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Week 8 Case Study

The Community Health Fair

The Scenario

QAS has partnered with the Ipswich City Council, Heart Foundation, Diabetes Queensland, and several local GP practices to host a community health fair at the Ipswich Civic Centre on a Saturday in April. The event is free and open to the public, targeting a suburb with high rates of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes. Paramedic student Marcus is volunteering at the QAS booth alongside his mentor, Senior Paramedic Helen. Their station is offering free blood pressure checks, heart health information, and CPR demonstrations. Other stalls include: a Diabetes Queensland booth offering BGL screening, a nutrition stall with healthy cooking demonstrations, a mental health organisation (Beyond Blue) offering information and referrals, a quit-smoking stand with Quitline resources, and a children's activity area teaching kids about calling 000 in emergencies.

Over the course of the day, Marcus takes blood pressure readings for 74 community members. He identifies 12 people with readings above 140/90 mmHg, including three with readings above 160/100 mmHg who were previously unaware of any blood pressure issue. One of these, a 48-year-old man named Dean, records a reading of 172/108 mmHg. Dean says he hasn't seen a GP in over five years because "I feel fine, so why would I?" Marcus explains the risks of uncontrolled hypertension and provides a referral card with details for three local bulk-billing GPs. Dean is initially dismissive but becomes more engaged when Marcus shows him a risk calculator tool that estimates his 10-year cardiovascular risk based on age, blood pressure, cholesterol (estimated), smoking status, and diabetes status.

Helen uses the interaction as a teaching moment for Marcus. She asks him to consider: What level of prevention is this health fair operating at? How does this activity align with the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion? What health behaviour models explain Dean's initial reluctance and eventual engagement? And how does health literacy affect people's ability to act on health information? Later in the day, Helen points out that the health fair was strategically located in a low-socioeconomic suburb, the cooking demonstrations used culturally diverse recipes, and the CPR training used plain-language instruction—all deliberate design choices informed by health promotion theory.

Discussion Questions

1 The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) identifies five action areas. For each of the five action areas (build healthy public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community action, develop personal skills, reorient health services), identify a specific example from this health fair scenario that demonstrates that action area in practice.
2 Apply the Health Belief Model (HBM) to Dean's behaviour. Analyse his initial reluctance using the HBM constructs: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. What was the "cue to action" that shifted his engagement?
3 Using the Transtheoretical Model (Stages of Change), identify what stage Dean was in when Marcus first took his blood pressure, and what stage he appeared to move to by the end of the conversation. What strategies are most effective at each stage?
4 Helen mentions the Socio-Ecological Model (SEM) as a framework for understanding health behaviour. Identify factors at each level of the SEM (individual, interpersonal, community, organisational, policy) that influence whether Dean will follow up with a GP about his blood pressure.
5 Distinguish between the three levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary). Classify each of the following activities at the health fair: (a) the CPR demonstration, (b) the blood pressure screening, (c) the Quitline smoking cessation referrals for current smokers, (d) the healthy cooking demonstration. Justify your classification.
6 Define health literacy and explain why it is critical for effective health promotion. Helen noted that the CPR training used plain-language instruction. Why is this important? What are the consequences of low health literacy for health outcomes, and how should health promotion materials be designed to address varying literacy levels?

Key Concepts Applied

Ottawa Charter

The foundational framework for health promotion, with five action areas that guide the design of events like this health fair—from policy to personal skills.

Health Belief Model

Explains health behaviour through perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy. The risk calculator was Dean's cue.

Transtheoretical Model

The Stages of Change model (precontemplation through maintenance) helps practitioners tailor interventions to where a person currently sits in their change journey.

Socio-Ecological Model

Health behaviour is shaped by nested layers of influence: individual beliefs, family support, community norms, organisational structures, and public policy.

Levels of Prevention

Primary (prevent disease), secondary (early detection), and tertiary (manage existing disease). The health fair operates primarily at primary and secondary levels.

Health Literacy

The ability to obtain, understand, and act on health information. Low health literacy is a barrier to prevention, treatment adherence, and self-management.

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