Introduction
Providing care to all parts of the population within the community is critical. However, this objective is not always met because of the challenges inherent in the community, especially those relating to culture. Culture is situated at core of the factors that have a major impact on the healthcare. Research has indicated that the United States, including big states such as Florida, is characterized by major cultural differences with implications on the health care system (Ko, Murphy & Bindman, 2015). Among the cultural groups faced with major challenges in access to health care are the immigrant and refugee families. The group marks an increasing population in Canada, indicating an increase in their need for health care. It is on the basis of the racial and ethnic that health care disparities exist (Collins & Rocco, 2014). Given the differences, it is critical to focus on the interventions that would be necessary to ensure that the different cultural groups are well represented in the health care system.
Effectiveness in health care and the potential for providing safe and quality care lies in the knowledge of the cultural differences and adopting effective efforts to address them. Development of the strategies for addressing the cultural differences is hence, the basis for the proposed intervention. To address the health care disparities associated with culture, it is important to make sure that the target populations have knowledge about their right to health care and where they can have access to health care services (Collins & Rocco, 2014). The different cultures evident in the Florida context require the information to be able to identify the challenges that are unique to their cultural need and how to address them to have access to safe and quality care. The intervention will involve customizing the information to the unique needs of each culture because the needs and challenges that are inherent in one culture are different from those which are evident in another.
Proposed Intervention
The intervention is information-based, which means that it will involve providing information and educating the target population on the cultural challenges that affect their access to health care and the steps that they can take to overcome the challenges. Victorson, Banas, Smith, Languido, Shen, Gutierrez, & Flores (2014) indicate the important role information plays in the success of patient-centered care. A culturally competent model for the provision of education to the different patient populations is the basis for the design and development of the intervention. The most in need for the information is the traditionally marginalized ethnic minority patient populations because they experience the greatest level of challenge in terms of access to health care. The design of the culturally sensitive interventions is important in ensuring that there is improved access to health care within the target community. It is also critical for the patients to take an active role in the care process (Chen, Mullins, Novak & Thomas, 2016). Therefore, the intervention will provide the resources necessary for the individuals to take part in the care process.
The intervention is aimed at prevention of disease from the perspective of creating awareness among the members of the target community about the challenges impacting on their access to health care. Therefore, the intervention falls in the category of primary prevention (Lane, Oakes & Magill, 2014). The aim of the intervention is reduction of the risks or threats to health, among them the cultural factors inherent within the population. The intervention will work by altering the unsafe or unhealthy behaviors which have the potential for causing disease or injury. The model of the intervention is based on aspects of education relating to the challenges and unsafe as well as unhealthy practices that are inherent in the target cultures. It is elucidated that by educating and creating awareness among the members of the target community, they will use the knowledge to adopt healthy and safe habits. The intervention is basically about activation and empowerment of the members of the different cultures, especially the marginalized ones.
Resources Required
The intervention will take the form of an education fair where the information about the different cultures in Florida will be communicated. The fair will be held in a community park, which will allow access to as many people from different cultures represented in the state. The education process will involve various stakeholders with different roles in the success of the fair. Among the stakeholders will be the public health nurses who will be the main implementers of the intervention. The nurses will be expected to volunteer to educate the target populations, provide the information and explanation of the factors that are inherent in the different cultures. Besides the nurses, the nurse administrators will provide the support for the implementation of the intervention. They will provide the resources necessary for the implementation of the intervention. The resources will also be provided by the volunteers within the community who are in support of the initiative. The community leaders will also have a stake to motivate the people from the different cultures to take part in the intervention and probably provide the necessary resources.
There will be important resources that will be required to implement the intervention. The facility is a public resource which is expected to be used without any additional charges. However, there will be a need to set up the location such that it becomes effective for the education process. There will be use of computers and projectors to deliver the information. In this case, the computers, projectors and other equipment will cost approximately $1000. The persons who will be involved in the education process will be volunteers providing the information. The education fair will be mostly created with the aim of supporting the community, and as much as possible it will have the voluntary support of the members of the target community. The information will also be accessible online to continue reaching as many members of the community as possible, including those who will not be able to attend the fair. The process will not be costly apart from the technical support to post the information online. The entire intervention will not cost more than $1500.
Implementation Plan Including Timeline
Implementation of the intervention will require adequate planning to ensure that it is successful. The planning phase of the intervention, hence, is the part that will take a considerable amount of time. The initial phase will be taking the consent for the intervention from the nurse administrator and the community leaders. The process will take place long before the intervention is created lest it will not work. The first month of the intervention will involve seeking the consent and designing the education program. The design of the intervention program will involve the creation of the content that will be used in creating awareness to the target population. The nurses will take part in writing the content of the program, which will be used to create the content on the computer. The content will be presented using the projectors. One month will be adequate for preparing the intervention.
The second month will be used to implement the intervention. The process will involve contacting the volunteers and persons who will take an active role in setting up the venue for the training. Bringing together the team involved in the implementation of the process will be a part of the activities that will take place during the second month. The implementation will involve setting up the venue for the education program to take place. The various volunteers will come together to ensure that the intervention is effectively implemented. The arenas will be set up including the place where the nurses will be doing their presentations and the places where the people receiving the information will be sitting and listening from. The second month is the month within which the actual education of the members of the community will take place. From the second month onwards, the information will be available online for the members of the community to access.
Evaluation method(s)
Evaluation is a critical process that will establish whether or not the objective of the intervention has been achieved (Dauphinee, 2015). Following the implementation of the program, it is important to evaluate whether it is working as planned and if the objective for investing it is met. The process involves a procedure for collecting data that will be analyzed for the results to establish the effectiveness or lack thereof of the intervention. The information is critical for decision making in relation to the implemented intervention. Therefore, the implemented intervention, if proven to have achieved the objective, will continue in the same form to provide education to the members of the community. However, if the process will not have achieved the objective, there will be a need to make critical changes because of the importance of educating the people of different cultures to improve their access to health care.
The evaluation will involve gathering of data using two main data collection approaches. One of the approaches that will be used is quantitative data collection method, specifically through the use of questionnaires. The questionnaires will be filled by the target members of the community who will have taken part in the intervention. The people who have taken place in the intervention will be impacted by it and hence, will have the information on its effectiveness (Dauphinee, 2015). The second approach for data collection will be use of qualitative, specifically the focus group discussion, also with the individuals who will have taken part in the education process. Various indicators of effectiveness will be used in the evaluation among them the increase in the level of knowledge of the cultural factors affecting access to health care. Another indicator will be a long-term effect, which is a growth in the number of patients from the diverse cultures seeking health care services.
Reflection
The project is an important learning process on how nursing can impact on the community within which they operate. I have realized the importance of the nurse in ensuring that the members of the community have access to safe and quality care. Nurses, as part of the healthcare process, are expected to have cultural awareness and operate as culturally competent providers of health care. However, I have realized that it is not enough for the nurses to understand the cultural differences only. It is more important that they take the necessary steps to ensure that the members of the target community are informed of the aspects that make them different and how the differences impact on their access to health care. The nurses, as advocates of the patients, have the important role of providing this knowledge.
As a nurse, I have realized that the factors that hinder effective access to health care by the members of the community are inherent in their uniqueness as members of different cultures. Hence, any effort to address the inequality should be targeted to the differences. Nonetheless, it is not always the case that the members of the community are aware of the differences and the way they affect their access to care. Thus, the effort to address the challenges of access should begin with creating the necessary awareness to the different populations within the community. Also, to achieve this end, it is important to make the members of the community an important part of the intervention. It is also important to take advantage of the differences in targeting the different peoples based on the cultural differences. Targeted interventions are the most effective as they take into account the particular needs of the individuals.