This paper includes a brief analysis pf two incentives related to treating cancer in African American population. Gentlemen Check Your Engines™ initiative will receive the funding while the African American Cancer Initiative will not get the funds. The latter program is communicated in an appropriate way, which makes it look less efficient and worth funding.
Reasons to Fund a Project
The Prostate Net is a charity organization that offers various incentives aimed at improving health and well-being of African Americans. The organization has launched numerous programs aimed at raising awareness concerning prostate cancer and the value of screening. Gentlemen Check Your Engines™ initiative is an effective program that can receive the funding (Programs, n.d.). First, the program addresses one of the most vulnerable groups, which contributes to the incentive’s efficiency and value (Cookson, Drummond & Weatherly, 2009). Drummond, Sculpher, Torrance, O’Brien and Stoddart (2005) note that the incentive should have clear goals and sound plan to be cost-effective. It should also communicate its message properly. The incentive in question is characterized by these features. The message is very clear and informative. It is evident that the incentive has proved to be effective and able to make a difference.
Reasons not to Fund a Program
African American Cancer Initiative also aims at improving health and wellbeing of African Americans (Zenka, 2016). The program focuses on the development and management of various research projects addressing cancer. However, although the mission of the incentive is important and could make a real difference, the program will not receive the funding. The major flaw is inadequate communication of the goals and particular steps that will be undertaken. Thus, it is not clear how exactly the initiative will affect the research. There is no information on the tools to be used to achieve the goal, which is a significant drawback of the message (Ensor, 2004). There are doubts that the funding will be allocated properly to achieve the goals set. Suhonen and Paasivaara (2011) claim that emotional load is an important factor affecting the efficiency of health projects. The program in question does not have the emotional load.
Two Strategies to Improve the Message
One of the ways to increase the chance of receiving funding is to add more details. The African American Cancer Initiative should be described in more detail. It is essential to provide information on particular laboratories or research centers that will be involved. It is also necessary to mention particular aspects that will be researched (Drummond et al., 2005). Screening and raising awareness are mentioned in the message, but they seem to be secondary. At that, screening has proved to be one of the effective prevention strategies. Thus, the message should include more information on measures that will be undertaken to raise awareness and increase the participation in screening.
It is also essential to use pathos in the message. It is important to add stories of people affected as well as their families. The incentive is concerned with people’s wellbeing, but this component is absent from the message. Stories of success, as well as stories of loss, can increase the emotional load and make the incentive more appealing.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is possible to note that Gentlemen Check Your Engines™ initiative will receive the funding as it addresses the needs of an underprivileged group, it has properly cut goals, its message is properly communicated, and the outcomes have proved to be positive. Thus, the major issues of the message of the African American Cancer Initiative are vagueness and lack of the emotional load. It is possible to improve the program’s message through adding more details on particular steps to be undertaken and stories of people affected and their close ones.
Reference List
Cookson, R., Drummond, M. & Weatherly, H. (2009). Explicit incorporation of equity considerations into economic evaluation of public health interventions. Health Economics, Policy and Law, 4(2), 231–245.
Drummond, M.F., Sculpher, M.J., Torrance, G.W., O’Brien, B.J. & Stoddart, G.L. (2005). Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programmes. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Ensor, T. (2004). Consumer-led demand side financing for health and education: An international review. Oxford Policy Management, 19(3), 267-285.
Programs. (n.d.). Web.
Suhonen, M., & Paasivaara, L. (2011). Factors of human capital related to project success in health care work units. Journal of Nursing Management, 19(2), 246-253. Web.
Zenka, D. (2016). Prostate cancer: African American cancer initiative. Web.