Obesity has been of significant threat to children among the African American people in the US, affecting children within 3-12 years. A person is obese if their Body Mass Index is 95th percentile or higher. Over time, these levels of obesity have been increasing, thus raising concerns about addressing them. Childhood obesity among African American people got triggered by physical inactivity. Children spend most of their time playing online games and watching television. Failure to do vigorous activities and not going to gyms to control weight gain has contributed to robust growth, thus encouraging attacks by diseases like diabetes, stroke, and heart attack upon reaching adulthood. The remedy to this is by being involved in various activities to burn calories. Low levels of education among some parents have led to childhood obesity, whereby parents tend to feed their children food with high calories. Obesity results from a poor lifestyle and the inability to exude appropriate feeding habits daily. Financial constraints among African Americans contribute to poor dieting. The US should create equal opportunities for its citizens to create a socially, economically, and politically balanced nation. This paper will discuss the causes of childhood obesity in African America and the intervention measures to address it.
The social Determinants of Health in African America Obesity
Social determinants in healthcare refer to aspects through which individuals get born and grow, as well as how people live and work. The circumstances mentioned above would be shaped by power, resources, and money at local, global, and national levels (Daniel et al., 2018). The choice of policies in place, therefore, influences the factors mentioned earlier in this paragraph. How effectively are such policies upheld to meet the desired expectations—social determinants of health play a central role in impacting the mental and physical sides of health. Determinants of Social factors leading to childhood obesity among African Americans are; food costs, the eating patterns of a family, the environment, income as well as preparation skills of foods. The majority of African Americans belong to the low-income earners class. Low income compels them to buy cheaper fast foods from markets rather than prepare them from their homes. Due to low-income levels, these people cannot access fitness areas such as the gym to control weight gain. Poverty has also negatively affected obese children due to a lack of medical aids such as Medicare if found with the disease.
How Advanced Practice Nurses Identify Population Health Problems
Practice nurses identify population health problems through the following ways; assessment, diagnosis of the condition, data formulation, interference measures, and evaluation. The above factors prompt them to devise a viable solution to addressing the health condition. Advanced practice nurses interact with patients who are obese (Magnan, S. (2017). Through communication, they know the patient’s health problems, such as obesity. The nurse will determine the condition’s cause and devise a treatment plan—Informatics Nurse Specialists research obesity to devise an action plan for treating the disease. Data collected from the study is then analyzed and may be kept for future reference. The nurses then give recommendations for addressing obesity and issue guidelines on healthy living and proper nutrition.
Interventions to Address Health Problems
To address population health problems, the government should foster policies that prevent and improve the quality of life for its citizens, for instance, improving healthcare infrastructure such as building rehabilitation centers to take care of mentally challenged patients. The government should also increase the number of qualified healthcare personnel deployed in the already established and new healthcare facilities. Additionally, implementing cost-cutting measures to make healthcare services available to all would improve the quality of life for people. There is a need to create and enforce stable education policies that support higher learning in medicine at a subsidized cost for learners. To address health issues related to poor lifestyles, the government should encourage people to actively practice healthy living, such as exercising and feeding on healthy diets. Leaders play a crucial role in engaging other clinical workers in decision-making. They should also guide nurses in their work and interactions with patients. Practices towards healthy living incorporate; a nutritious diet, exercising, managing thoughts, and seeking treatment, among others.
Evaluation of Efficacy Health Care Interventions
Fruitful healthcare interventions inform quality healthcare services and lifestyle or behavioral changes observed in a specific population. The interventions mentioned above could be measured effectively by defining the following outcomes. Successful screening and patient care procedures are key milestones toward achieving a healthy and satisfying life for individuals. An increased number of people from the target population where healthcare guidelines and awareness got harnessed implies quality communication channels and healthcare campaign programs in place (Nutbeam et al., 2021). Leadership is vital in obesity management as it entails preventive and treatment measures towards curbing this phenomenon. Nurses, as core medical experts, should know how to treat obesity. African Americas should be educated on nutrition to know the right feeding strategies for their children. The above-stated measures to decrease/end childhood obesity among African Americans will make them healthy and thus improve the economy.
References
Daniel, H., Bornstein, S. S., & Kane, G. C. (2018). Health. Public Policy Committee of the American College of P. Addressing social determinants to improve patient care and promote health equity: an American College of Physicians position paper. Ann Intern Med, 168(8), 577–8. Web.
Magnan, S. (2017). Social determinants of health 101 for health care: five plus five. NAM perspectives. Web.
Nutbeam, D., & Lloyd, J. E. (2021). Understanding and responding to health literacy as a social determinant of health. Annu Rev Public Health, 42(1), 159-73. Web.