Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Obesity Among Non-Hispanic Black Adults

Obesity is currently identified as a major issue of public health concern. It is characterized by abnormal or excessive fat accumulation in the body, leading to a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or higher, resulting in impaired health of the individual (Verma et al., 2019). Obesity is a chronic condition associated with significant morbidity and mortality globally. It is associated with major chronic conditions, including cardiovascular conditions, chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes, some types of cancer, and joint conditions, among others.

Obesity affects 2 in every 5 adults in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2022). However, obesity disproportionately affects certain communities and social groups in the U.S. than others. A population group majorly impacted by obesity is non-Hispanic Black Americans. The non-Hispanic Black Americans are a population of significant interest due to their vulnerability to obesity and the higher prevalence of the condition among the population group. A report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) compiled by Stierman et al. (2021) showed that non-Hispanic Black adults were the most affected by obesity as compared to other racial groups in the United States with a prevalence of 49.9% compared to Hispanic, non-Hispanic White, and non-Hispanic Asian groups with prevalence rates of 45.6%, 41.4%, and 16.1% respectively. Additionally, non-Hispanic Blacks are more likely to have low income, limited access to healthy foods, and live in poorly built neighborhoods with limited access to lack of open spaces to support physical activities. They also are more likely to have limited access to education and have lifestyles that increase the risk of obesity and associated chronic health conditions.

There are significant efforts aimed at addressing obesity among non-Hispanic Blacks. However, a majority of the targeted populations have limited access to healthcare services and other preventive care services due to a lack of financial support, system-related factors, including discrimination and prejudice, and population-specific factors, including poor health-seeking behaviors.

My current position on improving the care and outcomes related to obesity among non-Hispanic Blacks is to implement community-based obesity-focused health education utilizing local healthcare community workers. Acting in this position will help deliver culturally sensitive health education that can help promote both preventive and management practices to address obesity and reduce the risk of associated chronic conditions while improving the quality of life among currently affected individuals.

Role of the Interprofessional Team

Addressing obesity in the United States, especially among the Black population, requires a collaborative effort with input from different stakeholders. An interprofessional team will be needed to collaboratively facilitate the achievement of the needed improvements in health education and the delivery of obesity-related care among non-Hispanic Blacks in the U.S. The various interprofessional team roles include nurses, primary care physicians, nutritionists and dieticians, physical therapy professionals, public health professionals, behavioral specialists, social workers, and community health workers.

Nurses, as a part of the interprofessional team, provide care to those who need it. Nurses at all levels of practice will provide direct care to patients and educate and promote obesity awareness among Black communities. The primary care physicians will contribute to the team by providing regular check-ups and screenings, in which they will also collaborate with nutritionists and dieticians to provide personalized nutritional counseling and design healthy weight management plans. Others, such as CHWs, social workers, and public health professionals, will work collaboratively to engage the Blacks at the community level, including educating the target population and supporting the implementation of the targeted interventions. Additionally, behavioral specialists provide input crucial in the design of community-specific health education plans, as well as supporting the management of obesity-related mental health outcomes, including stress, body-image issues, and depression.

An interprofessional approach best facilitates the improvements necessary to address obesity among non-Hispanic Blacks by providing diverse perspectives on the problem, including physical, social, economic, environmental, and mental factors of obesity within the Black community. Therefore, an interprofessional team will collaboratively create pharmaco- and psychotherapeutic plans to help address all various aspects of obesity in a more community-centric care design.

Evaluation of Evidence and Positions Supporting an Interprofessional Team’s Approach

There is a significant amount of evidence supporting the position on the use of interprofessional teams to improve obesity-related health outcomes among Black Americans. For instance, a study by Nagelkerk et al. (2018) testing the effectiveness of interprofessional collaborative practice (IPCP) education programs in weight loss and improving clinicians’ and students’ knowledge and attitudes toward IPCP showed that IPCP significantly improved weight loss outcomes.  Nagelkerk et al. (2018) also argue that IPCP also leads to other health outcomes, such as improved blood pressure and better health behaviors, including reduced smoking and increased exercise frequency. Others, such as White-Williams et al. (2021), in a study examining the impact of interprofessional collaborative practice in reducing heart failure-related hospital readmissions and care costs among underserved communities, showed that interprofessional collaborative practice improved basic needs and financial assessment, food and medication access, housing and safety, transportation, and provided social support. The overall outcomes of the study included notable improvement in physical and mental health outcomes among the underserved individuals, as well as a decrease in readmissions and hospital costs. Berkley-Patton et al. (2022) also argue that interprofessional teams support the successful implementation of a community-based collaborative care model with significant outcomes in diabetes and related risk factors, including obesity among African Americans

The evidence provided in these studies highlights the importance of an interprofessional team approach towards addressing obesity and other related chronic diseases among minority groups, including non-Hispanic Blacks. The pieces of evidence also show the role of utilizing input from multiple stakeholders to provide care to underserved populations.

Evaluation of Contrary Evidence and Positions to a Team’s Approach

Although a majority of the available evidence supports the position of a team’s approach to improving obesity outcomes among Black populations in the U.S., some evidence highlights the arguments of weight gain and weight loss as personal responsibilities. For instance, a review of an article published in 2010 by Brownell et al. shows that personal responsibility has dominated all early social, legal, and political approaches to addressing obesity. Recent evidence presented by Grannell et al. (2021) also shows that, despite obesity being declared a disease, the arguments that weight gain or failure to lose weight are failures of the individual still persist and contribute to the stigmatization of weight. However, these takes can be viewed as correct as factors contributing to weight gain and weight loss, such as eating and exercise behaviors, views on body aesthetics, and the decision to maintain a healthy lifestyle are individual decisions (Berry, 2020). These arguments, although contrary to the position on a team’s approach, are valid and can be considered in the design of the intervention, as the overall goal is to shape individual behaviors to help achieve safe weight loss.

Conclusion

Obesity is a growing disease of public health concern in the U.S., which requires targeted, community-based interventions. As it disproportionately impacts non-Hispanic Blacks due to various interrelated social, environmental, and economic factors, an interprofessional team’s approach is the most appropriate means to implement targeted health education as a community-based intervention. Such an approach can aid in the delivery of community needs and culturally-sensitive educational intervention, leading to sustainable weight loss and health outcomes among the Black community.

 References

Berkley-Patton, J., Thompson, C. B., Ervie, K. G., Huffman, M., & Johnson, N. R. (2022). Using a Community-Based Collaborative Care Model as a Platform for Successful Interprofessional Education. Research Anthology on Service Learning and Community Engagement Teaching Practices, 354–373. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-3877-0.CH020

Berry, E. M. (2020). The Obesity Pandemic—Whose Responsibility? No Blame, No Shame, Not More of the Same. Frontiers in Nutrition, 7(2). https://doi.org/10.3389/FNUT.2020.00002

Brownell, K. D., Kersh, R., Ludwig, D. S., Post, R. C., Puhl, R. M., Schwartz, M. B., & Willett, W. C. (2010). Personal responsibility and obesity: a constructive approach to a controversial issue. Health Affairs (Project Hope), 29(3), 379–387. https://doi.org/10.1377/HLTHAFF.2009.0739

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2022, May 17). Adult Obesity Facts | Overweight & Obesity . CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html

Grannell, A., Fallon, F., Al-Najim, W., & le Roux, C. (2021). Obesity and responsibility: Is it time to rethink agency? Obesity Reviews : An Official Journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity, 22(8). https://doi.org/10.1111/OBR.13270

Nagelkerk, J., Benkert, R., Pawl, B., Myers, A., Baer, L. J., Rayford, A., Berlin, S. J., Fenbert, K., Moore, H., Armstrong, M., Murray, D., Boone, P. D., Masselink, S., & Jakstys, C. (2018). Test of an interprofessional collaborative practice model to improve obesity-related health outcomes in Michigan. Journal of Interprofessional Education & Practice, 11, 43–50. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.XJEP.2018.02.001

Stierman, B., Afful, J., Carroll, M. D., Chen, T. C., Davy, O., Fink, S., Fryar, C. D., Gu, Q., Hales, C. M., Hughes, J. P., Ostchega, Y., Storandt, R. J., & Akinbami, L. J. (2021). National health and nutrition examination survey 2017–march 2020 prepandemic data files-development of files and prevalence estimates for selected health outcomes. National Health Statistics Reports, 2021(158). https://doi.org/10.15620/cdc:106273

Verma, A., Shete, S., & Dodd. (2019). An integrated therapy approach for the management of obesity-associated disorders: A case report. Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6510065/

White-Williams, C., Shirey, M., Eagleson, R., Clarkson, S., & Bittner, V. (2021). An Interprofessional Collaborative Practice Can Reduce Heart Failure Hospital Readmissions and Costs in an Underserved Population. Journal of Cardiac Failure, 27(11), 1185–1194. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CARDFAIL.2021.04.011

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Develop a 4-6 page position summary and an analysis of relevant position papers on a health care issue in a chosen population.

Collapse All
Introduction
Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.

Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Position papers are a method to evaluate the most current evidence and policies related to health care issues. They offer a way for researchers to explore the views of any number of organizations around a topic. This can help you to develop your own position and approach to care around a topic or issue.

This assessment will focus on analyzing position papers about an issue related to addiction, chronicity, emotional and mental health, genetics and genomics, or immunity. Many of these topics are quickly evolving as technology advances, or as we attempt to push past stigmas. For example, technological advances and DNA sequencing provide comprehensive information to allow treatment to become more targeted and effective for the individual. However, as a result, nurses must be able to understand and teach patients about the impact of this information. With this great power comes concerns that patient conditions are protected in an ethical and compassionate manner.

Position papers are a way for individuals, groups, and organizations to express their views and intentions toward a specific issue. In health care, many position papers address specific policies, regulations, or other approaches to care. As a master’s-prepared nurse, you should feel empowered to express and advocate for your own views on policy and care matters. This is especially important when it comes to populations you or your organization cares for that are not receiving the quality, type, or amount of care that they require.

An important skill in creating a position paper or policy proposal is the ability to analyze and synthesize others’ views about the population or issue of interest to you. By synthesizing the positive and negative views of an issue, you can become better equipped to strengthen your own arguments and respond to opposing views in an informed and convincing way.

Professional Context
Position papers are a way for individuals, groups, and organizations to express their views and intentions toward a specific issue. In health care, many position papers address specific policies, regulations, or other approaches to care. As a master’s-prepared nurse, you should feel empowered to express and advocate for your own views on policy and care matters. This is especially important when it comes to populations you or your organization cares for that are not receiving the quality, type, or amount of care that they require.

An important skill in creating a position paper or policy proposal is the ability to analyze and synthesize others’ views about the population or issue of interest to you. By synthesizing the positive and negative views of an issue, you can become better equipped to strengthen your own arguments and to respond to opposing views in an informed and convincing way.

Scenario
For this assessment, pretend you are a member of an interprofessional team that is attempting to improve the quality and outcomes of health care in a vulnerable population. For the first step in your team’s work, you have decided to conduct an analysis of current position papers that address the issue and population you are considering.

In your analysis, you will note the team’s initial views on the issue in the population as well as the views across a variety of relevant position papers. You have been tasked with finding the most current standard of care or evidenced-based practice and evaluating both the pros and cons of the issue. For the opposing viewpoints, it is important to discuss how the team could respond to encourage support. This paper will be presented to a committee of relevant stakeholders from your care setting and the community. If it receives enough support, you will be asked to create a new policy that could be enacted to improve the outcomes related to your chosen issue and target population.

The care setting, population, and health care issue that you use for this assessment will be used in the other assessments in this course. Consider your choice carefully. There are two main approaches for you to take in selecting the scenario for this assessment:

You may use one of the issues and populations presented in the Vila Health: Health Challenges in Different Populations media piece. For this approach, you may consider the population in the context of the Vila Health care setting, or translate it into the context in which you currently practice or have had recent experience.
You may select a population and issue that is of interest to you and set them in the context of your current or desired future care setting. While you are free to choose any population of interest, the issue you choose should fall within one of the following broad categories:
Genetics and genomics.
Sickle cell, asthma, multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis.
Immunity.
Type 1 diabetes, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), congenital neutropenia syndrome.
Chronicity.
Arthritis, any type of cancer or lung or heart disease, obesity.
Addiction.
Abuse of alcohol, prescription drugs, tobacco, illegal substances.
Emotion and mental health.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, eating disorders, psychosis.
Note: If you choose the second option, contact your faculty to make sure that your chosen issue and population will fit within the topic areas for this course.

Instructions
For this assessment, you will develop a position summary and an analysis of relevant position papers on a health care issue in a chosen population. The bullet points below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide. Be sure that your assessment submission addresses all of them. You may also want to read the Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations Scoring Guide and Guiding Questions: Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations [DOC] Download Guiding Questions: Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations [DOC]to better understand how each grading criterion will be assessed.

Explain a position with regard to health outcomes for a specific issue in a target population.
Explain the role of the interprofessional team in facilitating improvements for a specific issue in a target population.
Evaluate the evidence and positions of others that could support a team’s approach to improving the quality and outcomes of care for a specific issue in a target population.
Evaluate the evidence and positions of others that are contrary to a team’s approach to improving the quality and outcomes of care for a specific issue in a target population.
Communicate an initial viewpoint regarding a specific issue in a target population and a synthesis of existing positions in a logically structured and concise manner, writing content clearly with correct use of grammar, punctuation, and spelling.
Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.
Example assessment: You may use the Assessment 1 Example [PDF] Download Assessment 1 Example [PDF]to give you an idea of what a Proficient or higher rating on the scoring guide would look like.

Submission Requirements
Length of submission: 4–6 double-spaced, typed pages, not including the title and reference pages. Your plan should be succinct yet substantive. No abstract is required.
Number of references: Cite a minimum of 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that support your initial position on the issue, as well as a minimum of 2–3 sources of scholarly or professional evidence that express contrary views or opinions. Resources should be no more than five years old.
APA formatting: Use the APA Style Paper Template [DOCX] and the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX] to help you in writing and formatting your analysis.
Competencies Measured
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and scoring guide criteria:

Competency 1: Design evidence-based advanced nursing care for achieving high-quality population outcomes.
Evaluate the evidence and positions of others that could support a team’s approach to improving the quality and outcomes of care for a specific issue in a target population.
Evaluate the evidence and positions of others that are contrary to a team’s approach for improving the quality and outcomes of care for a specific issue in a target population.
Competency 2: Evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of interprofessional interventions in achieving desired population health outcomes.
Explain the role of the interprofessional team in facilitating improvements for a specific issue in a target population.
Competency 3: Analyze population health outcomes in terms of their implications for health policy advocacy.
Explain a position with regard to health outcomes for a specific issue in a target population.
Competency 4: Communicate effectively with diverse audiences, in an appropriate form and style, consistent with organizational, professional, and scholarly standards.
Communicate an initial viewpoint regarding a specific issue in a target population and a synthesis of existing positions in a logically structured and concise manner.
Integrate relevant sources to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using current APA style.