Introduction
Every year witnesses a recurring flu season which is always synonymous with influenza outbreaks. In most cases, such a season occurs in each hemisphere’s cold half. Important to note is the fact that influenza activity can easily be predicted and geographically tracked. Although the outbreak of flu activity varies by location in each season, minor epidemics tend to take around three weeks before peaking. They then take a further three weeks to diminish significantly. In this paper, I seek to give an outline on how I will actualize my plan to teach the community on this aspect. In so doing, I will address in summary a number of important factors. I will give the epidemiological rationale for the topic and evaluate the teaching experience. I will further give the community response to the teaching and address the areas that need to be improved.
Epidemiological rationale for topic
Flu is very infectious in the community. In essence, this name originated from Italy in the 15th century, and was majorly used to refer to the ‘influence of the stars. The first characteristics of influenza were experienced in 1580. Between 1918 and 1919, the Spanish influenza resulted to up to 21 million deaths all over the world. In the 21st century, the first pandemic was witnessed between 2009 and 2010(Cohn et al. 2013).
Influenza has an impact all over the world. According to research, the only reservoir of type C and type B are humans. Type A infects both animals and humans. Despite this, no chronic carrier state has been discovered. Transmission of the flu from one person to another is through droplets that are virus-laden (usually larger than 5 microns). These droplets are generated by a cough or sneeze of an infected person. The droplets then settle on the upper respiratory tracts of the mucosal surfaces of persons who are close to the infected persons (Silverstein et al. 2006). This is not the only way through which transmission can take place. Direct or indirect contact with secretions contaminated with the virus can also result in transmission of the flu.
In most cases, the influenza activity tends to peak in the period from December to March. This is because of the temperate climates that are witnessed. Although this is the time when transmission rates are high, the activity may be witnessed earlier or later. In the period between 1976 and 2008 in the United States of America, peak influenza activity most occured in January (up to 19% of the seasons). In 47 % of the seasons, the peak of the activity takes place in February. In 19 % of the seasons, the influenza activities took place in the months of March, April or May. In tropical areas, influenza occurs all over through the year. This means that the month of February should be keenly watched to ensure transmission is reduced because it has a higher percentage than the other months (Silverstein et al. 2006).
Evaluation Objectives
These objectives guided me in assessing the competence of the audience and understanding whether they developed a positive attitude towards practices aimed to reduce flu in the community. Essentially, the evaluation objectives took the following outlook.
- The experience that the audience had as far as flu season is concerned. This enabled me understand the extent to which the audience perceived the phenomena
Planned evaluation of goal
The teaching plan was effectively evaluated during the flu outbreaks. Because this is a practical experience where the audience needs to apply what is learnt in class to the societal challenges, the flu season represented the best opportunity of understanding whether the audience appreciated whatever they were taught. By putting it in practice, it would be wise to conclude that the audience followed the teachings that were provided to them. It was important, however, for the audience to practice whatever they were taught in a day to day basis. This would reduce the chances of transmission when the flu season peaks.
Potential barriers and how to handle them
Because it is a church setting, several barriers affected the transmission of the knowledge to the audience. Most people come to church once a week. This is the time we have our main church service. This means we had limited time to put across the information. In mitigating this barrier, the audience was encouraged to come to church earlier in order to create some time for the teaching.
Language barrier was also a big factor. Basically, the church comprises of people of many dialects. They do not use a universal dialect. In order to overcome this, I employed the services of interpreters to ensure that all members get the information clearly.
Methods used
The pamphlet is the most effective method to teach the audience in the church. It has a number of advantages over other potential methods. First, it is cheap. Taking into mind the fact that the topic is not wide, it is affordable to make copies of the material and distribute them among the attendants. The pamphlet is also durable. This means the participants have the chance of owning the information at their homes and can consistently refer to it whenever they want to update themselves on what should be done in a given situation.
Community Response
Transmission of the influenza virus takes place on a day to day practice through unhygienic practices. After giving the audience the necessary information, it was important to observe their response towards the suggested practices. For instance, the community’s response was very positive in my case. Almost everybody in the community has appreciated covering their noses whenever they are sneezing. This is very crucial as it prevents to a large extent the spread of the virus. The practice f washing hands cannot be underrated. The community received the information well and put into practice some of the teachings offered. To date, almost everybody washes their hands whenever necessary.
Areas to be improved
The community was upbeat about ensuring that the spread of flu was contained to prevent undesired effects in the society. Although the response of the community members was positive, several areas need to be worked on in order to ensure they improve. For instance, the members need to understand the importance of staying at home whenever they are not feeling well. This way, they will reduce the risk of spreading the virus to other community members. This is a safe practice as the people will not be within the undesired distance. Because most of them take Sunday to be a sacred day, they rarely miss the church. It is important for them to understand the importance of staying at home to prevent the spread of the disease.
References
British Columbia's H1N1 pandemic influenza response plan (2009) pandemic preparedness and response for remote First Nations communities in British Columbia - action plan 2009/10. (2009). Victoria, B.C.: Ministry of Health Services].
Cohn, J. P., & Rados, B. (2013). Surviving cold and flu season. Rockville, MD] (5600 Fishers Lane, Rockville 20857): [Dept. of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Food and Drug Administration, Office of Public Affairs.
Silverstein, A., Silverstein, V. B., & Nunn, L. S. (2006). The flu and pneumonia update. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Elementary.
