Promoting Positive Health Behaviors

Application: Promoting Positive Health Behaviors
One strategy that has proven effective for improving population health outcomes is
screening. Screening programs for breast, cervical, prostate, and colon cancer allow for
early detection and treatment, thereby improving health outcomes. Advocates of early
screening programs have sought to inform populations at risk of the value of participating
in early screening.
Consider the following examples: In Florida, mobile mammography units have reached out
to uninsured women and provided free mammograms. In Maryland, Wellmobiles go out
into the community to provide primary and preventive health care services to
geographically underserved communities and uninsured individuals across the state. Many
such programs are available for individuals to participate in screening, regardless of ability
to pay.
In this Assignment, you will evaluate the characteristics of preventive health programs that
lead to successful outcomes.
To prepare:
� Review the article “Improving Female Preventive Health Care Delivery Through
Practice Change” found in this week’s Learning Resources. Consider why the Every
Woman Matters program was not effective in meeting its goals.
� Backer, E. L., Geske, J. A., McIlvain, H. E., Dodendorf, D. M., & Minier, W. C. (2005).
Improving female preventive health care delivery through practice change: An Every
Woman Matters study. Journal of the American Board of Family Practice, 18(5), 401-408.
� Using other credible websites, identify at least two successful advocacy programs for
early cancer screening and evaluate the characteristics that made them effective based on
the evidence presented in the article or website.
To complete:
Write a 3- to 5-page paper that includes the following:
� Summarize the Every Woman Matters program and how the issue of women’s
preventive health care was approached. Analyze possible reasons the program was
ineffective.
� Summarize the characteristics at least two prevention programs that advocate for early
screening, describing what made them successful.
If you were the nurse leader in charge of developing a follow-up to the Every Woman
Matters program, what strategies would you propose for creating a more effective
prevention program?

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Every Woman Matters program

Every Woman Matters program and preventive health care in women
The Every Woman Matters program gains funds from the federal state and is involved in
catering for the office visits of women requiring pap tests, lab fees, clinical breast exams, and
pelvic exams. Moreover, the program also provides for some other diagnostic tests in addition to
age-appropriate mammography (McLeroy et al., 2012). Between the years 1992 and 2011, the
program provided 110,465 mammograms, which led to the detection of 914 case of breast
cancer.
Many women have been beneficiaries and have benefitted greatly as a result of the paid
office visits as well as screening services. These women had forty to seventy four years and were
within the limits of the income guidelines applied in the program. Moreover, women eligible for
Every Woman Matters program were not beneficiaries in the Medicaid benefits. They were also
part of Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) or possessed Medicare Part B, which entails
programs with already catered for screening services.
Martins and McNeil (2009) asserts that the services identified with the program are
offered in approximately 800 mammography radiology facilities or groups, hospitals,
laboratories, clinics, and healthcare offices. Furthermore, community partners offer services in a
majority of the Nebraska counties and promote the program among all the women. This is in
addition to health education activities and enrolling the eligible women. The community partners
do all they can so as to ensure maximum barrier reduction so that all women can be able to
access the program.

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In 2001, the Nebraska’s Medicaid Treatment Bill was passed by the legislature. One of
the plans of the bill was giving beneficial assistance to women who had been diagnosed with
cervical pre-cancer, cervical invasive cancer and breast cancer via the program by 1 st September,

  1. These women’s treatments would be catered for by the Nebraska’s Medicaid. Currently,
    more than two thousand women diagnosed through the program have received reimbursements
    from Medicaid Women’s Cancer Control Program (McLeroy et al., 2012).
    Since the year 2001, the program has offered cardiovascular and diabetes preventive
    tests. Together with Nebraska Colon Cancer Screening Program, the program offers colon cancer
    screening tests to eligible women and men between the ages of fifty and seventy four years.
    Personalized education and information are also offered as a strategy of promoting healthier
    lives. The program is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Martins &
    McNeil, 2009).

Reasons for ineffectiveness

The EWM program failed basically because the screening rates as far as many of the
practices were concerned were concerned did not meet the set standard levels. As a result,
women were left at unnecessary risks. Moreover, there were immense screening barriers in the
physician, patient, and practice system levels. Regardless of the advantages women gained from
the program, the screening levels for breast and cervical cancers are far much below the ideal.

Early screening prevention programs for cancer

Williams, Deci and Ryan (2008) note that the intention of the Norton Cancer Institute is
reducing the proportion of persons that have high risk to cancer by promoting early prevention as
well as detection. On the other hand, the Prevention and Early Detection Program based at the
institute provides detailed testing assessments, cancer screening, as well as follow-ups for

EVERY WOMAN MATTERS PROGRAM 4

assessing people who are most vulnerable for contracting cancer. Moreover, clients are
connected with genetic counselors that promote the determination of risks for various cancers
based on the family history. The program also has Mobile Prevention Center and this has the role
of providing appropriate access to screenings and preventive education to the community
members. If there are early detections following genetic testing and cancer screenings, then
treatment can be began early enough prior to the presentation of symptoms. According to
McLeroy et al. (2012), this is very effective in improving survival rates as well as treatment
outcomes.
The New Mexico Department of Health Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection
Program focuses on promoting accessibility to screening in addition to diagnostic services for
breast and cervical cancer, which are high quality. More particularly, as argued by Martins and
McNeil (2009), the underserved women are the centre of attention. Moreover, education on
prevention, disease processes, and the importance of frequent and regular screening exams is
enhanced with the focus of promoting early detection. The screening and diagnostic services are
usually age-appropriate and guarantee the recommended standards of care for breast and cervical
cancer.
These two programs have been evaluated as particularly effective since they enhance the
recommended caring standards for cancer and their components of focus are; palliative care,
treatment, early detection, and prevention (Williams, Deci & Ryan (2008).
An efficient preventive program’s strategies

It is extremely important that a preventive program’s goals are well known so that
promoting its effectiveness can be easy. As far as cancer screening amongst women is
concerned, it has been very essential is reducing health care costs and suffering, as well as saving

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lives (Williams, Deci & Ryan, 2008). Particularly, breast and cervical cancers’ regular screening
has proved efficient in minimizing women’s disease burden. Systematic change reviews of
strategies indicate that practices are very complicated systems. In this regard, there is a need to
have more effective and detailed strategies for promoting practices that can initiate and sustain
change.
So as to be able to transform practice behavior, teamwork among all the clinicians and
staff is extremely important. The second ingredient is flexibility and willingness to change. In
addition, there is a need to consider individualized interventions which are founded on unique
and dynamic patterns of individual system. So as to ensure effective preventive care promotion,
the GAPS model has been identified as particularly beneficial. Moreover, office operations
should be modified. As noted by Williams, Deci and Ryan (2008), the office staff should be
engaged in all steps including planning routines’ modifications, supporting improvements, goal
setting, and assessment of current routines. Moreover, stakeholders’ involvement, leadership,
partnerships’ creation, sensitivity to individuals’ needs and reacting to them, decision making,
systematic approach, seeking continuous improvement, as well as utilizing the stepwise strategy
are equally significant.

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References

Martins, R. K., & McNeil, D. W. (2009). Review of Motivational Interviewing in promoting
health behaviors. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(4), 283-293.
McLeroy, K. R., Bibeau, D., Steckler, A., & Glanz, K. (2012). An ecological perspective on
health promotion programs. Health Education & Behavior, 15(4), 351-377.
Williams, G. C., Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2008). Building health-care partnerships by
supporting autonomy: Promoting maintained behavior change and positive health
outcomes. Partnerships in healthcare: Transforming relational process, 67-87.