The discussion assignment provides a forum for discussing relevant topics for this week on the basis of the course competencies covered. For this assignment, make sure you post your initial response to the Discussion Area by the due date assigned and complete your participation for this assignment by Day 7.
As in all assignments, cite your sources in your work and provide references for the citations in APA format. Support your work, using your course lectures and textbook readings.
- APA Citation Helper
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• Basic Essay Template
Begin reviewing and replying to peer postings/responses early in the week to enhance peer discussion. See the rubric for participation points. Participate in the discussion by asking a question, providing a statement of clarification, providing viewpoints with a rationale, challenging aspects of the discussion, or indicating relationships between two or more lines of reasoning in the discussion. Always use constructive language, even in criticism, to work
Topic 1: Child and Adolescent Health Risks
As you discovered in this week’s lectures and readings, several populations face multiple health risks across their lifespan. Children and adolescents are a population that is at a higher health risk for obesity. A national movement is underway to reduce risk factors for developing obesity in children. Part of this movement is the “Let’s Move!” campaign, which is a comprehensive and coordinated initiative to prevent childhood obesity. The initiative emphasizes four primary components: healthy schools, access to affordable and healthy food, raising children’s physical activity levels, and empowering families to make healthy choices. Review Healthy People 2020:
- Identify risk factors for childhood obesity.
- Do the risk factors differ and how do they differ between children and adolescents?
- Identify objectives that will combat childhood and adolescent obesity.
- Provide suggestions on how community health nurses can contribute to these national health objectives and accomplish the goal of decreasing obesity among this population.
Ariamna Fleites Gomez posted Jun 14, 2022 6:24 AM
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Topic 1: Child and Adolescent Health Risks
Obesity over the decades has increased the world’s population, debuting at a young age, and has been part of the major health risks associated with multiple diseases, including cancer. Current efforts have been directed at modifying behavior, diet, and physical exercise. “Restructuring obesity interventions towards community-based/environment-oriented measures to counteract an obesogenic environment is mandatory for sustainable success and to stop the obesity epidemy” Weihrauch-Blüher, S., & Wiegand, S. (2018 Environmental and community health is an essential aspect as well as the policies of high tax on obesogenic foods.
Adolescence and childhood are early stages that are affected by obesity, but the management of overweight should not become a pejorative term Whitlock, E. P., Williams, S. B., Gold, R., Smith, P., & Shipman, S. (2005).
There are differences in approach in age groups when it comes to obesity. When obesity is established at younger ages, the consequences can be more serious in terms of damage to vital organs and the system, increasing cardiometabolic risk in adults. “Several longitudinal studies confirm the strong association of pediatric obesity with the persistence of adult obesity and the future development of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and increased risk of death”. Chung, S. T., Onuzuruike, A. U., & Magge, S. N. (2018). Another of the observations made there are few therapeutic options aimed at pediatric ages for obesity treatment. The adipocytes increments have been associated with high risk of cardiovascular disease.
Psychological sphere is more affected in obese adolescents associated with depression, social isolation, low self-esteem, and poor academic performance observed and high addiction to nicotine, stronger in female adolescents, bringing smoking habit to schools. Hussaini, A. E., Nicholson, L. M., Shera, D., Stettler, N., & Kinsman, S. (2011) Obesity in both age groups have serious consequences due to the increase in insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, fatty liver, and the appearance of DMt2 at an early age. As a priority Health Prevention is important to address obesity as risk factor, emphasizing on physical activity and nutritional education, the modification of dietetic habits is essential as an activity of prevention and health promotionGüngör N. K. (2014).
Nursing professionals play an important role in health promotion using a holistic approach to address the health problem in this case obesity. Education on good dietary habits, physical exercise, BMI control, as well as scheduling family visit consultations providing information on how to prevent high-carbohydrate foods. The family must be involved, in the preparation of the diet, in the selection of food before being purchased and how to prepare are elements that must be identified early to influence family nutritional culture. Obesity should be treated in a multidisciplinary team. Rabbitt, A., & Coyne, I. (2012
Conclusions
Obesity affects all age groups.
Education and change of attitude regarding dietary habits and physical activity are essential pillars to avoid obesity.
Obesity is a risk condition exposing other diseases
Health professionals should maintain holistic interventions to effectively control obesity.
Bibliography
Chung, S. T., Onuzuruike, A. U., & Magge, S. N. (2018). Cardiometabolic risk in obese children. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1411(1), 166–183. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/nyas.13602
Childhood obesity: nurses’ role in addressing the epidemic. British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 21(12), 731–735. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.12968/bjon.2012.21.12.731
Güngör N. K. (2014). Overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Journal of clinical research in pediatric endocrinology, 6(3), 129–143. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.4274/Jcrpe.1471
Hussaini, A. E., Nicholson, L. M., Shera, D., Stettler, N., & Kinsman, S. (2011). Adolescent obesity as a risk factor for high-level nicotine addiction in young women. The Journal of adolescent health: official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 49(5), 511–517. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.04.001
Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., & Flegal, K. M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. JAMA, 311(8), 806–814. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.1001/jama.2014.732
Rabbitt, A., & Coyne, I. (2012). Childhood obesity: nurses’ role in addressing the epidemic. British journal of nursing (Mark Allen Publishing), 21(12), 731–735. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.12968/bjon.2012.21.12.731
Whitlock, E. P., Williams, S. B., Gold, R., Smith, P., & Shipman, S. (2005). Screening and Interventions for Childhood Overweight. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US)
Weihrauch-Blüher, S., & Wiegand, S. (2018). Risk Factors and Implications of Childhood Obesity. Current obesity reports, 7(4), 254–259. https://doi-org.su.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s13679-018-0320-0
Topic 2: Disaster Management
Contact your local public health department to learn about its role in a local disaster, including the role of the nurses who work there.
- What did you learn from your discussion with the local health department?
- Would you be a good candidate to serve on a disaster team?
- Would your current employer be flexible in allowing you to participate in a disaster situation?
- What is your personal preparedness to face a disaster?
Windy Tanner posted Jun 15, 2022 3:27 PM
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I spoke with K.W., the nurse manager at my local Health Department, about disaster management plans. The two items identified during the community risk assessment for natural disasters include Tornado and Hurricane damage. A disaster generally is defined as a sudden, catastrophic event that disrupts the operation of a community or society and that exceeds its ability to cope using its own resources (Ebi et al., 2021). Tornados affect the Southeast area frequently during thunderstorms. Hurricane season starts on June 1 and ends in November. We live close to the Atlantic coast and can be affected by hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean or the Gulf of Mexico due to our proximity to the ocean. Besides the physical damage to infrastructure, extreme weather events and disasters can affect the health and well-being of individuals and can have devasting influences on communities and health systems. People can suffer from a wide range of physical effects (e.g., heat exhaustion, injuries in severe storms, and respiratory illnesses from molds due to floods) as well as extended impacts on mental health (Ebi et al., 2021).
The health department works alongside the school system and local hospitals to increase awareness of disaster management plans, evacuation routes, disaster kits, and local shelters. K.W. also informs me that they play a critical role in helping community shelters obtain the requirements for operation through the Red Cross and the public health department. K.W. thinks I could assist with emergency preparedness education at the local schools and educational booths held twice a year with my nursing career and EMS background. They conduct public awareness opportunities during our annual Blueberry Festival and the Day of the Child Campaign.
My current employer has a leadership career ladder that supports volunteer community work, and I am a member of this organization. I also am a member of Grey Shirts across America. They work as disaster relief aids for natural and artificial disasters. Disaster preparedness is a type of program that may be managed through collaborative efforts of several community organizations or agencies (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2016). My family has an emergency kit with flashlights, potable water, and batteries in case of power outages. We have developed and practiced fire evacuation safety from the home and our camper. Our neighborhood has been hit with intense storms resulting in downed trees and power lines. We have a designated place in the house when we are alerted of severe weather. In my work history as an E.R. nurse and flight nurse working many long hours seeing the tragedy that people face amid disaster, I believe in allocating resources for education on emergency preparedness, seatbelt safety, and water safety.
References
Ebi, K. L., Vanos, J., Baldwin, J. W., Bell, J. E., Hondula, D. M., Errett, N. A., Hayes, K., Reid, C. E., Saha, S., Spector, J., & Berry, P. (2021). Extreme weather and climate change: Population health and health system implications.Annual Review of Public Health, 42(1), 293–315. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-012420-105026
Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2016). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (9th ed.). Mosby.