Fitness Camp for Florida Children

📄 Words:	1125
📝 Subject:	Public Health
📑 Pages:	4
📚 Topics:	Childhood Obesity

Cover Letter

Currently, the communities in the United States face many health-related problems. Childhood obesity is one of the most burning issues which demand a solution. Thus, the obesity rates vary from 19.2% in Utah to 37.7% in Tennessee (“Study of children ages 10 to 17 (2016),” 2016). Nationwide, the average of 31.2% of adolescents is overweight or obese, which makes almost one-third. It is a dangerous situation because overweight and obesity frequently result in other more complicated health problems including heart disease and diabetes. Therefore, there is a need for change and stimulation of healthy habits of young Americans.

Florida is one of the states with the highest obesity rates (36.6%). The suggested project involves the adolescent population of the most populous community in Florida – Miami-Dade County. The project under consideration suggests an intervention, which is expected to improve health habits of the adolescent population, popularize active lifestyle, and fight the problem of adolescent obesity. It involves participants in a fitness camp where they can get professional advice on nutrition, physical activity, and psychological aspects of obesity, which are frequently underestimated. Moreover, the participants will be under control of professional nurses, which guarantees their safety. The major advantage of this project compared to the existing interventions is its practical character. It provides adolescents with practical skills and experience of healthy lifestyles, activity, and healthy eating.

Narrative

Evaluation of the Community

Miami-Dade County is the community for this project. According to the data provided by the US Census Bureau, the population of the county as of July 1, 2017, was 2,751,796 people (“Quick facts,” 2017). There is a slight increase in population (compared to 2,712,945 people as of July 1, 2016). Therefore, it is a growing community. The population of interest comprises adolescents from 10 to 18. In this community, young people aged from 6 to 18 make more than one-fifth (20.3%) of the population (“Quick facts,” 2017). The correlation of male and female population is almost equal with a slight prevalence of women.

One of the prevalent chronic diseases in the community is heart disease. Thus, there were 156.9 deaths per 100,000 of the population in 2011 (“Miami-Dade County. MAPP 2013-2018,” 2013). HIV and AIDS rates are higher than those in Florida as a whole. For example, HIV prevalence is 50.3 per 100,000, and that of AIDS is 28.5 (“Miami-Dade County. MAPP 2013-2018,” 2013). The incidence of tuberculosis is comparatively low (6.2 per 100,000) but still higher if compared to the state as a whole. Finally, obesity is one of the chronic health conditions typical of the community. Florida is the fourth state in the country by the prevalence of overweight and obese children aged 10 to 17 with 36.6% of obese and overweight children (“Study of children ages 10 to 17 (2016),” 2016).

Median household income for the county is $43,786, and the poverty rate is 20% (“Miami-Dade County, FL,” 2015). The strengths of the community include its relatively young median age, a large amount of Medicare reimbursement, and warm climate throughout the year. The weaknesses comprise lower median household income if compared to that of the state and the country, higher poverty rate, and high prevalence of chronic and infectious diseases.

Problem Statement

One of the significant problems faced by the state of Florida as a whole and Miami-Dade County in particular is adolescent overweight and obesity. The problem is caused by the lack of activity among adolescents, poor diet, and overall adult obesity. It is a global problem for the United States because the prevalence of obesity among young people aged 12-19 is the highest (20.6%) compared to the average of 18.5% for children from 2 to 19 (“State of childhood obesity. Overview,” 2016). Thus, there is a need for a project, which would focus on the obesity problem and suggest its effective solution.

Project Description

The proposed program provides a service of a fitness camp. It targets adolescents aged 10 to 18. During its pilot launch, the project can serve 50 people per month. In case the launch is successful, and the evaluation proves its effectiveness, the service will increase the number of clients involved and will reach a minimum of 1000 a month throughout the county.

The project goals are:

Monitor the obesity rate in the community
Provide information support for individuals with obesity
Organize fitness camp to help obese adolescents in improving their diet and obtaining healthy habits including sport.

Community partnerships for this project include involvement of community healthcare facilities to receive data about adolescents with obesity and educational institutions (to conduct surveys).

The program is not duplicating the existing community services because they are mainly aimed at educating staff members of childcare centers, revision of children menus, the creation of sports facilities and recreation objects, and the inclusion of sport into school curriculum (“Miami-Dade County, Florida. Obesity prevention,” 2013).

Timetable for implementation

Planning	1 week
Personnel training	2 weeks
Pre-launch surveys	5 days
Selection of participants	1-2 weeks
Project implementation	30 days
Project evaluation	6 months

This timetable is developed for the pilot launch of the project. In case it proves to be effective, it can be continued for two or three-year period.

Project Evaluation

Project evaluation will be conducted after the pilot launch. It will comprise both qualitative and quantitative parts. Qualitative evaluation will include survey involving the project participants and their parents or caregivers. They are expected to express their impressions about the project and possible ways of improvement. Quantitative evaluation will be based on measurements of the participants before and after participation in the project (height, weight, and body mass index). The evaluation will be provided by an authorized agency. There will be two evaluations, one after the project completion and the second one in a six-months’ period to assess the effectiveness of the project. The evaluation results will be used for further grant proposals and research on the problem of adolescent obesity.

Budget

Personnel Project manager 4 nurses Nutritionist Psychologist 3 sports instructors	$7,200 per month $21,600 per month $7,200 per month $7,200 per month $21,600 per month	The personnel will be hired for the two months of the pilot launch. The salary is calculated taking the average salary of $30 per hour for all the specialists. Nurses take 12-hour shifts while other employees work 8 hours a day.
Equipment	$200,000	Equipment section includes sporting and camping equipment as per specifications.
Supplies	$5,000	Includes office supplies, educational materials for the personnel and participants.
Total (for two months)	$334,600

In case the evaluation proves the effectiveness of the project, long-term funding plans will include salary for the employees depending on the number of participants. The current budget is calculated to provide competent personnel for 50 participants during one month of the project implementation and about one month of preparation.