NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Plan
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Plan
Name
Capella university
NURS-FPX 4060 Practicing in the Community to Improve Population Health
Prof. Name
Date
Health Promotion Plan
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a leading cause of infant mortality, often occurring unexpectedly during sleep in otherwise healthy infants. This health promotion plan aims to educate parents and caregivers belonging to low-income families in Mississippi, where SIDS rates are disproportionately high. By raising awareness and promoting evidence-based interventions, this plan seeks to empower families to take proactive measures to protect infants and foster healthier outcomes.
Analysis of the Health Concern
The state of Mississippi struggles with SIDS as it maintains among the highest baby death rates in the nation. According to 2021 state health data, Black infants in Mississippi had 12.6 infant deaths per 1,000 live births, while White infants had 6.6 deaths per 1,000 live births (Mississippi State Department of Health, 2023). SIDS occurs when babies sleep face down or share beds with their parents while being exposed to secondhand smoke. Mississippi’s SIDS risks grow worse because residents lack proper healthcare, parents receive little education, and many live in poverty.
The state’s high risk of SIDS is made worse by limited access to prenatal care services that many expectant mothers do not receive (Webb, 2022). The consequences of SIDS extend beyond the loss of life. Families experience deep emotional pain, and communities must pay higher medical bills to handle deaths that could have been avoided. This analysis assumes that unsafe sleep practices and socioeconomic disparities are the primary drivers of SIDS in Mississippi. Despite ongoing public health efforts, uncertainties remain regarding biological factors contributing to SIDS and how best to address deeply rooted socioeconomic challenges. Addressing these gaps through a targeted health promotion plan is essential to reducing SIDS rates and improving infant health outcomes in Mississippi.
Need for Health Promotion Plan
Addressing SIDS through a health promotion plan is critical in Mississippi, a state with the highest infant mortality rate in the U.S. The 2018-2022 data showed Mississippi had a 221.9 SIDS rate per 100,000 live births (CDC, 2024), disproportionately affecting low-income families and African American communities, exacerbating health disparities. These groups often face limited access to healthcare, inadequate parental education, and environmental risks such as exposure to smoking, unsafe sleep environments, and crowded living conditions.
At the same time, Mississippi’s poverty rate is above the national one, while the median household income in the state is 26% less than the average one for the United States (Mississippi State Department of Health, 2022). With restricted access to healthcare, including prenatal, women do not have an opportunity to learn about safe sleep environments for infants. Health promotion is important to inform families about proven preventive strategies like putting infants to sleep on their backs, not sharing a bed and no smoke exposure. If addressed, this plan can enhance infant survival and decrease the emotional, social, and economic costs of SIDS. Specific education and health promotion efforts can fill existing knowledge deficits and increase health service utilization to help create healthier populations and reduce health disparities in Mississippi.
Participants Group Characteristics
We conduct an educational session for low-income parents and caregivers raising their infants in rural Mississippi. Most participants are African American young adults between 18 and 35 who live alone or with spouses. Most participants have completed high school or less and earn less than $25,000 annually. Most of these parents have no job or earn little money from physical work. Many participants have trouble getting medical care and finding ways to travel. The unique social and economic situation of this group puts them at high risk for SIDS, so we need to teach them about safe sleeping habits and infant wellness.
SMART Goals with the Participants
The participants and I developed three focused educational targets to match their learning requirements. Our goals follow the SMART framework structure. Using the SMART tool allows us to create clear goals to track and reach within specific timeframes, leading to better results (Stewart et al., 2024).
- Goal 1: During the session, participants will learn and correctly identify three essential infant sleep safety rules. A short quiz right after the session will test how well participants learned safe sleep practices. Safe sleep practices protect infants from SIDS, while caregiver education about these practices makes babies safer (Cole et al., 2022). The program tracks participants’ results while ensuring they understand concepts through easy-to-follow demonstrations that protect their infants.
- Goal 2: At the session’s completion we expect 80% of participants to show they understand what to do during infant health emergencies. The success of this goal will be tested through a practical simulation activity where participants show their understanding. Caregivers who learn emergency response skills can help more infants survive and prevent unnecessary deaths, according to research by Gyaase et al. (2024). By using active learning methods, we aim to teach participants emergency skills that benefit newborns in at-risk neighborhoods directly.
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Plan
- Goal 3: After the session, 85% of participants will know two local resources that help keep their infants safe and healthy. We will check resource awareness during the session by asking participants to list available resources. Participants need to know about local resources to get help from their community to keep their infants healthy and safe. We aim to support low-income families by delivering simple and reachable information to solve their problems.
Conclusion
In conclusion, our health promotion plan helps Mississippi families fight SIDS by teaching them important safety practices and connecting them to needed resources. Participants will learn effective ways to protect their infants by receiving education about safe sleep habits and emergency planning while learning about available local resources. This plan creates fair health benefits and strengthens neighborhoods using tested solutions to solve health differences. When we equip participants with useful skills and information about SIDS prevention, they can better protect their infants and create lasting safety habits.
References
CDC. (2024, September 17). SUID rates by state, 2018–2022. Cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/sudden-infant-death/data-research/data/suid-rates-by-state.html
Cole, R., Young, J., Kearney, L., & Thompson, J. M. D. (2022). Infant care practices, caregiver awareness of safe sleep advice and barriers to implementation: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(13), 7712. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137712
Gyaase, P., Aduse-Poku, E., Lanquaye, M. O., Acheampong, E. B., & Sampson, D. B. (2024). Health seeking behaviour and knowledge on neonatal danger signs among neonatal caregivers in upper Denkyira East municipality, Ghana. BMC Pediatrics, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-023-04430-2
NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 1 Health Promotion Plan
Mississippi State Department of Health. (2023, January 10). Mississippi Infant Mortality Report 2021. Msdh.ms.gov. https://msdh.ms.gov/msdhsite/index.cfm/29
Mississippi State Department of Health. (2022). Mississippi rural health plan 2022. msdh.ms.gov. https://msdh.ms.gov/page/resources/66.pdf
Stewart, V., McMillan, S. S., Hu, J., Collins, J. C., El-Den, S., O’Reilly, C. L., & Wheeler, A. J. (2024). Are SMART goals fit-for-purpose? Goal planning with mental health service users in Australian community pharmacies. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 36(1). https://doi.org/10.1093/intqhc/mzae009
Webb, M. I. (2022). Trends in prenatal care accessibility in rural Mississippi and how these trends affect unfavorable birth outcomes. University of Mississippi EGrove. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/2519
