Question:
Discuss About The Indigenous Non Indigenous Cancer Patients?
Lung cancer is becoming a burden to Australian health care system and the indigenous population. The Aboriginal and Torres Islander people have higher chances of being diagnosed with lung cancer than the non-indigenous people. This paper aims to develop a health promotion plan for lung cancer targeting indigenous population. The assignment will discuss the target group and why the health plan will be beneficial to the selected group. Additionally, it will discuss the goals of the plan, stakeholder involvement, health promotion activity and evaluation strategies.
The target group for this health promotion plan is indigenous population aged between 15 years and 55 years. This group has been selected due to various fundamental factors. First, the prevalence of lung cancer is high among the indigenous population in the selected age bracket. Based on a recent study, there is a higher prevalence of lung cancer among indigenous Australians aged less than 55 years. In fact, the study found that 41% of cases of cancer occur in the indigenous population (Garvey, 2017). Second, the indigenous Australians have high rates of particular lifestyle risk factors such as tobacco smoking. These risk factors are attributable to the high incidences of lung cancer and death rates in this age group (Cancer Australia, 2013). The high prevalence of lung cancer is mainly associated with the high incidences of tobacco smoking. It has been found that approximately 39% of the indigenous Australians aged 15 years smoke daily (AIHW, 2017). This rate is about three times higher compared to the non-indigenous population.
Health promotion for the target group will be beneficial since it will reduce the disease burden, mortality rates linked to lung cancer and the high cost of caring for lung cancer patients. A report published in 2013, shows that indigenous people diagnosed with lung cancer were 50% more likely to die compared to non-indigenous patients. The death rates for this population group due to lung cancer were 40% for men and 60% for females. At the same year, most of the deaths associated with lung cancer occurred in the population aged less than 55 years (Cancer Australia, 2013). In 2014, it was found that lung cancer was the leading cause of deaths in Australia and will continue to cause more deaths in 2017. Approximately, 8,251 Australians died due to lung cancer in 2014. The number of deaths associated with lung cancer is expected to be 9,021 by the end of 2017. In 2017, it is approximated that the chances of a person dying from lung cancer by their 85th birthday are one in 23 (Australia, 2017). Besides, the cancerous cells can create a malignant tumour that has the chances of invading and damaging the area around it and spreading to other parts of the body via the lymphatic system or bloodstream. In case the spread of these tumours is left uncontrolled, they might result in death. Also, the costs of treating and caring for individuals with cancer are high. One study found that average cost of managing non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were A$10,675 and A$14,799 respectively (Kang, Koh, Vinod, & Jalaludin, 2012).
The health promotion plan for the indigenous Australians aged between 15 and 55 years will aim to reduce the prevalence of lung cancer and its complications such as hemoptysis, pleural effusion and metastasis (Farbicka & Nowicki, 2013). Specifically, the plan will have an objective of helping the selected population group to quit tobacco smoking, manage lung cancer and prevent adverse outcomes associated with lung cancer. In the short-term, the plan will aim to improve the health outcomes of the individuals who have been diagnosed with lung cancer, while in the long-term it will lower the incidences of the disease in the selected population.
The primary, secondary and tertiary perspectives of health promotion target different things. In this case, the primary perspective will target lung cancer prevention. The secondary perspective will target the management of lung cancer for the indigenous Australians who have already been diagnosed with the disease. Finally, the tertiary perspective will aim to prevent the onset as well as the advancement of the health complications associated with lung cancer.
Lifestyle medication can help to prevent the development of lung cancer in the selected population. Smoking cessation, as well as tobacco control, is important in preventing the onset of lung cancer. This aspect is based on the fact that smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer in Australia (Crane, et al., 2016). However, there is no comprehensive evidence on the strategies that are effective for the indigenous Australians. Government and public health initiatives have lowered the rates of smoking in Australia, but they have not yielded significant success for the indigenous population. For this health promotion plan, the lifestyle modification programs will consider the cultural, historical, social and economic reasons why indigenous Australians smoke. It will also consider the factors that compromise the efforts to minimise tobacco smoking and factors that can encourage them to quit. Literature suggests the use of comprehensive and personalised interventions including culturally suitable health activities and materials (Minichiello, Lefkowitz, Firestone, Smylie, & Schwartz, 2016).
This perspective should increase symptoms and signs awareness to accelerate diagnosis. There will thus be novel initiatives with an objective of enhancing awareness of lung cancer signs and symptoms among the selected population group. The techniques used to diagnosis the disease should be accurate and fast. The low-dose CT (LDCT) screening is effective for reducing the number of deaths due to lung cancer (Detterbeck, Mazzone, Naidich, & Bach, 2013). After diagnosis, the indigenous population should be made aware of the culturally acceptable treatment and interventions. Personalized care services that address the sociocultural needs of the indigenous population are needed to improve the engagement with cancer care services and consequently improve cancer outcome (Moore, et al., 2014).
Once the selected population has been diagnosed with lung cancer, the focus should shift towards preventing complications and mortality. A patient who has been diagnosed with lung cancer can experience shortness of breath (Kathiresan, Clement, & Sankaranarayanan, 2010). If cancer worsens, it can block the major airways and cause shortness of breath. Lung cancer can also result in pleural effusion. When fluid accumulates in the pleural space, it can affect the mechanisms of breathing because the lungs will fail to expand fully. Also, there is a risk of metastasis among the people who have been diagnosed with lung cancer (Harding & Simmons, 2012). Lung cancer can spread to other vital parts of the body like the brain and even bones. When lung cancer worsens, the patient will always experience severe pain making them uncomfortable. In some cases, lung cancer can lead to bleeding in the airways which can lead to hemoptysis (Hu, Wang, Cao, Ma, Sui, & Du, 2013).
The involvement of stakeholders and the community is a fundamental aspect of the creation of a successful health promotion plan. Engagement with stakeholders creates a transparent and inclusive forum, where comments, opinions and criticism are valued and used for improvement. Further, well-controlled stakeholder involvement is important to the effective designing and delivery of health service (Griffiths, Maggs, & George, 2008). The key stakeholders for this health promotion plan are governments, health care professionals and consumers (target population group). The consumers will be engaged at the community level to ensure their needs and concerns are addressed effectively. Nursing, allied and clinical councils will be used to engage health providers in the development and delivery of the health promotion plan. Besides, health service agencies are fundamental for this health plan. These agencies include primary health care services such as Aboriginal community-controlled care services and Medicare locals and secondary care providers.
The other key stakeholders are the governments including Australian government, state governments and local government areas (LGA). These governments make important decisions that affect the provision of care and offer significant funding for health promotion programs. Also, they are large employers that can employ workforce to help in the execution of the health plan. The Australian government is an important legislator and decision-maker. For instance, the government spends about A$31.5 in tobacco cessation (Department of Health, 2015). State governments offer services, invent preventive health programs as well as policies. Local governments are important for this health promotion plan because they have control over local amenities. They also partner with local community organizations to promote health in the indigenous population.
The health message for this health promotion plan will be “Quit tobacco smoking, Prevent lung cancer, Enjoy better life.” This message will serve as a psychological motivation and a warning to the smokers in the selected population group. The health message can be explained based on its three parts. The first part of the message encourages people to quit smoking, which is possible through the right motivation and guidance. Most indigenous individuals will perceive this message as a personal responsibility and can cause them to initiate ways to quit smoking. The second part of the health message informs the population why they should quit smoking and that is to prevent lung cancer. Just like the first part of the message, this section tells the population about their responsibility in preventing lung cancer. The final section informs the population what will happen when they quit tobacco smoking and prevent lung cancer. It informs them they will enjoy a better life. The culmination of the message is a reward of better health to those who embrace the message.
The health promotion activity for this plan is education. The health promotion program will introduce a novel idea in Australia, which has not been used elsewhere, known as evidence-based education. The design and delivery of the education program will aim to denormalise tobacco smoking for the selected population. Evidently, comprehensive tobacco control programmes aim to denormalise smoking behaviour (Pierce, White, & Emery, 2012). Based on the high number of smokers, some indigenous Australians have normalised smoking, which increases the prevalence of lung cancer. The plan will be community-based, where centres will be created in selected LGAs to facilitate the education. Additionally, the education plan will be cultural, socially and economically sensitive. During the education, the participants will first answer some few questions to determine how the education will be tailored. When did you start smoking? What encouraged you to start smoking? How many times do you smoke per day? These questions will be used to determine what caused the person to smoke and their addiction level. This step will be followed by “one-on-one” training on how to quit smoking. Based on the condition of the person, they will be made aware of the existing non-pharmacological methods such as varenicline, bupropion and nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) (Galanti, 2008). This technique will help to lower the prevalence of smoking among the target group and consequently lower the cases of lung cancer.
The health promotion evaluation will be conducted using three levels, process, impact and outcome. In process evaluation, the reach will be determined. Reach is the number of people within the target population group will be assisted through the promotion plan. All the people who attend the community centres will be required to register their name and age. In impact evaluation, the immediate outcome of the health promotion plan will be measured. The parameters that will be measured at this stage are improved knowledge about lung cancer, and the motivation to quit tobacco smoking. This kind of evaluation will determine whether the population is ready and motivated to stop smoking. The outcome evaluation will be determined by the new cases of lung cancer and mortality rates. A decrease in the number of new cases of lung cancer and mortality rates will be an indication of success.
Conclusion
Conclusively, lung cancer is becoming a health burden in Australia. The indigenous Australians aged between 15 years and 55 years are at a high risk of being diagnosed with lung cancer and death due to the disease. Tobacco smoking has been identified as the primary risk factor for lung cancer. This paper has developed a health promotion plan that will help the target population group to quit smoking and prevent lung cancer. A novel strategy known as evidence-based education has been introduced to help educate the selected population on how to quit smoking.
References
AIHW. (2017). Australian Cancer Incidence and Mortality (ACIM) books. Web report.
Australia, C. (2017). Lung cancer statistics. Retrieved 9 15, 2017, from https://lung-cancer.canceraustralia.gov.au/statistics
Cancer Australia. (2013). Report to the nation: Cancer in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia 2013. Surry Hills NSW: Cancer Australia.
Crane, M., Scott, N., O’Hara, B., Aranda, S., Lafontaine, M., Stacey, I., et al. (2016). Knowledge of the signs and symptoms and risk factors of lung cancer in Australia: mixed methods study. BMC public health , 16 (1), 508-.
Department of Health. (2015). Tobacco control. Retrieved 9 15, 2017, from https://www.health.gov.au/tobacco
Detterbeck, F. C., Mazzone, P. J., Naidich, D. P., & Bach, P. B. (2013). Screening for Lung Cancer. Chest. , 143 (5 Suppl), e78S–e92S.
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Garvey, G. (2017). NU01. 05 Indigenous Population with Lung Cancer. Journal of Thoracic Oncology , 12 (1), S195-S196.
Griffiths, J., Maggs, H., & George, E. (2008). Stakeholder Involvement. Retrieved 9 15, 2017, from https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/griffiths-stakeholder-involvement.pdf
Harding, A., & Simmons, C. (2012). Lung cancer in the emergency department. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal , 15 (1), 55-60.
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Kang, S., Koh, E., Vinod, S., & Jalaludin, B. (2012). Cost analysis of lung cancer management in South Western Sydney. Journal of medical imaging and radiation oncology , 56 (2), 235-241.
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Minichiello, A., Lefkowitz, A., Firestone, M., Smylie, J., & Schwartz, R. (2016). Effective strategies to reduce commercial tobacco use in Indigenous communities globally: a systematic review. BMC public health , 16 (1), 21.
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