Community Assessment of cancer in Atlanta Health care management requires a team approach. Physicians rely on nurses, allied health professionals, and supp

Community Assessment of cancer in Atlanta Health care management requires a team approach. Physicians rely on nurses, allied health professionals, and support staff in order to deliver the best health care possible to patients. Similarly, health care administrators rely on their staff, community, and policymakers to provide the best programs and initiatives to serve their targeted populations. In this last Discussion, your role is to function as a management team member for your colleagues. Review your colleagues’ Community Needs Assessment Summaries, providing constructive feedback for their recommended initiatives.Post a summary of your Community Needs Assessment. Include the rationale for your Final Project, as well as three insights that you have gained while working on it. Pilot Program and Evaluation
Darren Floyd
Walden University
Dr. Forbes
January 19, 2019
Description of the proposed program developed in Weeks 3 and 6
Earlier on, I proposed a program that sought to compare Atlanta with the entire
United States, with the main objectives of this plan being:
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To accurately define the demographic viewpoint of Atlanta and comparing it with the
entire U.S
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To deliberate on the emerging and current population concerns in the U.S
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To explore to the maximum, the impact and scope of the spread of cancer in the U.S
The objectives can be achieved by carrying out the following activities: Visiting the
site, which is the city itself, to conduct an active qualitative and quantitative analysis
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Seeking more information from relevant secondary sources
The plan, just like any other, has its strengths and limitations. The factors that add to
the weight of the merits of this plan are the fact that the use of both qualitative and quantitative
research methods give an almost realistic depiction of the actual situation on the ground. Also,
more adequate results can be achieved by analyzing real people affected by cancer. Its
weaknesses could arise when the executors practice prejudice and bias. The Atlanta’s massive
population may also pose a challenge during the assessment.
A variety of opportunities that surfaced as a result of the plan such as the chance to
explore the socio-economic factors affecting a population with regards to cancer. It also presents
the opportunity to access if or how the LGBT community is impacted by cancer. The plan has,
however, had its share of threats that seek to sweep it off its feet. Such are the cases of
inadequate and undependable secondary sources.
Description of the proposed pilot program
The Depiction of a small scale program that will help to determine the feasibility of the final
project
The pilot program should commence with a smaller sized program that mimics the
final greater one. The purpose of this undertaking is to measure and to theoretically determine
the ease with which the final program will be carried, along with the conventionality of the
activities. In this case, it will involve only a small part of the greater Atlanta city. Given the
many estates located within (Hirsh, 2019), the estate of choice will be Buckhead Atlanta. The
program is to take no more than a week but should span for at least five days.
There should be a systematic progression that will take place from neighborhood to
neighborhood. Different teams will take different routes, which implies different neighborhoods,
to save on time and avoid possibilities of overlapping or confusion. The choice of specific homes
to visit is to be chosen randomly to minimize bias.
The survey should begin at 8 am, followed by a short half an hour break at 10 am.
Another break will occur at 1 pm for lunch, and at 2 pm all teams should resume up to 4 pm. By
this time, it is expected that teams allocated to the small neighborhoods like the Memorial Park
and the Brookwood Hills have completely been covered. As for the larger sized hoods like the
Sandy Springs, at least a quarter should have been completed.
A description of how many participants, staff, volunteers, and organizations will be
involved
The variety of personnel dictates the success of the program. The staff required for
this activity is approximately 70 in number. Among them, there should be about ten medical
personnel, who are well conversant with the cancer disease. The rest should divide their duties
into those who will record the data acquired, the interviewers who will have a one on one
conversation with the people being interrogated, and about eight drivers who will aid in moving
around the city. A volunteer population of up to 2,000, or about 400 households, may be
sufficient enough, since very few people may not give comprehensive results and outcomes,
while too many of them will lead to both time and economic constraints. The organizations that
may be of help during the process are such as The Atlanta Regional Office, which is responsible
for all data collection, distribution and geographic operations based on the current service area
boundaries.
A description of the proposed evaluation of the pilot program including the Six Sigma tool to
improve the proposed piloted processes
The evaluation step of the program is as important as the carrying out of the program
itself. It ensures that the whole process is not undertaken in vain. It can be done through the
application of the Six Sigma technique. It employs five main principles namely define, measure,
analyze, improve and control; which is the DMAIC methodology (“Six Sigma | DMAIC
Methodology | Quality-One”, 2019).
These five phases should be undertaken as shown below.
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Define- This is where the system needs to be stated, including what the population under
study requires as well as the project goals
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Measure- Key aspects of the existing process should be quantified and the relevant data
collected. Here, the ‘as-is’ Process Capability is to be calculated.
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Analyze- An analysis of the data is crucial for the investigation and verification of causeand-effect relationships.
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Improve- Optimize the present process based on various techniques such as the design of
experiments or mistake proofing, which work to create a greater state process in the
future.
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Control- in the future state process, make sure that previous deviations from the target are
corrected. Such can be achieved by implementing control systems like statistical process
control and visual workstations.
An alternative evaluation process- The use of interviews
Conducting interviews could be another effective and less technical means of
conducting an evaluation process. They go a long way in acquiring a large pool of opinions both
from the volunteers and the staff.
It may compose of open-ended questions such as:
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How would you describe the entire efficiency of the process?
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Are there any improvements that could be made in the final program?
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Was the number of staff sufficient to carry out the activity?
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What do you think concerning the timeframe allocated?
Description of what other health care organizations and nongovernmental organizations have
done to address your initiative
Several cancer organizations are based in Georgia. One of them is the American Lung
Association in Georgia in the state aimed at improving lung health and prevent the spread of lung
cancer. Another one is the American Bladder Cancer Society. It is one of the non-profit
organizations that gives online support and provides information on blood cancer. The Breast
Cancer Survivors’ network, Inc. It was started by volunteers and is now a non-profit organization
that seeks to provide free programs, services, and supplies to the uninsured breast-cancer patients
in the Georgian region (“Georgia Cancer Organizations | GCI”, 2019).
References
Website
Georgia Cancer Organizations | GCI. (2019). Retrieved from
https://www.georgiacancerinfo.org/georgia-cancer-organizations.aspx
Website
Hirsh, B. (2019). A Map of All Buckhead Neighborhoods – Buckhead. Retrieved from
https://www.buckhead.com/a-map-of-all-buckhead-neighborhoods/
Website
Six Sigma | DMAIC Methodology | Quality-One. (2019). Retrieved from https://qualityone.com/six-sigma/
Submitted by:
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Cancer is the second leading cause of death in
the US.
It is estimated that the disease will be the leading
cause of death in the US by 2020.
1.5 million people are diagnosed with the disease
every year, a third of which die.
Atlanta has a similar demographic outlook like
the greater US.
Population under the age of 5, ethnic
background, education levels and income levels
among many other factors are replicated in
Atlanta as it is in the US.
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The plan’s main objectives are:
To accurately describe the demographic outlook of Atlanta in
comparison to the entire US.
❖ To discuss emerging and current population issues, trends and
overall concerns.
To fully explore the impact and extent of the spread of cancer in the
US.
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These objectives will be mainly achieved by:
❖ Visiting the city and conducting active qualitative and quantitative
analysis
❖ Conducting further research via secondary sources,.
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The qualitative and quantitative research
methods will give a realistic data on the
actual situation on the ground.
The secondary data research would inform on
what to expect during the study.
Analyzing real people that are affected by
cancer increases the chance of developing
adequate, real-life socially acceptable
mitigation efforts as compared to just pure
scientific research.
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The executors of the research may be blinded
by bias and prejudices.
Atlanta’s population may be too big to be
explored in one assessment activity.
The assessment plan is too general (different
forms of cancer and an extremely diverse
population).
The activity might be expensive and time
consuming.
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The main opportunities presented by the
assessment plan is a chance to explore
socio-economic factors affecting a
population regarding cancer.
It offers an opportunity to explore how (or if)
the LGBT community is affected by the spread
of the disease.
It offers an opportunity to explore the
community’s opinion, perceptions (or
misconceptions) regarding cancer.
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Inadequate and unreliable secondary data
sources.
Bias and prejudice by people executing the
plan.
The possibility of inadequate resources to
effectively travel to Atlanta and execute the
plan.
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Nutrition, exercise, substance abuse, sufficient
sleep and general lifestyle choices impact the
spread of cancer.
Poor communities are mostly affected by
substance abuse and poor diet, which may
increase their cancer prevalence rates.
Limited access to healthcare may also increase
cancer prevalence rates among poor
communities.
Wealthy or otherwise middle class communities
may also be affected by trends of over
indulgence which may increase prevalence of the
same.
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The direct financial consequences include:
Cost of conducting the assessment, travelling, conducting interviews
and the like.
❖ Cost of raising awareness on the need to live healthcare lifestyles
among the Atlanta population.
The indirect financial consequences include:
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Increased expenditure on cancer screening and diagnosis avenues.
❖ Increased spending on healthier food as opposed to substance
abuse.
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Center for disease control (2018). Retrieved from:
https://www.cdc.gov/ nchs/pressroom/states/
georgia/georgia.htm
Frey, W. H. (2018). Diversity explosion: How new racial
demographics are remaking America. Brookings Institution Press.
Hannah Nichols (2017). The top 10 leading causes of death in
the United States. Retrieved from:
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/282929.php
Informplease (2018). Demographic Statistics for Atlanta, Georgia.
Retrieved from:
https://www.infoplease.com/us/georgia/demographicstatistics-2
Stonehouse, D. (2018). SWOT: what is it all about and how do
you use it?. British Journal Of Healthcare Assistants, 12(12), 617619. doi: 10.12968/bjha.2018.12.12.617

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