QUESTION
For you to perform a PRELIMINARY NEEDS ASSESSMENT by performing an evidence-based literature review. Once you identify a need, then you can start creating a solution. This will specifically, later on, assist you in explaining and justifying what the needs are in your target population. Use the following process to PREPARE to do your needs assessment. *Review Healthy People 2030 documents and the objectives from 2030 Topics and Objectives (Objectives A–Z) Link: https://health.gov/
ANSWER
Preliminary Needs Assessment Assignment
Tobacco use is one of the leading causes of preventable illness, disability, and
mortality in the world. Smoking has taken the shape of a global epidemic that results in more
than 5 million preventable annual deaths globally. In the United States of America, it is
estimated that about 16 million adults suffer from smoking-related diseases that lead to more
than 500,000 deaths every year. Based on the current rate of tobacco use, it is expected that
the number of preventable deaths due to tobacco-related illnesses will double by the year
2022. Tobacco use is a major health problem because it is not only detrimental to personal
health but also puts so much burden on society. For instance, there is evidence that tobacco
use results in decreased productivity, increased health care burden, cause of poverty in low-
income families, and environmental pollution. According to the center for disease control
(CDC), smoking imposes a heavy burden on society as a whole. For instance, CDC reports
that premature deaths result in over $240 in direct medical expenses and over $372 billion in
lost productivity costs in 2018.
There is ample body of documented evidence that shows a causal relationship
between tobacco use and increased rate of respiratory and vascular diseases such as stroke,
coronary heart failure, pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, subclinical
atherosclerosis, and cancer. Despite all the obvious and serious risks, many adults in the
United States continue to smoke. Unfortunately, the public health problems and devastation
of tobacco use outweigh the benefits it generates in terms of revenue and employment.
Accordingly, there is a need to forge a national or global campaign to overcome the use of
tobacco and reduce the rate of preventable diseases and deaths in the United States
(Benjamin, 2011).
There is evidence that shows healthy behaviors like smoking abstinence and increased
physical activities are associated with better quality of life and a longer life span. However,there haven’t been effective health promotion programs, such as public campaigns in
particular, that seeks to promote behavior change and achieve the desired outcome of
smoking cessation. This paper presents several reliable, acceptable, equitable, feasible, and
effective interventions that induce and encourage behavior change that results in an improved
and better quality of life (Davidson & Scholz, 2020). The objective of the study is to
consolidate evidence-based resources and develop a health program that seeks to eliminate
cigarette smoking initiation in adolescents and young adults.
The Rationale For The Need of A Health Program
In 2018, about 4% of adolescents and young adults between the age of 12 and 25
years who had no previous experience in smoking tobacco were reported to have been
initiated into smoking in the past 12 months of 2018. Convincing evidence reveals that most
adolescents and young adults start to smoke before they attain the age of 18 years. Therefore,
it is important to start developing programs that prevent young adults from being initiated
into tobacco smoking before starting. For any intervention to be effective in inducing
behavioral change, it’s important to first develop a causal and intervention theory that is
backed with empirical evidence (Golechha, 2016). Further, there is a need to have a proper
program design and implementation strategy that ensures full execution of the health systems
and functions and full coverage of the target population.
First, it’s noteworthy mentioning that behavioral risk factors are major causes of
morbidity and death as a result of chronic health conditions. Some of the most common
chronic health conditions related to unhealthy lifestyle and bad habits such as tobacco use
include cancer, diabetes, obstructive lung illnesses, and cardiovascular diseases (Golechha,
2016). These health conditions create a burden of health costs and social welfare on families.
Therefore, there is need for a comprehensive and complex medical care that focuses on
behavior change in order to reduce the burden of chronic diseases caused by tobacco use andimprove the quality of life. Convincing evidence on the burden of health condition risk
factors reveals that smoking accounted for about 11.7% of the lost disability-adjusted life
years (on alcohol, the resulting equivalent figures was about 10.7%). These figures show that
smoking is a major public issue that should be addressed at the very early stages.
Incidence and Prevalence
CDC estimates that about 30.8 million adults in the United States smoked cigarettes in
2020. One is termed a cigarette smoker after taking more than 100 cigarettes in a lifetime.
CDC also reports that about 14.1% of adult smokers were men while females accounted for
about 11%. Increased prevalence is seen in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
community LGBT (16%), military service members (29.2% of veterans were smokers), and
Hispanic adults at 8%. However, the available data shows that the prevalence of smoking in
the United States is on a declining trajectory. Available evidence shows that smoking is a
major risk factor for developing diabetes. The chances of smokers developing diabetes are 30
to 40% higher than those of people who do not use tobacco (Sharby, 2005). Evidence by
CDC also shows that smokers are more likely to develop coronary heart disease by 4 times
than nonsmokers. Further, smoking is more likely to cause lung cancer in men and women 25
times more than nonsmokers. In terms of cardiovascular diseases, smoking is found to have a
great risk of developing diseases that block blood vessels resulting in a stroke (Roberts et al.,
2013).
Studies on tobacco use in the United States reveal that most users start smoking
during adolescence. According to CDC, nearly 9 out of 10 young adults who smoked
cigarettes were initiated at the age of 18 years. However, the majority of these adults start to
smoke daily at the age of 26 years. The data also shows that about 1600 young people try
their first cigarette every day and nearly 200 of them become everyday smokers. According
to the studies, young people are attracted to trying cigarettes because of the flavorings intobacco products. Technology has also worsened the situation and now even high school
students can access e-cigarettes. Smokeless tobacco, hookah, nicotine pouches, pipe tobacco,
and heated tobacco products are some of the most liked by young people (CDC, 2022).
As indicated earlier, tobacco use is associated with more than half a million deaths
every year in the United States. Every day, more than 1000 people are killed by tobacco use
mainly smoking cigarettes (CDC, 2022). A large percentage of these deaths are caused by
conditions mentioned earlier, that as cancer, heart attacks, and other pulmonary diseases.
However, the devastation of tobacco use does not end with smokers. There is evidence that
reveals the negative impact of second-hand smoking. Every year, many nonsmokers
including children experience respiratory problems and get infections because of their
exposure to second-hand smoke. There is evidence that shows nonsmokers die because of
heart attacks and cancer as a result of second-hand smoke. In a nutshell, tobacco has no
benefits and there is no single safe tobacco product. Therefore, there is a need to sensitize the
general public and create awareness of the dangers and negative impact of tobacco use in
society especially among young people.
Secondly, it’s important to note that most of the risk factors can be modified through
primary intervention. Prevention is better and less expensive than treating the health
conditions associated with tobacco-related illnesses. For instance, it is estimated that the cost
of treating advanced cancer is above $40,000 while smoking prevention intervention only
costs about $400 for every quality-adjusted life year gained. While the nature of the
intervention is important in reducing tobacco use, identifying the target group with the
greatest risk is crucial. Otherwise, fully covering the target group with increased risks may
render the intervention program ineffective. Previously, there have been several mass public
health campaigns that have failed to achieve the desired outcome (reducing the burden of
tobacco-related diseases) merely because the issue of compliance was overlooked. The of creating awareness about the dangers of smoking is good, but without ensuring
compliance, it becomes very simplistic and does not make any sense (unrealistic). In other
words, encouraging people to change their behavior and adopt healthy habits is important but
the intervention program should also include a mixture of legislative and regulatory
frameworks that ensure full compliance. Such incentives may increase the probability of
influencing behavior change for personal good and society as a whole.
CDC reports that a systematic review of proven interventions that are population-
based shows a reduction in the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents and young
adults. In states that have developed strict tobacco control programs, the sales of cigarettes
have declined significantly. As a result of such decline, there has been a downward trend in
the rate of tobacco-related illnesses and deaths across racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, and
educational backgrounds. The review of the comprehensive tobacco control program also
revealed that the interventions were efficient and more cost-effective. However, CDC has
also recommended other single interventions such as price increases for tobacco products,
mass media campaigns, and smoke-free policies that also have a significant impact on
reducing the burden of tobacco use in society.
In conclusion, it’s important to reiterate that tobacco use largely contributes to
preventable diseases and deaths. Millions of people are killed by cigarette smoking and others
are living with tobacco-related illnesses like stroke, cancer, pneumonia, and other
cardiovascular diseases. The burden of tobacco use is heavy and costly both to smokers and
society as a whole. As such, there is a need to have elaborate control programs and single
interventions at the community level to help reduce tobacco use and prevent nonsmokers
from second-hand smoke that also affects their health.