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Week 3: Group Discussion

Student Name

Institution Affiliation
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Week 3: Group Discussion

Community Program Evaluation

Name of the Public Department: Carver County Public Health

Five Programs Offered by Carver County Public Health

1. Communities of belonging: Establishing interconnectedness among the members of the

community.

2. Healthy Schools: Supporting education and promoting the health of students.

3. Office of Aging: Changing with the public health demands for Baby Boomers generation.

4. Public Health Nuisance: An initiative for managing environmental havoc and hazards.

5. Tobacco Prevention and Education: Focuses on managing tobacco addiction and

curtailing the effects of cigarette smoking on both passive and active smokers (Carver

County, MN, n.d.).

One Program to Explore: Office of Aging

In the past two decades, there has been a dramatic increase in population in the United

States due to the Baby Boomers generation. Carver County has not been left behind in the series

of registering a high population of older adults (Birkeland et al., 2022). The elderly population is

predisposed to numerous health complications caused by body frailty and weakened immune

systems. A high incidence of chronic illnesses including diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and

cardiovascular diseases is recorded by the seniors in the society.

Office of Aging has initiated a program dubbed ACT on Alzheimer's disease; the

initiative stresses on the adoption of a multidisciplinary framework that includes partnerships

between non-profit, private entities, and governmental institutions to control the impacts of the

disease. About 99,000 individuals aged 65 years and above in Minnesota have Alzheimer's
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disease (Birkeland et al., 2022). Therefore, there is a need to adopt a community health program

to address the concern. ACT on Alzheimer's is aligned with the public health service of

collaboration; to address population health disparities, relevant stakeholders should adopt

combined efforts that would strengthen the capacity of interventions (Carver County, MN, n.d.).

Evaluation of the Program

The implementation of the program centered on controlling the impacts of Alzheimer’s

disease is an effort to address the prevalence of the condition in community settings. The

initiative can be evaluated by determining the level of community vitality regarding the disease;

the people should know about Alzheimer's disease and the disease prevention strategies

(Birkeland et al., 2022). The public health department can also evaluate the program by

identifying the level of community support from nonprofit and private entities; the commitment

of many organizations would indicate the sensitivity of the disease prevalence.

Gaps in Community-Level Initiatives

An HP 2030 Objective Not Addressed by Carver County Public Health: “Increase the

proportion of people with substance use and mental health disorders who get treatment for both”.

Minimum efforts have been directed toward addressing mental health issues in Carver

County. Many adolescents and young adults are getting into substance use and alcohol use; these

addictions increase their susceptibility to psychological complications (Pronk et al., 2021). Little

has been done to promote access to treatment for individuals with substance use and mental

health disorders.

An Evidence-Based Program Recommendation

One of the ways the Healthy People 2030 objective on mental health and substance use

disorders can be achieved, is by establishing a universal screening program in private entities,

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healthcare organizations, and schools. Early screening is identified as a public health prevention

strategy falling under the categories of primary and secondary levels (Galea et al., 2020). The

initiative would assist in the early identification of the disorders and thus would assist the victims

in adopting mitigation measures before the prevalence of the complications.

Possible Barriers in Local Implementation

Resistance from the community members is a possible barrier to achieving a successful

screening program for substance use and mental disorders. There is the possibility of cultural or

social limitations that may discourage individuals from turning up for the health promotion

program (Galea et al., 2020). Many individuals from the ethnic minority populations have beliefs

and values that may trigger denial of the existence of a mental health problem and therefore, they

may fail to participate in the screening programs.

Potential Community Partners

Religious organizations including churches and mosques would be potential stakeholders

in the implementation process of the screening program. The entities would be responsible for

creating awareness about the initiative and encouraging the followers to participate. They would

create a link between societal values and the importance of early screening for mental disorders

(Oman, 2018). Moreover, the partners would offer value-based guidance on the need to avoid

behaviors associated with substance abuse to the community members.

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References

Birkeland, R. W., McCarron, H. R., Nkimberg, M., & Gaugler, J. E. (2022). Exploring Memory

Care Clinics in Minnesota: A Qualitative Analysis. Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry and

Neurology, 35(4), 601-612.

Carver County, MN. (n.d.). Office of Aging.

https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/health-human-services/public-health/

programs/office-of-aging

Carver County, MN. (n.d.). Public Health Programs.

https://www.carvercountymn.gov/departments/health-human-services/public-health/

programs

Galea, S., Merchant, R. M., & Lurie, N. (2020). The mental health consequences of COVID-19

and physical distancing: the need for prevention and early intervention. JAMA Internal

Medicine, 180(6), 817-818.

Oman, D. (Ed.). (2018). Why religion and spirituality matter for public health: Evidence,

implications, and resources (Vol. 2). Springer.

Pronk, N., Kleinman, D. V., Goekler, S. F., Ochiai, E., Blakey, C., & Brewer, K. H. (2021).

Practice full report: Promoting health and well-being in healthy people 2030. Journal of

Public Health Management and Practice, 27(6), S242.