Grant Proposal-Project Description | Heart Resources, LLC

April 8th, 2012 // 4:12 pm @ Katherine F.H. Heart

The next section of this Healthy People 2020 is?the project description, which is?comprised of?information and data describing the needs and problems of the people who will be?helped by the grant. In this case, supporting data from research studies and reports helps to establish the community?s need.??

1. Describe the community?s need for this project and which members of the community will be served by the project.??

The SVCOG facility is situated in the Borough of Homestead in Allegheny County PA. The community has a high incidence of poverty and crime, and is among the areas of Allegheny County designated by HRSA as a Medically-Underserved Area (MUA). The nonprofit organizations described in this proposal (and others) are clustered in a recognizably urban residential inner city neighborhood, which serve economically-disadvantaged and disabled residents. The community has a large population of African-Americans, 47.86%. The median household income for the Borough is $23,369, while the County?s is almost doubled at $46,641. The average home value is $38,600 with a 22.4% vacancy rate (http://www.policymap.com).

The indoor gymnasium facility will serve the aforementioned nonprofit agencies with group activities for all ages, from young children starting at the age of 3 through older adults over age 60 and be accessible to people with physical, intellectual and mental disabilities.?Data and information about the specific health-related needs of participants at the SVCOG facility, including the incidence of physical and mental health conditions are entirely privileged and within the domain of confidential health information collected by each organization. Therefore, the proposed project will seek to assess, measure and track only improvements in physical activity participation, as contained in the Healthy People 2020 Objectives.?

It has been well-established that many people with mental illness have co-morbid health problems such as overweight, smoking, diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, chronic stress and distress, physical pain and disability, and sedentary lifestyles. People with severe mental illness are not only at risk for chronic medical illnesses like diabetes and heart disease, but also die an average of 25 years sooner than the general population due to these preventable conditions, rather than from suicide as was previously thought. This data is cited from two well-regarded published studies and reports:??Congruencies in increased mortality rates, years of potential life lost, and causes of death among public mental health clients in eight States,? by Colton and Manderscheid?in?Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy, 3(2), 1-14 (April 2006)?and??Data to manage the mortality crisis: Recommendations to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration? by Mandersheid, Druss and Freeman (August, 2007). As a result, the?Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has issued a National Call to Action for the Wellness of People with Mental Health Problems in the 10 x 10 Wellness Campaign to reduce the difference in life expectancy by 10 years within 10 years (http://10?10.samhsa.gov).?

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, child and adolescent obesity is associated with increased risk of emotional problems. By the teen years, weight problems can result in much lower self-esteem and less popularity with peers. Depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder can also occur. In the absence of a physical disorder, the major recommendations include improving diet and nutrition, and increasing daily physical activity (http://www.aacap.org).?

The noted Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study of over 17,000 Kaiser Permanente patients suggests that traumatic childhood experiences are major risk factors for the leading causes of illness and death as well as poor quality of life in the U.S. (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/).

Childhood abuse and adversity has been linked to inflammation over time that can lead to cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, arthritis, Type 2 diabetes and certain cancers (?How Stress Kills: Assessing the Damage and Various Remedies,? Janice Kiecolt-Glaser, PhD, presented at the annual conference of the American Psychological Association, from an article published by e! Science News, August 14, 2010).??And a recent study of the long-term economic costs of psychological problems during childhood estimates a reduction in family income of about $10,400 per year, and loss of lifetime earning power around $300,000 (Smith, JP, and Smith GC, ?Long-Term Economic Costs of Psychological Problems During Childhood,? by Smith and Smith, Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 71, No. 1, July 2010, pp. 110-115.1).

Employed people have the financial means to make choices and purchase services to aid them in lifestyle health change. Members of the general public with modest incomes can join a fitness club, and pay for the guidance of a fitness trainer or wellness coach. The burden of disability and disadvantages of poverty makes these supports for lifestyle health inaccessible or unavailable to many people who depend upon services in community-based systems. This project hopes to ameliorate these disadvantages by offering a safe indoor space with evidence-based health-related fitness programs.

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