Cardiovascular disease remains a major life threating disease facing many American communities. The risk is higher in the underserved communities especially in the remote parts of the country which west (2014) attributes to insufficient health education. According to Ewy, managing director of the University of Arizona Sarver Heart center, there has been a decline in the number of cardiovascular diseases related deaths from 40% to the current 34% of the total deaths in the America. The improvement has been attributed to timely treatment of causal diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure among other heart diseases that continue to deny many citizens a clean bill of health.
The illumination of how effective treatment of heart-related diseases has presented a lifetime opportunity to help combat this killer disease through a causal treatment intervention. There is an increasing need to sensitive the community on some of the common causal diseases which need to be diagnosed early enough to help administer the right treatment (Mbeh et al. 2010). Early treatment of some of these lifestyle-related diseases will contribute to eradicating premature deaths caused by cardiovascular disease. This condition is brought about by a substance like plaque which invades the walls of the arteries causing unprecedented build up which later narrows the blood pathway leading to clotting and subsequently causing a heart attack.
Theoretical Framework for Causal Treatment Initiative to Combat Cardiovascular Deaths
The transtheoretical model remains the preferred model to administer the intervention. Van and Heaney (1993) suggest that the use of theory offers a better approach to counteract resistance associated with health interventions. The first step involves pre-contemplation. Members of the community are introduced to the disease as well as various health risk factors. This is followed by contemplation where members of the community deeply digest some of the facts presented to them about the disease. Next, the members begin to prepare for the possible cause of action that will boost their health, they are at free will to suggest various prevention initiative and made it public. Action remains the fourth step where actual implementation is done upon the approval of the members of the community who has the final say regarding any initiative presented to them (National Cancer Institute 2005). This stage is characterized by diagnosis and treatment together with the adoption of healthy lifestyle practices that will contribute to quick healing and maintenance of good health practices.
Interpersonal Level Intervention
Implementation of the health intervention will adopt the interpersonal level relationship. Individual members of the society will interact with medical various medical practitioners in charge of administering treatment after diagnosis. The kind of treatment is reached following a successful discussion with the affected community members.
Change Theory Model
This model offers three-step approach, unfreezing, movement and refreezing that aim at achieving the much-desired success. In the past, treatment as an intervention has never been wholly accepted by members of the community due to mistrust and misinformation that always surrounds such initiative (Community tool box 2013). However, this model seems to tackle some of the past challenges that have crippled healthy initiatives meant to boost community health.
Concepts and Construct of the Model
The three main elements of the model are the unfreezing point, change and refreezing. The unfreezing point provides an individual with the opportunity to overcome past restrains concerning similar health intervention. Increased emphasis on driving forces will lead to quick change of thoughts which forms the second element, movement. This will facilitate full implementation of the intervention and refreezing will follow. Refreezing induces habitual behaviour towards the intervention. It prevents an individual from returning to unfreezing point. Successful unfreezing process will facilitate faster implementation as it will lead to faster response to change.
Social Construct of Health on the Intervention
The modern society dreads lifestyle related illnesses. Statistics continue to suggest that these type of diseases continue to claim more life prematurely and abruptly. Therefore, people suffering from any of these conditions are always advised to seek urgent treatment to improve their health status. It will be easier to implement the health intervention with the current societal approval of modern medication.
Rationalization for the Transtheoretical model and Social Change Theory
Today, much attention is being given to healthy practices owing to a high number of lifestyle diseases which continue to claim o many lives. The much-publicized awareness of the need to embrace certain approved health intervention provides a receptive audience that is likely to get absorbed in the five stage Transtheoretical model which compounds on social change theory. Most initiatives always fail due to lack of effective communication and rushed implementation that raises more doubts among individuals who would have otherwise accepted the initiative.
Bibliography
Community Tool Box, 2013 ‘Toolkit 12: Evaluating the Initiative’, Available at <http://ctb.ku.edu/en/evaluating-initiative> [Accessed 6 May 2016].
Mbeh, G., R. Edwards, G., Ngufor, F., Assah, L., Fezeu, & J. Mbanya, 2010 ‘Traditional Healers and Diabetes: Results from a Pilot Project to Train Traditional Healers to Provide Health Education and Appropriate Health Care Practices for Diabetes Patients in Cameroon’, Global Health Promotion, 17 (2) pp.17-26
National Cancer Institute, 2005 Theory at a Glance: A Guide for Health Promotion Practice, Bethesda, MD, USA: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, Available at <http://www.sneb.org/2014/Theory%20at%20a%20Glance.pdf> [Accessed 6 May 2016].
Van Ryn, M., & C. Heaney, 1992 ‘What's the Use of Theory’? Health Education and Behavior, 19 (3) pp.315-330
West, J. F., 2014 ‘Public Health Programme Planning Logic Model for Community Engaged Type 2 Diabetes Management and Prevention’,Evaluation and Programme Planning, 42 pp.43-49
