You will propose a health intervention project that addresses a key need. This will be in the form of a written paper. You may wish to have your intervention fall within one the key leading health indicator areas specified by the US government, below. Other areas are OK as well.
Length=approximately 8-10 pages total (2000-2500 words), double spaced, Times New Roman font. Please use ASA citation style.
Elements of the Term Paper:
Title Page: title of paper, author’s name, course #, date of submission, and word count
Specific Aims: state the relevance of the research problem and need for intervention.
Significance and background: State the desired action and intervention target group or population(s) For example, decreasing cigarette smoking in teens; increasing immunization compliance for toddlers, healthy physical activity in seniors with diabetes, or other goal and population. Provide background and prevalence data about the problem and the group, critically evaluate existing knowledge and studies about the group that identify the need for your intervention project.
Theoretical Perspective: Describe the perspective(s) that guide your project, define the key concepts, and explain how using more than one perspective can strengthen your project design. For example, the health belief model can be applied to interventions aimed at decreasing smoking, or improving immunization compliance, or increasing activity in people with diabetes. Other perspectives can be used as well, depending on topic and populations.
Intervention Design and Methods: Describe the intervention design and the components of the intervention. Your discussion of the intervention should address the following: describe intervention (for example, an education program on effects of cigarettes, a pediatrician comes to discuss childhood diseases to Head Start parents’ group, cooking class on making healthy foods), define the population, location of the study, number of groups, sample sizes, recruitment procedures (how will you get people involved?) human subjects protections.
Describe how you will know your interventions worked. Describe the key process or outcome measures and how they will be operationalized (i.e., what data will be collected, questions asked, etc.). For example, will, you ask people what they thought about your program? Survey, interview, focus group? Will you give them a quiz to see if they learned the material? Or will you look at outcomes? (e.g., did they smoke, get vaccinated, lose weight, decrease blood sugar level?)
Timeline (see sample in D2L)
Estimated budget (you may ask for up to $50,000-$100,000 in funding) (see Sample in D2L)
References, using ASA Style
Specific Elements
List Specific Aims
Bulleted list
State the Aims
Relevance
Need
Significance and Background
Give an Overview of the Problem
State the Desired Action
Include the Target Group
Provide Background and Prevalence
Data about the Problem and the Target Group
Include existing studies that identify the need for the proposed intervention
Target Group
What is the Target Group?
Who are your participants? Some Examples….
Gender, Age, Geographical location, Professional affiliation/vocation, Medical history, Social status, Education, Economic status
How many?
Total number
Group assignments
How selected?
Availability cooperativeness
Convenience/random
Payments or incentives
Procedures to assign to groups, conditions or treatments
Theoretical Perspective
Describe the Theoretical Perspective(s) that Guide Your Project
Define and Explain the Key Concept
For example, the Health Belief Model can be applied to many interventions that seek behavior change.
Other health theories may work as well
Describe Intervention Design and Methods
What are you Proposing to do?
Explain the Key Parts of the Intervention to the Reader
Describe the key components.
Include details of target group, location, number of people, recruitment procedures.
Concise Processes: Be Specific.
Human Subjects Considerations
What risks to participants might occur?
Example of Intervention
“Ready, Set Walk” Health Promotion Intervention for Type 2 Diabetes:
Population focused on African Americans with Type 2 Diabetes in Raleigh, NC.
Approximately 30 participants.
Participants will receive information on safe walking.
Instruction on stretching, warming up, taking heart rate, cooling down properly.
Participants will walk one mile.
Provided with a Healthy Snack when it’s over.
Describe Evaluation Measures
How will you know your Intervention was a success?
Describe Outcome Measures
Examples:
Focus groups talk about the intervention. What did they think?
Knowledge Assessments (pre and post test)
Outcomes: weight loss, increased # of vaccinations, increased screening, etc.
Timeline or Time frame
Gives reader an idea of how long it will take and when things will be done
General format is a Table
Tasks (e.g., Get IRB Approval, Recruit Participants, etc.) listed on the Rows
Time measures (e.g., Month 1, Month 2, etc.) listed on the Columns.
Estimated Budget: How much do I ask for?
Use a Table Format
How much is needed to…?
PAY yourself, staff, and consultants
Keep staff costs as small as possible
Keep travel at normative levels
PURCHASE equipment
PROVIDE the materials necessary to conduct the study
Budget considerations
Look at limits set
Look at size of typical award given out by the target agency
Adjust funds up or down
Don’t “pad” the budget
Padding may make the proposal appear to be less well-thought out
Supplies and equipment
Document needs carefully
Itemize if possible
Examples
if using ribbons at health fairs: 100 ribbons for 3 separate events
3 audio tapes at per 2 hour focus group
Paper costs per letter, stamps or mailing costs
Educational videos—give titles and exact costs
References
Use the Style Required by Funder
In this course, we use American Sociological Association (ASA) Style.
Provide References for Facts quoted in the body of your paper.
Citations in text of the paper need corresponding Reference at the end.
References at the end need to be cited in the text of the paper.
American Sociological Association style
References
Use American Sociological Association format. See D2L for more examples Or google “ASA Style”
Examples:
(Crone 2007) in body of paper
Crone, James. 2007. How Can We Solve Our Social Problems? Thousand Oaks, CA: Pine Forge Press. (In Reference list)
DIRECT QUOTE: use quotation marks for quote then cite (Crone 2007: 16).
SUMMARY OF THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
The Health Belief Model (HBM) has been one of the most widely used conceptual frameworks, remaining important despite over forty years of a variety of empirical testing.
The HBM was developed in the 1950’s by Rosenstock and others to explain the widespread failure of illness prevention programs.
The HBM is a value expectancy theory, reformulated in the context of health behavior. The value is the desire to avoid illness or get well; the belief that a specific health action would ameliorate or prevent illness is the expectancy.
According to the Health Belief Model:
Preventative action taken by an individual to avoid a given disease is related to the perception that he or she is personally susceptible to the disease and that the occurrence of the disease would have severe implications.
The perception of threat is affected by modifying factors, which are demographic, social-psychological, and structural variables that can influence cues and necessary following actions.
Action cues are required because while an individual may realize that a given action is effective in preventing the disease, he or she may find that action to be too painful, expensive, traumatic, or time-consuming.
So despite recognition of perceived benefits, the person may still not be motivated to do something. Therefore the likelihood of action also takes into account the perceived benefits of action weighted against the perceived costs, or barriers.
Rosenstock believed that some form of stimulus, some action cue was necessary to trigger the appropriate behavior. Stimuli could be external to the individual (interpersonal communication, mass media) or internal (perception of bodily states).
KEY COMPONENTS OF THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL
Perceived susceptibility relates to one’s opinion of the chances for getting a condition. This can be applied by defining population risks and risk levels, personalizing risk based on characteristics or behavior, and making perceived susceptibility more consistent with ones actual risk.
Perceived severity is defined as one’s opinion of how serious a condition and its sequelae are. In application of this concept, one needs to specify the consequences of the risk and the conditions.
Perceived benefits are the opinion of the efficacy of the advised action to reduce risk or seriousness of impact. In application, measures designed to define action to take, how when, where and clarify the positive effects expected.
Perceived barriers include one’s opinion of the tangible and psychological costs of advised action. By identifying and reducing perceived barriers through reassurance, correction of misinformation, incentives and assistance, those barriers may be overcome.
Cues to action are strategies to activate ones readiness.
Self-efficacy belief in one’s own ability to achieve goals, achieve tasks
Reference
Strecher, Victor J. and Irwin M. Rosenstock. 1997. “The Health Belief Model.”
Pp. 41-59 in Health Behavior and Health Education Theory, Research,
and Practice, 2nd Edition, edited by K. Glanz, F. M. Lewis, and B. K.
Rimer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
TRANSTHEORETICAL MODEL OF CHANGE
The following notes are from Prochaska, James O., Colleen A. Redding, and Kerry E. Evers. 1997. “The Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change.” Pp. 60-84 in Health Education and Health Behavior: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2nd Edition, edited by K. Glanz, F. M. Lewis, and B. K. Rimer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
The Transtheoretical Model uses stages of change to integrate processes and principles from across major theories, hence its name. The model emerged from a comparative analysis of major theories of intervention. Core constructs include Stages of change- each represent a temporal dimension.
Precontemplation is the stage in which people have no intention of taking action in the foreseeable future (next six months), perhaps related to lack of information or demoralization at prior attempts to change.
Contemplation is the stage when people intend to take action within the next six months. They are aware of both the pros and the cons of the behavior in question, yet behavioral procrastination and ambivalence characterize this stage. These people are not yet ready for traditional intervention.
Preparation is the stage in which people intend to take action in the immediate future, usually within the next month. These individuals typically have already taken some action in the past year and have an action plan. Individuals in this stage are good recruits for action-oriented intervention programs, such as smoking cessation, weight loss, or exercise.
Action is the stage in which people have made specific overt modifications in their lifestyles within the past six months. In this model, action is not automatically equated with behavior change, it is one of six stages. Therefore, not all modifications in behavior actually count as action.
Maintenance is stage in which people work to prevent relapse. have changed the behavior for more than six months. Termination applies largely in addictions, when individuals return to old unhealthy habits. Based on data from a variety of sources (e.g., US Dept. of Health and Human Services)l maintenance usually last from six months to about five years (p. 63).
References
Prochaska, James O., Colleen A. Redding, and Kerry E. Evers. 1997. “The Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change.” Pp. 60-84 in Health Education and Health Behavior: Theory, Research, and Practice, 2nd Edition, edited by K. Glanz, F. M. Lewis, and B. K. Rimer. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
