RESPONSES PRACTICUM DISCUSSION W4 Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings

RESPONSES PRACTICUM DISCUSSION W4

Read two or more of your colleagues’ postings from the Discussion question. As a community of practice, help each other refine and clarify the health problem remembering that this project focuses on primary prevention strategies at the community and system level of care.

Respond to at least two colleagues. Your responses should be substantial and should contribute ideas, tools, alternate points of view, resources, and information related to identified health problems.

For all posts, be sure to use evidence from the readings and include in-text citations. Avoid quotes; paraphrase to incorporate evidence into your own writing. A reference list is required. Use the most current evidence (usually ≤ 5 years old).

Response 1

J. Mayfair

RE: Group B Practicum Discussion – Week 4

COLLAPSE

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Reducing sexually transmitted diseases among people experiencing homelessness.

The proper use of condoms is a safe, effective, low-cost way to reduce the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases. The cost of a condom is a very small investment considering the millions of dollars saved that would be needed to treat infections such as HIV (Renaud et al, 2009).

There are many factors that influence whether condoms are used in a sexual encounter. These include attitudes about condoms, whether the relationship is monogamous, fear of pregnancy, drug or alcohol use, and whether an individual perceives their partner as someone who could give them an STD, to name a few (Kennedy et. al., 2015). But clearly, condoms cannot be used if they are not available. The Free Condom Initiative increased condom distribution by 11.5 million in New York City between 2004 and 2006 (Levitan, 2008). Condoms were strategically distributed to places frequented by people experiencing homelessness and other high-risk groups (methadone clinics, homeless shelters, gay bars) to increase the chances that condoms were available to people if they wanted them.

The outcome I expect from this type of intervention would be to see a big increase in the availability of condoms. I would expect that anybody off the street could have quick and easy access to condoms whenever they wanted. In order to measure the results of the Free Condom Initiative, researchers conducted interviews at the above-mentioned locations and asked the patrons directly whether they were able to access condoms there. At eighteen needle-exchange sites, for example, patrons were interviewed and 97% said that condoms were available there (Levitan, 2008).

I believe that by distributing free condoms and making them easily available, it would at least clear one of the major barriers to condom use – lack of availability. If I was to engage in a condom distribution program, I think it would be important to know that people are actually receiving them, and I think conducting interviews would the easiest and most straight-forward way to do it.

References

Kennedy, D. P., Brown, R. A., Morrison, P., Vie, L., Ryan, G. W., & Tucker, J. S. (2015). Risk evaluations and condom use decisions of homeless youth: a multi-level qualitative investigation. BMC Public Health, 15(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-015-1419-9

Levitan, D. (2008). Condom distribution program increased availability, acquisition and use. Infectious Disease News, June 2008. Retrieved from https://www.healio.com/news/infectious-disease/20120225/condom-distribution-program-increased-availability-acquisition-and-use

Renaud, T. C., Bocour, A., Irvine, M. K., Bernstein, K. T., Begier, E. M., Sepkowitz, K. A., Kellerman, S. E., & Weglein, D. (2009). The free condom initiative: promoting condom availability and use in New York City. Public health reports (Washington, D.C. : 1974), 124(4), 481–489. https://doi.org/10.1177/003335490912400404

Response 2:

M. Maurer 

RE: Group B Practicum Discussion – Week 4

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Tragically, about 95% of today’s tobacco users started using before the age of 21. E-cigarettes have escalated this problem, with over 5,700 kids starting to vape every day. Many teens are unaware of the long-lasting effects nicotine can have on the developing brain. (American Lung Association, 2021). Vaping has become popular especially among adolescent populations, despite the fact that they were originally developed as a tobacco cessation tool (Hamberger & Halpern-Felsher, 2020).

Identify one evidence-based behavior change that would promote health in your selected population. Teenagers can overcome their addictions to nicotine through willpower and assistance from supportive family and friends. One way to promote health in my selected population is by getting them involved with activities that will distract them from their addiction. A program that was implemented by the Yale School of Medicine allowed teens from 3 different middle schools to participate in playing a virtual reality game that was designed to help teens learn about the dangers of e-cigarettes and practice strategies for refusing them (Backman, 2021). By encouraging teens to use their own voices in simulated situations, the researchers hoped they would become better prepared to face real world scenarios. To assess whether participants retained information from the game, researchers administered another survey immediately after the teens finished playing. Their findings suggested that teens that played the VR game had a better understanding of e-cigarettes, nicotine addiction, and the harmfulness of vaping (Backman, 2021). These improvements lasted even six months after the teens finished the VR simulation.

This evidence-based study proved that if you offer teens an alternative activity that allows them to change their own behavioral techniques, a positive outcome will result. The CEO of Truth Initiative spoke about teenage vaping, stating that, “You can’t frighten people into changing their behavior. It doesn’t work in losing weight, it doesn’t work in exercise, and it doesn’t work here (McFadden & Abou-Sabe, 2019).”

Suggest one specific culturally sensitive, evidence-based, measurable intervention to address the health problem for your selected population.

After offering teens alternative activities to deter them from vaping in their free time, it is important to have a measurable outcome. By implementing the virtual reality program that will help teens focus on the negative aspects associated with vaping, we can continue to conduct surveys on students to see if the VR program is benefitting them. The virtual reality game can be implemented for use in schools as well as after school when teens are more likely to engage in vaping. It can be used by children of any age. We know that early intervention is key, so the earlier that children are being educated about the dangers of vaping, the more likely we are able to stop the problem before it occurs.

Think in terms of measuring outcomes. What outcomes would you expect to see once the intervention(s) are in place? Be specific. After placing my interventions, I would expect to see an increase in the number of students who are choosing to play the virtual reality game, as well as a decrease in the number of students who are choosing to vape. By conducting surveys, I can look at percentages of students who think that the video game is helping them overcome the desire to vape and see if any of them quit or would be more willing to quit. Surveys are a great resource because they can be conducted at any time and can be anonymous. Teens will not feel pressured to answer a certain way.

American Lung Association (2021). N-O-T: Not on tobacco—proven teen smoking and vaping cessation program.

Backman, I. (2021). Virtual reality game is an effective tool for vaping prevention among teens. Yale School of Medicine.

Hamberger, E. S., & Halpern-Felsher, B. (2020). Vaping in adolescents: epidemiology and respiratory harm. Current opinion in pediatrics, 32(3), 378–383. https://doi.org/10.1097/MOP.0000000000000896

McFadden, C., & Abou-Sabe, K. (2019). New program launched to help curb teen vaping epidemic. https://www.nbcnews.com/health/kids-health/new-program-launched-help-curb-teen-vaping-epidemic-n960371  

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