Background
Health management is a fundamental responsibility of healthcare organizations and authorities within communities. Due to multiple factors aggravating the current health situation in the United States, a vast assessment of communities is needed to improve the situation and handle the needs of groups that are deemed as vulnerable or disadvantaged—caused by myths associated with dieting and food choices, the levels of obesity and comorbid health issues such as high blood pressure increase the threat of diabetes, stroke, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and other health issues (Allender et al., 2015). The situation observed in Atlanta, GA, is particularly drastic, with dieting issues affecting approximately 29.63% of people (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). Acworth, as the community in the focus of this report, could use a redesign in its public health management. The focus of this paper is the analysis of health issues at Acworth, specifically obesity. To address the specified concern, one should facilitate the creation of educational programs to promote proper dieting.
Community
Acworth can be described as a rather advanced community in Atlanta. The population of the Acworth community is quite high, with the local authorities being focused on the unceasing development of the area and its residents. Since the population has been growing exponentially, the local government has been focusing on the expansion of manufacturing as one of the most prospective industries that will spur Acworth’s economic growth (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018). Therefore, the described environment can be defined as rather inviting for numerous opportunities. In addition, the welcoming atmosphere of the community makes the environment quite pleasant for its dwellers.
However, the target community has not been efficient enough in its management of the Healthy People 2020 goals. The problem of obesity as one of the primary concerns of the target community deserves to be mentioned first (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). The specified health issue entails a large number of comorbid issues such as high blood pressure, CVD, and related health disorders, causing the quality of life in Acworth to drop.
Demographic and Epidemiological Data
The information acquired from the windshield survey indicates that the community under analysis can be described as rather well-developed, yet there are several constraints to maintaining proper health levels in the designated area. The current rates of obesity in Atlanta are above 36%, which is above the national average of 25 (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). For example, although the level of education of the community residents is rather impressive, a tangible lack of health awareness and health literacy can be observed within the selected community.
Problem
On the surface, the issue that needs to be currently addressed in Acworth concerns obesity and the ability of its residents to select appropriate dieting choices for themselves. However, performing more diligent scrutiny of the problem at hand, one will realize that the issue to be addressed concerns patient education more than it does nutrition. Obesity has to be approached on the level of providing patients with direct guidelines regarding their food choices and the effects that will take place unless they consume healthy food. However, the residents of the target community are also in dire need of patient education in general.
The issue extends even further as the rates of childhood obesity increase exponentially in the community, causing numerous children to experience multiple health issues such as high blood pressure and exposure to the threat of diabetes type II (Bhupathiraju & Hu, 2016). Therefore, the lack of awareness about the threat of improper dieting and the unwillingness to follow the established standards of proper eating are the key signs of concern. The problem under analysis shows a direct incongruence with the Healthy People 2020 objectives, which embrace not only the necessity to introduce proper dieting choices for people but also to educate them concerning the importance of their food choices and the health implications of wrong dieting.
Historical Significance
The issue of dieting and obesity has not been developing in a vacuum in Acworth. Quite the contrary, it has a long history of numerous interventions being aimed at changing the lifestyle and especially food choices of community members. Similarly, the issue of childhood obesity has shown persistence in American history, making it excessively difficult to introduce the culture of healthy eating and other habits that allow effective weight management. According to the existing statistical data, in the 1990s, the general trend toward obesity used to be within the range of 10-15%, Georgia ranking among the states that were showing the highest number of people with weight issues (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). However, as time progressed, the threshold of obesity rates moved past the 10% border, with Georgia reaching an impressive 18%. Finally, in the 2000s, Georgia transgressed the threshold of 25% obesity rates, becoming one of the states with the highest rate of people with weight issues (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). Therefore, the problem of obesity is a historical issue that has been brewing for decades in the target environment.
Childhood obesity has also been on the rise in the Georgia community, although Acworth has remained comparatively low on the list of the areas in Georgia where the issue has gained especial importance (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The concern has been growing extensively over the years, with the recent reports proving that the management of childhood obesity is absolutely necessary for the Acworth community (Georgia Department of Public Health, 2018). Therefore, the public health levels in the designated area are far from meeting the expected levels of awareness and well-being set by the Healthy People 2020 standards, as a state at the official site of the project. The obesity problem can be attributed to the absence of patient education and the unwillingness among the residents of the community to learn to change their lifestyles. Overall, the historical introspect into the nature of the obesity issue shows that the results of the windshield survey fully align with the existing standards for personal health management in the Acworth community.
Solutions
The problem of obesity and the health issues that it causes, including CVD, hypertension, diabetes type II, and other disorders, has clearly been affecting the Acworth community extensively. However, despite the prolonged exposure to the factors that encourage obesity, the target demographic still has the chance to change and become healthier, thus setting an example for the rest of the communities suffering from the same affliction. For this purpose, an education program aimed at increasing the rates of health awareness and literacy among the Acworth community members should be implemented. The proposed measure will include consultations with nurses and the support of nurse educators.
In addition, people should have access to trustworthy information resources that will help them to gain health-related skills and knowledge. For example, Acworth community members should be able to locate a weight-related problem in them or in their family members before it grows out of proportion and becomes a major health concern. The described skill is especially useful and important for parents of young children, who are prone to developing obesity due to changes in their metabolism (Jayasinghe, Chiavaroli, Holland, Cutfield, & O’Sullivan, 2016). The introduction of a state-funded program, the goal of which is to provide the target population with the necessary resources and guidelines, is expected to prompt a streak of positive changes in people’s lifestyles.
Since the problem that the present solution targets affect two population groups, namely, adults and children, it is necessary to introduce a twofold framework. Specifically, adult therapists and pediatricians will be the agents of change in the designated environment due to the need to change the dieting and lifestyle choices in both adults and children (Yang, 2019). Nonetheless, the issue of obesity often affects entire families because of their food choices. Therefore, it will be crucial to introduce interdisciplinary collaboration techniques for therapists and pediatricians to shape the weight management strategies for both adults and children.
The proposed interdisciplinary collaboration is critical for the implementation of the program because it will help to obtain comprehensive data about patients and the factors that shape their food choices. At the same time, the interactions between family members and the mutual changes in their perspective on dieting will be observed fully once the collaboration between the participants involved is introduced (Fleischman et al., 2016; Taveras et al., 2015). Finally, the described approach will help to educate parents about modifying their children’s nutrition strategies and manage the process of young patients’ education, as well as monitor the techniques that parents use to address their children’s obesity issues.
It is expected that the suggested solution will help to reduce the risks of developing obesity and the related diseases such as diabetes type I, hypertension, CVD, and other disorders. Once the process of patient education is started, the target community is expected to develop the ability to gain the necessary health management information from trustworthy sources independently. Give the data from the survey, the levels of agency and proactiveness are quite high in the Acworth community, hence the high probability of quick learning and the acquisition of self-directed health education. As a result, Georgia will be able to meet the Healthy people 2020 objectives and manage one of the problems that have a long history of development.
Summary
Obesity has always been a source of multiple health issues in Georgia. However, the rates of weight gain among adults and children alike have been giving especially significant reasons for worrying in the past few years. A windshield survey of the Acworth community has shown that, despite comparatively strong levels of well-being and the presence of the needed resources, people tend to ignore the importance of proper dieting choices. The observed trend has given rise to obesity in children, making the health concern in question grow out of proportion. To counteract the phenomenon, one should launch an awareness program that will help to modify the lifestyles of community members, at the same time exposing them to the available health management resources. The proposed measures include changing the Acworth community’s notion of dieting and a healthy lifestyle.
Moreover, the importance of patient-nurse communication and the dialogue between a healthcare educator and the community will be emphasized. For this purpose, a variety of communication tools that range from consultations to networking will be utilized. Finally, a collaboration between nurses and parents in shaping young patients’ diet choices will be required. Similarly, interdisciplinary cooperation between nurses and therapists will be needed to create a consistent data flow and integrate newly identified facts into the framework of health management respectively. Consequently, the levels of health awareness are expected to grow within the community, and people will be able to make reasonable dieting choices to improve their well-being and manage weight issues.
Conclusion
The current levels of obesity at Acworth, GA, have reached drastic levels. Therefore, to manage the described concern and reach the objectives set by Healthy People 2020, nurses will have to make a range of changes to the lifestyle choices of the community members. Patient education should become the priority for nurses, with the focus on comprehensive learning as the means of affecting the issue by addressing families instead of individuals within these families. By teaching both parents and children about the importance of healthy eating and the available dieting choices, healthcare authorities will be able to launch a gradual change. However, alterations will also have to be made on the administrative level by changing school policies concerning food options for students. Thus, the goalposts set by Healthy People 2020 will be met.
References
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