Educational Interventions for Patients With Stroke, Essay Example

Patients at high risk for stroke must consider common risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, poor circulation, obesity, cholesterol concerns, smoking, and atherosclerosis, amongst other factors (National Stroke Association, 2013).

• In order to effectively reduce the risks associated with stroke, it is necessary to develop programmatic goals and objectives that will enable individuals to improve their health and wellbeing. From this perspective, the program goals are as follows:
• Develop a stroke prevention education program using local and national resources to provide insight and knowledge regarding the risk of stroke, particularly for adult patients (CDC, 2013). This requires the knowledge and expertise of a qualified nurse or physician to educate participants, as well as to raise awareness of stroke and its serious complications for those affected by this condition (CDC, 2013). In addition, it is important to identify the specific factors that will promote education and knowledge that participants might apply to their own lives (CDC, 2013). These efforts are critical to the success of the endeavor and its impact on adults who might face an increased risk of stroke (CDC, 2013). The primary objectives including the recruitment of participants for the education program, the development of a curriculum-based format that will be informative for all participants, and the creation of examples that will engage participants and allow them to better understand their own risks in relation to stroke.
• To develop a successful approach that is designed to influence smarter decision-making for adults to prevent possible strokes in the future. This is best accomplished through the development of new insights and the impact of strokes on the lives of those who have been affected so that there is significant opportunity to promote prevention and knowledge as best as possible. This requires individuals to recognize the common risks associated with stroke and to capture a greater understanding of the elements that will facilitate reduced numbers of strokes. Therefore, statistical findings and stories of stroke victims must serve as drivers of stroke prevention programs.
•  Educational interventions to reduce the risk of stroke requires an effective understanding of the severity of this condition and its overall impact on adult patients. Therefore, it is important to identify a means of exploring this condition by recognizing not only the risk factors, but also the warning signs that might indicate that a stroke is taking place (UPMC). Under these conditions, it is important to identify educational tools and objectives that will ensure the safety of all patients at risk for this condition (UPMC).

The learning curve for stroke education is significant because knowledge regarding strokes is vast, yet often very difficult to understand (Arkansas Department of Health, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary to identify the resources that will educate local residents in the identification of stroke risk factors and the potential warning signs of a stroke to prevent as much damage as possible (Arkansas Department of Health, 2011). It is important to identify areas of programmatic education that would benefit from this practice and to better understand how these needs are impacted by the development of new ideas and approaches to stroke prevention and recognition (Arkansas Department of Health, 2011). These factors will provide greater support in educating local residents regarding their own risk factors for stroke and how to prevent this condition (Arkansas Department of Health, 2011).

• Finally, the Health Belief Model is appropriate in this example because it engages participants if there is a legitimate belief of risk, while also considering the specific factors that contribute to these risks and how to prevent them within a structured educational program (Frost, 2008). Under these conditions, the Health Belief Model emphasizes the importance of stroke and its potential impact on many members of the population (Frost, 2008).

References

Arkansas Department of Health (2011). Stroke education: what is stroke? Retrieved from http://www.healthy.arkansas.gov/programsServices/chronicDisease/HeartDiseaseandStrokePrevention/dssNetwork/Pages/StokeEducation.aspx

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2013). CDC National Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Program. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/programs/nhdsp_program/goals.htm

Frost, R. (2008). Health promotion theories and models for program planning and implementation. Retrieved from http://azrapeprevention.org/sites/azrapeprevention.org/files/2008_01_UA.pdf

National Stroke Association (2013). Am I at risk for a stroke? Retrieved from http://www.stroke.org/site/PageServer?pagename=RISK

UPMC. Stroke education for patients and families. Retrieved from http://www.upmc.com/patients-visitors/education/Documents/StrokeEducationforPatientsandFamilies.pdf