Introduction
Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in many parts of the world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 44 million youths in the United States smoke cigarettes. A large percentage of these individuals die from tobacco-related health conditions. Modern technologies are exposing many youths to risky behaviors (Clapham, Vafaie, & Bradford, 2011). Young people are easily encouraged to embrace various malpractices. Smoking is a major challenge because it affects the health conditions of many individuals. Smoking also affects the educational outcomes of many students. A powerful intervention strategy can be used to reduce the number of young smokers. This essay presents a powerful model that can produce positive outcomes.
Summary of the Intervention Plan
Human beings can “use a wide range of interventions to deal with smoking” (Eldein, Mansour, & Mohamed, 2013, p. 160). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers powerful intervention plans to help smokers. The proposed model has five steps. These steps include “public awareness, prevention, screening, behavior change & self-care, and evaluation” (Clapham et al., 2011, p. 4). The proposed health promotion model will ensure more individuals focus on the best health outcomes. Nurse Practitioners (NPs), psychologists, and community workers should be involved in this smoking cessation program.
Public Awareness
The success of every health promotion campaign depends on the knowledge of different members of the public. To begin with, the proposed smoking cessation approach will focus on different social needs. Different participants, NPs, medical practitioners, nurses, and social workers will analyze the issues associated with smoking. Members of the community will be informed about the smoking cessation campaign (Eldein et al., 2013). The information will also highlight the dangers of smoking. The approach will also identify the number of smokers in the targeted society. The population will be informed about the major diseases associated with smoking. The campaign will entail the use of powerful advertisements. Such adverts will sensitize more youths about the dangers of smoking.
Prevention
Statistics indicate that many youths start to smoke at a very tender age. For instance, many students in high school are introducing themselves to cigarettes. Such students are also encouraging their colleagues to embrace the malpractice. This behavior continues even after the learners join their respective colleges. The targeted youths also have access to different media technologies. This situation explains why such individuals have been embracing the vice. That being the case, a powerful prevention strategy is critical towards achieving the best outcomes (Clapham et al., 2011). Every television advert and program should highlight the dangers of smoking. The practice will ensure more individuals stay away from cigarettes.
Society should inform its children about the dangers of smoking. It is appropriate to identify the major risk factors associated with this behavior. The government should also collaborate with different agencies to produce the best results. Every packet of cigarettes should have “a legible warning detailing the dangers associated with smoking” (Eldein et al., 2013, p. 161). Parents, guardians, and teachers should also work together in order to discourage more children from smoking. Schools should educate their learners about the facts associated with smoking. These approaches will be critical towards reducing the number of smokers.
Screening
Studies indicate that many American youths are already purchasing cigarettes. A powerful anti-smoking campaign is needed to support the needs of these patients. The proposed intervention plan should attract and encourage more individuals to stop smoking (Eldein et al., 2013). The targeted patients should be assessed in order to come up with the best intervention measures (Clapham et al., 2011). Doctors, physiatrists, and NPs should collect the required data from these patients during the assessment stage. Nurses should examine the level of tobacco irritation. They should also carry out physical examinations to understand the level of addiction (Johns et al., 2010). Nicotine levels should also be examined using FTND. NPs should make “new tests such as family history and prevalence of respiratory diseases” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 286). Diseases such as cancer should also be screened.
NPs should use effective interventions to help every patient after identifying the health issues affecting their patients. For instance, individuals with lung cancer and other respiratory complications should receive the right medical attention. Doctors and caregivers can also prescribe different medications to help their patients. Some of the best medicines include “Bupropion, Nicotine Gum, and Varenicline Tartrate” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 286). Psychiatrists can also offer the required support to their patients. Counseling is also relevant because it supports the psychological needs of many smokers. Some health institutions encourage their patients to join several groups for effective therapies. Members of the family should also be encouraged to support the health needs of these smokers. These measures will encourage more people to quit smoking. Every community should consider the appropriateness of this stage in order to get the best health results.
Behavior Change and Self-care
This fourth stage is critical because it determines the success of the targeted intervention strategy. The first three stages focus on different cohorts in society. This fourth stage supports the needs of different groups. For instance, members of society can change their behaviors regarding the use of cigarettes. This behavioral change will discourage more youths from using cigarettes. The targeted youths can also get proper education and counseling from qualified professionals. This new behavior will discourage them from using cigarettes. Patients recovering from smoking should also embrace powerful behaviors in order to get the targeted results (Eldein et al., 2013). For instance, NPs should ensure their patients drink different fluids such as water. Smokers who want to quit smoking can also engage in better activities. Such activities should be pleasing to produce the best outcomes. Every patient “should embrace powerful activities that can reduce stress” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 287). Some “of the best practices include bathing, riding, reading, and exercising” (Wadland et al., 2007, p. 136). Individuals “who want to quit smoking should stay away from smokers” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 287).
Nurses should “form new groups compromised of smokers with similar objectives” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 287). The practice will result in group therapy. The intervention model also requires health facilities to use powerful programs that can support the behavioral needs of the targeted patients. People should use powerful self-care approaches in order to get the best outcomes. For instance, they should drink water frequently. The targeted patients should take their medications regularly. They should “seek medical attention for any health complication arising from smoking” (Johns et al., 2010, p. 286). Such self-help practices will ensure the targeted smokers achieve their health objectives. Non-smokers should also embrace the best values to avoid the vice completely (Johns et al., 2010).
Evaluation
This step is effective for smokers, medical practitioners, and communities. Every community can evaluate the goals attained after implementing the above plan. Communities should examine the effectiveness of different anti-smoking programs. They should measure their goals using different statistics. The gathered data will establish the number of individuals who have managed to quit smoking. This approach will encourage such communities to promote the best practices. Nurse Practitioners should also evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches (Wadland et al., 2007). They should also measure the success of their efforts. This goal can be achieved by examining the number of patients who have been able to quit smoking. They can also examine the health results obtained by their respective patients.
Smokers can also evaluate their self-care and behavioral changes. Such smokers can “identify their goals and examine whether they have achieved them or not” (Wadland et al., 2007, p. 138). The next practice is identifying new behaviors that can produce the best outcomes. The government should also evaluate the effectiveness of its policies. The important goal is reducing the number of smokers in the country. New statistics should be presented annually to understand the dangers of cigarettes. These statistics will encourage more communities and smokers to evaluate their positions. The practice will eventually promote powerful strategies that can address the problem of smoking in America. In conclusion, the smoking cessation strategy will support the health needs of different communities. The strategy can also deal with the problem of smoking in every society.
Reference List
Clapham, D., Vafaie, M., & Bradford, K. (2011). Effective Smoking Cessation Strategies in Primary Care: A Rapid Review of the Evidence. Web.
Eldein, H., Mansour, N., & Mohamed, S. (2013). Knowledge, Attitude and Practice of Family Physicians Regarding Smoking Cessation Counseling in Family Practice Centers, Suez Canal University, Egypt. Journal of Family Medicine and Primacy Care, 2(2), 159-163.
Johns, T., Lawrence, P., Martini, L., Dunn, G., Thompson, Z., & Zwygart, K. (2010). Smoking Cessation in Family Medicine: Effects of an Area Health Education Center Training Program. Journal of Graduate Medical Education, 1(1), 283-288.
Wadland, W., Holtrop, J., Weismantel, D., Pathak, P., Fadel, H., & Powell, J. (2007). Practice-Based Referrals to a Tobacco Cessation Quit Line: Assessing the Impact of Comparative Feedback vs General Reminders. Annals of Family Medicine, 5(1), 135-142.