Community Health Social Media Campaign

Community Health Nursing Diagnosis Statement 

Increased risk of disease spread and contaminated water supply among Lancaster Pennsylvania community related to insufficient waste removal and storm water runoff as demonstrated by gross beta particle activity levels of 50 mrem/year and nitrate levels of 10 parts per billion on the 2018 annual drinking water quality report of City of Lancaster, PA. 

Health care is an element of any community and is one of the main investments for almost all governments in the world. Past and sitting governments have over the years tried to look at issues, social, political and economic affecting the health care systems and how these issues can be addressed to meet the needs of the people. This paper looks at the main issues affecting the Lancaster Pennsylvania community with major focus on impacts of inadequate waste disposal facilities and other pollution related activities within the area. This means that the healthcare system is regarded as a primary concern in England. To ensure proper functioning of the system and uniformity in services offered within the system, there are key players in the sector including healthcare facilities, the government, healthcare practitioners, the private sector and the clients (patients and citizens in need of healthcare services). The health care needs and factors impacting these needs vary from area to area with distinct needs existing between rural and urban areas. 

Over the years, the healthcare sector has gone through various improvements with the government aiming at improving the lives of the citizens. The healthcare sector in the United Kingdom has however had its share of challenges and concerns despite having an equal amount of strength and positives. These challenges and concerns hinder the prosperity of the healthcare system and the quality of life for citizens. As such services provided by the healthcare system and nongovernmental organizations in terms of hygiene and provision of health care services are not adequate for most people despite the investment by the government. Even with the fact that the system has robust systems in place and has in some ways prospered, there are internal and external factors within the healthcare system that affect how things operate hence affecting the quality of services offered to patients in the sector. These concerns and challenges are diverse and many but the critical one have been inadequate financial resources to carry out the health care agenda. 

Health Inequity/Disparity 

Health inequities has been defined by WHO as the “differences in health status or in the distribution of health resources between different  population  groups, arising from the social conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age. Health inequities are unfair and could be reduced by the right mix of government policies” WHO. This means that the health status of an individual is greatly influenced by their social, political and economic conditions. When resources are not distributed equally, certain people in the population do not get the same privileges as the others. In the United Kingdom for example, resources are not equally distributed between people in the urban areas, the suburbs and the informal settlements. Most people living in inform settlement areas are not as privileged as those living in the urban in terms of provision of services and infrastructure allocation. A health disparity is hence the statistical manifestation of these health inequities. Health disparities are differences in the incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among your target population (Braveman, 2014). 

This section highlights some of the health inequalities in the City of Lancaster which also acts as a reflection of the situation in most other informal settlement areas in the United Kingdom. The first health disparity in the region is evidenced by lack of adequate or sufficient facilities in the region. This includes all necessary amenities such as schools, clinics, roads and markets. A region that lacks basic infrastructure tends to lag behind in terms of development and often faces different challenges. The government has not been able to provide all the required amenities for a functional community in this region. Looking at schools for example, there are very few public schools within the region implying that a lower percentage of children within the region have the opportunity of attaining education like is the case with children in urban. This also implies that literacy and in turn civilization remains on the low side in the region. 

Lack of sufficient working healthcare facilities is the other concern. The government and the private sector have set up several health care facilities or centers in Lancaster. The health care facilities aim at not only providing health care services to the locals but also providing support to the community in terms of social services and response to emergencies ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020) . The main challenge faced by these heath care facilities is that they do not have adequate machinery to handle the needs of the population. Already existing machines, equipment and facilities have been dilapidated hence unable to offer the services they are meant to offer. Such issues occur despite the huge investment by the government in the sector. Equipment and machines are very important in this sector for the sector to be able to operate as it should. Technology advancement is yet another factor that renders the already existing machine and equipment useless. Healthcare in many other countries has adopted technology and has the latest machines and equipment. With such, provision of services is rapid and accuracy is achieved in diagnosis and treatment. This is not the case with local hospitals, especially the government ones. The economy of the country allows for it to budget and acquire such necessary equipment and machines to ensure that citizens obtain all the services they need locally in the country but that has not been the case over the years. At the same time, policy makers in the country are aware of the challenges and concern and aim at making relevant policies to ensure that the crisis in this case is solved. 

Another health disparity in Lancaster is as evidenced by my research is the fact that waste management is a main challenge in the region. This can be attributed to the large number of people in the region and the high illiteracy levels. The survey carried out in the area indicated that public waste bins are filling up faster than ever and inevitably many of the bins end up overflowing before collected, causing not only cluttered streets and bad odors but also negative health and environmental impacts. This indicates inadequacies by the government in terms of being able to handle waste generated by its population in a manner that not only protects the environment but also ensures that humans living in the surrounding areas are not exposed to health hazards. One of the outcomes of overflowing garbage is air pollution, which causes various respiratory diseases and other adverse health effects as contaminants are absorbed from lungs into other parts of the body ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020) . The toxic substances in air contaminated by waste include carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane. In everyday life we identify the polluted air especially through bad odors, which are usually caused by decomposing and liquid waste items. 

Clean towns and living conditions often indicate the level of maturity in a community and help members prevent themselves from health hazards arising from contamination. Garbage and liquid waste that end up in water bodies negatively change the chemical composition of the water ( Stanhope & Lancaster, 2020) . Technically, this type of pollution is called water pollution . It affects all ecosystems existing in the water, including fish and other animals that drink the polluted water. Hazardous household waste items such as batteries, computer equipment and leftover paints can be particularly dangerous for surface waters. Besides causing all sorts of health and environmental issues, overflowing garbage is a public nuisance and eyesore. Everyone wants to live and visit places that are fresh, clean and healthy. A smelly city with poor sanitation and trash all over the place does not attract people or tourists, let alone investments. Cities keep losing money, and they also miss out on the revenue and job opportunities coming from proper waste control and recycling. Management of waste is a key element for the success of any government and should be handled in a professional manner. 

Poor drainage is the third indicator of health disparity in Lancaster. There exist enormous networks of parking lots, the vast majority of which are made of impervious pavement that rainwater cannot infiltrate. Poor drainage implies that the area is likely to flood when it rains. This also implies that the sewer system is likely to blow off hence increasing health hazards to locals. 

Primary community and Prevention Resources 

During my field experience I found that Lancaster County is aware of its challenges and the impacts of the same to individuals and the community at large and has put into place a few significant resources and measures to help inform and educate the community and support primary prevention or promotion of healthier community members. One of the resources Lancaster County has to offer its members is an established parks department. The Department of Parks and Recreation is not only striving to develop ways to educate the community members. They are also transforming the parks and green spaces we have now back into meadow areas or non-mowed spaces, etc. In addition to the Parks and Recreation Department Lancaster County has the resource of the Lancaster County Preserve Board who preserves the beautiful farmland and productive soils of Lancaster County and its rich agricultural heritage. They also create a healthy environment for the long-term sustainability of the agricultural economy and farming as a way of life. This board along with a program called Team Ag work with our local farmers to not only create a healthy way of farming for the environment and preserve the agricultural heritage of our area but also enhance its ways to prevent things like land erosion and water pollution. 

Such efforts lead to environmental conservation hence ensuring that humans living in the region enjoy a clean environment and are not exposed to hazardous diseases resulting from polluted environments. Safe farming methods promote healthy eating habits within members of the community. One of the strategies adopted by agriculture experts in the region is that of educating farmers on the need to use non-hazardous chemicals on their crop and to avoid using the same where possible. This way, the population does not consume chemicals in food produced in the region. The strategy also ensures that water and soil in the region is not chemically polluted. 

Another strategy adopted is that of coming up with education programs to enlighten the population on importance of proper garbage disposal and sewerage hygiene. This is most emphasized in schools and has led to a reduction in the percentage of garbage disposed carelessly in inappropriately in public places. In line with this strategy garbage bins have been provided both within and outside Lancaster to encourage people to dispose garbage appropriately. The authorities however need to ensure that they collect garbage regularly depending on the collection rate to avoid overdue garbage that is likely to smell and spread diseases. 

Underlying Causes 

On Health issues in the region related to the social aspect of the community can be attributed to poor waste collection strategies by the authorities, inappropriate farming methods that cause both water and soil pollution. The region is also largely populated hence the huge amounts of garbage produced in a day. Poor drainage systems in Lancaster also cause water pollution especially when it rains and the area gets flooded. Poor drainage also implies that the sewerage system is also affected. Open or running sewer lines cause communicable diseases to people living in the area hence increasing the regions health concerns. 

Identification of Data 

Case studies indicate an increase in the number of communicable diseases in Lancaster. This has over the years been associated with poor sewerage systems and water hygiene. The target population, which forms the basis of data collected will include people of different demographics in the town including the elite, health care workers and community members. 

Social Media Campaign Objective 

To increase health education among community members and health works within Lancaster town. The social media campaign aims at reaching out to different groups of people in ways that they understand the benefits of water hygiene. The target population includes the local government and consumers of water in the local area of Lancaster. 

Social Marketing Interventions 

One of the interventions to help improve the health of the population would be to work closely with nongovernmental organizations working towards providing education and health support to the community. An example would be working closely with related parties on the Team Ag program to ensure production of safe food for the population. A second intervention is that of promoting awareness among community members through programs run by the Parks and Recreation Department Lancaster County. 

Description of Social Media Platform 

Social media is one of the fastest means of communicating in the world today. I would combine more than one platform since the population in the area comprises of more than one demographic ( Cioni & Lovari, 2014). By so doing, I am able to get the attention of all elite age groups in the region. Running a Facebook and twitter account that promotes environmental sustainability and highlights the dangers of unclean environment would be one of the methods I would apply. Through this approach it is easy to collect feedback and ideas from participants. 

Benefits of Social Media Platform 

Social media networking will support preventative healthcare in target population through promoting professional networking and professional education. Through social media, the elite part of the community is able to understand the issues affecting the community and share on ideas of how such issues can be addressed ( CDC, 2019) . Policies are hence formulated easily and health problems addressed. The greatest advantage of using social media platforms for health campaigns is that one is able to reach a large audience of elite people hence reaching the target population very easily. Social media skits is a vibrant approach when it comes to social media activism. This involves creation of small informative and educative short films on water, hygiene and sanitation. The social media skit enables to reach a huge number of social media users within the community. 

Benefits of Social Media Platform to Target Population 

The social media campaign targets the elite members of the community and hopes to pass on the message of how important health is and what impacts it has on the society. The benefit of the social media platform to the target audience is that they are able to interact with each other and communicate ( CDC, 2019) . The platform provides an avenue through which people air out their concerns and learn from others. When issues affecting the people are well articulated the people are motivated to contribute and by so doing policies suitable to solve the problems in question are formulated. Therefore, a social media platform creates an environment through which communication takes place, ideas are exchanged and solutions to problems found. 

Best Practices for Social Media 

A social media campaign should meet the intended purpose. As such it is important that the campaign benefits the target audience. To achieve this, one needs to implement some best practices such as building an interactive user experience within the platform. This can be achieved through creation of conversations with the audience and provision of a platform where participants can share their views and ideas. Secondly, it is important to create discussions around issues that affect the people by finding stories and facts that are relatable. By so doing, people are able to interact with each and address issues facing them. At the same time, social media pages such as Facebook should be well branded, the best weblink identified and schedule and frequency of Facebook posts determined and followed ( CDC, 2019). 

Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities 

Stakeholders are affected by health issues in the society and the social media campaign intended. They may have special interests in how the social media will impact the community and whether it will successful or not. In this case, the stakeholders may include the community members who are affected by the health hazards, the local government working towards solving the problems, health care professionals who play a direct role in educating and providing health care services to the community and nongovernmental organizations working within the community to ensure that they support the community. They all play a key role in the research exercise that identifies the problems facing the community, policy development and implementation of set policies to solve the problems. 

Potential Public and Private Partnerships 

The health care system has a number of key players who are interested in a common goal of ensuring that health issues in communities are addressed. The stakeholders put in efforts to ensure that they work together to benefit all people. The private sector plays a key role in partnership with the government to ensure that health care services are provided to people. The key players in the health sector are the health care practitioners both in the private and public sector. Partnerships can be attained through government incentives to motivate private sector to invest in health care as well as run other complementary programs that support health education and offer support programs. Law enforcement agencies, local agencies, schools, nongovernmental organizations and emergency medical service providers should be well funded to enhance their efforts. At the same time, there needs to be a clear scope for each stakeholder so as to define the nature of their operations hence maximizing resources. The social media campaign should include all the shareholders and stakeholders. 

Timeline 

The project is expected to take three months while implementation of the findings could take longer. 

Evaluation 

Evaluation in this case will be measured through outcome after implementation of suggested strategy. A second survey will be conducted to compare the results after the strategies have been implements. Improved health education in terms of percentage of population will be used as a measuring tool. 

Cost of Implementing the Campaign 

I would expect to have different costs, both fixed and indirect ones while undertaking the project. Some of the direct costs expected are costs associated with research such as preparation of interviews costs, costs associated with collection of data, processing of data and implementing the findings. Indirect costs include travel costs and other miscellaneous costs. 

Reflection on Social Media Marketing 

Social media marketing in this case targets a population that is affected by health care issues relating to unclean water and sewer hygiene. The campaign needs to be objective in educating the people on the dangers of dirty and/or infected water and steps they can take to achieve hygiene. At the same time, the campaign needs to use the right social media channels to reach its targeted audience. 

Reflection on Future Nursing Practice 

A community health nurse can use the social media to impact the society in which they serve positively through running of campaigns that promote healthy living and involving the population . Nurses will not only play a key role in ensuring that the social media campaign succeeds but also ensure that implementation of set policies is done in a manner that solves the problem at hand. A future nurse should hence work towards ensuring that they integrate technology in their day to day activities as a way of impacting the people. 

Conclusion 

In conclusion therefore, social media campaign is an emerging form of activism with the advancement of technology in the modern world. Thousands of Lancaster residents have active presence in social media. Use of social media campaign through sharing of informative and educative materials on water, sanitation and hygiene will help in addressing the stalemate facing Lancaster. 

References 

Braveman, P. (2014). What are health disparities and health equity? We need to be clear. US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health . Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3863701/ 

CDC Social Media Tools, Guidelines & Best Practices | Social Media | CDC. (2019). Retrieved 

25 December 2019, https from://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/guidelines/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fsocialmedia%2Ftools%2Fguidelines%2Fsocialmediatoolkit.html 

Cioni, E., & Lovari, A. (January 01, 2014). Social Media for Health Communication. 

Freeman, M. D. A., In Hawkes, S., & In Bennett, B. (2014).  Law and global health: Current 

legal issues volume 16 . 

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2020).  Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in 

the community .