School-Based Sealant Program
The development of SMART objectives is one of the most important stages in the strategic planning of any program. The SMART framework requires the objectives to be specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (Association of College & Research Libraries [ACRL], 2011). By formulating the objectives according to the mentioned criteria, one can achieve greater results in the process of a program administration and will have an opportunity to assess short-term and long-term achievements and make proper corrections in the designed strategy.
While goals are meant to establish “the fundamental, long-term direction” for an organization or a person, objectives are identified to clarify and set forth the major and additional steps one needs to take in order to accomplish the formulated goals (ACRL, 2016). The SMART objectives help to organize and structure the process of particular task achievement and facilitate resources management. According to ACRL (2016), an objective “provides clear expectations” and a “basis for evaluation” (par. 1). In this way, the development of the SMART objectives can foster success.
One of the potential goals for a school-based sealant program can be formulated as follows: the reduction and prevention of caries development among the elementary school population and the increase of sealant use percentage among children from minor ethnical groups and disadvantaged social groups.
A SMART objective: throughout the 2016-2017 school year period, after running the program-supported regular parent education meetings and conferences, over 90% of diverse elementary school students’ caregivers will develop awareness regarding the significance of the sealing and its positive impacts on children’s oral health.
The selected objective is meant to accomplish greater goals of the sealant use increase among the school population. The objective is specific (refers to particular program-related activities – meetings and conferences arrangement), measurable (achieves awareness increase in over 90% of participants), realistic (no significant constraints for school-based parent education exist), and can be bound to particular time frames (2016-2017 school year). Thus, the objective can be considered a SMART one.
Tobacco Cessation Program
The goal of a tobacco cessation program targeting the general population is the motivation of tobacco use quitting process and the prevention of nicotine addiction. The identified goal provides the generalized criteria for the assessment of program success. It is based on specific health problem indicators and sets forth the desired outcomes and the potentially favorable impacts on health:
Health Problem
Addiction to tobacco products.
Indicator of Health Problem
Harmful tobacco constituents negatively affect various organ systems and are considered one of the major risk factors for the development of cancer and other oral health problems (Azodo & Omili, 2014).
Health Outcome
Prevention of irreversible physiological processes.
Health Goal
Decrease severe health conditions development.
An objective aimed to achieve the formulated tobacco cessation program is the design of a cognitive-behavioral intervention course for people addicted to tobacco.
Theory of Casual/Determinant Factors
After attending a four-week intervention course, over 90% of tobacco-dependent course participants will be able to cope with negative emotions without smoking by implementing relaxation practices and minimizing the health-damaging effects of smoking by reducing the amount of exposure to nicotine.
Theory of the Intervention
After the completion of the course, over 90% of participants will quit smoking without significant withdrawal symptoms, including sleep problems, appetite change, and irritation, and will prevent the aggravation of cardiovascular disease symptoms (Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, 2016).
Theory of Outcome to Impact
After four-week cognitive-behavioral intervention and the regular independent practice of relaxation activities and implementation of learned health information in daily life situations, course attendants will have no smoking-related health problems.
References
Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies. (2016). ABCT fact sheets: Tobacco dependence. Web.
Association of College & Research Libraries. (2011). Develop SMART objectives. Web.
Association of College & Research Libraries. (2016). Definitions (or, how is a goal different from an objective?). Web.
Azodo, C. C., & Omili, M. (2014). Tobacco use, alcohol consumption and self-rated oral health among Nigerian prison officials. International Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 5(11), 1364-1371.