NR 504 Week 7 Discussion – Collaboration Cafe
The determinants of health provide additional knowledge about the underlying issues for many health concerns, including heart disease. Maggie Fox of NBC News recently reported that obesity in America has worsened: 40 % of women are obese, & American teenagers are also continuing to put on weight (2016). I found that Portage County has a high incidence of heart disease mainly related to smoking, obesity, & lack of physical activity. According to the Portage County Community Health Assessment (2016), obesity & substance abuse (along with mental health, injury prevention, & access to care) were two of the identified areas of need for Portage County. By applying the social determinants, healthcare professionals can have a better understanding of why cardiovascular rates are increasing & discover what programs can be in place to prevent it. The social determinants of health that can be applied to increased obesity rates in Portage County are Education, social environment, & early childhood development. The rising obesity rates will also have an effect on nurses & the health care system.
Nursing Implications
This week’s lesson stated, “Community health nurses play a vital role in the health of communities by the collection of health information as well as the dissemination of that information” (CCN, 2016). Despite millions of dollars in governmental funds, efforts to encourage Americans to lose weight are having little effect. The increasing rate of obesity highly affects healthcare & health care professionals, which include nurses. (Lowth, 2013). Obesity is associated with higher rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, arthritis & Alzheimer’s disease (Fox, 2016). Although there are not any fast solutions for this epidemic, there are many things that nurses can include in their practice to promote leading a healthy lifestyle.
Nurses should prepare to shift their location of care from a hospital to a community setting to promote & examine health in individuals’ social environment. Rubenstein (2012) believes that nurses should analyze policies related to obesity outcomes in schools (such as lack of nutrition in school lunches & reduced recess time) as well as examine activities that improve obesity outcomes (such as biking & walking trails) & implement a political action plan based on the results. The Portage County health department partners with Kent State University Center of Nutrition Outreach to provide free nutrition counseling for children 0-18 years of age. Since breastfeeding has led to a decrease in obesity, nurses should provide information to mothers about the importance of breastfeeding & encourage them to breastfeed (Rubenstein, 2012).
NR 504 Week 7 Discussion – Collaboration Cafe
Additionally, nurses should implement screening for obesity in all children & adolescents. This includes examining height & weight during regular intervals as well as performing a nutrition & dietary assessment (Rubenstein, 2012). By performing these assessments & encouraging breastfeeding, nurses can ensure that children are enduring proper early childhood development. Also, nurses should have the necessary knowledge of the nutritional guidelines for all ages & provide recommendations to patients who may be at risk of obesity to certify that patients receive proper Education about the causes that can lead to obesity & in the long run, decrease the risk of developing heart disease.
References
Chamberlain College of Nursing. (2016). Week 7 lesson: Interdisciplinary collaboration, diversity, & ethics. [Online Lesson]. Downers Grove, IL: DeVry Education Group
Fox, M. (2016, June 7). America’s obesity epidemic hits a new high. NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/america-s- obesity-epidemic-hits-new-high-n587251
Lowth, M. (2013). Obesity & the Practice Nurse. Practice Nurse, 43(5), 42-47. Retrieved from www.practicenurse.co.uk
Portage County Community Health Assessment Partnership. (2016). Portage County community health needs assessment. Retrieved from http://www.co.portage.oh.us/pchd/
Rubenstein, C. (2012). Faculty & staff development strategies to prevent childhood obesity. MCN, the American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 37(6), 385-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/NMC.0b013e31825d89bc
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NR 504 Week 7 Discussion – Collaboration Cafe
This week, you were assigned to read & review the CDC’s Community Health Improvement toolkit:
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Consider the problem that you identified in your Caring for Populations. How could a community health nurse use these tools to improve collaboration & enhance outcomes for this problem?
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