A Comparison of Health Promotion Planning Models

Health promotion programs that initiate and sustain health behavior change never occur by coincidence, however, are because of a systematic approach to understanding the aspects which influence transformation in groups as well as persons. To establish an effective program, a program planner has to employ a model or a framework which guarantees that the projected outcomes will be accomplished. The goal of health promotion planning is to intervene to improve the health of communities and individuals. Program planning models, therefore, serve to guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of a particular health promotion program. A planning model is a blueprint for creating as well as improving programs. This paper will discuss the PRECEDE-PROCEED model and CDCynergy model and compare and contrast their strengths and weaknesses.

PRECEDE –PROCEED, Model

The model is a complete design for evaluating health needs for developing, implementing and assessing health promotion programs to accomplish those needs (Crosby and Noar, 2011). PRECEDE offers the framework to plan a focused as well as a public health program. The model offers a framework for evaluating and implementing the public health program. PROCEED represents Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation. On the other hand, PROCEED represents Regulatory and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development.

Crosby and Noar (2011) states that PRECEDE-PROCEED was established mainly to be used in public health. The model supports community involvement in order to make sure that the community buys in as well as support that is necessary and assist to sustain behavior change. The model concentrates on the community as the source of health promotion. The model has various assumptions on the community issues, promotion of health and preventing a disease. Some of these assumptions involve by nature, health is a community issue, and health is beyond the absence of injury, illness or disease and more than physical well-being.

Phases of PRECEDE –PROCEED model

Phase 1. Social Assessment: It entails defining the quality of life of the target populace. This is achieved best through involving the members of the community. Overall information of the quality of life concerning happiness, welfare, discrimination, crime, unemployment, comfort, alienation and achievement. Identify the needs as well as social problems of a specific populace and identify anticipated outcomes.

Phase2. Epidemiological Assessment: Determine factors that determine health issue identified then set goals and priorities. Utilize data to in the course of identifying and prioritizing the health issues which contribute to the needs defined in the previous phase. That is environmental and behavioral aspects, genetic, mortality statistics, mortality, and disability (Crosby and Noar, 2011).

Phase 3. Ecological assessment: Examine environmental as well as behavioral determinants which reinforce, predispose as well as enable the lifestyles or behavior are pinpointed. Predisposing factor includes perceptions, values, attitudes, beliefs and knowledge which hinder or facilitate motivation of a person to change. Reinforcing factors include rewards and feedback received after a change in behavior which discourages or encourage the continuance of the behavior. Enabling factors involves vehicles and barriers built by societal systems and forces. For instance, development of skills, enactment of laws and rules, transfer to appropriate providers, availability of resources and access to health care facilities.

Phase 4: Assessment of Policy and Administrative and Intervention Alignment: Administrative Policy Assessment, the availability of the resources as well as capabilities to assist in the development and implementation of the program. Identify the existing policies which are relevant to the issue and the needed policies. Intervention Alignment, matching interventions and strategies with anticipated outcomes and changes.

Phase 5. Implementation: Design interventions, assess availability of resources, and implement program.

Phase 6. Process Evaluation: Assessing the quality as well as the availability of the program. That include materials, time allotments, methods, content, quality of instructors and number of participants.

Phase 7: Impact Evaluation: Assessing transformations in behaviors, attitudes and knowledge of participants of the program following the program (Crosby and Noar, 2011).

Phase 8: Outcome Evaluation: Identifying whether there is a rise in the determined positive behavior, commonness of the identified negative behavior or a decrease in the incidence.

CDCynergy Model

CDCynergy is an interactive training and decision-support tool that was developed by the Office of Communication at CDC in 1997. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2004) states that the model was designed to assist the health professionals and staff of the CDC to plan communication programs within the context of health methodically. It permits users to systematically amass the bits of a health communication plan by responding to queries in a particular order.

CDC program managers are assisted by NCHM (The National Center for Health Marketing) health communication personnel at CDC to research as well as develop health communication programs. Through CDCynergy training workshops, organizations outside CDC and CDC work together when the resources allow diffusing the best practices of the organization in health communication. Regularly it is conducted in partnership with particular areas of CDC program, for instance, Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Program at CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004). The phases and steps of this model are nearly similar to those of PRECEDE-PROCEED model, even though CDCynergy evidently emphasized business and marketing communication notions which involve targeted communication strategies, segmentation principles and population feedback. The CDCynergy model stresses a process which entails below actions:

• Use of research to define as well as determine the factors which contribute to the health problem.
• Defining the persons affected by the health issue
• Evaluating various approaches to tackle the problem or the issue at hand
• Establishing a complete communication plan which involves launch, production, pretesting, research as well as the audience.
• Planning for and carrying out activities of evaluation all through the whole process

Phases of CDCynergy (McKenzie, Neiger and Thackeray, 2012)

Phase1. Describe the problem: Identifying then defining health issues which your program intervention may address. Determine the audience that is being affected by the issue and assess the aspects which would impact the direction of the project. In this phase, health promotion planners utilize descriptive epidemiological data and evaluate the probability of triumph through carrying out SWOT analysis (threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths).

Phase2: Analyzing the problems: Identify the cause of every issue to be tackled. Set objectives for every issue and choose the kinds of intervention which ought to be employed to tackle the problems. Also, it is recommended to consider the program budget at this phase.

Phase3. Plan Intervention: Determine whether communication is the support for the intervention or the main intervention. Conduct formative audience research, formulate communication objectives as well as goals and identify and segment the audience (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004).

Phase 4. Develop Intervention: Developing and pretesting materials, settings, messages and concepts with intended audiences.

Phase 5: Plan Evaluation: Identify information needs of stakeholders, select the kinds of assessment required then determine information sources and choose methods of data collection. Create a design for evaluation as well as establish a reporting plan and analyze data.

Phase 6. Implement plan: Integrate, execute, and manage evaluation plan as well as communication plan. Document lessons learned as well as feedback and lessons learned. Modify components of the program on the basis of feedback and distribute evaluation findings and lessons learned (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004).

Comparison and Contrast between CDCynergy Model and PRECEDE-PROCEED Model

PRECEDE-PROCEED model use an ecological approach applied in health promotion program planning while CDCynergy is a planning model which emphasize on marketing and business communication concepts which involve population feedback, segmentation principles and target communication strategies (McKenzie et al, 2012). Unlike CDCynergy, PRECEDE-PROCEED is designed as a participatory model, to assist the community as well as incorporate the ideas. This implies that its use will offer a more accurate information about the problems being addressed and with a well comprehension of their context as well as history in the community (Crosby and Noar, 2011). Unlike CDCynergy, PRECEDE-PROCEED incorporates final outcome, evaluation of the process and the intervention itself. This permits easy monitoring and the adjustment of the intervention to react to changes in the situation and community needs, moreover confirm if its achievements really result in the projected goal.

An effective health promotion program planning model for an intervention should be sequential, be adaptable to different populations and ultimately lead to the intended outcome of improved health. An effective planning model enables the practitioners to achieve the goals, assess the progress and measure impact and outcomes. An effective model involves a logical series of statements which connects the issues your program is trying to tackle, how it will tackle the issues and what are the anticipated outcomes (long-term, short-term and intermediate). Furthermore, provide changes and benefits anticipated to take place for populations or persons in the course of and after participating in activities (McKenzie et al, 2012). In conclusion, Program planning models serve to guide the development, implementation and evaluation of a particular health promotion program. PRECEDE –PROCEED model is a complete design for evaluating health needs for developing, implementing and assessing health promotion programs to accomplish those needs. CDCynergy is a planning model which emphasize on marketing and business communication concepts which involve population feedback, segmentation principles and target communication strategies. An effective health promotion program planning model for an intervention should be sequential, be adaptable to different populations and ultimately lead to the intended outcome of improved health.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2004). CDCynergy Social marketing Edition: your guide to audience-based program planning.

Crosby, R., & Noar, S. M. (2011). What is a planning model? An introduction to PRECEDE‐PROCEED. Journal of public health dentistry, 71(s1), S7-S15.

McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2012). Planning, implementing, & evaluating health promotion programs: A primer (6th ed.). San Francisco, CA: Benjamin Cummings.