| Course | HEP 454 Health Promotion Program Planning and Implementation |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 2 |
| Paper type | Problem identification paper |
| Length | About 410 words, 4 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Arizona State University |
| Program | BS in Health Education and Health Promotion |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for HEP 454 Module 2
Too Little Sleep, Too Much Risk: Identifying the Problem for a Heart Disease Prevention Program in Pinal County
Student Name
BS in Health Education and Health Promotion, Arizona State University
HEP 454: Health Promotion Program Planning and Implementation
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Too Little Sleep, Too Much Risk: Identifying the Problem for a Heart Disease Prevention Program in Pinal County
The Health Problem
The problem this program will address is insufficient sleep, defined as less than seven hours a night, among adults aged 25 to 64 in Pinal County, as a contributor to heart disease. Adults need at least seven hours of sleep a night for optimal health (Watson et al., 2015).
Characterizing the Problem
Locally, 41.1% of Pinal County adults reported short sleep in 2022, compared with 34.9% in Maricopa County (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2025). Nationally, about one adult in three falls short of seven hours; in a 2014 analysis of 444,306 respondents, 65.2% reported healthy sleep duration (Liu et al., 2016). Pinal therefore stands above the national pattern and above its neighboring metropolitan county.
Why Short Sleep Matters for Heart Disease
In a meta-analysis of prospective studies following more than 470,000 people, short sleep was associated with a 48% higher risk of developing or dying from coronary heart disease and a 15% higher risk of stroke (Cappuccio et al., 2011). Short sleep is also associated with obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure, each of which is common in Pinal County. Recognizing these links, the American Heart Association added sleep health to its definition of cardiovascular health (Lloyd-Jones et al., 2022).
Disparities
| Group | Finding | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Race and ethnicity | Healthy sleep was less common among non-Hispanic Black, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander and multiracial adults | Liu et al., 2016 |
| Employment | Shift workers and people with long work hours are at higher risk of insufficient sleep | Redeker et al., 2019 |
| Geography | Pinal County's estimate exceeds Maricopa's and Pima's | CDC, 2025 |
| Related conditions | Short sleep clusters with obesity, high blood pressure and diabetes, which are elevated in Pinal | CDC, 2025; Liu et al., 2016 |
Justification
Short sleep is common, linked to the leading cause of death and modifiable. Unlike genetics or age, sleep habits and sleep environments can change, and both education and workplace changes have improved sleep in studies (Redeker et al., 2019). Pinal County has prevention programs for diabetes and tobacco but few aimed at sleep, which leaves a gap. A program that improves sleep could also support weight, blood pressure and mood.
Conclusion
Short sleep among Pinal County's working-age adults is a significant, unequal and modifiable problem with direct links to heart disease. It will be the focus of the program plan.
References
Cappuccio, F. P., Cooper, D., D'Elia, L., Strazzullo, P., & Miller, M. A. (2011). Sleep duration predicts cardiovascular outcomes: A systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies. European Heart Journal, 32(12), 1484-1492. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehr007
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2025). PLACES: Local data for better health, county data, 2025 release [Data set]. https://data.cdc.gov/500-Cities-Places/PLACES-Local-Data-for-Better-Health-County-Data-20/swc5-untb
Liu, Y., Wheaton, A. G., Chapman, D. P., Cunningham, T. J., Lu, H., & Croft, J. B. (2016). Prevalence of healthy sleep duration among adults: United States, 2014. MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 65(6), 137-141. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6506a1
Lloyd-Jones, D. M., Allen, N. B., Anderson, C. A. M., Black, T., Brewer, L. C., Foraker, R. E., Grandner, M. A., Lavretsky, H., Perak, A. M., Sharma, G., Rosamond, W., & American Heart Association. (2022). Life's Essential 8: Updating and enhancing the American Heart Association's construct of cardiovascular health: A presidential advisory from the American Heart Association. Circulation, 146(5), e18-e43. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000001078
Redeker, N. S., Caruso, C. C., Hashmi, S. D., Mullington, J. M., Grandner, M., & Morgenthaler, T. I. (2019). Workplace interventions to promote sleep health and an alert, healthy workforce. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 15(4), 649-657. https://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.7734
Watson, N. F., Badr, M. S., Belenky, G., Bliwise, D. L., Buxton, O. M., Buysse, D., Dinges, D. F., Gangwisch, J., Grandner, M. A., Kushida, C., Malhotra, R. K., Martin, J. L., Patel, S. R., Quan, S. F., & Tasali, E. (2015). Recommended amount of sleep for a healthy adult: A joint consensus statement of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society. Sleep, 38(6), 843-844. https://doi.org/10.5665/sleep.4716
What the HEP 454 Module 2 instructions ask for
Assignment 2 in HEP 454 turns the county exploration into a defined problem. Worth 25 points, it asks you to identify the health problem your intervention will address, take a deeper look at local, state and national data to characterize it and justify why it needs attention, and to complete a table on disparities in the health issue. The data you gather here feed the program rationale in Assignment 8, so record sources and years carefully. State the problem precisely: who is affected, what the behavior or condition is and how it is measured. A problem that is common, serious, unequal and changeable through health education or promotion makes the strongest case. The instructor's template in Canvas sets the format of the disparities table.
How the HEP 454 Module 2 example is put together
The sample opens with a one-sentence definition of the problem, including the population and the measure. A characterization section compares county and national data with years and sources. A section on consequences reports a meta-analysis linking short sleep to heart disease and notes the American Heart Association's position. The disparities table lists four kinds of difference with a source for each. The justification argues that the problem is common, serious and modifiable and that local programs leave a gap, and a two-sentence conclusion confirms the program's focus. Each figure in the paper is dated and attributed, and the county estimate is set beside two neighbors so the reader can judge whether Pinal is unusual.
Where the marks sit in the HEP 454 Module 2 rubric
The problem identification is worth 25 points. Readers reward a precise problem statement, data from several levels with sources and years, evidence that the problem matters for health, a completed disparities table and a justification that explains why a health promotion program is the right response. Scores fall when the problem is vague, when data come from one level only, when disparities are listed without sources and when the justification simply repeats statistics. A problem that is clearly modifiable through the strategies the course teaches, education, communication, behavior change or environmental change, sets up the intervention design well. A problem statement that names a measurable behavior, here nightly sleep under seven hours, also makes the later objectives far easier to write and to grade.
HEP 454 Module 2 help: mistakes that cost marks
Write the problem in one sentence before gathering more data. Find at least one local, one state or regional and one national figure. Use a meta-analysis or large study to show health consequences. Fill the disparities table with sourced findings, not assumptions. Explain why the problem can change. Keep your sources organized for the rationale assignment. If you are unsure whether your problem is too broad, the desk can help you narrow it. Look for disparity data by race and ethnicity, income, age, sex, geography and occupation, and say plainly when local breakdowns do not exist and you are relying on national patterns. A short table with five rows that are well sourced beats a long one built on guesses.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Arizona State University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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HEP 454 Module 2 questions, answered
Where can I find a free HEP 454 Module 2 sample paper?
The full Assignment 2 sample, defining short sleep in Pinal County as a heart disease problem, is on this page.
What does HEP 454 problem identification require?
A defined health problem, local, state and national data, a justification and a disparities table.
How much sleep do adults need?
At least seven hours a night, per a 2015 consensus statement from two U.S. sleep science societies.
Is short sleep linked to heart disease?
A meta-analysis of prospective studies found short sleep associated with a 48% higher risk of coronary heart disease.
Which groups are less likely to get enough sleep?
Several racial and ethnic minority groups, shift workers and people with long work hours.