Answer

1. Title of Project: Free Diabetes And Overweight Program
2. Summary of the Project

The Free diabetes and overweight program is an initiative by the youth within the community aimed at enhancing the overall health of the people. Primarily, the project involves setting up two days per week for a physical exercise and training session.  It is an aspect of community work as target individuals for improvement are members of the community (Twelvetrees, 2008). Principally, the program will be conducted by the youth with help from professional physical exercise trainers. The community hospital staff will recommend the types of exercise adopted. All individuals, from children to adults, will be invited to the events.

3. Aim(s) of the Project

• The primary objective of the project is to reduce the prevalence and incidences of diabetes within the community.
• Assist different groups within the community to acquire the skills and confidence necessary for improving quality of life through active participation.
• Enhancing community engagements geared towards the management of diabetes and obesity in all individuals.

4. Why this Project is Needed

Primarily, diabetes is on the rise, and about 30% of American children depicts signs of obesity, which is a significant risk factor in causing diabetes. Similarly, older individuals are the most affected by the issue of diabetes as prevalence is high. Moreover, the side effect of the condition is that it leads to high expenses on medication. Notably, lifestyle factors play a crucial role in the incidences of diabetes and obesity. Moreover, the increase in the number of children who are obese means that incidences of diabetes might be on the rise among adults. Therefore, the project is needed because it represents a primary early intervention measure for diabetes (Anckermann et al., 2005).

5. Community work approach or model

The community work focused project will utilize critical theory. In this regard, the approach will be ideal in analyzing the culture and society based on the existing circumstances (Hardcastle, Powers, & Wenocur, 2004).  Regarding the physical exercise and training, the critical theory is ideal in assessing the health needs within the community through structured critical analysis. Primarily, most people in the community, mainly those who are aged 50 years and above have diabetes as the leading chronic illness. On the other hand, young individuals are profoundly affected by high incidences of obesity. Therefore, using critical theory makes it a framework or model for analyzing the causes of these health problems and ways of managing them appropriately (Ennis & West, 2014).

6. Project objectives, strategies, and activities

The primary objective of the project will comprise educating community members about the importance of physical exercises and providing training skills to the youth and other interested community members. The objectives are selected because they promote high levels of engagement in physical activities.

The first step to promote skill acquisition and training will involve acquiring trainers who are conversant with proper physical exercise training for better health. In this regard, the physicians from the community hospital will be conducted to help with the service as they have a better comprehension of safe practices for better health. Another strategy in ensuring that the project succeeds is promoting awareness of the project as well as the information to people about the importance of maintaining an active lifestyle.

The busy schedule of health care workers concerned with physical health from the community hospital will not allow them to be available on all days. Therefore, the youths will first acquire the training from the health officers. After that, the enlightened youths will lead other community’s members in carrying out the physical excesses in which they can also transfer skills to other groups that may be interested in the training. Awareness will be promoted through advisements and other targeted communications within the community where all members will be invited to participate in the exercise (Yerbury, 2011). In this regard, the youths will also hold meetings amongst themselves to identify roles for each one to play as part of project execution practice.  During the training and physical exercises engagement events, community members will also be informed about the relevance of remaining physically fit and how it relates to the development of diabetes and overweight. Primarily, word of mouth communication will be preferred, as it requires less cost.

7. Evaluation

Evaluation of the effectiveness of the project will be critical in determining if it is achieving its indented objectives or not. In this regard, changes in targeted areas will be evaluated at specific points after the start of the project. Primarily, the evaluation will consider how the achieved outcomes relate or rhyme with the expected outcomes (Wood, Savaiano, 2009). It is important to note that the expected outcomes are the goals or aims of the project, which is reducing the incidences of obesity and diabetes within the community

The first evaluation will focus on the objective of increasing awareness among community members that physical exercise is vital for proper health. The concept will be evaluated through interviews that will be carried out at specific points after the implementation of the project. Primarily, the first interview will occur a month after the project starts, and different groups in the community will be asked if they feel that physical training is vital. In this regard, if many people state that physical exercise and training is essential, it will indicate that the project has been effective in creating awareness.

The second evaluation will focus on the skill-gaining objective. In this regard, if after one month, different groups of people within the community can conduct physical exercise independently, it will indicate that the project has been effective in transferring vital physical exercise training skills to the community members.

Lastly, the evaluation to determine if incidences of obesity and diabetes in the community have reduced will occur three months after the project’s start date. In this regard, the number of new infections or incidences of diabetes and obesity within the training period will be determined, and if it is zero or close to zero, it will indicate that the program has promoted proper wellbeing among the people. Moreover, the number of individuals with obesity who will shake off excess weight within the timeframe will also be assessed. In this regard, the higher the number, the higher the efficiency of the project.

8. Budget

The project will take place in the community park that is centrally located within the area of concern. Therefore, the cost of managing the event will be spent on various factors, as listed in the table below.

9. Potential funding sources

The physical training exercise will require a substantial amount of capital to be successful. Ideally, the first source of funds will be the ministry of health under the community empowerment section. In this regard, the funds will be part of the ministry’s objective to improve health outcomes by dispersing medical information to the people. Another expected source of funding will be the state government as a means of supporting the campaign against obesity and diabetes. Also, philanthropic individuals will help fund the project through individual and organizational donations.  For instance, being a public campaign program, organizations in the area can help support it financially through their cooperate social responsibility programs. Lastly, the community hospital will also help support the project by having some of its employees participate in the project activities such as training and provision of medical information without being paid. The contribution will be a show of goodwill by the hospital to the community as well as the commitment of the facility towards promoting better health.

10. Project Timeline

11. Limitations And Weaknesses Of The Project

The Free diabetes and overweight program is susceptible to various weakness, which may curtail its execution.  The first limitation is the finances required for the project.  Notably, most of the finances will come from donors and goodwill pleas from the state leadership and ministry of health. Even though these sources can offer a substantial amount of money for the project, it is not guaranteed that they will provide the cash. Similarly, finances from the donations cannot be relied upon. Therefore, the project can fail to reach completion and stall along the way after the finances run out.

The second weakness of the project is that its planning might not be proper because it is going to be executed by the youths. According to Stringer and Ernest (2007), different groups within the community possess diverse experiences. Therefore, if all members in unison develop plans, they will be effective. However, the development of a plan by one group could be a weakness as the plan may not be comprehensive.

Lastly, the project may experience limited support from other groups within the community, such as the elderly, children, and people with disabilities. For instance, they may feel that the training is a youth an affair, and thus, their presence will be more of an intrusion. Consequently, only a few of them might turn up for the training exercises, thereby limiting the project’s effectiveness.