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What are Psychedelic Mushrooms and What can They do for us?
Introduction
Psilocybin, otherwise known as magic mushrooms, “Bammers”, psychedelic shrooms, and even a plant of the Gods. I am sure there are all different kinds of names for these on the streets since they were considered a schedule 1 drug back during Nixon’s presidency and the War on drugs. Schedule 1 drugs in the United States are those that are purported to have the following traits: 1) The drug or other substance has a high potential risk of abuse 2) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment within the United States. I don’t know if you have tried them, but you won’t want to do them twice in one day, or every day at that! So, the probability of abuse is nearly non-existent! Furthermore, there are so many more medicinal properties than almost all “Big Pharma” medicines, without any side effects.
In June of 1971, Nixon established that drug abuse was “Public Enemy Number One”, with psilocybin mushrooms being among that list. However, the thing about mycology (which is the study of all fungi) began making some progress towards positive effects of almost all safe mushrooms, and psychedelic mushrooms. Magic Mushrooms and other mushrooms such as Lion’s Mane, Red Reishi, Oyster, and so much more have shown proof of enhancing all kinds of human qualities. Mental clarity, immunological enhancement, neurogenesis, neuro-generation, neuro-regeneration, and even neuroplasticity has all been shown to enhance our minds. Reishi is even called natures Xanax since it helps lower anxiety. Neurogenesis is the origination of newborn nerve cells from stem cells within our body. The more active cells we have the better we will be in almost all aspects of life. Now Neuro-generation and Neuro Regeneration, does exactly as it sounds, generating new neurons, while regenerating helps atrophied neurons. And finally, to top it all off, neuroplasticity which consists of synaptogenesis where more nerves begin branching out more conduits for more connections (JRE, 2019). Neuroplasticity, in other words, is the brain’s ability to adapt to new situations or changes in their environment. Psychedelic Mushrooms just make you feel like a happy person, in almost everything you do.
How Do They Work?
The way these mushrooms work is quite exceptional actually. People used to think that you were just basically getting food poisoning, which in too high of a dose, you would just raulf it up. But even then, the effects will still last. We will touch base on Micro-dosing, moderate dosing, and even heroic dosing which all have their own benefits within themselves. But first, the chemical response that is happening in our bodies. There are over 200 mushrooms that contain psilocybin which is the naturally occurring chemical compound that makes you experience a psychedelic spectacle. Psilocybin is considered a pro-drug, which is a compound that is inactive by itself, but when metabolized, it can turn into a pharmacological compound in the body (Psilocin). When we consume psilocybin-containing mushrooms (which is the most terrible tasting experience, if it isn’t boiled into a tea, or put in chocolates or capsules), our bodies begin metabolizing the psilocybin into psilocin, which is actually able to bind to our serotonin receptors. Serotonin’s chemical structure is fairly similar to that of psilocin, but it is a monoamine neurotransmitter, which is the source of all those wonderful happy feelings we get from something we enjoy doing, or around people we love being around. It can also be boosted through chemical assistance, where we can establish a new sense of well-being in this life we live. Psilocin is actually considered an agonist, meaning it can initiate a physiological response for our serotonin receptors (Haze and Mandrake, 2016). The following picture will show how closely related the chemical molecule structures are to one another.
So closely related, don’t ya think! (Science Direct, n.d.)
As a neurotransmitter it can assist in relaying messages from one part or section of the brain, to the other. Research from back in 2016, states that there is a sensory overload that happens when someone “trips”, which is caused from the psilocin. This makes the brain become more hyperconnected; that is, it allows for greater communication between parts of the brain that otherwise wouldn’t talk to each other. The process is called Synesthesia phenomena which is said to reorganize connections and strengthen weaker ones, enhancing our mental acuity. It is also something that may make your senses interact with one another. Such as, if you hear music, you may see shapes, or if you hear the name Jake, you may see the color green. It is something that brings all your senses in line with one another, creating a higher acuity of your senses (Haze and Mandrake, 2016). You will see me constantly go back to primal times, comparing what these mushrooms may have done, and how they potentially corelate with our existence today (Stoned Ape Theory), but we will get back to that. This Synesthesia may have helped our primal ancestors to hunt and kill food, pick other certain plants, and even stay alive amidst so many predators.
Our minds have evolved to constantly filtering out any non-useful stimuli in our new world, enabling us to focus on the important task of living our lives, or simply being a human being. It saves our minds resources, and extracts things that can be considered trivialities. Not everyone counts how many cars are being tugged behind a train when stopped at a train crossing. Certain areas of the brain that inhibit distracting stimuli and help maintain our attention, such as the hypothalamus, have been proven to show decreased activity when under the effects of psilocin. Another area is called the claustrum (derived from the Latin word for “hidden or shut away”), which is an extremely thin sheet of neurons deep within the cortex, yet it reaches out to every other region in the brain. The true purpose is also “hidden away”, however there are a few speculations of why it’s there, and what its true purpose is. One is from Francis Crick of DNA-discovery, which he believed the claustrum is responsible for our awareness and sense of self, or the seat of our consciousness (John Hopkins, 2020). With this in mind, Johns Hopkins tested 15 people, whom some took psilocybin, while the others received a placebo. They found that the ones that took the psilocybin, showed a reduced neuronal activity in the claustrum by 15% to even 30%. The lowered activity seemed to be associated with stronger subjective effects of the drug, such as emotional and mystical experiences. The researchers also found that the drug changed the correspondence between the claustrum and brain regions that involve hearing, attention, decision-making, and remembrance (John Hopkins, 2020). This is what ties in with what people claim as typical effects of psychedelics, including feelings of being connected to everything, and more importantly, reduced senses of self or egotistical behavior. New technology, such as the fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) have given researchers the ability to track certain brain activity. Thus, making more breakthroughs on certain effects of mind-altering drugs, such as psilocybin mushrooms, and many more. There has been proven research that shows that they can help manage, or even cure people with PTSD, Depression, Anxiety, and even substance abuse disorder. And to think these are still in the “Schedule One” drug category.
These regions of the brain are usually some of the most active, which play important roles of our sense of self, organizing incoming sensory information, and regulating internal impulses. Aldous Huxley claims that each person is capable at any moment to remember everything that has ever happen to him/her and can even perceive everything that is happening everywhere in the universe at that certain moment. He also believes that the central nervous system and the brain is to protect us from being overwhelmed and confused by this mass of largely useless and irrelevant information that we don’t currently have any use for (Haze and Mandrake, 2016). Usually after the effects wear off, these connections go back to normal, and we won’t experience synesthesia anymore. Most people claim that they feel dulled out after experiencing something so marvelous, and even eye opening, when it comes to sense of ego. There are other ways of reaching this feeling that is being tested currently too. These are pharmacologically similar to psilocybin, such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and phenethylamine-containing alkaloids (mescaline).
Different Types of our Mushie Friends
Enough about the anatomy of the human body, and words that are extremely hard to say at first. That stuff can continue to drag on, and on, and on……… and on. To start this off, we will touch base on what mushrooms start off as. If you are familiar, you will see most mushrooms have a long stipes (stalks/stems), and convex heads or “caps”. Typically, you will see gills up underneath these caps, and this is where the mushroom stores, these tiny microscopic spores (poet and didn’t know it!). When the mushroom matures fully, thousands of these tiny spores will fall to the earth, causing more mushroom growth. That is why you will see mushroom cultivators, smack the cap before taking the mushroom from its base. However, instead of acting like seeds, and gather energy through photosynthesis–they germinate to produce a mass of interwoven, single-cell wide structures known as hyphae, which is also considered as Shiro. A collective mass of hyphae is known as mycelium.
Mycelium is the plural form of the word Mycelia, which has New Latin and Greek origins, literally meaning more than one. In order to understand the greatness of mycelium, we have to get a little more technical. Fungi absorbs nutrients from the environment such as a substrate (certain conditions of soil), a log, etc., through its mycelium in a two-stage process. First off, those little hyphae (which reminds me of Hefe) secrete enzymes into the decaying wood or other substrate. They break down biological polymers into smaller units called monomers. The mycelium then uses a combination of facilitated diffusion and active transport to absorb these monomers (The Conscious Club, 2017). There is so much more that goes into mycelium, that you can look up for yourself. Some people believe mycelium to be the way that all fungi life communicate in the forest. Fun Fact: The largest single fungal organism is found in the Malheur National Forest, and it belongs to the species called Armillaria Ostoyee. It covers a whopping three and a half square miles or 9 square kilometers in the state of Oregon! Paul Stamets has even found that mycelium can help retain our bee population, to continue pollinating the earth. By protecting them from detrimental diseases that hinder their wing growth. Really interesting stuff if you ask me!
The following is a progression of a mushroom, from the beginning mushroom spore, all the way to the developing fruiting body that you typically will see above ground. Even though the larger, more branched out aspect of the mushroom is below ground.
Quite the Cycle (Mycologic, n.d.)
Though there are many different species of psilocybin containing mushrooms, we will only touch base on the main species that hold the most affect. The most potent types of psilocybin containing mushrooms belong to the genus Psilocybe. You can find all kinds of information of the different types of mushrooms, and their poisonous look alikes, in Paul Stamets book: Psilocybin Mushrooms of The World: An Identification Guide (1996). All of these different species carry three different “ingredients”, Psilocybin, Psilocin, and Baeocystin. There are 12 species but there are only 7 that have high enough percentages to account for: Psilocybe Azurescens, Psilocybe Bohemica, Psilocybe Semilanceata, Psilocybe Baeocystis, Psilocybe Cyanescens, Psilocybe Tampanensis, and the most common Psilocybe Cubensis. We won’t go into the description of each, however, they are in order from the most potent, to the least potent in all three “ingredients”. Go take a look at the full descriptions if you have time.
Dosing Types: Micro, Moderate, and Heroic Dosages
The thing about mushrooms being blacklisted all those years ago, they weren’t able to be assessed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to find the proper dosing for an actual supplement. It isn’t like your traditional dietary or nutritional supplement that you will find at the local drug store, where recommended daily allowance has been arduously tested. So, the following dosages aren’t proven, and should be taken lightly, especially since there are numerous factors that must come into play. What is the species? What is the potency of that specific mushroom? Is it consumed wet or dry? How much do you personally weigh? Of course, there are all kinds of unknowns out there, and skepticism makes people think it is all just for the “hippies”. In some of the pioneering psilocybin studies done at Johns Hopkins University, controlled doses of psilocybin were administered to patients.
***Let it be known, I do not perform any illegal activity, and I do not suggest that anyone does anything illegal. This is just information that I have gathered for the purpose of education. NONE of this information has been tested by the Food and Drug Administration and should not be used as a remedy for any mental illnesses. Please consult with you physician, therapist, or psychiatrist for any means possible to help with your specific illness. I need to notify you of this before you proceed. This disclosure is here for your safety and understanding (and mine of course)***
Micro-Dosing
Micro-dosing is exactly as it sounds, where you take just enough to have the mental effects, without the full body high and altered visual perception. It just enacts the happy feeling that you get from taking a larger dose. According to Curative Mushrooms (2020), A proper dosage for micro dosing would be 1/10th of a gram, which may change to your certain body type. So, remember, there are 1000 milligrams in one gram, so you would take 100 mgs for the traditional micro dose. There is also the body weight method, which you take .25 mg per kilogram of bodyweight.
I will also bring in the infamous Paul Stamets, and his patented micro dose formula, where he stacks psilocybin with Lion’s Mane and niacin. Lions’ mane is another delicacy mushroom that is legal and has shown proof of helping with nerve regenerative properties. Other benefits of Lions Mane are as follows: Increases memory, increases focus, increases concentration, Anti-inflammatory, supports gut health, improves mood, increases energy levels, and Supports insulin sensitivity (Microdosing Institute, n.d.). So, this mushroom alone, can give anyone a lot of supporting health benefits. His stack is as follows:
DAYS 1-4: Micro dosing days
- 0.1 to 0.2 grams of dried magic (psilocybin) mushrooms or 0.5 to 1.5 grams of fresh magic truffles
- 500mg to 1000mg of high-quality Lion’s Mane extract powder (or manufacturer’s recommended dose)
- 50 –200 mg of niacin Vit B3 ‘Flush’
DAY 5-7: Non-micro dosing days
- No micro dose
- Optional: Niacin
- Optional: Continue implementing Lion’s Mane
CYCLE: continue for four weeks
RESET: Stop micro dosing with psilocybin for two to four weeks. You may continue supplementing with Lion’s Mane during this reset (Microdosing Institute, n.d.)
Moderate Dosing
Again, it is exactly how it sounds, a moderate dose. You will find all different kinds of numbers when it comes to a moderate dose. Curative Mushrooms (2020) states that a typical moderate dose would be 1-4 grams. While others say anywhere from one gram to 3.5 grams. That is where the traditional eighth that most people enjoy taking comes from. This is a practice that can be conducted every so often, such as every month or two. All depending on your schedule and ability. You won’t have the full dissolution of self that you would a heroic dose, but you will feel the effects, both physically, visually, and emotionally. That nice word, synesthesia comes back into play at this dose, where your senses begin to cross. Of course, there isn’t many studies conducted on this dosage practice, since again, they are illegal…. But I am positive that there will be more as the days pass. This helps keep your empathy levels higher throughout the time span in between dosages.
Heroic Dosing-Lets Get Ready to Rumble!!
Now for the large dosage, that completely dissolves your sense of self. The dissolution of self sounds intimidating; however, it is only for the duration of the trip, and there may be some lingering feelings for a few days after. This feeling is something that is thought of coming from the claustrum (as stated earlier) where it is thought of being our seat of consciousness. It can be more looked at as, the dissolution of our ego, instead of our self. Because, well, everyone always remembers their name, and who they are after the fact. Sometimes you may begin questioning who you are, and what your purpose is in this finite life. But more often than not, it always pushes you towards something more positive. You may learn that you must quit putting so much effort in finding the negative aspects of life and begin focusing more on the positive aspects of it. Or maybe even quit taking yourself so seriously and start having a little more fun in life. Another trait that people have found they experience after a heroic dose, is they become more empathetic with the people around them. When we can start feeling other people’s pains, then we may even be able to stop being the root cause of their pain. It is sort of like an eye-opening experience, helping us to be a bit more introspective in our actions. When you begin looking more inwards, you may be able to find that you are at fault for your own tribulations. Thus, creating an avenue to changing for the better.
I will bring up good ole curative mushrooms, yet again. According to Oliver, a heroic dose would be 5-7 grams (2020). However, there are also others claims of it being anything above seven dry grams of psilocybin. It is kind of like the old saying with beans: “Beans, Beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot”. So, besides the tooting part… it is a lot the same. Taking anything above six dry grams, you will find yourself in an altered dimension almost. Again, this sounds scary, but it really isn’t that bad. You will see the whole world waving in a sense, which is really neat when you look at the horizon, or even some cool art. Synesthesia begins to set in, where you think you are hearing colors, and seeing sounds.
Johns Hopkins has found that one heroic dose has shown to have long lasting effects, where people claimed to have a personality change. They claimed to have a more openness feeling when it came to life, looking at life in a whole new lens almost. Openness includes traits such as imagination, aesthetics, feelings, abstract ideas, and general broad-mindedness. They also claimed to have more of a spiritual side after the experience. Most of the individuals were over the age of 30, which it is thought that we don’t really make any drastic personality changes after 30 years old. These lasting affects lasted anywhere from 12 months to 15 months in the 51 people that they tested. Reduction of anxiety, fear, and sad thoughts was also found throughout this study. So, I mean, why wouldn’t you want to do this every six months to a year? Of course, it needs to be in a comfortable environment, where you have someone that is sober (and knows what the experience is like) to be able to keep everyone and everything in line. People have even tried conducting therapy sessions during these experiences, to help guide people into changing certain traits of their lives.
If this stuff interests you, then I know you have heard of the word (or person), Shaman. A Shaman is someone that is believed to have a connection with good and evil spirits or is influenced by the afterlife/before life. They typically enter a trance state during a ritual to practice divination and healing for the people participating in the ritual. You may also look at them as your guide into your psychedelic experience, where when you begin to venture off, they can center you back into your purpose. They believe that they can obtain healing powers whilst in the ritual, for almost all of the people around them. They are admired as one of the more powerful human beings in this present life. You can find the biggest influence in these people in remote areas of the Amazonian Forest. Where nature is more important than the smart phone or computer you are currently using. They are these peoples Google in a sense, where they can give them answers to the most important questions about life. These people are found to have almost nothing in their possessions but are some of the happiest people on the face of the earth. There must be a connection to the psychedelic experiences they endure.
Stoned Ape Theory
First proposed by a main stream ethnobotanist Terence McKenna (1946-2000) in his early 90’s book “Food of the Gods,” the basic concept is that the consumption of psychedelic fungi may have played a crucial role in the development of human mind and culture (Lamb, 2021). Of course, he believed that the “Stoned Ape Hypothesis” misrepresented his theory, but it is still the name that stuck. Terrance and his brother Dennis McKenna (who is an ethnopharmacologist) must have had some DEEP, late-night conversations when it comes to something as intense as this theory. Dennis claims that they put forth the evidence during their conversations to come up with this theory. Long story short, the hypothesis suggests we owe the emergence of language and self-reflection to ancient, sustained consumption of psilocybin mushrooms all those years ago. They know that the human brain doubled in size about two million years ago, which is of course evidence that would need to be dug into more, but we will just roll with it for the sake of description. It is also thought to have been apart of the “Creative Explosion” that happened around 40,000 years ago. Where homo sapiens began living in their own creations, making tools, and hunting in a more innovative way. This again made the development even faster all the way up to where we are today.
With the effects of psilocybin making our mental acuity higher, and deeper visual perception, they may have been able to think and react faster. This would make them be less susceptible of getting attacked by larger predators, or even finding, and killing their food for daily rations. The long tale of Vikings drinking ale and eating mushrooms before battle runs congruent with his hypothesis. Where it is thought that they fought harder, moved faster, seen incoming attacks, and even weren’t afraid of death. Of course, none of us lived in this era, and the probability of finding more documentation is slim, so it will remain that… a theory. If we could travel back in time and find that we adapted to our surroundings because of mushrooms, then I bet they would get legalized that same time. But I guess, if we had the technology to time travel, then our superficial problems wouldn’t exist anymore… or we would create even more problems!
Summary
So, I know that if you are reading this, then you are obviously interested in this topic. And honestly, throughout the duration of this article, I told myself that I wouldn’t take a stab at big pharma. But in my opinion, I think marijuana, and psilocybin mushrooms were both outlawed so that “man-made” remedies could begin to corner the market. I feel like they already knew about the medicinal properties of both these NATURAL remedies, but they knew they couldn’t regulate it, since they could easily be grown at home. Sometimes I feel like money turns most people into greedy individuals. Most man-made products have been proven to lead to more side effects than the initial illness that is trying to be healed. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love innovation, and it is one of the best times to be alive, however, I feel like we are all being controlled by the elites of our world. They may not think they are, because that is what they were taught as they were coming up. But it all started somewhere. It only takes 30 years to completely change the outlook of an entire generation, and I believe we are beginning to yet again, change the outlook, of an entire generation. If mushrooms didn’t get blacklisted all those years ago, just think about the amount of research that could have been done by now. I don’t know about you, but I truly believe that if it worked all those years ago, why ON EARTH wouldn’t it work now!? I think if every person on earth took a heroic dose once a year, our world could potentially be a better place. The absence of ego would bring more people together. The increase in empathy would make people think before they acted in a negative way. And finally, the closeness that we could all experience with our fellow humanoid, would rid us all of division. We wouldn’t all resort to tribalism, where it is thought that we all MUST reside on one side or the other, or one country or the other. Instead, we could all reside in one harmonious connection of fellow humans, who are all on the same, good ole’ Pursuit of Happiness.
I hope you enjoyed my article, and I look forward to hearing any feedback you may have. Please stay tuned to more information on mushrooms, not only Psilocybin mushrooms, but all medicinal mushrooms. If you know of any new research pertaining to this topic, please feel free to reach out to me at any time via email, socials or anywhere else. Just search the unique name, you will find it.
Have an excellent day, and remember, “Every situation you are in, is a test of who YOU truly are”
-Cyral I Callender III
Post-Script: The world is just a reflection of yourself. Whatever you put out into the world, it will get reflected onto you. If you stare into a mirror, and you hate what you see, you cannot attack the image, but you can change it. Whenever you transform, the world will transform around you. In a state of non-acceptance, you will attack the image. But if you accept yourself as is, then your image won’t attack you. Mental illness is not the problem, you are the problem. As long as your Ego mind thinks of it that way, you will never get better. DO NOT blame life for treating you unfairly, but do not blame yourself either, all that is, is resistance.
Much love people.
References
Curative Mushrooms. (May 3, 2020). Magic Mushroom Dosage-Heroic Dose & Microdosing Correctly. Retrieved from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6TDMK3IUc2LqgyJBIMtBhZ?si=ATBrfxn3RhWMo69Eu-IFIQ&utm_source=copy-link
Conscious Club, The. (Oct. 31, 2017). Mycelium-The Future is Fungi. Retrieved from: https://thegreentemple.net/articles/mycelium-the-future-is-fungi
Haze, V., Mandrake, K. PhD. (2016) The Psilocybin Mushroom Bible. 1st Edition. Green Candy Press.
Joe Rogan Experience. (Nov. 14, 2019). Episode #1385-Paul Stamets. Retrieved from: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2VdrsKSyOmm5iNr8eCUy0y?si=17gVkv1vRq2yVpQnivxUMw&utm_source=copy-link
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (2020, June 5). How psychedelic drug psilocybin works on brain. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 23, 2022 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200605121512.htm
Lamb, R. (Jan. 27, 2021). The Stoned Ape Hypothesis: Did Magic Mushrooms Influence Human Evolution? Retrieved from: https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/evolution/stoned-ape-hypothesis.htm
Microdosing Institute. (n.d.) Stamets Stack (Stacking Lion’s Mane and Psilocybin Mushrooms). Retrieved from: https://microdosinginstitute.com/microdosing-101/substances/lions-mane-stacking/
Mycologic. (n.d.). Biology and Life Cycle of a Mushroom. Retrieved from: https://www.mycologic.nz/life-cycle Science Direct. (n.d.). Psilocybe. Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/biochemistry-genetics-and-molecular-biology/psilocybe
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Who is Cyral I. Callender III
Hello my friends! Having my Bachelors degree in Health and Wellness, I have studied all different types of–well– Health and Wellness. Everything stemming from physical activity, to anatomy and physiology, proper diet habits, and stages of change. While also studying the possibility of integrative medicines or alternative medicines to Western Societal Medicine. Traditional Chinese Medicines worked all those centuries ago, so I mean, It has to work in some way, shape, or form. I started my college career as a diesel mechanic at my local college, but I did some digging into my future goals and desires. I knew I didn’t want to work on heavy machinery for the rest of my life. Getting doused in oil, smashing my hands taking off a bolt, or digging through the cold snow to get to a certain part. Nuh uh… that wasn’t for me anymore, my time of field work was finished. I was always told that if you do something you love, then you will never work a day in your life. I asked myself, “What was something that I absolutely loved doing”. One, physical activity and healthier lifestyles. Two, helping every person that I possibly can throughout the duration of my time on earth. And finally, constantly learning new ways to make those two aspects of life a reality and relevant to the current time. I searched for schools within my range of travel, however, the closest place would have been Denver, Colorado. (Which is a four hour drive!) You know the saying that everything happens for a reason? Well at the very same time that I was searching for schools, I had an opportunity of a life time of starting my own small business with a friend. I knew we would have made this partnership work, so I couldn’t leave him behind. So, as I was building the limited Liability Company, I was searching for online schools. All while working 10 hours a day, attending in-person college, getting my workouts in, and fitting in small stretches of sleep here and there. One night, with my eyes heavy, I found a school through the slits of my eyes, just before they closed for the night. Purdue University Global was accentuated in its black and gold colors on my screen. I quickly requested more information, and dosed off right on the couch of my apartment. Just to wake up five hours later to start my day again with a solid workout. I got the grants, and funding to attend Purdue University Global for my bachelors in Health and Wellness. It hasn’t been easy. Being a father of three (almost four), a small business owner (which did all the accounting, data, and traditional work), a board member for the State of Wyoming and for our local disc golf group, and to finish it off, training as a combat sports player. Fast forward four years, in May of 2022, I finally graduated. I must say, the long-term gratification of finally graduating was the best feeling in the world, after my children being born of course. With my past history of being a delinquent in my late adolescent/early 20’s, that feeling was more intense than any substance known to man. The possibility of changing, and becoming who you want to be is obtainable, no matter how deep you think you are. It isn’t easy, but you must be willing to put forth the effort. I am just a casual guy, trying to assist anyone I possibly can into changing their lives for the better. Please reach out at any time of day, no matter what it is. Much love and respect, and I appreciate the support. Thanks for reading 🙂
-Cyral I Callender III
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Nutrition Across Our Life Cycles
Nutrition Across the Life Cycles
Across all life cycles, our bodies require different types of nutrition to help us progress in life. From helping us develop certain aspects of our bodies, to starting of our bone density as toddlers. And then cutting back on certain nutrients as we get older, to prevent certain diseases and to minimize weight gain. The following table will have the recoded nutrients that an individual will need throughout their life cycle, and the proper RDA’s/ DRI’s.
Nutrients Age Groups and RDAs/DRI’s Infants: (7- month-old) Children: (5-year-old male) Adolescent: (15- year-old male) Adult: (32 year-old female) Elder: (62 – year-old male) Calories 800 cal/day 1,400 cal/day 3,036 cal/day 2,055 cal/day 2,547 cal/day Carbohydrates 55%- 440 cal/d 110 g/d 50%- 700 cal/d 175 g/d 50%- 1,518 cal/d 379.5 g/d 50%- 1,027.50 cal/d 256.88 g/d 50%- 1,273.50 cal/d 318.38 g/d Protein 25%- 200 cal/d 50 g/d 25%- 350 cal/d 87.50 g/d 30%- 910.80 cal/d 227.7 g/d 25%- 513.75 cal/d 128.44 g/d 25%- 636.75 cal/d 159.19 g/day Total Fat 20%- 160 cal/d 17.78 g/d 25%- 350 cal/d 38.89 g/d 20% 607.20 cal/d 67.47 g/d 25% 513/75 cal/d 57.09 g/d 25% 636.75 cal/d 70.75 g/d Iron 11 mg/d 10 mg/d 11 mg/d 18 mg/d 8 mg/d Calcium 260 mg/d 1,000 mg/d 1,300 mg/d 1,000 mg/day 1,000 mg/d Vitamin D 10 µg/d 15 µg/d 15 µg/d 15 µg/d 15 µg/d Folic Acid 80 µg/d 200 µg/d 400 µg/d 400 µg/d 400 µg/d (NASEM, 2020)
The Macronutrient, vitamin, and mineral that I have chosen would be Carbohydrates, Iron, and Vitamin D. Carbohydrates tend to be around a higher percentage so that people can have enough energy levels to get through the day. And as we are still children, it helps with our growth. Most of us will receive most of our calories per day from carbohydrates. People that tend to go on a carb free diet, will not have enough energy to make it through the day, and also become slightly malnourished. Iron is something that remains the same throughout our entire life cycle, from toddlers, to elderly. This is something that helps us from becoming anemic, and helps with our blood cells transporting oxygen. Iron helps with the production of hemoglobin within our blood cells. And the last vitamin that I chose was Vitamin D, that also remains the same throughout our life cycle as well. With only a 5 µg/d difference between a infant, and an elderly individual, it is something that is well maintained if watched well enough. Vitamin D is something that we can get from the sun, so as long as we go outside enough, it is easily consumed.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Calculator.net. (2020). Calorie Calculator. Retrieved from: https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html?ctype=standard&cage=62&csex=m&cheightfeet=0&cheightinch=69&cpound=188&cheightmeter=180&ckg=65&cactivity=1.55&cmop=1&coutunit=c&cformula=m&cfatpct=20&printit=0&x=74&y=19
Healthy Children. (Dec. 8, 2015). Sample Menu for a 8 to 12 Month Old. Retrieved from: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Sample-One-Day-Menu-for-an-8-to-12-Month-Old.aspx
The National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine. (2020) Summary Report of the Dietary Reference Intake. Retrieved from: https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/summary-report-of-the-dietary-reference-intakes
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Paying Attention to Our Perception
Perception and attention are something that go hand in hand. If you aren’t paying good enough attention to something, then your perception of it may be faltered. The cognitive process of perception deals with top-down and bottom-up processing, where each has its own definition. That, along with the cognitive processes of attention, are considered as selective attention and divided attention. Understanding the difference between the two of each process can enhance your ability to communicate with others and build stronger relationships. Though there are numerous examples of all these processes, we will only touch base on a couple.
The cognitive process of perception is one of the most important processes cognitively. According to Thomas Farmer and Margaret Matlin, perception contributes to just about every other cognitive process in the mind, making it one of the most researched topics in cognitive sciences (Farmer et.al., 2018). The process of perception is taking existing knowledge to interpret and gather external stimuli that is registered by all the human senses, states Farmer and Matlin (Farmer et.al., 2018). This is done through learning as we grow up. We learn new things, and for the knowledge to cognitively register in our brains, we must have that internal memory of it. Touch, taste, and smell are senses that contribute to our perception throughout our life spans.
Top-down processing has to do with object recognition through emphasizing how a person’s concepts, memory, and expectations of that object (Farmer et.al., 2018). Bottom-up processing is when you register an object by its own characteristics without previous knowledge (Farmer et.al., 2018). Both processes contribute to visual perception by incorporating what we used to know, or solemnly on the object alone. When visually looking at an object through the top-down process, you use past experiences in how you will perceive that specific object. However, bottom-up processing forces you to look at the object alone and visually perceive it specifically on how that object looks at that moment. Both processes get used right along with attention as well, the next topic.
Attention to Thomas Farmer and Margaret Matlin, uses both sensory information and memory to accumulate limited information pertaining to the task at hand or an object (Farmer et.al., 2018). For us to retain the information we are trying to gather we must give our full undivided attention to the task at hand. We cannot read two different textbooks at the same time and expect to learn information from both. Of course, people could multitask, but neither one of the tasks are going to get their 100% attention. When only giving something 50% of your attention, you may only retain 50% of what it is. Top-down and bottom-up processing are used for attention as well, determining whether the person is using selective attention and divided attention to intake the external stimuli.
According to a study that was conducted by Dr. Mulligan, the people that were using undivided attention, and perceptual attention got higher scores than ones that were using selective and divided attention (Mulligan, 2002). Looking at five different buttons and making the decision to choose one of them through a series of three sets of 44 different circumstances was monitored. Selective attention is a process in what you decide to pay attention to, whether from past experiences, or because you are biased against the other surrounding stimuli. This makes you not be able to see each side of a story, or why something isn’t working the way you want it to. On the flip side, divided attention is when you are attempting to focus on two or more items at the same time. Dividing your attention is like taking a percentage of your effort out of what you are trying to learn or study. To illustrate, try reading two books at the same time, and see how well you can follow the story. Not very easy, is it? That is why when someone has something important to say, they always tell you, “I need your Undivided Attention” (Farmer, et.al., 2018).
In conclusion, being able to educate yourself on perception and attention, you can strive to learn at a faster rate and stay open to other opinions. Living a black and white type of life is something that most of our society has been living. With everyone leaning so far to one side of the political spectrum, it is dividing us as a Country from the inside out. Opening up your mind, and paying attention to someone else’s perception of an ordeal, can enhance the conversation, especially if you don’t use selective attention. With both the cognitive processes of perception and attention, top-down and bottom-up processing can be used together to incorporate both at the same time. Minimizing selective and divided attention can help you learn a new skill or educate yourself on a certain topic quicker. It may seem like it takes longer but taking it one task at a time can assist you in gathering the information you need to develop a secure perception.
One thing I always like to say is…
“Don’t allow external stimuli to affect your internal perception of yourself”.
-Cyral I Callender III
Shout Out- I want to give a huge shout out to Mark and Kaitlin from the United States for subscribing to the podcast, and giving a generous donation each month. I wouldn’t be able to continue doing the things I love if it wasn’t for all of you. Hopefully I can get some better recording equipment for future podcasts. Please stay tuned in the future, and again I appreciate all of your support!
References
Farmer, T. A., & Matlin, M. W. (2018). Cognition (10th Edition). Wiley Global Education US. https://purdueuniversityglobal.vitalsource.com/books/9781119491668
Mulligan, N. W. (2002). Attention and perceptual implicit memory: effects of selective versus divided attention and number of visual objects. Psychological Research, 66(3), 157. https://doi-org.libauth.purdueglobal.edu/10.1007/s00426-002-0089-2
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Meal Plan for Two Adolescents Dietician Scenario
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/health-and-wellness-repertoire/id1638622925
When it comes to proper meal planning, there is a lot more that goes into it than just eating anything in front of you. You must put into account, that there are certain foods that have more nutrients, and less junk, while others are all junk and no beneficial value within it. Each child growing into their adolescent years, begins to grow a lot more with their growth spurts, in turn meaning they need to bring in more food to match the metabolism. Especially if you are a physically active individual that enjoys some sort of exercise more often than not. Adolescents that exercise and eat right, reap all sorts of benefits, from healthier bone structure and density, to more energy to accommodate the hecticness of life. It will also give you a clearer head while working on school work, and assist you in getting them grades you and your parents desire. Higher protein levels can help your musculature for any type of sport or activity that you are participating in, while higher carbohydrates can give you the energy to push a little bit harder in the last quarter.
Some potential risks that the two of you face with your eating habits, and physical activity are as follows. Jacob, you love your sport of football, and you want to continue to play in your later years. However, football isn’t just during the season. You must continue to work during the off season, to keep your body balanced with the activity. Becoming sedentary after school in the offseason, has made you create layers of unwanted body fat, that may have slowed your performance during football season. And it all starts with eating the right diet.
Mollie, you are probably one of the most active 15-year old girls I have seen, which is a great quality to have so that you can establish those roots at an early age. You will be able to bring that with you into your adult years, making you live a long healthy life. It is hard being a lacto-vegetarian and trying to intake the amount of nutrients you need to be able to keep weight on with all your activities. Trying to intake the amount of calories you burn daily, is going to be a challenge, but we will get you a solid plan to be able to get you some more weight, healthy.
The following meal plan is for Jacob, to help him continue growth, yet reach his goal of losing 20 pounds of fat. Even though I would like him to practice intermittent fasting, which would include him not eating anything for 14-16 hours, he needs to have a proper diet that includes breakfast. I want him to have an 8 oz. glass of water before each meal, right before bed, and right when he wakes up to start the metabolism. This will be a plan for three days that are done on his training days for football, and this can continue to be cycled.
Day 1 (Monday) Day 2 (Wednesday) Day 3 (Friday Breakfast 8 oz. glass of water. Three egg omelet with bacon bits, ham bits, and sausage bits. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice 8 oz. glass of water. Two over easy eggs with three strips of Bacon. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of orange juice 8 oz. glass of water. Four crepes, with strawberries on top. No whipped cream or syrup. Two pieces of whole wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice AM snack Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. Any type of Fruit group, such as a banana, apple, or orange. Lunch 8 oz. of water. Turkey meat and low fat swiss cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread. ½ cup of plain almonds. Vegie tray with carrots, broccoli, and celery (no dipping sauces) 12 oz. whey Protein shake. 8 oz. of water. Ham and low fat swiss cheese sandwich with whole wheat bread. ½ cup of walnuts and raisins. Veggie tray with carrots, broccoli, and snap peas (no dipping sauces). 12 oz. whey Protein shake. 8 oz. of water. 2 cups of shredded chicken with 1 cup of brown rice. ½ cup of trail mix that is high in protein. Veggie tray with radishes, turnups, and cucumber (no dipping sauces). 12 oz. whey Protein shake. PM snack Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. Any type of fruit, such as pineapple, blue berry, or raspberry. Dinner 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 8 oz. steak, and 1 cup of mashed potatoes with brown gravy. 1 Cup of corn with no butter. 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 10 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breast. With low fat alfredo sauce, and one cup of whole wheat pasta. Shredded swiss cheese lightly sprinkled on top. 8 oz. of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. ½ lb. Burger with whole wheat bun and light on ketchup/mustard. Can include lettuce, tomato, and onion if wanted. Sweet potato fries that are baked or fried in coconut oil. Six sticks of Asparagus. Since you do practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, we are going to pack the beginning of your day with proteins to help build that muscle. The higher level of muscle you have, the higher your metabolic rate becomes. We want to avoid carbohydrates as much as possible, but they will still be included in small amounts to help with energy levels. I think you should alternate every 30 days, with doing this diet, and then doing a month of intermittent fasting to help lose that extra body fat, and pack on muscle the other 30 days. Alternating this type of diet will keep you body shocked, so that it cannot adjust too much to one thing.
The following diet plan is for Mollie, to help her keep her energy levels up and gain a little bit more weight with her outrageous activity that she does on a daily basis. Again, with her being a lacto-vegetarian, it is going to be difficult for her to reach her goals, but we will get her there. A lacto-vegetarian is someone who avoids and type of egg based products, but still consumes other dairy (Jolinda Hackett, 2019). I too want her to drink an 8 oz. glass of water before each meal, right before bed, and upon waking up in the morning to start her metabolism. She should follow this diet for three days of the week, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
Day 1 (Monday) Day 2 (Wednesday) Day 3 (Friday Breakfast 8 oz. glass of water. 1 Cup of normal Oatmeal with a tablespoon of honey. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. of orange juice. 8 oz. glass of water. 1 Cup of Grits (hot cereal) with a tablespoon of honey. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. of apple juice. 8 oz. glass of water. 2 cups of High Fiber Cereal with Almond Milk. Two pieces of wheat toast. 8 oz. glass of orange juice. AM snack Strawberry Greek yogurt with ¼ cup od nuts Tablespoon of Peanut Butter on a celery stick. 8 of those packed in a bag. Some sort of Fruit such as an apple to promote energy levels more immediate in between classes. Lunch 8 oz. glass of water. 1 ½ cup of Shredded chicken and ½ cup of brown rice. ½ cup of almonds. Veggie tray with celery, broccoli, and snap peas. 12 oz. rice protein shake. 8 oz. glass of water. Two 6 oz. grilled chicken breast with ½ cup of walnuts. Veggie tray with carrots, turnups, and radishes. 12 oz. rice protein shake 8 oz. glass of water. Slices of ham that are cut into 1 oz. slices wrapped around swiss cheese. Two slices of whole wheat toast with avocado butter.12 oz. rice protein shake. PM snack Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. Any type of fruit such as an apple. Or even an avocado. Dinner 8 oz. glass of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 8 Steak strips in 1 oz. slices. 1 cup of Mashed potatoes with brown gravy. 1 cup of green beans. 8 oz. glass of water. Small side salad, with spinach leaves, sunflower seeds, almonds, and bacon bits with low fat Italian dressing. 10 oz grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast with 1 cup of marinara sauce. 2 slices of whole wheat bread with garlic spread. 6 Sticks of asparagus. 8 oz. glass of water. Chef Salad. 5 Cups of assorted lettuce including spinach leaves. 1 oz. of shredded ham slices. 1 oz. of striped bacon. 1 oz. of cut up peperoni. ½ cup of cherry tomatoes. ½ cup of sliced cucumbers. ¼ cup of chopped onions. And lightly spread with shredded cheese. Can replace meats with one 10 oz. grilled chicken breast, sliced up. Mollie, your diet will be fairly easy to follow, and you can expand that to a daily plan with proper meal prepping for your lunches at school. We went high in carbohydrates to help with higher energy levels, so that your energy doesn’t diminish throughout the day. We also included a lot of proteins to help with musculature development to pack on some good lean muscle mass, which in turn will develop weight gain. We want to help you gain the weight, but we don’t want it to be gained in unwanted areas.
For both of you, Jacob and Mollie, I will recommend that you consume 1300 mg’s of calcium daily to help with bone growth since you are around the age or tremendous growth spurts (John Muir Health, 2020). Also, you will need Vitamin B12 and other B vitamins t help with metabolism, energy, and also help promote a healthy heart and nervous system. You should consume 2.4 micrograms daily which can be found in fish foods and eggs, but you can avoid the eggs, Mollie (John Muir Health, 2020). You can also supplement both of these micronutrients.
Please let me know if you have any other questions regarding your diet, and we can expand on this one a bit more. We will track your progress bi-weekly, so we can see if we need to change anything. Thank you for your time, and I look forward to continuing working with you two.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Hackett, Jolinda. (May 12, 2019). What is Lacto-Vegetarian. Retrieved from: https://www.thespruceeats.com/what-is-lacto-vegetarian-3376831
John Muir Health Organization. (2020). Nutrition for Teens. Retrieved from: https://www.johnmuirhealth.com/health-education/health-wellness/childrens-health/nutrition-teens.html
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Nutrition Scenario
The following is a scenario that I will be participating in. It is a scenario I performed at the beginning of my college career. A family that was worried about their newborn child. Crazy to see the art of placing words together, and how it has progressed to where we are now. I hope you enjoy!
John and Susan are a couple that has had their first child together, and they are worried about their child, Steven being at risk of becoming overweight. They want to know the progression of their child, and how to go about eating the right foods in order to achieve optimal growth for him, without becoming overweight.
Hello Mr. and Mrs. Smith, my name is Cyral I Callender III and I will be the man helping you in achieving the best type of nutrition for your newborn Steven. I am aware of you being worried about Steven potentially being over-weight as he ages. But I can assure you that through the right nutrition, and eating habits, your son will grow up healthy and within the right percentile with weight and height. According to The Center for Disease controls percentile chart, your son is currently in the 75th percentile for both height and weight (The CDC, 2020). He also has averaged that throughout the first 5 months of his life which is really good. That puts him at a very good range for growth consistently since birth, so you guys are doing a great job. Anything from the 5th percentile to the 95th percentile is considered normal, being that your son is at the same weight and height as 75 percent of children in his age range.
When it comes to solid foods, I believe you guys should hold off for at least the first six months. I understand Steven is already holding his head strong, and can sit up with support, but it is recommended to not do solid foods until around the six months age. Of course, your son may be progressing sooner than other babies, but I would advise to shoot around the six months mark. According to one of my favorite websites, March of Dimes, Steven should start showing cues at about six months, such as holding his head up, he doesn’t push things out of his mouth with his tongue, doubles his birthweight or is at least 13 pounds, and opening his mouth, drooling, or leaning forward at the sight of food (March of Dimes, 2015). I know he is doing swell with his progression and can do most of these things, so that is a great sign for you all. His weight is well over the 13 pounds, so he is good in that aspect. How does he do when he sees you guys eating something? If he drools or leans towards your direction when he sees your food, then he should be ready to try his own solid foods.
In about another few weeks, I would continue him on breastmilk, but begin putting powdered cereal in with his milk. Powdered cereal is mostly made up of rice or oatmeal, which ever one he prefers and is the consistence of really thick milk. This will also help him to get used to drinking milk out of a bottle since you will have to mix it in with your breastmilk. When he reaches the 6-8 months range he should begin showing cues, such as: he can sit up by himself without support and begins bringing food to his mouth and holding it himself (March of Dimes, 2015). Of course, you aren’t going to be giving him a piece of pizza to bring to his mouth, it would just be more of him bringing his bottle to his mouth. This shows that he is ready for the next step. Again, according to March of Dimes, the type of foods you can begin giving him at this point would be the following: regular breastmilk, cooked/softened fruits and vegetables, pureed meats, and baby food from a jar (March of Dines, 2015). The breast milk is just a typical thing that should be followed throughout the whole first year of life at least. And the fruits and vegetables aren’t going to be whole, they are going to be like the meats, which is mashed or pureed. That consistency is a lot like the baby food in a jar which is sort of like apple sauce, which is thicker, but isn’t straight water either. This will begin to produce more solid stool as well, so be careful of run-away nuggets. For the final months of his first year, he should begin showing signs of the following: sitting up by himself without support better than before, hold foods between fingers and thumbs like a pincer grip, hold objects like a spoon in his hands, and begins to chew food (March of Dimes, 2015). These signs have a lot of the same correlation as the 6-8 months range, but he must seem to be doing better than before. Of course, he isn’t going to be able to do it as well as you guys yet, but he will be a lot better at this point. The types of foods that you can give him, are as follows: again, with the breast milk, finger foods, fruits that are soft, and small pieces of table foods (March of Dimes, 2015). The finger foods are along the lines of breakfast cereal, small pieces of bread, and well-cooked vegetables, meats, and pastas. This is just to ensure that he doesn’t begin choking, and if he does, his body will automatically being to pass it through the esophagus. With the fruits, you can give him soft fruits like bananas and older pears, or just make sure you chop them up first into small bite sized pieces. And the best part, you can start giving him bits and pieces of what you make throughout the day. This gives you the feeling of being able to cook for the whole family and starts to show you what he likes and dislikes. Of course, you want to chop up the bigger pieces into small human bite sizes for him, but you can also give him things like pastas and mashed potatoes. Slowly keep all of this up for him and you will begin to see just how picky your boy may be.
When Steven is born, his body will already store iron for the first 4-6 months. After that point, I would recommend you to start giving him iron rich foods to ensure he has the amount that he needs. There are a lot of iron fortified food out there, such as iron rich cereals or meats and beans which should be given to him twice a day. To promote iron absorption from plant foods, combine the iron rich food with food that is rich in vitamin C. Such as combine a rice and bean food with tomato sauce or fruit puree (. Since you are breast feeding him, and not doing formula which contains higher iron levels, I would recommend giving him a supplement of iron for the duration that his physician gives you.
Thank you Mr. and Mrs. Smith for your time, and wishing to obtain more information about proper nutrition for your baby boy, Steven. If you follow these topics that we discussed, you should have no problem with your son growing into a good healthy toddler. Please feel free to contact me if you have anymore questions pertaining to your son, or even yourselves for that matter. I would be more then glad to help you reach your diet goals as well. A healthy eating habit promotes an even healthier lifestyle.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
March of Dimes. (June, 2015). Starting Your Baby on Solid Foods. Retrieved from: https://www.marchofdimes.org/baby/starting-your-baby-on-solid-foods.aspx#
Stasenko, Natalia MS, RD, CDN. (May 8th, 2018). 4 Infant Supplements to Ask Your Pediatrician About. Retrieved from: https://www.eatright.org/food/vitamins-and-supplements/dietary-supplements/4-infant-supplements-to-ask-your-pediatrician-about
The Center for Disease Control. (2020). Birth to 24 Months: Boys Length-for-age and Weight-for-age percentiles. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/data/who/GrChrt_Boys_24LW_100611.pdf
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High Caliber Inspection Workplace Wellness Program
After studying how to create a health promotion program, I wanted to see how I could incorporate that into the workplace. Owning a business has given me the opportunity to see every level of employment. From the traditional laborer, to the “Big Wig” boss, to even the accountant. I wanted to see what I could do to help our company build a better work environment for all of the employees and bosses. This is just a template of what I would do in a workplace wellness program. However, you could take this into almost any work environment. I hope you enjoy the read, and the possibility of putting a workplace wellness program in your very own workplace.
Workplace wellness is something that is a must in almost every occupation. Some people use work as a source of revenue, which is mainly the reason everyone needs to work. However, if people would look at work as a way to better themselves, then they will enjoy what they do even more. Providing people with occupational wellness has so many more benefits than one may think. Though, with a wellness program, there must be an effort from both sides, the employee and employer. Health needs assessments need to be done, along with funding offers, objectives and outcomes, and finally the implementation/intervention process of the program. In order for it to work effectively, the goals must be attainable, and easy enough to follow.
Health needs assessments need to be determined though a variety of means, that are provided from the target population, the employee. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.), workplace influence factors consist of environmental, organizational, interpersonal, and most importantly, individual factors. With the employee being the important aspect of workplace wellness, their influence will be of most importance. Conducting written questionnaires where the employee can be anonymous, will bring more honesty to their answers. Site visits, employee surveys, health benefits, healthcare and pharmaceutical claims, and other data sources such as previous injuries are all great assessments that need to be done with each employee individually (CDC, n.d.). This will give each employee its own proprietary needs assessment since one employee’s needs will be different than the next.
Diet and fitness will be the focus of the wellness program since that is such a universal aspect, and all other health promotion will come from a solid foundation. The right diet will make people feel better each day and reduce things like gastrointestinal problems and inflammation. A solid workout regimen can build cardiovascular health, reduce risk of diabetes, help reduce body fat, and most importantly, your mental health. Exercise can promote one’s confidence in all aspects of life. When an employee has more confidence, they will tend to put forth more of an effort in nearly everything they do, including at work.
It also can be a great influence for the people around them, such as their children, spouse, and friends within their personal life. Influencing our younger generation to conduct healthier lifestyles will bring that into their future, which then will influence their acquaintances. An adolescent takes whatever they learn in their younger years, into their future adulthood years. If they are surrounded with unhealthy lifestyles, or not being cognizant of their health, then they will take that into adulthood. While also not conducting some kind of physical activity, then obesity could potentially be in their future. Of course, there are outliers that have amazing metabolism and can eat almost anything and never become overweight. However, the aspect of mental health comes back into account, which exercise can assist in, even in small amounts. It must start at a young age.
The role of leadership within the wellness program lies on my business partner and I. Since we are the owners of the business, our employees will try to emulate us and our qualities both in the shop, along with external influences. After the 90-day period, where we know that the individual is serious about working with us long-term, then that is when the assessments begin. This will also give us time to get to know the person better as well. At this point, we will provide them with the applicable health insurance, and provide the details of the wellness program to them. Modeling around each employee will have its own proprietary influences. One thing that will be universal in the wellness program, is the quarterly bonus, the incentive program, the gym membership, and frequent diet coaching courses. If one employee wants to put on some muscle weight, then they will have their own program that will be different from someone that is trying to lose weight. And most importantly, my business partner and I must be the influences that our employees want to see.
Having a mission statement will be the first quality to establish. “From the inception of High Caliber Inspection, we have always strived to provide the highest quality of inspection on the market. Along with that high quality inspection, we also promote a higher quality of living for our employees. In order to complete the first goal, we must work harder on the second. Providing means of healthier lifestyle habits for our employees, will provide our customers with an even better level of inspection”. We understand that in order to provide quality work, we must have quality employees. And what better than physical activity, and proper diet to help assist in that goal. Healthy individuals work harder in our environment and building a culture around those traits will benefit the company, employees, and our customers.
According to Open Sourced Workplace (n.d.), a well-made wellness program helps in prevention of injuries/illnesses while also reducing absent employees and health costs, as well as increasing productivity from healthier individuals. Some objectives for High Calibers wellness program would be to provide gym memberships, provide healthy food choices, and create wellness challenges as part of the incentive objective. Providing our employees with a free gym membership will give them the ability to attend the gym whenever possible. Furthermore, having healthy snacks throughout the day, and a solid, protein rich lunch each day work is performed. This will get them into the habit of healthier food choices which they can take home to their families. Finally, having wellness challenges each weekly, monthly, or even quarterly will provide employees an active, yet fun incentive to performing healthy objectives. Our goals will be made proprietary to each employee, which is molded specifically to what their goals are. Mainly, just getting in the habit of eating healthy and attending the gym. Other big goals are increasing productivity between the different shops, while also boosting our employee’s loyalty and dedication to our environment.
A theory that is our go-to, would be the five stages of change theory. I have used this theory in the past with my fitness clients, and it gives us reachable goal limits, and noticeably changing behavior. One intervention activity will consist of PT tests each quarter to help track progress of physical fitness. This will include two-minutes of pushups, two-minutes of sit-ups, and a timed two-mile run. Of course, we will account for the different ages groups and adapt to them culturally as well. Keeping our challenges diverse will provide every employee the ability to adapt to their own needs. Another intervention would be monitoring their gym activity and seeing how many times a month they check-in at the gym. Of course, culturally, if they have a day of rest on Sunday, or are doing other tasks throughout the week, then that will be put into consideration. The final intervention will be the incentive’s that we will provide for each milestone our employees meet. If they are trying to lose weight, they will receive incentives every ten pounds they lose. Again, all depending on the proprietary employee.
Budget line items will be quite easily assessed for this wellness program. Since we are a small business, we will not be having more than five employees. As the company progresses in size, new budget lines will need to be assessed and considered. As of right now, providing a gym membership for 35 dollars a month, we will need at least 175 a month for memberships. If we provide 50 dollars a day for lunch items, we will need 250 dollars a week, and 1,000 dollars a month. Adding in some snacks for the time in between lunch we will add another 200 dollars while buying in bulk. Depending on the quarterly incentives, we will give our selves a 5,000-dollar wiggle room for all employees. This will be our biggest expense, which will meet that amount, or even less. 1,375 dollars a month is our basic expenditure, while every three months adding up to 4,125 dollars. Adding that to the potential expense of 5,000 for the incentives, we could potentially spend up to 9,125 each quarter. Of course, every goal each quarter won’t always be met, so the amount left over after a down quarter will just be transferred into a separate account for future wellness objectives.
Roles of my business partner and I will have the biggest weight in the company. With both of us already being big on fitness and healthy eating habits, it will just be second nature for us. The other stake holders will be the employee and their role in the program. These first three employees will be our foundation of our wellness program, so they will be considered middle management when it comes to the wellness program. The possibility of bringing in new customers, and one of these three employees taking a new employee with them to the new shop is there. This gives them the culture competency to transfer into the new employee. If we get to the point of being that busy, we will still have our weekly meetings, but we must rely on our middle management to relay the culture of High Caliber. Finally, our preferred doctors and therapists that we refer will also have key responsibilities to provide them with good services.
Evaluation Question Corresponding Program Objective(s) or Goals Indicator(s) Data Source Collection Method Data Collection Timeframe Are you allergic to any type of food? Providing a healthier lunch and snacks throughout the day. What foods to avoid so cross contamination doesn’t happen. The data will be collected from the employee. Pre-employment paperwork Within the time being hired onto the company. What are your fitness goals (e.g., lose weight, build muscle mass, etc..) Helping them reach these SMART goals. Which proprietary workout regimen needs to be created for each employee. Collected from the employees. Pre-employment paperwork. When being hired, and after 90-day probationary period In conclusion, High Caliber Inspections Wellness Program is something that will start off small with our minimum number of employees. However, this is a solid foundation for future improvements within the company. Overall, employee productivity and loyalty will be increased not only for us owners, but for our whole team. When everyone works together with a clear mind, tensions will lower, and their will be less differences. Building the budget line and incorporating the theory of change into our wellness program is established and workable. And finally, having needs assessments and evaluations questions will keep us up to date on how truly happy our employees are. Great companies are built on the foundation of their founders, along with their employees in the field relaying a good demeanor. Providing our employees with the best possible environment will do just that.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Center For Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Workplace Health Promotion: Assessment. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/workplacehealthpromotion/model/assessment/index.html
Open Sourced Workplace. (n.d.). What Are Workplace Wellness Objectives? (13 Objectives and 6 Goals of Wellness Programs in the Workplace). Retrieved from: https://opensourcedworkplace.com/news/what-are-workplace-wellness-objectives-13-objectives-and-6-goals-of-wellness-programs-in-the-workplace#:~:text=The%20main%20purpose%20of%20a,more%20energy%20and%20improved%20concentration.
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Evaluation of Health Promotion Program: Casper, Wyoming
In order for any program to be initiated, a needs assessment needs to be completed. Within that assessment, the programs evaluation must be established as well in order to see what needs fixed. With my target population being adolescents, being able to reach them for the evaluation will be quite simple, through technological. Each teenager has a cell phone or some other electronic device that allows them to be connected to the web. Through this, the probability of getting the evaluations out there would be more direct with the results as well (CDC, n.d.). Process and outcome evaluation is working towards the same goal, yet they are focused on their own stages. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (1999), process evaluation is limited to the implementation of the program, while outcome evaluation is the effectiveness of the program. Both are critical parts of a health program, since it gives you before, real time, and after analysis of the program. The most important is the process evaluation, so you can determine what needs to be changed.
The program is going to centered around our adolescents within the community of Casper, Wyoming. Our main goal is to promote healthier lifestyles through the right diet and more physical activity. With the obesity rate rising more and more every year, some kind of intervention is needed. The mission is to raise the physical activity percentage and lower the obesity percentage. Objectives are to build two more health facilities that include typical gym equipment, but also classrooms to help teach adolescents about healthier lifestyle habits. We will also promote it in schools as well, to help educate them about good habits. Most adolescents in Casper are bored or think there is never anything to do. So, finding a way to channel that boredom would benefit them tremendously. Intervention means would be through the education, the health clubs, and just simply showing them results of what could be done in due time. Intervening at this age, they will go into adulthood being better role models for themselves, their children, and the people around them.
The stakeholders of this proprietary program would be the adolescents, the personal trainers, and wellness coaches, Of course, there will be many more that come along throughout the duration of the program; however, we will focus on these three. The main stakeholder would be the target population. Evaluating them would be through social media means, simply asking how much extra time they have on their hands throughout the day. Second stakeholder would be the personal trainers. Evaluation of these stakeholders would be their clientele levels, and how much they would be interested in group workout sessions. And finally, the wellness coaches that will consist of dieticians, yogi masters, and meditation consultant. Their evaluation would be their desired pay, what times would work best for them, and whether they would be willing to volunteer.
Evaluation Questions
- What is your allotted time throughout the day/how much extra time do you have in a day?
- How much time can you dedicate to the process goals of this program?
- What would be an exceptional incentive program to assist in the process of the program?
- Can you attend the new health club at least three times a week to implement personal and program goals?
- Would four hours a week be sufficient for assisting in or learning healthier lifestyle habits?
Evaluation Matrix
Evaluation Question Corresponding Program Objective(s) or Goals Indicator(s) Data Source Collection Method Data Collection Timeframe What is your allotted time throughout the day/how much extra time do you have in a day? Determining time of day that would work best for stakeholders. Dates and times Data will be calculated from the program coordinators Social media platforms or google docs. 180 days of collection time, from all stakeholders. How much time can you dedicate to the process goals of this program? Establishing the time to conduct the process of healthier living. Time dedicated to the cause. Program coordinators, personal trainers, and health club management Social media, google docs, questionnaire at health club 180 days of data collected What would be an exceptional incentive program to assist in the process of the program? Finding what is the most reoccurring incentive that can be distributed to people that implement goals. Products Data will be collected from the treasurer and coordinators Social media, google docs, and email of interested individuals 90 days. Can you attend the new health club at least three times a week to implement personal and program goals? Implementation of exercise and time in classroom to learn material. Scanned in personal ID Cards Sources will be from coordinators and health club management. Bar chart of most frequent times, personal trainers Social media, email, and questionnaire at health club. Google docs as well 90 days after clubs have been opened Would four hours a week be sufficient for assisting in or learning healthier lifestyle habits? Attempt to determine the amount of classroom time people would attend without losing interest Class time and engagement Teachers, dieticians, yogi masters, and meditation consultants Classroom participation, social media, email, and google docs. 90 days of classroom time. The types of data that will be collected will be specific for each evaluation question. With question one and two, since that data is both on a 180-day cycle, they will be collected the same, while the other three will be on their own time frame. Bar charts will be a specific graph to show certain times of day, and the amount of classroom time would be sufficient. With the incentive question, we will place it into a pool of related products, and determine the amount evaluated. The main method of data collection will be more non-traditional with the use of technology, social media, and google docs emails. In person evaluation can be conducted at the health clubs through traditional pen and paper collection. The evaluation wouldn’t take any more than five minutes of their time, which would be beneficial in today’s busy climate. To determine the quality of data, we would first need to ensure that the participant is willing to disclose their name and information. This gives us the ability to build more of a centered data collection for our target population and/or representations of them.
In conclusion, the evaluation timing needs to be perfect, right at the beginning of implementation, yet deep enough in to establish the advertisement for people’s awareness of the program. With our followers on social media, all evaluation data will be presented to them, without names of voters of course. For people without social media, we can use SMS messages and email messages. All these results will be given to all people showing interest, along with the community as a whole. When the entire community sees the results, they can begin giving us the best type of advertisement: word of mouth. As people begin to venture towards the program, we may be able to run another evaluation after the fiscal year. Staying on top of the evaluations and including new questions, we can stay up to date on new needs of the target population.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Types of Evaluation. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/std/program/pupestd/types%20of%20evaluation.pdf
Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Sep. 17, 1999). Framework for Program Evaluation in Public Health. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr4811a1.htm
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Implementation of Social Cognitive Theory for Health Promotion: Casper, Wyoming
Introduction
Just like with everything else in life, there are certain theories that people draw up about certain topics. Social cognitive theory, self-regulation, the health belief models, theory of planned behavior, and transtheoretical model are a few of these theories that have been hypothesized. Theoretical models of health behavioral change are focused on cognitive variables, such as beliefs/values, attitudes, and expectations, and the factors that influence these variables (Kristin, et. al., 2014). Influences can come from social status to economic status that can actually affect peoples thought processes. If a person’s main goal is to figure out what they are going to eat that evening, then they wouldn’t be able to focus on the betterment of their life.
Theories can be useful in designing health intervention programs for a variety of reasons, mainly for implementation. In order to establish the groundwork for a health intervention program, you need structure and key concepts to follow. When there isn’t any organization, it will be hard to follow accordingly, thus resulting in people losing the initiative to proceed. When people see good structure in a program, they are more susceptible to follow it from beginning to end. This will guide the intervention program into great successes in any field of health promotion category.
Choose a Theory of Health Behavior
The theory that will be implemented in this health promotion program will be the social cognitive theory, which uses the reciprocal nature of influences that produce behavior. Moreover, reciprocal influences help change behavior through personal factors, existing behaviors, and physical or social environment (Kristin, et. al., 2014). The main constructs of the social cognitive theory are mainly based around a persons social and physical environment. The paradigm that says a person with beliefs, attitude, information, and needs will engage in behavior that has some consequent outcome (Kristin, et. al., 2014).
Behavior change and maintenance of behavior are split into two separate functions. One, expectations of the outcomes will result from engaging in some kind of behavior. And secondly, their expectation and their ability to execute or engage in the certain behavior and the outcome (Kristin, et. al., 2014). Furthermore, outcome expectations consist of believing in any given behaviors leading to given outcomes. Whilst self-efficacy consists of one believing in their ability to perform these behaviors that lead to certain outcomes. If a person in the target population has a low level of self-efficacy, then they tend to ruminate on their own deficiencies. This leads to a lower level of confidence and more anxiety/depressive feelings.
This theory is appropriate for this given health promotion program for more ways than one. When the adolescent group within our community have someone to admire/look up to, they begin to mold themselves to that behavior. Helping their self-efficacy levels rise, will begin to put them into a higher level of confidence, which is key in most behaviors, especially when trying to reach a certain outcome. Seeing their friends making the effort to change their life for the better, can also influence them to change their behavior. I am a strong proponent of the nurture aspect, especially in our adolescent years. We have built the level of understanding up to this point, so how could they be wrong. The advent of the internet — social media mostly—children have taken the aspect of comparing themselves to others to a whole new extreme. If their social, and physical environment is positive, no matter which way they look, they will move towards that more often. These are just a few explanations of why a certain social construct can have more influence than one may think.
Theory-based Program Activities
One activity that explicitly addresses the constructs of the social cognitive theory is through self-analyzing every behavior they are involved in. Taking a moment after every interaction can help understand if there was anything you personally did that resulted in the outcome of the interaction, whether good or bad. The construct factor of their belief in their ability to perform an action can be more self-analytic. When a person takes a moment to think before and after an interaction, then they are in control of their behavior, which may lead to a favorable outcome. Personally, no one can control another person, however, we all can control how we react to a certain topic. Even going into an interaction, and taking a moment to analyze your behavior, you can usually come out with a favorable outcome.
Another activity that can be conducted is meditating first thing in the morning, or even throughout the day. To address the other factor of this theory, ones expectations of outcome when conducting a certain behavior, taking time to analyze will be better. And that is the benefit of meditation. Even doing a small session of meditation can help soothe the mind for whatever is thrown at you during the day. A calm mind leads to a calm heart, and a calm heart leads to a calm self-environment. People will surround themselves with whatever they are feeling at the time. Which of course can be a bad thing, especially in the adolescent target population. Surrounding themselves with like minded people will just influence them to continue to their goals. You surround yourself with five turkeys, you will walk everywhere you want to go. Surround yourself with five eagles, and you can learn to soar.
Tailor the Program
Tailoring to program activities has to do with the program that is being implemented. Adjusting all the proper topics and events for the program can help with the organization of the program. A weakness that does arise in most adaptation methods is that individual steps lack certain detail pertaining to the program (Mudd-Martin et.al., 2013). Without proper adapting protocol, tailoring the program can begin to fall apart. Recruitment, setting, timing and personnel are all a dire asset to the program, and are usually solicited from the target population (Chen, et. al., 2013). With this program target population being adolescents, we would need to solicit some candidates as pawns on the board. Having their same aged individuals pushing for this certain program, they can all begin to relate to it, and start making their way into the same slots as their social counterparts.
Program Logic Model
Inputs Outputs Short Term Outcomes Midrange Outcomes Long term Outcomes Recruitment Educators, find target population team members Begins bringing people on board Build a solid foundation of people outside of founders Have established members for the program Investing in Non-profit Brings in the finances needed for implementation Start small and get larger Establish the foundation of our facilities and incentive program Cooperation between founders and investors Volunteer hours More people helping the cause Bring more people to our program Begin to put more people in place Have solid managerial members within the program Building of facilities Bringing the health club to fruition Pinpoint locations of health club Finalize utilities and proper expenses for the club A fully self-sufficient club 24/7 Implementation People seeing healthier lifestyles Get our target population leaning towards the program Begin lowering overweight adolescents Lowering the obesity rate, and raising the physical activity rate Furthering our reach Reach more towns within the state Go from Natrona County, to Campbell County Start the recruitment of staff for that area Find ourselves to be in as many towns as possible Maintenance Keep the ball rolling with our momentum Healthy lifestyles become more prominent Having adolescents become more engrained in our society 10 years—target population is older, with more of an influence in the community All great successes must start from scratch at some point, with like minded people. Bringing those people together and recruiting the proper staff for a program like this would be main priority. Without enough staff, the program would just fizzle out. Getting the source of revenue to start implementing the program may be difficult. However, a 501(c) (3) Non-Profit organization becomes more noticed by local investors. Larger corporations can use it as a tax right off, for “charitable” causes. Getting the volunteers to help build the relationship in the community, especially in the target population. At this point, we are at the peak of the program, where the large-scale building of the facilities needs to be regulated. Expenses are going to go through the roof at this stage, but it will have a ROI within due time. Implementation can go right along with furthering our reach. Where our reach stays strong in our local community and prolonging it even further to other communities. And the final stage of change, maintenance. Keeping all this logic model running, we would need to bring new topics of discussion to the table to help brainstorm future endeavors.
Program Implementation Plan
Program implementation is going to be the key aspect to this entire program. Having our established founders of three people, we can begin bringing people into the program that are fellow acquaintances. If each one of the founders brings on 5 people for a volunteer aspect at first, then we will be sitting around 18 people to begin writing the by laws for the program. Building a string solid foundation is going to be a key aspect of the entire program. If our adaptation isn’t sufficient, then it will fall apart at the very first barrier. Adoption of the program will need to rely on these 18-starting people. With those 18 people, they all know some number of adolescents that they can begin using as pawns in the real-world chess game. Sending them out there to their fellow adolescents will get our reach stronger.
The first barrier we would encounter would be finances. A suitable strategy for his problem would be building the 501(c) (3) nonprofit and be recognized by the IRS on a federal level. This can help bring funding in from more than our local community. There are organizations that will donate to programs like this one. Jumping that barrier will get the ball rolling for the building of facilities. With the funding program we mentioned earlier, we would have at least one million dollars upon acceptance. Meeting all the requirements for this funding offer will get this more mainstream.
Another barrier that we cold encounter would be if the target population doesn’t want to follow the program. Of course, forcing people to do something that they don’t want to do in this Country is frowned upon. Jumping this implementation barrier will be through the incentive programs that will be involved. People love free stuff, and if all they must do is go to a gym a certain number of times a week, then that is an easy task. Once they begin building the habit, then their desire to complete the task will be second nature. I was told something once, that in life, we do what we must do, well because we have to. Soon enough, we do what we have to because it becomes second nature. And sooner than later, we do what we have to do, because we want to do it. All good things take time, and this isn’t going to happen overnight. However, our adolescents will begin to age into early adults, with a good solid foundation of a healthier lifestyle. Where they will then pass down to their kids, and their kids will pass it down to their kids, for generations to come. It all starts here.
-Cyral I Callender III
Reference:
Chen, E. K., Reid, M. C., Parker, S. J., & Pillemer, K. (2013). Tailoring evidence-based interventions for new populations: a method for program adaptation through community engagement. Evaluation & the health professions, 36(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1177/0163278712442536
Kristin A. Riekert, P., Judith K. Ockene, P. Me. M., & Lori Pbert, P. . (2014). The Handbook of Health Behavior Change, 4th Edition: Vol. 4th edition. Springer Publishing Company.
Mudd-Martin, G., Martinez, M. C., Rayens, M. K., Gokun, Y., & Meininger, J. C. (2013). Sociocultural tailoring of a healthy lifestyle intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. Prev Chronic Dis, 10, 130137. Available online: https://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2013/13_0137.htm
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Program Funding for Health Promotion in Casper, Wyoming’s Population
With nearly every new venture that anyone begins, the thought of funding needs to be brought into consideration. Funding can come from angel investors, non-profits, and even governmental agencies. It all comes down to who can benefit, and what can benefit from this proprietary venture, and whether the elevator pitch catches their attention quick enough. Or accepted through an extensive application process with these governmental agencies. When accepted, all the nitty gritty details must come to the surface. How much funding does the program need? What is the main objective, and how long will it take to meet? These are a few of the questions that will need answered to the potential program funders. We must incorporate all the information into one solid program directive to get accepted for the funding. The targeted population here in Casper, Wyoming will be the adolescent aged individuals, both male and female. This is to promote their health with physical activity habits that they can take with them into their future.
Grants for community health promotion is a large contributor to all different kinds of health within certain communities. There is funding for nearly anything you can possibly think of. You can receive funding in a large lump sum, or a specific amount each year for a set number of years. The grant that I found that will go along with my health promotion program is the Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers: 2022 Special Interest Project Competitive Supplements (SIPS). This grant uses special interests to promote health within a community in different sectors, such as: health disparities, health promotion, access to care, and much more. There are four domains that are offered in this grant; however, this program will be directed towards domain II which is environmental approaches that promote health and support/reinforce healthful behaviors (CDC, 2022).
This is a governmental grant that is offered by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the National Institute of Health. The purpose of the funding is focused around the four domains, which are as follows: Domain I: epidemiology and surveillance, Domain II: environmental approaches that promote health and support and reinforce healthful behaviors, Domain III: Healthcare systems interventions, and finally Domain VI: community programs linked to clinical services (CDC, 2022). The type of activities that are supported in the grant are physical activity to reduce health disparities or chronic illnesses. Securing good environmental factors for adolescents/young adults (AYA). Disability and health data collaborative: using data to promote the health and wellness of people with disabilities. Disabilities can include anything that is a physical disability, or even mental health problems. These go right along with the current objectives for this program since the desire to expand the amount of fitness centers and other activity locations for adolescents, which is the served population.
The eligibility requirements of this grant aren’t as extensive as other grant applications, however, there are still the underlying factors that must be considered. Non-Profits, Public and state-controlled institutions of higher education, private institutions of higher education, along with some additional eligibility requirements that need to be met to be accepted. Hispanic-serving institutions, historically black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges, and universities, and finally Alaska native and native Hawaiian serving institutions are other eligibility requirements. Foreign organizations are not eligible for this grant. I think if we were to become a non-profit, then we would be considered in the application process.
The overall amount of funding for this grant is 8,280,000 dollars, which can be divided up between up to 14 different awards. There isn’t necessarily a ceiling or floor amount for the funding, it would be split between who was awarded, but the maximum amount that can be awarded in a 12-month period is 1,990,000 dollars. This transfer of funds can be direct or indirect to the organization, and the span can be two years, where another acceptance may be required for further funding (CDC, 2022). With the time frame of our program, we would potentially need to apply for the second year. However, with our SMART goals, most of our objectives would be close to being met within the first year.
As stated in the previous sections, our programs mission aligns with this health promotion grant, and application of our objectives within our community. Finding our way to obtaining buildings for more fitness centers can be easy with the amount of large commercial shops that are around here. Converting them into a fitness center would be fairly easy. Leasing the buildings will give us the ability to pay over a longer span of time. And with the other extracurricular activities, volunteer work would be obtained through other local corporations/ organizations. Special interest projects and competitive supplements (SIPS) can be placed into a broad category within our community. With hiking trails, kayaking, swimming in lakes or rivers, and cycling around the city are all supplements of health that can be done with a small amount of funds. The relevance of adolescents and young adults pertaining to this grant and the program is also aligned.
According to Walsh (2016), a health promotion program budget must put employment factors, building fees, equipment, utilities, and other investments into consideration on top of the larger expenditures. No body really budgets in the small expenditures that happen throughout the entirety of the program. However, our program will keep those in mind, and shoot for volunteer work over employment. Of course, the main people of the Non-Profit will be on some sort of salary, but it will be a smaller amount. Making payroll lower at the beginning, can really save up money for the larger expenditures like fitness center buildings and trails being built. Once the larger factors are established, then payroll may begin to rise. According to Walsh (2016), budget lines should be determined and set forth for at least six months’ worth of operations, so that funds will always be available.
A budget line of ours would be the coordination of fitness centers with at least two more facilities. Typical pricing would be per square footage of the commercial property that is being leased. On the website cityfeet.com (2022). There is a 2,300 square foot commercial property that is being leased for 11 dollars per sq. ft./year. Added up, that would be a total of 25,300 a year, with monthly payment being 2,108 per month. Finding another one along those lines give or take even 10,000 dollars, then our month expenditure would be minimal. The biggest expenditure would be providing all the equipment for the facilities. According to Gym Pros (n.d.), you can purchase nearly every piece of workout equipment at wholesale pricing with the more product bought, the more you are discounted, and can be paid in installments. Finding an accurate number without actually having a full layout of the facility would be difficult. Furthermore, giving our program a 450,000-dollar budget per year for equipment between both facilities would suffice.
When it comes to building trails, we wouldn’t necessarily need to use concrete or asphalt for all of them. Most of them can be rant through with a skid steer in order to level off the ground or clear any debris out of the way. The trails in town to use for cycling, running, or simply walking would be in consideration, however, that wouldn’t be until further. The most important line item in our budget would be getting the facilities up and running, with construction costs for internal walls and screwing the machines down to the concrete. When it comes to payroll, I believe 50,000 a year per board member would be affordable at the beginning. That would put us at four board members, 200,000 a year for payroll purposes. Advertisement would be fairly minimal with the non-traditional means of social media. We can also conduct 5K, 10K, or even half marathon events to bring people to us. Managerial positions would open upon the grand opening of these facilities as well. Giving us another budget line increase of about 80,000 dollars. Utilities expenses should be anywhere from around 5,000 to 10,000 per year respectively. Additional advertisement and merchandise would be around 2,000 dollars. So, with the current plot, it would be approximately 767,000 within the first year of operations. If we were guaranteed the grant for 1,990,000 in the first 12 months, then we will have a lot of left-over funds to disperse in other means, such as gym membership scholarships to individuals that cannot afford the fees. Building an obstacle course racing event would be in the works as well, however, it isn’t a priority.
This program to date has the official means of promoting health within our community of Casper for a few different reasons. The probability of funding is in the process of being applied. Available volunteers are already in place that would help us coordinate events like 5K’s and 10K’s to help raise awareness of the program. Also, the mirror Program here in town would be willing to work with us, and promote physical activity in the schools, the juvenile detention center, youth crisis shelter, and Wyoming Behavioral institute. The Big Brothers and Sisters Foundation would also work along with us in promoting health in our adolescent/ young adult aged students. Finding the location of the facilities was quite easy with the number of commercial buildings that are being leased. And finally, our board members are all willing to take the next step into implementing this program as soon as funding has been secured.
Staffing would be formally volunteer work at the beginning. However, finding the right candidates for our group members that help brainstorm ideas would give us the steppingstone. We would begin with just the President/Chair, Vice President/Chair, Operations coordinator, and treasurer. These four would be full time responsibilities, while the others would be part time. As the program ages, we can bring more people on to coordinate separate branches of operations. Sine the gyms will be locked 24/7, the only way to enter is with a key card. These key cards will log who was in the gym at a certain time, and how long they were there. This will assist us in knowing who was there when damages occurred. Having a cleaning staff for both facilities would need to be included as another part-time job. No body would need to be there through the night. Managers would just need to be there to ensure cleanliness of locations, and that employees are doing what they need to be doing. Also, to relay accounting to our board treasurer so that monthly income and expenditures can be tracked.
In conclusion, there is a lot that goes into this program, and though I have made it out to be easy, I know that people within the community would work together. The good thing about small towns like Casper, with only 60,000 people, we have a great sense of community. Volunteer work would be easy to find, and people would be more than willing to provide their time and resources if they know it is to help the community. Any health promotion program that gets advertised well enough, and reaches the right people, can flourish in its first year. That is our goal with the SIPS funding offer, and our local members of society. I believe bringing this information into the school district, then their physical activity classes may be increased. Instead of making P.E. classes easier to fit the needs of different individuals, maybe have it broken down into two separate classes. I have noticed in my personal training career, that having a calm, yet firm voice has shown to work well with individuals that aren’t too interested in exercise. All great things must start somewhere, and we can begin passing it off to our younger generation.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research Centers: 2022 Special Interest Project Competitive Supplements (SIPS) RFA-DP-22-003. Retrieved from: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/search-grants.html
Cityfeet.com. (2022). Casper, WY Commercial Properties for Lease. Retrieved from: https://www.cityfeet.com/cont/casper-wy/commercial-properties-for-lease?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5tXxl_Hz9QIVXyGtBh0Q4QpxEAAYAiAAEgKrBvD_BwE&sk=deac17375fcf4cc88d3f8c782b6878e6
Gym Pros. (n.d.). Wholesale Gym Equipment. Retrieved from: https://www.gympros.com/wholesale-gym-equipment/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxIu58_Lz9QIVJD2tBh2qcwvEEAAYASAAEgLwKPD_BwE
Walsh K. (2016). Managing a Budget in Healthcare Professional Education. Annals of medical and health sciences research, 6(2), 71–73. https://doi.org/10.4103/2141-9248.181841
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Casper, Wyoming Health Program Objectives
Health in Casper, Wyoming is something that isn’t as important to the community, so it seems. However, with certain programs set, our population may begin to come together more and more. Solely based as an energy field town, people use the long work hours as an excuse to not do extracurricular activities to promote their health. They wake up, go to work, come home, sit on their couch, and go to sleep, just to do it all over again the next morning. It is a continuous repetitive cycle that causes them to live a sedentary lifestyle, which leads to health problems. We must come together as a community and incorporate certain health promotion programs to change this sedentary cycle that most people live in. The following will be one of those programs, and the targets it will be focused on within our community.
Health status indicators help with evaluating health within a population. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2013), social detriments are a key factor in establishing the health of a community, which is race and ethnicity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, and a person’s age all influence health. Other factors would be morbidity, mortality, incidence, and prevalence within a community. Workplace inexperience also contributes to health factors, specifically here is Casper, Wyoming since we are one of the largest energy producers in the United States. Between oilfield, coal mines, uranium mines, natural gas development, and windfarms, there is all kinds of heavy equipment being operated.
Health factors that hugely impact our population are obesity causing disease, accidents, and sexually transmitted diseases. According to the Wyoming Health Department (2018), the top causes of death in Wyoming are cancer, heart disease, accidents and adverse events, and chronic lower respiratory disease. What I believe to be the most important detriments of health is cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and unintentional injuries leading to death. Health behavior leads to 30 % of our individual health, and 18.9% of Wyomingites smoke tobacco products which contributes to the 30% of people at risk for heart disease or stroke (Wyoming Health Department, 2018). 8.3% of Wyomingites have diabetes and is the leading cause of non-accident leg amputation, blindness, and kidney failure (Wyoming Health Department, 2018). And finally, obesity is another that will be discussed since it goes along with the lack of physical activity and is a large contributor to all other health factors.
Socioeconomic factors play a role within the health systems of Wyoming, due to relevance of disease and potential household income. The three main health factors all have one thing in common, people that take home 25,000 dollars or less a year. One benefit of the population in Casper is that most people have some kind of insurance. According to Data USA (2019), 86.5% of people are insured with 52.7% on employer plans, 9.81% of Medicaid, 9.77% on Medicare, 12.8% on non-group care plans, and 1.42% on VA or military plans. With that being said, not everyone uses their insurance for typical check-ups, and we all know that our health can decline faster then we can imagine. Not having a check up to see if there is something wrong, can be detrimental. Though the unemployment rate is below 5%, there are still 28% of children living in single family homes, and 12% of kids are living in poverty (America’s Health Rankings, 2020).
Social and environmental factors that can play into these three health problems, are the amount of work that is being conducted, and the use of drugs and alcohol. Over consumption of illicit drugs is something that has been a problem in Casper for quite some time. Alcohol related deaths is another prevalent statistic in the entire state since the weekends are always packed with late nights of drinking. In Casper, you can find a bar or liquor store within a 3-mile radius of any part of the town. Obesity has a score of 30.7% of the population, which leads to both heart disease, and diabetes among so many other health problems. These contribute to health disparities due to the local environment that is promoted. Also, the entire population is able to access some kind of fitness center within the area, yet only 28% of people are physically active. Exercise contributes to so many different positive health outcomes than people think, while also preventing heart disease. There are also 8.4 fast food restaurants per 10,000 people in Casper, meaning they are just as frequent as bars/liquor stores (Wyoming Medical Center, 2019). Diabetes comes from mass consumption of fast-food and drinking soda related products.
Heart disease contributes to 148.99 deaths per 100,000 people in the entire state of Wyoming, being the leading cause of death, with unintentional accidents being 55.81 per 100,000 people (Wyoming Department of Health, 2018). When broken down into more detail, American Indian is the highest-ranking race sitting at around 20% of adults having heart disease in 2018, with Hispanic being the lowest, right at 5% (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). In 2020, 19% of people with heart disease where 65+ years old, 9% were 45-64 years old, and 3% were 18-44 years old (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). Between both genders, 9.1% are male and 7.4% are female (America’s Health Rankings, 2020).
Diabetes has been on an uptrend in Wyoming for the past decade, with around 9% of adults claiming that they have been told by a healthcare provider that they have diabetes. Broken down into subgroups, American Indian is the highest just like with heart disease, sitting at 25% of adults that have diabetes in 2018 (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). Diabetes goes right along with obesity, with most people that are overweight having diabetes. Hispanic moved above the white population sitting at 10.4% of adults having diabetes, and 8.1% are white (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). The separation of age in 2020 is 17.8% being 65 years or older, 11% being 45-64 years old, and finally 2.2% being 18-44 years old (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). The volatility between genders has been back and forth for a while now, with both male and female meeting right at 8.5% in 2020 (America’s Health Rankings, 2020).
Finally, obesity being a leading cause of health problems within Casper, Wyoming. According to America’s Health Rankings (2020), 30.7% of the entire population of Wyoming is obese, with Casper sitting right at 28% of the population being obese. The numbers of people being overweight, borderline obese are rising more and more over the years due to the lack of physical activity and poor lifestyle habits. American Indian and Hispanic Americans are both the highest ranking, with both of them sitting around 36%, with white races sit at 30.3 % and multiracial are at 24.5%, all in the year 2020 (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). The age 45-64 years old is the highest rank of the obese population at 35.7%, 65 years old and older at 29.5%, and finally 18-44 years old being the lowest at 27.7% (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). Females just surpassed males in 2020, with males at 30.1% and females at 31.4%, that number continues to climb in both genders (America’s Health Rankings, 2020).
With this information being put into consideration, I will be targeting obesity as the main priority for health promotion. The percentages of obesity are almost double the other percentages. Furthermore, obesity is one of the co-morbidity factors for both heart disease and diabetes. With that being said, if the health outcome of obesity is worked on, and the percentages are lowered, then the side-effect of the other two problems will diminish as well, and so much more. The subgroup I will be targeting the most it the age group of 18-44 years old, since this age group has the most influence on others. Also, with the 18-year-old population just making the transfer into adulthood, they can begin creating good habits that they can take long into the future. I will focus on both male and female since they should be seen as equals when it comes to health promotion. This will be universal across all race/ethnic groups.
Statement of Need
This needs statement is being written at the beginning of 2022, and though some of the statistics are one or two years old, they are still relevant today. Obesity continues to persist in our community of Casper, Wyoming, and will continue to grow long into the future. Over the past decade, we have gone from 25.7% of the local population being obese in 2010, to an astounding 30.7% in 2020(America’s Health Rankings, 2020). Something further to investigate, is in 1990 we were sitting at a meek 13.7% of our population being obese (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). I don’t know if it is the influx of population we have seen over the years, or if it is a common trend. However, if we continue this upwards trend, half of our population will be obese by approximately 2050. Though that seems like an eternity, it is something that can be seen in our lifetimes. Is that what we want our children to grow up in, or their children? We must look further into the future and get a reversal of this trend. I know investors love consistent upward trends because those buy trades can make some good returns. However, this is a tragedy if it continues upwards.
The process of this needs assessment will need to be covered in several different areas of our community. Workplace wellness programs, where local employers are incentivized to provide gym memberships for their employees. Where then the employees will receive rewards for attending the gym at least three times a week. And if they persist with these gym trips each month, they will receive an even bigger reward. Employers can enhance the incentive program if they desire, to help people reach weight loss goals. Another area of focus would be to provide more gym options. According to Wyoming Medical Center (2019), there are 1.1 fitness/exercise facilities per 10,000 people in Casper, while there are 8.4 fast food restaurants per 10,000 people. If we can match even half of the number of fast-food restaurants to fitness centers, then we would be making some good leeway.
Other area of focus would be to promote more health and wellness in the Natrona County School Districts. High school is used to mold our children for college or entering adulthood. If we instill positive lifestyle habits at this age, they can carry it long into the future. It will take time, but the younger generation will soon be our middle-aged Wyomingites. And if they are provided with positive lifestyle habits at a young age, they can then begin influencing their children and the rest of the younger generation to do the same. We just have to look into the future and create the change that we want to see. This program will become a federally noticed 501(c)3 non-profit organization which can have tax information, and can take donations from anyone, or any business. The more funds available, the more adequate the fitness facilities will become, and the bigger the incentives in workplace wellness.
Mission Statement
Positive lifestyle habits are the cure-all for most co-morbidity factors, and it starts from within. With our early adults, and middle-aged adults being the most able to perform physical activity, then we are the ones that must be focused on. In order to change a community from within, it must start with 18–44-year-old people, since they are the bulk of our population here in Casper, Wyoming. Targeting obesity in this age group will bring the overall percentage of 30.7% in 2020 down over the years (America’s Health Rankings, 2020). The philosophy of this program is that if we lower obesity, we lower heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and so many more health complications. If the statement of need is accepted by the community, then our program will be supported by our communities’ elites and will be promoted by all.
Program Goals
- Lower the obesity percentage in Casper which will then lower heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and other co-morbidity factors. While also raising the physically active population in our community.
- Influence our younger generation in schools to enter adulthood with positive lifestyle habits so obesity cannot become prevalent again.
Program Objectives
- Raise the amount of fitness centers that are easily accessible to the population. This needs to be done within five years at the latest.
- Lower the number of fast-food restaurants in Casper, where only one store for each chain is available. Turning these stores into other healthier alternatives can be completed by 2025
- Integrating physical activity in all age groups within our education system, from elementary, all the way to high school and our community college. This can be done as soon as the beginning of the new school year in the fall.
- Workplace wellness programs can be made with all small businesses, and other large branches. Ensuring the level of funding is available from the Non-Profit organization, this can be done as soon as the end of 2022.
- Building of more trails and large sidewalks within our community and up our local mountain range. Cycling or running up Casper Mountain Road is nearly impossible due to skinny shoulders on either side of the road. This can be done in the summer of 2022 and finished in the summer of 2023.
- Have the obesity percentage lowered by 2025, and the physical active members of our community at a higher percentage.
All in all, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity are all leading causes of death in our community, and within the entire state. If the health promotion program can be integrated in Casper and it becomes a success, then we can begin branching out to other counties, then to other states. I know this will be successful, since everyone loves good incentives, even if they have to put forth a little effort. Being successful on a small-scale population of about 60,000 people here in Casper, then we can lay the groundwork for other states to build from. Lowering the obesity rate and raising the physically active population can have benefits across the board. From physical health promotion to mental health promotion, and to a happier community. Exercise is a great positive drug that can be distributed throughout all communities. We must be the change we want to see and coming together as a whole community instead of being separated between one side or the other. We are all one species on this earth we live on, so we should all act as one. Your body is your temple, and to love others, you must first love yourself.
-Cyral I Callender III
References:
CDC Health Disparities & Inequalities Report – United States, 2013 Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Supplement, November 22, 2013, Vol.62, Supplement No. 3, pg.1–187. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2013). CDC Health Disparities and Inequalities Report. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/pdf/other/su6203.pdf
Center for Disease Control and STD Prevention Division. (n.d.). Developing Program Goals and Measurable Objectives. Retrieved from: https://www.cdc.gov/std/Program/pupestd/Developing%20Program%20Goals%20and%20Objectives.pdf
Data USA. (2019). Casper, Wy: Census Place. Retrieved from: https://datausa.io/profile/geo/casper-wy/#health
Americas Health Rankings. (2020). Cardiovascular Disease in Wyoming. Retrieved from: https://www.americashealthrankings.org/explore/annual/measure/CVD/state/WY
Wyoming Department of Health. (2018). State Health Assessment. Retrieved from: https://www.astho.org/Programs/Accreditation-and-Performance/Documents/17-18-TA-States/WY-State-Health-Assessment/
Wyoming Medical Center; Casper-Natrona County Health Department. (Nov. 2019). Community Health Implementation Strategy. Retrieved from: https://wyomingmedicalcenter.org/documents/CHNA-IS-Nov2019.pdf
“A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”-Yoko Ono
Source: Famous People Quotes. Cyral Callender III. Mar. 29, 2022
Health and Wellness Repertoire 