end of the first week. As team members analyzed the causes, symptoms and treatment of the disease any differences and misinformation were disregarded. The objective of awareness among the public was evaluated after every three days. The methods used to e valuate this was asking questions on obesity. This was done as conversation or in questionnaires. Most people preferred to answer questions than to fill questionnaires. It was noticed that in the second week of awareness, most students we approached had a clearer understanding of obesity. This had not been the case in the previous week. More people were willing to listen and discuss issues that relate on obesity in the second week. On the third objective of helping people to be aware of their Body Mass Index levels, measurements were done within the school. This objective was evaluated by recording how many people were taking the measurements. This evaluation was done every three days. The number of people who were willing to be tested increased every three days. It was noticed that more people took the tests in the second week than in the first week. This shows that an increase in obesity awareness caused people to be curious about their health status. Social Action Plan: Team members……………………………………………………. Description of the issue: The social issue addressed is obesity which is a disease that affects people of all ages and is caused by sedentary lifestyles. OBJECTIVE 1: UNDERSTANDING OBESITY Proposed actions Anticipated Outcomes Key responsibilities Timelines and resources required Key risks Evaluation method 1.Reading Team members to Understand obesity Each person was to read books and articles on obesity Time: 4 days Resources: books, publications and journals. Misinformation from poor authors Question and answer session. 2. online research Understand obesity facts To research on internet and read health based websites Time: 4 days Resources: Writing materials internet misinformation Question and answer 3. interviews Understand obesity symptoms and treatment To enquire from students and medical personnel Time: 4 days Resources: Writing materials questionnaires Misinformation Question and answer OBJECTIVE 2: OBESITY AWARENESS Proposed actions Anticipated Outcomes Key responsibilities Timelines and resources required Key risks Evaluation method 1.conversations Team members to create obesity awareness To explain to friends and fellow students the facts on obesity Time: 10 days Resources: Time Lack of interest in the topic questions 2. brochures and print outs Team members to create obesity awareness To distribute materials to students and the public Time: 10 days Resources: Brochures and Printouts on obesity Poor reception. Some articles will not be read Questionnaires Questions 3. Discussions Team members to create obesity awareness To discuss with students and the public facts on obesity Time: 10 days Resources: Brochures, books and writing materials Lack of interest in the topic Question and answer sessions OBJECTIVE 3: BMI MEASUREMENTS Proposed actions Anticipated Outcomes Key responsibilities Timelines and resources required Key risks Evaluation method 1.Measurements Majority of people will come for testing Team members to help in measuring BMI Time: 10 days Resources: weighing machine Ruler Calculator BMI values chart Lack of interest in being measured Observation List of References Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2007 Overweight and obesity viewed 17 May 2014 Cameron, AJ, Welborn, TA, Zimmet, PZ Dunstan, DW, Owen, N, Salmon, J. & Shaw, JE. 2003, Overweight and obesity in Australia: the 1999-2000 Australian diabetes, obesity and lifestyle study Medical Journal of Australia, 178(9), 427-432. Dominos Enterprises Limited, 2012 Executive management viewed 19 May 2014 Henry, T 2014, Obesity may affect cancer patients outcomes, CNN Health viewed 19 May 2014, Mayo Staff Clinic, 2014, 'Obesity' viewed 18 May 2014, Obesity action coalition, 2014 measuring weight in children viewed 18 May 2014, Olds, T. S, Tomkinson, GR, Ferrar, K.E & Maher, C. A 2010, Trends in the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in Australia between 1985 and 2008.  International Journal of Obesity, 34(1), 57-66. Read More