Introduction
My area of clinical practice is community health, as I work at a community health center serving a Hispanic community. I noticed that this population has difficulty maintaining a healthy lifestyle. For example, this is a diet that often consists of semi-finished products or a large amount of flour-based food. Because of this unhealthy diet, community members often experience chronic diseases such as hypertension or obesity. With the help of this research, I would like to identify methods of preventing this problem.
PICOT Question
The PICOT question for this research will be formulated as follows: By how much will the level of chronic diseases in the Hispanic community decrease after education on healthy eating, compared to current eating habits, within 3 months?
Importance of the Clinical Problem
Specific dietary habits have been a key element of human interaction with the outside world for many millennia. In the modern world, they have become a valuable medical tool. Preventive measures can be implemented using a nutrition-based approach by fostering positive eating habits. Diseases that are often common in the Hispanic community, such as hypertension or obesity, are largely caused by poor nutrition.
Therefore, improper nutrition is both a clinical problem and an opportunity to improve health outcomes for the Hispanic community. As it takes about 3 months to form a habit, this is precisely the period during which you can see results. Therefore, an essential preventive measure on a large scale is to conduct sanitary and educational work and raise public awareness to strengthen motivation for a healthy lifestyle.
Literature Search Strategy
A literature search was performed using the MEDLINE®, Joanna Briggs Institute, and Google Scholar databases. They were the most suitable for job search, as they could find articles with statistical data. Keywords such as “Hispanic community”, “prevention of chronic diseases”, “nutrition”, and “nutritiology” were used for the search. Moreover, a filter was applied based on the works’ release dates: only recent works, written within 5 years, were selected. Another criterion was the research methodology, since the research required statistical evidence of the intervention’s effectiveness.
Articles Selection and Analysis
Detailed Analysis of the Most Relevant Article
The article that best supports nursing interventions for my topic is Korom et al.’s 2024 article in BMC Public Health. This article is the most recent of the 5 – it was published this year, so its data is up to date (Korom et al., 2024). The study looked into how a nutrition program continues to influence family health practices and child development. Scholars found that even after the program finished, the model’s shared elements remained to embed numerous ideas in participants (Korom et al., 2024). Thus, this study proves the long-term effectiveness of the proposed intervention.
Comparison with Other Articles
One advantage of being chosen as the main article is its versatility. In an article by Calo et al., published in 2020 in the Preventing Chronic Disease journal, the data given are narrower. The paper also examines nutrition and the impact of a healthy diet on the Hispanic community (Calo et al., 2020). However, the study is conducted only on COVID-19, and not on other diseases. The essay explains why Hispanic communities are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 (Calo et al., 2020). The article also evaluates the broader relationship between nutrition and immunity, but its primary focus is on COVID-19 rather than chronic diseases.
The chosen main article also examines the higher prevalence of chronic diseases in the Hispanic community. For instance, a 2020 article by Elfassy et al. in the Journal of the American Heart Association primarily examines hypertension. This disease is one of the chronic ones caused by malnutrition (Elfassy et al., 2020). However, it is not the only problem that can be addressed through healthy eating education. Although the statistical data in the article can be used in research, information on only one chronic disease is insufficient to answer the question posed.
Another chronic disease that can occur as a result of an unhealthy diet is cardiovascular disease. However, as with the article by Elfassy et al., data on several chronic diseases are needed to develop an intervention. Therefore, the article by Guadamuz et al., published in 2020 in the American Journal of Public Health, was also not selected as the main one. The statistical information presented in it focuses on only one disease (Guadamuz et al., 2020). The selected article is the primary source for this research because it addresses not only cardiovascular diseases but also other chronic health conditions.
Developing recommendations for a training intervention is also an essential stage of research. Valuable insights on this topic are available in a 2023 article by Tremblay and colleagues published in the Journal of the American Heart Association. In particular, it states that a diet low in fat and cholesterol is recommended for the treatment of high blood pressure (Tremblay et al., 2023). However, the diet compiled by scholars focuses only on preventing one chronic disease. The most relevant article offers more universal advice on interventions that also address other health problems among Hispanic community members.
Evidence-Based Nursing Interventions
Education about healthy eating should be conducted by a nurse who understands the rationale behind the rules and principles of rational nutrition, to clarify unclear points and answer questions. They should use visual materials, such as posters and diagrams, to explain the importance of food hygiene and its key features. During the intervention, it is necessary to assist community members with proper nutrition, taking into account the individual characteristics of their daily routine. When calculating calories for them and the menu, it is also necessary to consider their work, taste preferences, and any underlying diseases. Moreover, during the intervention, patients should be given recommendations for educational literature on healthy eating, which they can purchase and review.
Conclusion
Thus, an important point is the development of a positive, responsible attitude towards their health in patients, motivating them to adhere to healthy dietary principles. This will help reduce the number of chronic diseases, such as hypertension or obesity, among members of the Hispanic community. Properly conducted research and the identification of the most relevant article enabled us to answer the question and improve patients’ quality of life through evidence-based interventions.
References
Calo, W. A., Murray, A., Francis, E., Bermudez, M., & Kraschnewski, J. (2020). Reaching the Hispanic community about Covid-19 through existing chronic disease prevention programs. Preventing Chronic Disease, 17(49), 264-274.
Elfassy, T., Hazzouri, A. Z., Cai, J., Baldoni, P. L., Llabre, M. M., Rundek, T., Raij, L., Lash, J. P., Talavera, G. A., Wassertheil-Smoller, S., Daviglus, M., Booth, J. N., Castaneda, S. F., Garcia, M., & Schneiderman, N. (2020). Incidence of hypertension among US Hispanics/Latinos: The Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos, 2008 to 2017. Journal of the American Heart Association, 9(1), 1-16.
Guadamuz, J. S., Durazo-Arvizu, R. A., Daviglus, M. L., Perreira, K. M., Calip, G. S., Nutescu, E. A., Gallo, L. C., Castaneda, S. F., Gonzalez, F., & Qato, D. M. (2020). Immigration status and disparities in the treatment of cardiovascular disease risk factors in the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos (visit 2, 2014–2017). American Journal of Public Health, 110(9), 1397-1404.
Korom, B., Malloy, M., Remmers, C., Welsch, E., Cevilla, M., Alamillo-Roman, Z., Torres, D., Dione, K., & Nelson, D. (2024). “It takes a village”: Reflections from participants after a Hispanic community-based health promotion program. BMC Public Health, 24(237), 567-595.
Tremblay, J., Bello, N. A., Mesa, R. A., Schneiderman, N., Rundek, T., Testai, F. D., Pirzada, A., Daviglus, M., Perreira, K. M., Gallo, L. C., Penedo, F., Sotres-Alvarez, D., Wassertheil-Smoller, S., & Elfassy, T. (2023). Life’s essential 8 and incident hypertension among US Hispanic/Latino adults: Results from the Hispanic community health study/study of Latinos. Journal of the American Heart Association, 12(1), 1-12.