Essay On Grant Project About Obesity Prevention And Awareness Campaign

Grant Purpose

The purpose of this grant project is to fund a campaign for the prevention and awareness of obesity. The campaign is two pronged in that it has two distinct components. The first component is the awareness part of the campaign. This component is aimed at is aimed at sensitizing the population on the on the fact that obesity is becoming a concern in healthcare. While the prevalence of obesity in adults remains high, it is concerning that the rate of childhood obesity is on the rise. In order for any meaningful steps in preventing the increase in the prevalence rate of obesity, an awareness of its presence and the health concerns with which it is associated. The second component of this campaign is aimed at prevention. Under this component, the population will be taught on practical, inexpensive and easy approaches towards the prevention obesity for both adults and children. This component will also highlight how to manage obesity for those individuals who are already obese. This is in keeping with the aim of reducing the prevalence rate on obesity in the population.

Grant Background

This grant project is based on statistics from the statistics from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey performed between 2009 and 2010. Based on this survey, more than two in every three adults are either overweight or obese. In every three adults, one of them is obese. In every twenty adults, one of them was extremely obese (Flegal et al., 492). These statistics show a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in the adult population. With regards to children, statistics from the survey showed that up to one-third of the children and adolescents who are aged between six years and nineteen years are either overweight or obese. More than one child in every six children and adolescents who were aged between six years and nineteen years sampled were obese (Ogden et al., 485). These statistics call for an intervention in order to arrest a situation that is quickly escalating.

Needs Assessment

A needs assessment is important in order to inform the activities of the awareness and prevention campaign. The success of the prevention and awareness campaign is dependent on meeting the needs of the population on issues related to the prevention and awareness of obesity. In performing this needs assessment, various approaches will be used. The most potent tool for collecting the information on needs assessment is a focus groups discussion. Properly formulated focus groups have the potential to collect primary data regarding the awareness and prevention of obesity. Through the focus group discussion, gaps in information will be identified. Part of the needs assessment also entails information on the physical activity level of the population. In this regard, the System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities will be used in observing the physical activity levels. This is done by visiting the local recreational park and observing for two hours the users of the park, the characteristics of the users, the type of physical activity and the level of the activity. Finally, an online survey will be conducted to collect information on the opportunities for physical activity, food selection, and perceptions on obesity.

Goals, Objectives, Actions, Timeline

The goals of the grant project are as follows:
The objectives of the grant project are as follows
In order to achieve the goals and objectives highlighted above, the following actions will be carried out:
Needs assessment: as highlighted earlier, the success of this campaign is dependent on understanding the needs of the population on matters related to obesity. The needs assessment exercise will benefit the campaign by availing information on the knowledge of the community on matters related to obesity and the gaps in knowledge.
Public education: the awareness and prevention campaign is designed to raise awareness on the issue and also teach on the various prevention approaches available. Public education will be done in a simple but effective manner.
The grant project will take three months. The project involves various activities, many of which are time consuming. The needs assessment will be done over a period of three weeks. This will leave two weeks during which information education and communication material will be made using the information collected during the needs assessment. The public education exercise will take a period of seven weeks. This will leave two weeks during which the evaluation of the campaign will be conducted.

Evaluation

Evaluation of a campaign is done in order to determine the level to which the objectives of the campaign are met. The evaluation of this campaign will be objective-based. The evaluation of the achievement of the objectives will be done using the pre-test post-test design. Prior to the campaign, a needs assessment exercise will determine the level of knowledge or awareness regarding obesity in the population. A post-intervention study will be performed in order to determine whether there was an increase in awareness following the campaign. Some of the ways through which the information post-intervention will be collected includes the online survey and the focus group discussion. An online survey to determine the willingness to change and adopt the prevention strategies outlined during the campaign will be conducted. The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities will also be used to establish whether there is an increase in the physical activity level as a result of the campaign.

Projected Impact

It is expected that the awareness campaign will increase the awareness and knowledge levels in the population on matters of related to obesity. Increased awareness and knowledge is the first step to achieving behavior change and adopting the preventive measures recommended in the grant project. The population will show a willingness to change dietary habits and also increase their physical activity levels.

Budget

Budget Narrative
The budget above encapsulates the financial requirements to plan, implement and evaluate the prevention and awareness campaign for obesity. The voteheads in the budget were identified during the resource identification phase. The voteheads are summarized for the general item requirements. The allocations for each of the voteheads are further disbursed for the more specific items under the voteheads. A grant in the amount of 147570 dollars is required to successfully design, plan, implement and evaluate the prevention and awareness campaign for obesity.

Works cited

Flegal, Katherine. Carroll, Margaret. Kit, Brian and Ogden, Cynthia. Prevalence of obesity and trends in the distribution of body mass index among US adults, 1999–2010. Journal of the American Medical Association. 307.5 (2012):491–97.
Ogden, Cynthia. Carroll, Margaret. Kit, Brian, Flegal Katherine. Prevalence of obesity and trends in body mass index among US children and adolescents, 1999–2010. Journal of the American Medical Association. 307.5 (2012):483–90