The PRECEDE-PROCEED model is a medical model that moves away from the typical issue of disease treatment and focuses on health promotion. Developed by Lawrence W. Green, this model has been applied in many Western countries in the improvement of health. PRECEDE (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational Diagnosis and Evaluation) is the part of the model that helps in the development of various public health initiatives and programs. PROCEED (Policy, Regulatory, and Organizational Constructs in Educational and Environmental Development), on the other hand, serves as a guide to the effective implementation of the various programs that are created using PRECEDE.
With regards to using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model in designing an educational program aimed at promoting health for families with school-aged children, the nine phases of the model will be used to produce outstanding results.
The first phase is the social assessment phase, where the current social habits and practices of families with school-aged children is evaluated. This assessment helps determine what the existing health practices are, the current quality of life, and the health needs of these families. The second phase involves the epidemiological assessment. According to Webster’s Dictionary, epidemiology is “that branch of medicine which studies the incidence and distribution of disease in a population, and uses such information to find the causes, modes of transmission, and methods for control of disease”. In this context, this would mean that this phase involves studying the diseases common to these families and the frequency at which they occur. The findings are then used to find out the causes of these diseases, how they are transmitted and what can be done to control them. Phase three is conducting a behavioral and environmental assessment. The behavioral part of this assessment, in this case, refers to the lifestyles of the families, while the environmental part of the assessment refers to other social and physical factors that (directly or indirectly) affect the health status of these families.
Next is the educational and ecological assessment phase where the reinforcing (e.g. family culture, relationships), enabling (e.g. motivators, talents of the children), and predisposing (e.g. religious beliefs, preferences of parents) factors that affect the lifestyle of the families are examined to further determine what the appropriate educational program should be. The fifth phase is known as the administrative and policy assessment phase and involves determining which health promotion programs would best address the needs that have already been identified in the previous phases and bring about the desired changes in behaviors and factors already identified.
The PROCEED part of the model begins at phase six which is the implementation phase where the interventions that are agreed upon at stage five are put into action. In this case, this could be a class for school-aged children and their parents, a continuous program for children alone, or even an on-going event for the parents. Whatever the choice of educational program it is, it is important to note that phases one through five must be taken into full consideration to ensure that no needs or issues are left unaddressed when the program is finally implemented.
Once implementation of the educational program is completed, the next phase is the process evaluation phase. The program process is evaluated to determine what went right in the whole process, what went wrong, and what needs to be improved upon. This evaluation can be done by receiving feedback from the school-aged children and their parents/family members to determine if there are any positives to the entire process of implementation. Impact evaluation is the eighth phase which also involves evaluation. However, this evaluation is for the impact of the educational program on the behavioral factors involved in the entire process.
The final phase is outcome evaluation. I dare say that this is the most important of all three evaluations because besides the process and factors involved, the main issue is to find out what effects the educational program has had on the families who have taken part in the program. For this educational program to be deemed successful, several changes should be observed in the families such as better attention to health issues in the home and a more conscious effort by family members and children to live healthier lives.
In conclusion, it is important to note the necessity of using the PRECEDE-PROCEED model in the development and implementation of educational programs that are health-related. The model helps in bringing about more organized health promotion interventions that address any health issues. Healthcare professionals are able to provide the highest quality of medical interventions necessary at any time.