The program, which will be described in this grant, seeks to create an effective approach through which to dealing with the Zika outbreak in Brazil. The program will be designed in a manner that is reflective of best practices aimed at dealing with the health issue associated with the Zika virus. Brazil, being a developing country, finds itself in a challenging position with regard to dealing with such epidemics; thus, creating the need for having to consider programs that would be of great value towards promoting education for the local communities (Schuler-Faccini, 2016). In that view, this program will be designed to ensure that the local communities are engaged in effective training and development with the sole intention being towards improving on their capacities to dealing with the risk factors associated with the virus. The effectiveness of the program will depend solely on its ability to reduce the overall number of infections associated with the virus.
Statement of Need
The Zika virus is a type of medical condition that affects new born resulting in an abnormal shape of their head. The condition is spread through mosquito bites from an infected person, which exposes the new born babies to a wide array of risks. In 2013, a Tahitian delegation, French Polynesia, introduced the Zika virus in Brazil, which resulted in an epidemic that affected a significant number of people in the country. The country, which was expected to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, experienced a significant challenge in dealing with the Zika virus before the football tournament. The main challenge for the Brazilian government was that it found itself at a disadvantage in seeking to understand the impacts of the virus.
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Although research has led to the development of a vaccine for the virus, the main challenge reflects ion the fact that a majority of the people in Brazil do not have access to the vaccines. Additionally, it must also be noted that a significant number of the people in Brazil lack comprehension or understanding on how they would be able to protect themselves from the Zika virus. The development of this program is expected to act as a source of hope for a majority of Brazilians, most of who find themselves in a position where it becomes hard for them to access vaccines and proper education on the condition. That creates the need for having to establish an effective framework through which to advance the perception that indeed Brazil would be in a position allowing it to deal with the Zika virus in an effective manner.
Program Design or Program Description
The establishment of the program will be focused on seeking to create a positive framework through which to ensure that the people in Brazil are well positioned towards dealing with the Zika virus. Essentially, the program will seek to create a basic avenue through which to ensure that the local communities are well positioned in their bid to maximizing on their efforts to dealing with risk factors and effects associated with the virus. The program created will seek to focus on five key areas, which would serve as a guarantee that it is well positioned towards dealing with the virus in an effective manner. The following is an analysis of the five key areas that the program will focus on:
Public Education
In public education, what must be noted is that the program will be focused on promoting community understanding considering that this would serve as the first step towards ensuring that the community is protected. Zammarchi et al. (2015) take note of the fact that lack of community understanding remains as one of the greatest challenges affecting Brazil in dealing with the Zika virus. That has served as one of the key factors defining the need for having to consider public education as part of the key expectations of the program. Through public education, the local communities would be in a rather effective position allowing them to learn how to properly eliminate mosquito breeding habitat. The people ought to understand that dealing with the habitats would serve as one of the key approaches through which to minimize the risk of exposure for a significant population.
The program will also embark on a process of having to educate the local communities on personal protecting measures that they ought to adopt or implement as part of reducing the risk of spread of the virus. An example of a personal protecting measure would involve having to ensure that all persons sleep under well treated mosquito nets, which would reduce the risk of being bitten by a mosquito that is likely to spread the Zika virus (Fauci & Morens, 2016). Furthermore, the program will also be involved in the distribution of educational pieces that seek to provide the local communities with information on some of the key symptoms that they ought to look out for in dealing with the virus. The educational pieces will also provide the communities with more information on how they would be able to protect themselves.
Surveillance and Data Collection
The program will also play a critical role in surveillance and data collection with the sole focus being towards getting a clear understanding of the spread of the Zika virus within Brazil. One of the key areas that the program will focus on will be on trying to engage in surveillance focusing on the mosquito population in Brazil. In a bid to addressing the issue in an effective manner, the program will seek to determine mosquito distribution within different areas in Brazil. On the other hand, the program will also focus on examining data associated with mosquito density and specific species within different regions in the country. The data gathered will play a critical role towards ensuring that the program is able to get a clear understanding of the communities that are most affected by the virus in a bid to setting up effective approaches.
The spread of the Zika virus is especially prominent in areas that are considered as being densely populated, which serves as a clear indication of the need for having to come up with a standard approach through which to engage in effective education of these communities (Larocca et al., 2016). Surveillance will be of great value towards determining transmission risks of the Zika virus within different populations with the sole focus being towards determining the population that is at greatest risk. The ultimate expectation is that this would help in creating new standards through which to minimize on spending resources in areas that are least affected by the virus. Instead, this would pave the way for the establishment of a clear framework through which to ensure that the resources directed towards the program are utilized in an effective manner.
Vaccine Access
Karwowski et al. (2016) argue that one of the greatest challenges for the Brazilian health care system has been directed towards creating a framework through which to guarantee equitable access to vaccines for the Zika virus. That acts as one of areas that the key areas that the program would need to consider as part of its set out standards towards maximizing on efficiencies in dealing with the virus. A significant number of the people affected by the Zika virus are the low-income population; thus, meaning that it becomes hard for them to actually be in any position that guarantee them access to vaccines. Ultimate, that means that the program would need to come up with a standard through which to ensure that every individual is well positioned towards accessing the vaccines effectively.
Larval Mosquito Control
In the control of larva mosquito, the program will engage in coordinative efforts with the local communities. The program will seek to create a trained and experienced ground crew that would be involved in strategic efforts associated with finding and eliminating possible breeding habitats as one of the ways to control the mosquito larva. The use of the Bacillus thuringiensis var israelensis (Bti) will be preferred in dealing with the larva considering that this would aid in reducing their numbers significantly (Fauci & Morens, 2016). The use of this chemical would mean that most of the areas that are likely to act as habitats for mosquito larva would be cleaned effectively. The communities will be involved in the clean-up efforts as one of the strategic efforts towards providing the people with the experience on how to dealing with the virus effectively.
The program will engage in aerial application of larvicide via ULV equipment taking into account that some of the areas are not accessible through ground approaches. The use of ULV equipment would mean that it would be much easier to apply the larvicide in specific areas where mosquito larva are likely to spread. It would also be essential to take note of the fact that the program will also seek to engage with the local public health departments in a bid to tracking cases of the Zika virus. That would aid in the development of a map that would be of value towards determining the exact areas that the program would need to consider. The ultimate outcome is that this would be of great value towards reducing the risks of infection for a significant number of people affected by the virus, especially those living within informal settlements.
Adult Mosquito Control
In dealing with the adult mosquitos, which pose a significant risk for the local populations, the focus will be on ensuring that each individual within the community has a clear understanding of what is expected of him or her towards promoting effective control measures. Adult mosquito populations can be controlled through the introduction of mosquito predators within the outside environment as this would serve as one of the ways through which to minimize strategic efforts towards improving on health outcomes. The program will focus on linking up with some of the researchers that have been engaged in trying to understand the spread and transmission of the Zika virus. The need for having to link up with the researchers is driven by the need for having to determine some of the key predators that they would recommend to reduce the mosquito population.
On the other hand, the program will also embark on an approach through which to ensure that the local populations have window nets that would reduce the number of mosquitos within different households. One of the greatest challenges in dealing with the Zika virus has been a clear lack of collaboration among members of the public leading to a situation where they find themselves exposed to a high risk associated with the condition. In that view, the program will seek to provide them with information touching on the need for having to install window nets to reduce the mosquito population. The local population will also be expected understand the importance of having to sleep in mosquito nets as one of the ways through which to minimize their exposure to mosquitoes. The program will seek to ensure that an adequate number of mosquito nets are distributed to the local population to meet set objectives.
Program Outcomes
The main expectation for having to embark on this program will be working towards ensuring that the number of cases of Zika virus reduces significantly. Currently, the transmission rate of the virus is seen as one of the greatest challenges towards dealing with the virus significantly. Thus, this serves as a clear indication of the need for having to consider the implementation of this program. Additionally, the program would also be expected to create a standard through which to ensure that the local populations are well educated on some of the key approaches that they ought to undertake in a bid to dealing with the Zika virus. Overall expectation is that this would help create a new health standard for the local population in Brazil as part of reducing overall risks of exposure for the people in the country.
The decision for having to consider working with the local health care institutions and departments in Brazil is driven by the fact that indeed a majority of these institutions find themselves overwhelmed in dealing with the Zika virus. That means that the program would be a great option for them considering that it provides them with a framework through which to establish a clear framework for effective outcomes. The main intention of having to consider this as an expected outcome is that it will be of great value towards improving on the health standard for the local communities. Additionally, this would also mean that a significant number of people find themselves in a position where they are protected from the ultimate impacts of the Zika virus.
Program Evaluation
Evaluation of the program will focus on two main areas. The first area will be focus groups held with the members of the community, which will help in determining their view of the program while seeking to define how they perceive the successes achieved. After every phase of the program, the program coordinator will embark on a process of creating focus groups with the local communities. The focus groups will pave the way for ensuring that they provide valid information on what they expect from the program as well as reflecting on whether the program has met these expectations. The second key area of focus is administering a survey to the communities that are most affected by the program. The survey will help in acting as a clear avenue through which to define some of the areas of strength and weakness in dealing with the presentation of the Zika virus.
Project Timeline/Budget Timeline
From the analysis conducted above, it is clear that the program will focus on five key areas, which are public education, surveillance and data collection, vaccine access, larval mosquito control, and adult mosquito control. Each of these areas will be factored into the timeline and budget created for the program. The following table highlights the project and budget timeline for each of the areas.
Area of Focus |
Timeline (in months) |
Budget (in $) |
| Public Education | 3 | 5,000 |
| Surveillance and Data Collection | 6 | 12,000 |
| Vaccine Access | 4 | 15,000 |
| Larva Mosquito Control | 12 | 9,000 |
| Adult Mosquito Control | 12 | 9,000 |
Table 1: Project and Budget Timelines
From the table above, what can be noted is that the areas of focus for the project will vary depending on the complexity of the projected outcomes. An example can be seen from public education, which is one of the key areas that the program seeks to consider, which is expected to take a maximum period of 3 months. It is equally important to take note of the fact that each of these areas will be undertaken concurrently for a period of 12 months. That means that it would be essential to create an effective standard that would seek to ensure that the program remains effective regardless of the fact that the key areas of the program are undertaken concurrently.
References
Fauci, A. S., & Morens, D. M. (2016). Zika virus in the Americas—yet another arbovirus threat. New England Journal of Medicine , 374 (7), 601-604.
Karwowski, M. P., Nelson, J. M., Staples, J. E., Fischer, M., Fleming-Dutra, K. E., Villanueva, J., ... & Rasmussen, S. A. (2016). Zika virus disease: a CDC update for pediatric health care providers. Pediatrics , 137 (5), e20160621.
Larocca, R. A., Abbink, P., Peron, J. P. S., Paolo, M. D. A., Iampietro, M. J., Badamchi-Zadeh, A., ... & Li, Z. (2016). Vaccine protection against Zika virus from Brazil. Nature , 536 (7617), 474.
Schuler-Faccini, L. (2016). Possible association between Zika virus infection and microcephaly—Brazil, 2015. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report , 65 .
Zammarchi, L., Tappe, D., Fortuna, C., Remoli, M. E., Günther, S., Venturi, G., ... & Schmidt-Chanasit, J. (2015). Zika virus infection in a traveller returning to Europe from Brazil, March 2015. Eurosurveillance , 20 (23), 21153.
