Part IV: Application
Heart disease can occur due to plaque buildup in the arteries causing narrowing, which can decrease blood flow throughout the body. According to research findings, it’s noted that heart disease is one of the top five causes of premature death in this community. It is also a very prevalent condition for the seniors’ at Goddard Senior Center. Therefore, the main focus of our presentation is on Hypertension, Cholesterol, and Nutrition.
Part V: Planning and Implementation
Heart Disease is one of the leading causes of death on the Upper West Side. Due to this fact, our goal in preparing for this lecture was to educate the seniors’ on the cause of heart disease and how it can be prevented to decrease the mortality rate. The teaching session was conducted at Goddard Senior Center on March 25, 2015. There were 20 residents in attendance. The topics for discussion were Hypertension, Cholesterol and Nutrition. We prepared a table and set up with pamphlets/brochures provided by the wellness center to help enhance our presentation with pertinent information relating to the topics. We hung posters and pictures on the wall then donned our City tech lab coats to give it a more visual effect. The residents were very amazed and receptive by our professionalism and creativity. Then we began our session; we used food props provided by the Nursing Department to explain the servings to intake. Towards the end of the discussion we were intrigued by the amount of questions asked. At the end of the session, we offered Blood Pressure screening to the public. The turnout overall was well attended.
In order to pull off this educational class, we needed to collaborate the director of Goddard Riverside Senior Center. She gave us support and provided us with a large space to conduct our class. New York City College of Technology wellness center provided us with brochures and educational pamphlets. To advertise this event the director made daily announcements to the seniors that attended this facility. We also made flyers and handed them out to advertise out event. The overall attendance was great. Even though there were many fun activities (such as dancing and drama) going on, we still had a great turn out.
Click here to see our flyer
Part VI: Evaluation
Our main goal was to educate the seniors about heart disease and how it can be prevented. Within this topic we covered hypertension, cholesterol and nutrition. We handed out pamphlets and brochures and spent one on one time with each person. There we discussed information on nutrition in terms of serving size and what foods should and shouldn’t be consumed. We also provided information on daily exercises to keep the heart healthy and provided blood pressure screenings.
This information will benefit this community because, like mentioned before, heart disease is one of the top 3 leading cause of death in this area. So by providing education and screening, we hope to leave a positive everlasting impression and motivate them to take part in their well-being. We want them to know about heart disease and that certain thing like hypertension could be silent, so it’s important to see your doctor. Not that many people are aware that they have hypertension because it doesn’t come with symptoms.
We evaluated the seniors and they understood our educational class. They were very grateful and involved in the class. They asked questions and gave a lot of feedback. We are unable to determine if the class made a difference or influenced the seniors positively because we were there for a few months only. So, to actually evaluate them is impossible.
