My 631 eportfolio provides content, messages, and communication in relation to health promotion to help increase public knowledge and awareness and promote informed health-related decision-making. For example, on my blog page, I present a post titled Health Misinformation where I present examples of evidence-based studies highlighting the risks involved in taking multivitamins. In addition, in another blog post, I address my health promotion topic of the prevention of type 2 diabetes among older adults by describing at-risk populations, risk factors, and side effects of diabetes. Moreover, in the artefacts section of my e-portfolio, I present a voice-over presentation discussing the socioecological model of health to assist in the rapid recognition of factors that influence health-related behaviors that can help policymakers, organizations, communities, and individuals make strategic decisions (Scarneo et al., 2019).
The health promotion problem that I am addressing is type 2 diabetes prevention among socially housed seniors who are 65 and older and living in Peel Region, Ontario . A determinant of health framework that stands out for me and which I may use to shape my thinking for my health topic/problem is the WHO conceptual SDOH framework (Rural Health Information Hub, 2023). Rural Health Information Hub (2023) states that health status depends upon socioeconomic status which can be affected by aspects such as ethnicity, race, gender, occupation, education, and income comprising examples of political, economic, and social factors. In turn, a healthy lifestyle is impacted by these factors where healthcare access, opportunities for physical activity, and housing quality can all be influenced (Rural Health Information Hub, 2023). This framework presents the health determinants as "intermediary" and "structural" and can be useful in highlighting important factors (i.e., working/living conditions, socioeconomic status) that require careful consideration when planning and catering a health promotion intervention aimed at preventing type 2 diabetes among socially housed seniors (Rural Health Information Hub, 2023).
I believe that my understanding of conceptual frameworks in health is limited in the sense that I am only familiar with applying the socioecological model of health, the COM-B model, and the health belief model to health-related behavioral change as these were the conceptual frameworks that I applied in my final MHST 631 paper to examine my health promotion issue (Phalloo, 2022). In MHST 632, it would be beneficial if I were exposed to, and able to learn about and apply a wider variety of conceptual frameworks to health and health-related behavior change to get a more robust and complete sense of the critical factors involved in determining health-related behavioral change among vulnerable and at-risk populations.
Key questions that I hope to explore in MHST 632 with respect to assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion actions to address my health topic/problem include:
· How can the Healthy Champs program (my health promotion intervention) be catered to seniors with low mobility?
· Approximately what percentage of seniors in Peel Region are inactive?
· What are some ways in which quality nutrition can be more readily available to low-income seniors?
References
Phalloo, K. (2022). Assignment 3: Older Adults and Diabetes Prevention. [unpublished] Master of
Health Studies, Athabasca University
Rural Health Information Hub. (2023). Frameworks to address social determinants of health.
Scarneo, S. E., Kerr, Z. Y., Kroshus, E., Register-Mihalik, J. K., Hosokawa, Y., Stearns, R. L.,
DiStefano, L. J., & Casa, D. J. (2019). The socio-ecological framework: A multifaceted
approach to preventing sport-related deaths in high school sports. Journal of Athletic Training,
54(4), 356–360. https://doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-173-18
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