Project Proposal: Reducing Tobacco Use in Australia: A Plan

This project presents a grant proposal for a health promotion initiative designed to reduce tobacco use in Australia. The proposal addresses the global health problem of tobacco use, especially among young people. It outlines a detailed plan with aims and objectives, including identifying the causes and effects of tobacco use, and strategies to help people quit smoking and prevent non-users from starting. The proposed action plan includes peer education programs, anti-smoking campaigns in schools, community mobilization, and social media campaigns. The project also details strategies to evaluate the impact of these interventions, such as stakeholder meetings. The proposal seeks a grant of $200,000 per year for three years and includes a budget justification, and the expected outcomes and their significance.

Name of student:
Registration number:
Unit Title:
Unit Code:
Name of supervisor:
Date due:

Table of Contents
Introduction..............................................................................................................................3
Aims and objectives of the study..............................................................................................4
Background and rationale.........................................................................................................4
Proposed action plan................................................................................................................5
Strategies to evaluate impact...................................................................................................9
Expected outcomes and their significance.............................................................................10
Proposed time-lines................................................................................................................10
Proposed budget and justification of the budget...................................................................12
Conclusion..............................................................................................................................13
References..............................................................................................................................14

Introduction
This assessment prepares a grant proposal to seek a financial assistance to help in
intervention on the use of tobacco and reducing its effects on health. The report
carries out need analysis and identifies the needs and challenges that the use of
tobacco presents to promoting health. The report is a health promotion initiative to
help start an initiative to solve the health challenges associated with the use of
tobacco. The proposal seeks a grant of $200,000 every year for approximately three
years. There are about 1 billion people who use tobacco globally (Madanat,
Arredondo& Ayala, 2016) Majority of the tobacco users are from developing or
underdeveloped countries. Health promotion intervention has been established as one
of the most effective strategies of reducing the health effects of the use of tobacco in
the society. The aim of this report is to establish the plans and activities that need to
be carried out in order to reduce the usage of tobacco in Australia. This will help to
reduce the number of deaths resulting from tobacco related illnesses. It will also help
to reduce the expenses incurred by individuals and government in treating patients
with illnesses caused by the use of tobacco. The paper begins with an evaluation of
the aims and objectives of the study followed by the background and rationale of the
plan. The strategies to be used in the intervention plan to help reduce usage of tobacco
are discussed in detail. The expected results/outcome after the implementation of the
identified strategies is outlined in this report. The expected incomes from the
intervention plan are also listed in this plan.

Aims and objectives of the study
The main aim of this assessment is to design the strategies that are will be used to
reduce the health effects of the use of tobacco in Australia. The project aims at
reducing the use of tobacco in Australia.
The following are the objectives of this health promotion initiative plan;
 To identify reasons that lead to tobacco users to start using tobacco
 To identify the effects of tobacco use on human body
 To identify the diseases that are associated with the use of tobacco
 To identify the measures that can be taken to help people rehabilitate from
tobacco use
 To investigate ways in which we can prevent non users from being drawn into
starting the habit of tobacco smoking.
 The plan also aims at securing a $300,000 per year grant to finance the activities
of the identified above
Background and rationale
The use of tobacco especially among young people has become an health problem
worldwide. Research indicates that more than 27% of young men globally use
tobacco at one point or another in their lives. It is estimated that approximately 5
million people die due to the use of tobacco globally. This number is expected to
double by the year 2022. Tobacco smoking is one of the most preventable causes of
death in Australia. It is associated with a wide range of health complications such as
heart diseases, diabetes, stroke, cancer, renal disease, eye disease, and respiratory
conditions such as asthma and bronchitis. Tobacco is responsible for approximately

15,000 deaths each year. Tobacco smoking is also estimated to cost the government
$31.5 million both socially and economically (Erazo& Nes, 2017). In the year 2014,
14.5% of adults aged above 18 years smoked tobacco on a daily basis. Men were
found to be more consistent smokers than women. Despite the number of smoking
adults being still large, there is still a very big number of young adults who smoke
tobacco. This therefore means it is very important to understand and help this group
of people. There are many diseases and illnesses that result from smoking tobacco.
Some of these complications include asthma, lung cancer, diabetes, stroke, eye
diseases and bronchitis (Clavier& De, 2013).This therefore necessitates the need to
start a health promotion initiative aimed at reducing the number of people who smoke
tobacco. This will help to reduce the health effects of tobacco and to reduce the social
and economic effects that the use of tobacco (Delgado & Zhou, 2008). This health
promotion initiative to reduce smoking of tobacco will carry out various campaigns to
educate people on the dangers of smoking to both passive and active smokers. This
initiative will also help to reduce new smokers and hence help to deal with the
menace of tobacco smoking in Australia.
Proposed action plan
The implementation of the initiative will take place using various methods of
implementation. Some of these methods include carrying out sensitization campaigns,
recruiting people to strategic rehabilitation center, use of social media campaigns, use
of mainstream media and using influential personalities to carry out awareness in
schools. The action plan for implementing the health promotion plan for tobacco
smoking is discussed below.

The health promotion initiative will be undertaken through peer education programs.
Peer education involves sharing of information with small groups of people who have
something in common. Peer education has been identified as one of the most effective
technique of helping smokers quit the habit. The technique has also been identified to
be effective in preventing people from being introduced to the smoking habit. The
peer group should be matched demographically e.g. age and gender. The peer group
members could be also friends in the same occupation or living in the same
geographic area. The working of the peer group technique is based on behavioral
theory that insists on the significance of participatory education (Lu, Mackay, Niu&
Peto, 2010). Through these groups, we shall be able to make presentation to the
groups on the dangers of smoking. The groups will be used to carry out psychological
therapy to the smokers to help them deal with the smoking issue. By using the peer
groups to promote good health, the smokers will be able to keep one another occupied
most of the time and share their own experiences which can be helpful to some of the
addicts (Barnett, 2014). The initiative will launch Stop Smoking Campaigns in
schools to educate teenagers on the dangers of smoking. This method will also help
the students who may be smokers already to reduce their regular smoking and this
could eventually lead them to stop smoking altogether. In previous research, the peer
education technique was found to be effective with Resnicow et al (2012) finding in
his research that this technique helped to reduce smoking by at least 6%.
Using health promotion initiatives also depend on theater and school music and drama
festivals. Previous researchers have discovered that most people start smoking when
they are in high school and from this point, they find it very difficult to quit smoking.
Therefore, it is important to create awareness on the health effects and dangers of
smoking especially among secondary school students so as to help many students

avoid the bad habit when at school. There is no better way to do this than the use of
theater which many young people especially students find very attractive and exciting.
This method is expected to be very effective for this health promotion initiative since,
theater will draw large crowds of young people and they will be able to pay keen
interest to the message being communicated (Snelling, 2014)The initiative will select
a group of talented young actors who will prepare plays and skits to present to
students in various schools and other public gatherings as may be organized by the
team leader. It is important that some members of the group being targeted get
involved in the theater activities that will be organized by the initiative. This is
important in ensuring members feel they are part of the project and hence view it
more positively and participate more. This technique is anchored upon the drama
theories and social cognitive theories. These theories emphasize the importance of
good integration of behavior, beliefs, and interest of a people in learning and
influencing behavior change. This method has been found to be very effective over
the years especially among young college students and high school students. It has
long term effects to prevent new users of tobacco but the method is not effective to
help tobacco addicts quit smoking.
This health promotion initiative will also use community mobilization as a tool to
create awareness on the dangers of smoking tobacco. This tool is effective in inducing
positive norms in the society for the purpose of achieving a predetermined objective.
The initiative will use various community groups and social settings in different
societies in Australia to help carry the message across. Community mobilization will
be done by using groups such as women community banking groups, religious groups
and other community groups that already exist to help promote social good
(O'Connor-Fleming& Parker, 2009). The initiative will approach these groups where,

they can be given a chance to carry out the campaign against tobacco smoking. The
initiative will take advantage of these social groups since they have many followers
and have huge influence over its members. This will ensure that the message is
communicated to a large audience very effectively. Teamwork and education
entertainment will be important in achieving the objective of the health promotion
initiative (La, n.d.) The initiative will empower community members to help their
family members who are smokers come on board the project and they can be given
assistance to quit smoking. By using the community initiative, the message will be
carried by various members of the society and they have a lot of influence on people
close to them. Emphasis on social change in a societal where tobacco smoking is the
norm will be very important and it will take time and patience to convince people in
that society of the dangers of using tobacco and the importance of quitting the
behavior. Research has indicated that community mobilization health promotion
method is the most effective compared to all other techniques in helping addicts quit
smoking. This method is seen to be more effective in rural communities where there
are closely knit social units compared to urban areas where life is more private and
there is less social interactions (Smith & Leggat, 2011).
The health promotion initiative will also depend on social media platforms to carry
out campaigns aimed at encouraging people to quit smoking and discouraging those
who don’t smoke to avoid the getting trapped in the habit. Social media
communication has become very popular in this age of widespread internet use. It has
been identified as one of the most effective marketing method currently. The same
also applies to creating awareness on health issues and promoting health especially
among young people who comprise the majority of social media users. Social media
can be used to shape the attitudes and behavior of a given group of people (Sarna& In

Bialous, 2009). The initiative will post messages discouraging tobacco use and
educating the people on these platforms on the dangers of smoking tobacco. The
method as a tool of health promotion is growing in popularity and is expected to help
accomplish the aims and objectives of the health promotion initiative.
Strategies to evaluate impact
There are many strategies that can be used to evaluate the impact of the actions and
techniques applied to help reduce usage of tobacco and to help addicts rehabilitate.
The following are the strategies to be used in this plan;
Have meetings with various stakeholders of the program to address the issue. These
meetings will be used to evaluate the progress that the participants have made since
the initiative started (In Singleton, 2015). The meetings will also be used as a chance
to get feedback on the improvements that can be made to make the project more
effective. Questionnaire will be filled by the participants to help evaluate the impact
that the initiative has had on their lives.
The other strategy that will be used is defining the standard morbidity outcomes. The
hospital records of particular participants and general information on the usage of
tobacco in a particular region where the campaign concentrated can be used to
evaluate the impact of the initiative (Stratton & Bonnie, 2007). This will help to
identify the change after every year until the initiative comes to an end.
The addicts who were enlisted in the program will also be asked to volunteer so that
tests would be conducted on them to measure the amount of tobacco and carcinogen
exposure in their body (Snelling, 2014). The tests will be conducted after every six
months to evaluate the impact that the initiative had on participants.

Expected outcomes and their significance
The initiative expects to achieve a very positive outcome when the initiative comes to
an end after three years. The following are the potential outcomes of the health
promotion initiative:
Reduction in the number of deaths associated with smoking tobacco from 15,000 per
year to approximately 12,000 per year (Haustein & Groneberg, 2010). This means
that the number should decrease by 1000 each year for the three years in which the
program will be going on.
By the end of the initiative the number of smokers should reduce at least by 30%.
This is the percentage of the people who will have been directly involved in the
rehabilitation and promotion initiative.
The program is also expected to prevent smoking among young people by more than
40%. This will be measured by comparing the previous year’s records on the number
of new smokers to the current years records after the initiative has began.
The initiative is expected to contribute to decrease in the sale of tobacco products by
15% during the three year period. This outcome is to be measured using the annual
industry statistics.
Proposed time-lines
The initiative on promoting health on matters relating tobacco smoking, the following
is the time schedule that will be followed.
Activity/action Time period

Carrying out research on the target
population
3 months
Identification of the groups and
individuals to participate in the initiative
2 months
Carrying out awareness campaigns in
schools
After every three months
Community mobilization and
sensitization
Weekly for the entire three year period
Peer group meetings Weakly
Rehabilitation program and medication 3 months
Impact evaluation and measurement Throughout the program and after the end
of the program
The above schedule indicates the various activities that will be undertaken during the
course of the initiative and the time period it will take to accomplish each one of the
tasks. It helps in planning activities and hence achievement of objectives within the
required time lines.

Proposed budget and justification of the budget
The implementation of the initiative will require substantial amount of money. This is
because of the many activities involved in making the project successful by reducing
the health effects of the use of tobacco. Some of the activities that will be undertaken
and will need a significant budget share include; payment of actors to perform in
theaters, purchase of medication for patients, food and refreshment for participants,
maintenance for patients undergoing rehabilitation and many more (R. C, 2016). The
initiative will require a budget of $300,000 every year and it is broken down as
illustrated in the table below.
Item/Activity Amount($)
Purchase of teaching materials and guides 21,000
Renting of halls and other facilities 12,500
Payment of staff 57,000
Medicine and equipment 48,500
Refreshment and allowance for
participants
42,000
Transportation 16,500
Organizing theater performances 19,000
Carrying out peer education 22,500
Social media expense 14,000
Community mobilization costs 47,000