Addressing Childhood Obesity in Alabama: Healthcare Professional-Led Intervention - Research Paper

Introduction

The implementation of the physical exercise intervention aimed at addressing the growing and high prevalence of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama will be led by a healthcare professional such as a nurse. In the hospitals, the nurses will be tasked with developing and distributing brochures that outline physical activity recommendations for children below the age of 19 years. In the community where the health program will be implemented, all the patients who visit the hospitals will be given the brochures. This is aimed at improving their physical exercise knowledge and skills needed to reverse or prevent the problem in children and teenagers. In the development of the brochures, healthcare professionals can utilize the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention resources (CDC, 2020).

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According to Thomson (2020), the main message that should be sent in physical exercise brochures aimed at children and teenagers is that preventing or reversing obesity at a young age is beneficial to the society in many ways. First, childhood obesity leads to adverse health outcomes in adulthood, such as cardiovascular diseases (Ayer et al. 2015; Nielsen et al. 2015; McCrindle 2015). Second, in order to gain support from target population members for any intervention, awareness must be created of cost implications associated with childhood obesity; lifetime costs have been estimated as being as much as $ 21,307 (Sonntag et al. 2015). Thomson (2020) emphasized that because the primary aim of the brochure is prevention and reduction of risk factors associated with childhood obesity, the most appropriate health theory for the intervention is the Health Belief Model (HBM). The constructs of the HBM needed for the intervention include perception constructs such as perceived susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers (Abdeyazdan et al., 2017; Shahnazi et al., 2015).

Implementation in the Community Setting

The implementation of the physical exercise intervention aimed at addressing the problem of childhood obesity in the community setting will be accomplished through the use of community health workers (CHWs). One of the reasons why the CHWs are appropriate is that they understand the culture of the community members (Gampa et al., 2017; Harrison et al., 2019). The employment of healthcare professionals with in-depth knowledge of the cultural aspects of the community is useful in minimizing resistance to the intervention. Cultural competence and awareness are crucial elements of health promotion (Jongen et al., 2017; Kohlbry & Daugherty, 2015). Because of this, I will recruit CHWs from within the community. They will be tasked with educating the target population on appropriate physical exercise in children and teenagers.

Implementation in the School Setting

The implementation of the physical exercise intervention in the school setting will involve a collaboration between healthcare professionals, teachers, parents. The healthcare professionals will be tasked with teaching the teachers and parents on the appropriate level, types, and duration of physical exercise in children. Through improved physical exercise knowledge and skills, parents and teachers will implement the intervention at home and school, respectively.

Implementation in the Workplace Setting

In the workplace setting, the intervention will be taught to parents with children below the age of 19 years through the use of health pamphlets outlining the appropriate duration, intention, and types of physical exercise in children. A healthcare professional will be tasked with developing the brochures, distributing to the workers in their offices, and clarifying what has not been understood.

Identification of the Participants (Stakeholders, Target Populations) in Each Setting

In the healthcare setting, the key stakeholders include healthcare professionals and patients. The healthcare professionals were chosen because they have the knowledge and skills related to physical exercise intervention and its role in the prevention of childhood obesity. Therefore, they will be the most appropriate individuals for developing physical exercise brochures. On the other hand, patients are an essential component of the healthcare setting because they come from the community and will deliver the leaflets and message to other members.

CHWs were chosen as primary stakeholders within a community setting because they are culturally competent, understanding the culture and dynamics of their community and being from it themselves will allow their messages to be received well by members. Furthermore, CHWs possess knowledge about childhood obesity prevention strategies such as physical exercise.

In the school setting, the chosen stakeholders include healthcare professionals, teachers, parents. The healthcare personnel is vital because they are knowledgeable in health promotion and thus capable of training the parents and teachers on appropriate physical exercise intervention in children. Second, parents are a crucial part of the program because their children are affected and are interested in the prevention or reversing childhood obesity. Knowledge and skills gained by the parents through training will be transferred to their children, hence help address the problem. Lastly, teachers are crucial stakeholders because they are in daily contact with the children in schools and will help them attain the recommended level and duration of physical exercise.

In the workplace setting, the key stakeholders will comprise of healthcare professionals and parents (workers). Healthcare personnel is appropriate because of their knowledge and skills related to the prevention of childhood obesity via physical exercise intervention. On the other hand, parents are vital stakeholders because their children are affected or likely to be affected by the condition if the intervention is not implemented.

The Most Appropriate Setting for the Physical Exercise Intervention

For the physical exercise intervention aimed at addressing the growing problem of childhood obesity in the State of Alabama, the most appropriate setting in schools. This is because the school comprised of all the significant stakeholders needed to address the problem. As a community, a school consists of teachers, parents, and children. Teachers and parents are in close contact with the children and act as role models for most of the behaviors. Therefore, when healthcare professionals impart the parents and teachers with the appropriate physical exercise knowledge and skills, they are in a better position to ensure that the children adopt the intervention.

Another reason why the school setting is crucial for the intervention is that it has the necessary resources needed for implementation. For instance, the school has fields where the teachers can teach children physical exercise skills. Additionally, the school has classrooms where healthcare professionals can train the parents and the teachers on physical exercise interventions. Moreover, schools have teaching and learning resources such as smartboards and projectors which assist in imparting physical exercise knowledge and skills to the parents and teachers.

Steps Needed in the Implementation of the Physical Exercise Intervention in the Schools

The MAP-IT, a five-step model, will be used in implementing the physical exercise intervention in children. The first step involves the mobilization of key stakeholders and organizations into a coalition (Community Tool Box, 2020). A healthcare professional will be tasked with organizing a meeting with the parents and teachers in schools. The conference is aimed at engaging the teachers and parents around issues related to childhood obesity and how physical exercise intervention can help in addressing the issue.

In the second step of the MAP-IT process, community needs and resources are assessed. A healthcare professional will identify critical resources needed for implementation of the intervention in schools such as football fields for training the children on physical exercise. Third, once the resources have, an action plan with concrete steps is developed. The timeline for the intervention will be about six months (Community Tool Box, 2020). Fourth, after creating the schedule and identifying the resources, the implementation of the intervention starts (Community Tool Box, 2020). Lastly, the key stakeholders need to track the progress of the intervention to establish whether it is achieving intended outcomes.

Reasons why the Implementation Plan Leads to the Accomplishment of Intended Outcomes

The physical exercise intervention will lead to the achievement of outcomes because it has been empirically validated to be effective in addressing childhood obesity (Ash et al., 2017; Mei et al., 2016; Wang et al., 2018). Additionally, the implementation will lead to reduced overweight because healthcare professionals will be tasked with equipping the parents and teachers with the necessary physical exercise knowledge and skills. Lastly, the intervention will be successful because schools have adequate resources such as football fields.

References

Abdeyazdan, Z., Moshgdar, H., & Golshiri, P. (2017). Evaluating the effect of lifestyle education based on health belief model for mothers of obese and overweight school-age children on obesity-related behaviors. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 22(3), 248-252. https://doi.org/10.4103/1735-9066.208163

Ayer, J., Charakida, M., Deanfield, J. E., & Celermajer, D. S. (2015). Lifetime risk: Childhood obesity and cardiovascular risk. European Heart Journal, 36(22), 1371-1376. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehv089

CDC. (2020). Fact sheets and brochures | overweight & obesity | cdc. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/resources/factsheets.html

Gampa, V., Smith, C., Muskett, O., King, C., Sehn, H., Malone, J., Curley, C., Brown, C., Begay, M.-G., Shin, S., & Nelson, A. K. (2017). Cultural elements underlying the community health representative - client relationship on Navajo Nation. BMC Health Services Research, 17(1), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1956-7

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McCrindle, B. W. (2015). Cardiovascular consequences of childhood obesity. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 31(2), 124-130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2014.08.017

Mei, H., Xiong, Y., Xie, S., Guo, S., Li, Y., Guo, B., & Zhang, J. (2016). The impact of long-term school-based physical activity interventions on body mass.