NUR 306 Module 7 Project Two Community Intervention Proposal Example

Project Two: Float, Drill, Talk, a Community Intervention to Prevent Drowning Among Pell Harbor Lobster Crews

[Student Name]

Southern New Hampshire University

NUR 306: Nursing in the Community

Project Two

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The organization, setting and figures below are a composite written as a model document. No real employer, client, colleague or patient is described.

Project Two: Float, Drill, Talk, a Community Intervention to Prevent Drowning Among Pell Harbor Lobster Crews

The Project One profile of Pell Harbor's lobster crews identified drowning after a fall overboard as the priority problem: no other risk on the list kills as quickly, and the behavior that protects against it is almost never seen on deck. In the federal review of the 17 years from 2000 through 2016, not one of the 204 victims of fatal falls had flotation on, close to half fished alone at the time, and the bodies of most were never found (Case et al., 2018). This proposal describes Float, Drill, Talk, a one-season community intervention built with the harbor association that removes the main barriers to wearing flotation, trains crews to recover someone who goes over, and uses respected local voices to change what is normal on deck. The town, partners and costs are composites.

Goal and Objectives

The goal is to reduce the risk of drowning among Pell Harbor lobster crews by increasing the use of flotation on deck and the ability to recover a person from the water. By the end of the season, the program aims to: (1) place a work-style life jacket on at least 80% of the harbor's active boats through the loaner program; (2) have at least 60% of boats complete one man-overboard recovery drill with the harbor master; (3) raise observed flotation use on deck, measured by dockside counts, from the baseline measured in the spring to at least 40% of crew members observed; and (4) keep at least three quarters of loaned jackets in use through the end of the season, measured by a fall return survey.

Intervention Components

Float is the loaner program. The harbor association will lend each participating boat two modern work life jackets, chosen after crews tried several designs at the spring teaching session, with a choice between inflatable belt packs, suspender-style inflatables and low-profile foam vests. Crews keep them for the season and may buy them at a reduced price in the fall. Removing cost and letting crews choose a style that does not snag on lines addresses the two barriers crew members named most often.

Drill is the recovery training. The harbor master and the fire department's water rescue team will run a 30-minute man-overboard drill on each boat at its mooring, practicing how to stop the boat, throw a flotation device, bring a person alongside and get them back aboard with the equipment the boat actually carries. Boats that fish alone will be shown reboarding ladders and tether options.

Talk is the message campaign. Following the approach of a federal social marketing study in which a culturally matched fictional spokesman spoke to common barriers and misconceptions, after which fishermen reported wearing flotation more often (Teske et al., 2022), the campaign will use real Pell Harbor captains who wear flotation, photographed on their own boats, on posters at the cooperative, fuel dock and bait shop and in short videos on the association's social media page.

Levels of Intervention

The components span the three levels of the Public Health Intervention Wheel (Keller et al., 2004). At the individual level, crew members receive health teaching and hands-on fitting. At the community level, the loaner program, drills and campaign reach the whole harbor, using outreach and social marketing. At the systems level, the association will vote on whether to add flotation on deck to its voluntary safety standard for members next year, and the nurse will work with the harbor committee to install a reboarding ladder at the public float. Working at all three levels matters because a behavior like wearing flotation depends on individual choice, on what peers do and on the rules a community sets for itself.

Partners, Roles and Budget

The harbor association owns the program and manages the loaner inventory. The community health nurse coordinates the fitting sessions, leads the teaching component, organizes evaluation and writes the final report. The harbor master and fire department run the drills. The cooperative hosts materials and provides space. A regional marine safety organization supplies sample jackets and technical advice. The estimated budget is $9,500 for 80 loaner jackets, $1,200 for printing and photography, and $800 for drill supplies, including throw bags and two reboarding ladders, for a total of $11,500. The association will seek a local foundation grant and a matching contribution from the cooperative, and crews who buy their jackets in the fall will return part of the cost to the fund.

Timeline

In March, baseline dockside counts are taken on two mornings and the teaching session is held at the association's spring meeting. In April and May, jackets are fitted and loaned, and posters and videos are released. From May through July, drills are scheduled boat by boat. In July and again in September, dockside counts are repeated on two mornings each. In November, crews return a short survey about jacket use and the association votes on the voluntary standard. The nurse presents results to the association and the town in December.

Evaluation

The program will be judged on the five RE-AIM dimensions described by Glasgow et al. (1999): reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance. Reach is the share of active boats and crew members who receive a jacket or complete a drill. Effectiveness is the change in observed flotation use between the spring baseline and the summer and fall counts. Adoption is whether the association adopts the voluntary standard and whether other harbors ask to copy the program. Implementation is whether drills and fittings happen as planned, tracked on a simple log. Maintenance is whether jackets stay in use through the season and whether crews buy them in the fall. Because drowning deaths in one harbor are, fortunately, too rare to measure change in a single season, the program measures the protective behavior instead.

Anticipated Barriers

Three barriers are likely. Some crew members may accept a jacket and leave it in the wheelhouse; peer messaging and captains who wear flotation themselves are the main answer, supported by repeated dockside counts that make the change visible. Busy crews may skip drills in the peak season, so drills are scheduled early and kept short. Finally, a few members may see the voluntary standard as outsiders telling fishermen what to do, which is why the association, not the nurse or the town, decides whether to adopt it.

Conclusion

Float, Drill, Talk addresses the single most preventable death in Pell Harbor with three practical steps: make wearing flotation easy, make recovery possible and make it normal. The program is modest in cost, owned by the community and measured by what crews actually do on deck. If it works for one season, the association will have the evidence and the equipment to keep it going.

References

Case, S. L., Lincoln, J. M., & Lucas, D. L. (2018). Fatal falls overboard in commercial fishing: United States, 2000-2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 67(16), 465-469. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6716a2

Glasgow, R. E., Vogt, T. M., & Boles, S. M. (1999). Evaluating the public health impact of health promotion interventions: The RE-AIM framework. American Journal of Public Health, 89(9), 1322-1327. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.89.9.1322

Keller, L. O., Strohschein, S., Lia-Hoagberg, B., & Schaffer, M. A. (2004). Population-based public health interventions: Practice-based and evidence-supported. Part I. Public Health Nursing, 21(5), 453-468. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0737-1209.2004.21509.x

Teske, T. D., Case, S. L., Lucas, D. L., Forrester, C. L., & Lincoln, J. M. (2022). Have you met Angus? Development and evaluation of a social marketing intervention to improve personal flotation device use in commercial fishing. Journal of Safety Research, 83, 260-268. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2022.08.022