Healthy Eating in Muskingum County

Increased poverty levels among the residents of Muskingum County, Ohio, is linked to the lack of access to health care services, healthy food, and other necessities which result in poor health as evidenced by increased mortality rate in the area.

Target Population

My target population is the youths who attend Ark Springs Baptist Cemetery church located in Chandlersville, Ohio. I chose this group since it is the most affected by unemployment and poor health due to financial issues.

Long-Term Goal:

To promote better eating habits among the youths of Muskingum County to reduce health complications

Short Term Goal:

To provide the youths of Muskingum county with information about home remedies for common illnesses.

Objectives

Content Outline

Method of Instruction

Time it takes for content to be presented

Method of Evaluation

The youths will match illnesses with their respective symptoms

Learners should be taught about the warning sign of each sickness common in the area to ensure they can identify them appropriately.

To teach members about sicknesses in the area, I will provide each of them with handouts containing the list of ailments. We will discuss together how these diseases infect people, after which I will give them symptoms notes. Through this, they will match each sickness with their indications. Whenever they make a mistake, I will assist them accordingly.

The estimated time for this activity will be one week to ensure they understand the lesson correctly.

At the end of the teaching plan, I will organize a posttest to evaluate how they understood the topic.

Learners will explain different approaches to treating common illnesses

After learning about these diseases, they will elucidate the best home remedies treatments

I will make a video about each sickness and discuss what we have learned from the clips. Each member will explain his or her understanding about treatment strategies depicted in the video.

The activity will take two weeks since I need to ensure they fully comprehend treatment approaches.

The best method of evaluation is a test at the end of each week and question and answers session at the end of every lesson.

The members will discuss the benefits of eating healthy foods

Since my target area has a high rate of poverty, learners will be taught why they should eat healthy foods to prevent lack of essential nutrients.

I will use a video explaining the benefits eating healthy. Subsequently, members will be divided into discussion groups to describe to each other what they have learned.

The activity will take approximately three days

Evaluation will be a question and answers session after each lesson, with each member answering question about healthy eating

Youths will categorize foods into various groups such as fruits, proteins, vegetables, grains, and oils.

After learning the benefits of eating healthy, members of Muskingum County will be taught about various groups of food, especially those that are common in the area.

I will provide the learners with handouts describing each group of food. After discussing with them, they will categorize each type of food into its appropriate cluster.

The process will take approximately four days

Evaluation process will be a Q&A session at the end of the lesson

Literacy Considerations

According to research, health literacy is the level to which a person can obtain, process, and comprehend essential health services and information, crucial to making the right choice in health (“Health Literacy Basics,” 2018). My target group includes both men and women, aged between 20 and 35 years. Most of the learners in my target audience are college students. Research indicates that despite high levels of literacy in the US, only 12% of all adults have proficient health literacy (Hernandez, 2013). The literacy levels of my target audiences necessitate that I utilize high-level communication skills and other means of teaching strategies to guarantee the success of my activity. Youths require content which is exciting in addition to having opportunities such as discussion with each other to improve their understanding (Kemppainen et al., 2012). When developing a teaching plan for each target group, a nurse should consider whether: the information is easy to use, the data is appropriate for the users, or if as a trainer one will be able to speak openly (”Understanding Health Literacy,” 2018). Literacy levels determine each plan since target groups have different levels of education.

References

Health Literacy Basics. (2018). Retrieved from health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm

Hernandez, L. (2013). Health literacy (1st ed.). National Academies Press.

Kemppainen, V., Tossavainen, K., & Turunen, H. (2012). Nurses’ roles in health promotion practice: an integrative review. Health Promotion International, 28(4), 490-501. dx.doi.org/10.1093/heapro/das034

Understanding Health Literacy. (2018). Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/healthliteracy/learn/Understanding.html