Introduction
Following a review of the health of Riverside County, it was found that the mainly African American population was suffering from high rates of diabetes. The Community Action Partnerships for Health Organization (CAPHO) was contacted to see if it would be will to work with the heath care community to address the problem of diabetes in the county. CAPHO agreed and set about developing a plan with objectives, sub-objectives and action items. The goal was to reduce the rate of diabetes among the population through prevention.
Background of the Organization
CAPHO “had been providing services to low-income African American women for ten years” (Harris, 2010, p. 183) so it was willing to address this health issue in the county, which the organization itself had noticed becoming an issue in recent years. The Organization developed the Healthy Soon Project to help focus on the issue of diabetes. The Project aimed at addressing the main two factors for the rising prevalence of diabetes—namely, obesity and lack of exercise. CAPHO saw that it also had to address the environment in which these people lived, as the sidewalks were not good for walking, the parks were not safe, and the convenience stores did not sell much fresh or healthy food. Thus, Organization defined its two main objectives in this manner:
· Program Health Objective: Increase the percentage of African American women who participate in the intervention who are at a healthy weight to 60 percent by 2012.
· Program Environmental Objective: Increase to 40 percent the number of stores and other venues that sell affordable produce in low - income neighborhoods by 2015 (Harris, 2010, p. 184).
Brief Description of the Purpose of the Evaluation
The purpose of the evaluation was to determine the areas in which the organization could achieve an impact. They stated the expected outcome and the intervention approaches that they would use to achieve their goals. The evaluation’s purpose was to determine the extent to which the outcomes...
To that end, a series of questions needed to be answered, including the initiative activities that were to be used, the frequency with which the activities were to be conducted, and the intended outcomes. The following questions were helpful in determining the extent to which the project would be successful:
1. What human, financial, and material resources were provided and used?
The Healthy Soon Project used a budget of $150,000 good for one year. The human resources consisted of one supervisor and three support staff—however, the team also reached out to other researchers in the fields to obtain ideas about how to implement a successful evidence-based intervention for the best results. By reaching out in this to obtain information on EBP (evidence-based practices), the team was conforming to the recommendations of numerous scholars who have called for more EBP in the health care industry (Leach, 2006; Rubin, 2011). As for material resources, the project focused on providing gym facilities for the population, obtaining diabetes screening supplies, having a dietician on contract, and bringing in local farmers to help provide fresh foods at the farmer’s market to make up for the lack of selection at the local convenience stores and foodmarts.
2. What educational activities were carried out?
Educational activities that were carried out for the population at risk of developing diabetes included nutrition education, education on tailoring a diet that was low in fat and calories and high in fiber, and education on how to keep a food/exercise journal to help monitor how one was eating and whether one was getting in enough exercise throughout the week.
There was also a need to educate policy makers so that legislation could be enacted “to reduce advertising for alcohol in convenience stores” (Harris, 2010, p. 189). This had to be followed up with educating members of a coalition to support legislation that promoted the distribution of and…
