You should review your peer’s submissions and provide feedback to at least two peers. You are required to respond to at least two peers’ discussion posts during the week. Response should be substantial, at least 150 words.
STUDENT’S POST 1:
Introduction to global health disease (obesity)
Obesity can sometimes be referred to as overweight and is the excess accumulation of fat that presents health risks to individuals. Obesity significantly increases the risk of contracting
other diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases, among other health complications. Obesity decreases the quality of life, strains the financial resources of an
individual, and is also detrimental to the psychological well-being of individuals because of social stigma and low self-esteem (Moores, 2020).
Introduction to vulnerable population
Obesity occurrence rates are high and occur in all ages irrespective of sex, locality, and status. However, it is more prevalent among the older populations, a uniform trend across
regions and even countries (Chooi et al., 2019). Obesity and overweight issues may be accelerated by risk factors like unhealthy lifestyle habits, age, genetics, family history, sex, race,
and ethnicity. Some of these risk factors may be changed, like lifestyle habits, while individuals may not easily control some. It is therefore seen that a healthy lifestyle may be a measure to
prevent obesity from setting in on an individual (NIH, n.d.).
Health and illness parameters
The body mass index (BMI) is most commonly used to determine if an individual is overweight. For adults, overweight is at a BMI of 25, and when the BMI is above 30, they are obese (Havard, n.d.). Although BMI is the most commonly used diagnosis parameter, it is not a suitable method for assessing body fat, as research suggests that BMI alone cannot define obesity. It is more essential to complement BMI with clinical and genetic analysis to identify the different phenotypes of diabetes (De Lorenzo et al., 2019).
Current scholarly evidence overview
De Lorenzo et al. (2019) cites that obesity is a public health problem and can be considered an epidemic, and is defined by The Obesity Society (TOS) as a disease. Obesity is not only comorbidity for major diseases, but it is also a devastating disease on its own. The article further cites the most serious consequences of obesity as hypertension, myocardial infarction, major cardiovascular events, and diabetes.
Proposed intervention
The proposed intervention for the problem is mass sensitization to all populations affected. Awareness about the risks may help revert the growing rates of obesity conditions among the populations. Mass sensitization proposed will be undertaken in the healthcare settings and also by using mass media to reach the larger population, including those who may not be able to access the healthcare settings. The main aim of this intervention is to enhance behavioral change and adaptations to reduce the risks of obesity among the populations.
Cause and practice initiatives
Activity levels among the population have reduced due to technology and simplified systems. People live inactive lives without knowing the potential harm they may be causing themselves regarding obesity and being overweight. It is by this rationale that the masses are supposed to be educated. Nurses play a major role in impacting obesity. Nurses are responsible for the education and sensitization of patients and families on nutrition and obesity-related issues. Nurse practitioners offer education to patients as personalized counselors, and they may also help patients develop plans and help them achieve their goals (WGU, 2018). Healthy diets are also crucial in maintaining weight and overall health, which may be taken as an interdisciplinary role with nutritionists also
Budget and cost effectiveness of initiatives
The cost of the education intervention is approximated at $600 in an average healthcare setting serving around 200 patients per day. The cost will cover the nurses’ stipend and the material for creating awareness in stationery. The media advertisement is also approximated to cost $400 for the chosen media outlet. Patient awareness will be carried out without any cost to the patients, the government and insurance companies will be responsible for the awareness costs. Overweight and obesity education is cost-effective, as evidenced in the literature review (Oswald, 2016).
Methods for Evaluation of the Intervention
The efficiency of the program will be assessed by measuring the rates of obesity prevalence after the rollout of the program in comparison with the pre-intervention period. Patient feedback will also be used as an indicator of the program’s efficiency. Volunteers will also be taken for comparison of their BMI pre-and post-intervention. Care providers will also be assessed using questionnaires to assess compliance and their attitude towards the topic.
References
Blüher, M. (2019). Obesity: global epidemiology and pathogenesis. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 15(5), 288-298.
Chooi, Y. C., Ding, C., & Magkos, F. (2019). The epidemiology of obesity. Metabolism, 92, 6-10.
De Lorenzo, A., Gratteri, S., Gualtieri, P., Cammarano, A., Bertucci, P., & Di Renzo, L. (2019). Why primary obesity is a disease?. Journal of translational medicine, 17(1), 1-13.
De Lorenzo, A., Gratteri, S., Gualtieri, P., Cammarano, A., Bertucci, P., & Di Renzo, L. (2019). Why primary obesity is a disease?. Journal of translational medicine, 17(1), 1-13.
Havard (n.d.). Obesity Definition.
Obesity Definition | Obesity Prevention Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (Links to an external site.)
Loos, R. J., & Yeo, G. S. (2021). The genetics of obesity: From discovery to biology. Nature Reviews Genetics, 1-14.
Moores, D. (2020). Obesity.
https://www.healthline.com/health/obesity (Links to an external site.)
National heart, lung, and blood institute [NIH] (n.d.). Overweight And Obesity.
https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/overweight-and-obesity (Links to an external site.)
Oswald, R. (2016). Childhood obesity and nursing interventions.
Western Governors University [WGU] (2018). How nurses help fight the obesity epidemic.
How Nurses Help Fight The Obesity Epidemic (wgu.edu) (Links to an external site.)
World Health Organization [WHO] (2019). Obesity and overweight.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight (Links to an external site.)
STUDENT POST 2:
Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a worldwide epidemic (WHO, 2022) In the United States alone, one in three people are affected by this common chronic disorder. A higher percentage of men are affected than women. There is also a higher prevalence of hypertension in African Americans in the United States. African Americans develop hypertension earlier in life and they are more likely to die at a younger age of stroke, heart disease, or kidney disease. According to Campbell, et al., “Globally, hypertension is a leading risk for death and disability and a major cause of chronic non-communicable disease” (2018, p. 985).
Healthy People, 2030 has outlined strategies that can help lower blood pressure including active participation in lifestyle changes that promote physical activity and weight loss. dietary modifications include the reduction of dietary sodium to a goal of fewer than 1500 milligrams of sodium per day it is also suggested that a person that has hypertension eat a diet that’s high in fruits, vegetables lean protein, and low-fat dairy products. Other lifestyle modifications include smoking cessation, moderate alcohol consumption, and relaxation techniques to reduce stress (AHA, 2021). According to the World Health Organization, how industries conduct business has a significant impact on public health. The cheaper, highly processed food that is aggressively marketed leads to chronic health conditions such as hypertension (WHO, 2022). Many countries have implemented taxes on tobacco items and foods with a high level of sugar but have not realized any significant improvement in the hypertension rates for their countries.
According to the World Health Organization, two-thirds of over a billion people with hypertension are in middle- and low-income countries (WHO, 2022). Chile has shown a consistent decline in hypertension by implementing the Global Hearts initiatives. The initiatives include five evidence-based interventions that will improve global heart health. Of the five initiatives, ensuring access to needed medications and technology to treat hypertension. The goal is to provide access to medications to everyone regarding their socioeconomic status. Risk stratification can be used to identify those who are at the greatest risk for further complications and those who would benefit from the medications and technology. Billions of dollars are spent to care for people are undergoing treatment for hypertension or for one of the resulting conditions. There would be direct costs associated with medications and reimbursement to primary care providers, but compared to the direct costs of acute interventions, rehabilitation or life-long dialysis and indirect costs related to the loss of contributions to the community, the costs pale in comparison. Evaluation of the proposed intervention would include monitoring systolic and diastolic pressures, medication distribution, reduction in adverse outcomes, and decrease in healthcare costs.
References
American Heart Disease (2021). Hypertension. https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/high-blood-pressure
Campbell, N., Ordunez, P., DiPette, D. J., Giraldo, G. P., Angell, S. Y., Jaffe, M. G., Lackland, D., Martinez, R., Valdez, Y., Maldonado Figueredo, J. I., Paccot, M., Santana, M. J., & Whelton, P. K. (2018). Monitoring and evaluation framework for hypertension programs. A collaboration between the Pan American Health Organization and World Hypertension League. Journal of clinical hypertension (Greenwich, Conn.), 20(6), 984–990.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jch.13307 (Links to an external site.)
Health People 2030 (n.d.). Hypertension.
Increase control of high blood pressure in adults — HDS05 – Healthy People 2030 | health.gov (Links to an external site.)
World Health Organization (2022). Hypertension.
https://www.who.int/health-topics/hypertension#tab=tab_1
