Immunizations in Miami: Health Promotion Plan

Dependence of health outcomes on people’s awareness

• Information and knowledge for awareness-building
• Infections’ threats for health
• Children as a vulnerable population
• Access to healthcare
• Advancement of the contemporary medical industry

Note: The knowledge and information one might obtain about health issues contribute to raising awareness about the risk factors and shape health-related behaviors. While adults are responsible for their health choices, children constitute a vulnerable population whose health needs must be addressed with particular care. The overall improved access to healthcare and the advancement of the contemporary medical industry provides multiple opportunities to obtain the most effective health outcomes.

History of immunization

• Development of vaccines
• Measles, polio, and smallpox
• Controlling opportunities
• Favorable outcomes

Note: In the twentieth century, the development of vaccines has enabled the prevention of the spread of such infections as measles, polio, and smallpox (Bowling, 2018). Vaccines have allowed controlling epidemics and have provided favorable outcomes for public health.

Immunization problem in contemporary society

• People are unwilling to be vaccinated
• Global trends in the avoiding of immunization
• Age-specific patterns in immunization attitudes
• Threats of insufficient immunization
• Public health system concerns

Note: Contemporary people have diminished trust in vaccination and tend to avoid this procedure. This is a global trend affecting multiple countries, including the USA (Hotez, 2019). There is an age-specific pattern observed in immunization attitudes, where new generations, especially young parents, refuse vaccination, thus exposing themselves and their children to infection threats. Moreover, this is a public health concern since the insufficient immunization of the public might lead to pandemics and severe complications of larger populations.

Ways to address the problem of insufficient immunization

• Promotional interventions
• Educational interventions for patients
• School-based education
• Healthcare institutions’ awareness of raising
• Age-specific approach

Note: To eliminate the problem, such measures might be used as promotional interventions, educational interventions for patients, school-based education, and healthcare institutions’ awareness-raising. However, given the new generation’s reluctance to be involved in immunization, particular attention should be paid to educating young parents and future parents, who are students now.

Populations targeted by the planned educational sessions

• Young parents as a target audience
• Middle-school students
• High-school students
• New generations

Note: Since youth tends to be less inclined to immunize their children, the target populations should include young parents, middle-school students, high-school students, and new generations. These populations are expected to be change agents in the future.

Facilities for awareness-raising

• Schools
• Colleges
• Healthcare centers
• Hospitals
• Other educational facilities

Note: Given the breadth of the issues, the facilities where the awareness-raising campaigns should be initiated must include schools, colleges, healthcare centers, hospitals, and other educational facilities (Powell et al., 2019).

Educational sessions goals

• Raise awareness of non-immunization rate
• Educate on health threats
• Inform about the infectious disease spreading
• Disseminate knowledge about mechanism and outcomes
• Ultimately increase immunization rate

Note: The essential goals of the educational incentives include raising awareness of the non-immunization rate, educating youngsters on health threats, informing them about the infectious disease spreading, disseminating knowledge about the mechanism and outcomes of vaccination. Ultimately, it is expected to contribute to the increase in the immunization rate.

Possible mediators of information

• Meetings
• Handouts
• Website publications and infographics
• Educational sessions
• Posters and advertisement

Note: The possible mediators of the promotional and educational information should include meetings, handouts, website publications and infographics, educational sessions, and posters and advertisements.

The information obtained from the educational sessions

• Miami-based and global trends
• Symptoms and treatment
• Threats and hazards
• Myths and common fears

Note: The participants will obtain information about the trends in immunization in Miami and on a global scale. They will also be informed about the symptoms and treatment of infectious diseases, the threats related to the lack of immunization in childhood, and common myths and fears that prevent parents from immunizing their children.

Educators’ roles in the success of the sessions

• Age-appropriate comprehensive materials
• Facilitation of understanding
• Simple language usage
• Knowledge orientation
• Facilitation of motivation

Note: The educators should provide age-appropriate and comprehensive materials that would facilitate the understanding of the issue. The educators must use simple terms that would be oriented on knowledge-building that would ultimately motivate parents to vaccinate their children.

Anticipated session outcomes

• Access to general information
• Fears and concerns addressed
• Questions answered
• Elevated level of trust
• Positive influence on future choices

Note: The participants will obtain information about the trends in vaccination. Some of their fears and concerns will be addressed. They will be able to get answers to their questions. The level of trust toward vaccination will be elevated and future choices will be influenced.

Possible changes to the session

• More statistics
• Enhanced participant inclusion
• Illustrative materials
• In-depth discussion of particular health concerns.

Note: The changes that might benefit the educational session might include more statistical data, enhanced participant inclusion, additional materials for illustration of the points, and a more in-depth discussion of particular health concerns.

Changes’ potential for improvement of future outcomes

• Connection to real world
• Ability to participate
• Grasp information by more means
• Thorough understanding of the direct personal impact

Note: The future outcomes of the educational sessions will be improved due to the proposed changes since they will allow the participants to connect the information to the real-world situation and actively participate. Also, they will be able to grasp information via more means and personally perceive the scope of impact of the lack of immunization.

Alignment with Healthy People 2020

• Increase the percentage of immunized children
• Increase the percentage of immunized adults
• Reduce new infections cases
• Maintain vaccination coverage in kindergartens

Note: The health promotion plan is aligned with the objectives of Healthy People 2020. It enhances the achievement of the goals of an increased percentage of immunization in children and adults, the reduction of new cases of infections, and maintaining of vaccination coverage in kindergartens (“Immunization,” n. d.).

Concluding points

• Importance of immunization
• Necessity of threats awareness
• New generation as a target population
• Continuous improvements
• Alignment with Healthy People 2020 goals

Note: In conclusion, the current situation with insufficient immunization threatens the public health systems. New parents are the target population since they are the change agents for future generations’ health outcomes. However, educational sessions must be continuously improved to maintain a high level of public awareness and achieve Healthy People 2020 immunization goals.

References

Bowling, A. M. (2018). Immunizations – nursing interventions to enhance vaccination rates. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 42, 126-128. Web.

Healthy People 2020. (n. d.). Immunization and infectious diseases [Data set]. Web.

Hotez, P. J. (2019). Immunizations and vaccines: A decade of successes and reversals, and a call for ‘vaccine diplomacy’. International Health, 11(5), 331-333. Web.

Powell, C., Nunery, C., Hays, S., & Curry, K. (2019). Moving childhood immunizations out of the public health setting: Effects on immunization rates. Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice, 21(1), 21-28. Web.