Queensland Health: A Proposal to Reduce Coronary Heart Disease Cases

This community health proposal addresses the pressing issue of coronary heart disease in Innisfail, Queensland, Australia. Section 1 provides a background discussion of the problem, highlighting risk factors such as smoking and obesity, as well as uncontrollable factors like age and family history. It emphasizes the high morbidity rate and preventable nature of the disease. Section 2 proposes a health promotion campaign as a solution, focusing on educating the community about the dangers of smoking and promoting healthy lifestyle choices. The campaign aims to reduce smoking and junk food consumption by sixty percent within a year, empowering individuals to adopt healthier behaviors and improve their quality of life. The proposal references several sources to support its claims and strategies.

Running head: COMMUNITY HEALTH PROPOSAL
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COMMUNITY HEALTH PROPOSAL
Student Name
Institution Affiliation

COMMUNITY HEALTH PROPOSAL 2
Community Health Proposal
Section 1
Coronary heart disease is one of the leading chronic diseases in Australia that has a high
morbidity rate. Coronary heart disease is also referred to as cardiovascular disease (CVD) and it
generally refers to a wide range of illnesses affecting the blood vessels and the heart. These diseases
include heart attack, angina as well as stroke. The buildup of plaques in blood vessels and the heart is
the major cause of coronary heart disease, (Nordqvist, 2018). The atherosclerotic plaques bring about
narrowing and blockage of blood vessels and consequently results in lack or inadequate supply of
oxygen and blood to the heart muscles. In Innisfail, Queensland Australia coronary heart disease is the
most pressing health problem in the community. In this section, we are going to discuss this problem
and the factors contributing to it. In the second section will focus on one proposed solution to reduce
the incidence of coronary heart disease in Innisfail, Queensland Australia. Community health service
aims to improve the quality of life of community members by educating them on health-related issues.
There are several risk factors affecting the Australian population with smoking and obesity being
top of the list. "Queensland has the highest rates of preventable deaths of any state in Australia and
more than a third of Queenslanders die every year from largely preventable chronic diseases such as
coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure, some forms of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and renal disease,"
said Stephen Robertson who is the health minister. In public health sector, health promotion is an
essential tool used by health practitioners to protect and improve health standards in the community.
Coronary heart disease is encouraged by several risk factors and in order to deal with this problem, we
have to comprehensively understand these factors. These factors can be grouped into two groups one
being the controllable factors and the other the uncontrollable risk factors.
The major risk factors increase the chances of coronary heart disease among Australian are
lifestyle related and they are controllable. This includes factors such as smoking, obesity as well as
depression. These factors can be reduced if the appropriate mechanisms are formulated and
implemented well, (Australian Bureau of Statistics. 2015). Statistics show that smoking is rampant in the
community especially among the male population. Lifestyle habits and poor choice of diet such as
consumption of junk foods highly increase the cholesterol levels leading to obesity. The other
uncontrollable factors consist of age and family history. If an individual comes from a family line with a
history of cardiovascular disease then they are more likely to suffer coronary heart disease compared to
an individual having no family history connected to the condition. Age as well contribute to the
condition as elderly people are more susceptive to cardiovascular disease. Understanding these factors
can help health practitioners to come up with remedy mechanisms to especially counteract the
controllable risk factors in the community, (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2014). When all
the stakeholders in the community work together then this menace of coronary heart disease in
Innisfail, Queensland Australia can be solved.

COMMUNITY HEALTH PROPOSAL 3
Section 2
Considering the risk factors contributing to coronary heart disease in Innisfail, Queensland, the
proposed solution to this problem is a health promotion campaign. The best way to fight this disease is
to prevent it from occurring. According to Snelling, 2004, health prevention is the process of managing
people's health and preventing the public from developing chronic diseases or illness. Smoking and
obesity are the major causes of chronic heart disease in the community and this can be changed. A
health promotion will educate the community on the dangers of smoking and how it encourages the
occurrence of cardiovascular disease among the populace. The health promotion campaign should
consider the community members as the key stakeholder and narrow down to a certain target group
preferable the men in the community.
The health promotion should have the main objective of improving the quality of life of the
locals in Innisfail, Queensland Australia. The health promotion will inspire community members to strive
for optimum health and encourage them to adjust their lifestyle behaviors accordingly, (McMurray and
Clendon, 2014). Discouraging smoking can be done by involving policy makers to formulate policies that
make cigarettes inaccessible to many people as well as sensitize the public on the dangers of smoking,
(Ashen, 2010). The campaign can use a health message such as "Healthy lifestyle, a healthy Innisfail" to
help the community identify with the project. A healthy lifestyle does not only involve smoking but also
involves healthy nutrition as well as participating in physical activities. The health promotion campaign
will educate the community on the importance of organic diet and how junk foods encourage obesity
which causes coronary heart disease. The campaign can also encourage the target group to take part in
physical activities by organizing community coronary heart disease runs.
The health promotion campaign should aim at reducing the smoking and consumption of junk
foods by at least sixty percent within a year. The campaign also has to strive to sensitize the target group
on the significance of leading a healthy lifestyle by eluding the controllable risk factors such as obesity,
alcohol and among many more. The health promotion will empower people to strive towards having a
healthy lifestyle and this will improve the quality of life in the community.
In summary, Coronary heart disease is one of the leading chronic diseases in Australia that has a
high morbidity rate. In Innisfail, Queensland Australia coronary heart disease is the most pressing health
problem in the community. There are several risk factors affecting the Australian population with
smoking and obesity being top of the list. Considering the risk factors contributing to coronary heart
disease in Innisfail, Queensland, the proposed solution to this problem is a health promotion campaign.
The occurrence of cardiovascular disease can be reduced drastically through a health promotion
campaign.

COMMUNITY HEALTH PROPOSAL 4
References
Ashen, D. (2010). Cost-effective prevention of coronary heart disease. The Journal for Nurse
Practitioners, 6(10), 754-764. doi:10.1016/j.nurpra.2010.07.026
Australian Bureau of Statistics. (2015). 3303.0-Cause of death, Australia, 2015: Ischemic heart disease.
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2014). Coronary heart disease and chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease in Indigenous Australians. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/647d1df6-5b33-4d71-bc63-40a92b9afb24/16973.pdf.aspx?
inline=true
doi:10.1080/14635240.2015.1030033
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/184130.php.
McMurray, A., & Clendon, J. (2014). Community health and wellness : Primary health care in practice
(5th ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.
Nordqvist, C. (2018, January 19). "Coronary heart disease: What you need to know." Medical News
Today. Retrieved from
Snelling, A. M. (2014). Introduction to health promotion. Retrieved from
http://ebookcentral.proquest.com.ezproxy.cdu.edu.au