Community RUA

References

Bruechert, T., Quentin, P., Baumgart, S., & Bolte, G. (2017). Intersectoral collaboration of public health and urban planning for promotion of mobility and healthy ageing: protocol of the AFOOT project. Cities & Health. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1080/23748834.2017.1312086.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2019). Strategies to prevent obesity. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/strategies/index.html

County Health Rankings Report. (2020). Illinois. https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/sites/default/files/media/document/CHR2020_IL_v2.pdf

*

Fawaz; The windshield survey took place in Des plaines, along 1163 Lee Street. Most of the people observed appeared healthy, but some of them appeared overweight and obese. The approximate age of the observed persons was between 5 and 65 years. It was also observed that people exercised in the morning and evening and socialized during the day. Data collected through interviews revealed that on average each households own at least two cars.

*

Fawaz; During the windshield survey, it was observed that there were many people in restaurants within the city. There were billboards with information on health matters. Also, health resources such as hospitals, dentists and pharmacies were observed. The geographic data of the city collected was that the land mass is 14.28 miles per square mile, and the population density is 4,086.3 people per square mile (“U.S. Census,” 2019). The geographic data was collected from the United States Census Bureau.

*

Fawaz; The demographic data of the community collected during the assessment include the population, education, and income data. The population estimates of the city as of July 1, 2019 is 58,899 people. 19.1 percent of the population is 65 years and above, while 37.1 percent of the population are graduates or higher. The per capita income is $33,342 (“U.S. Census,” 2019). The county health rankings of Cook County from which Del plaines is located has health outcomes ranking of 47 and health factors ranking of 66 out the 102 counties in Illinois (“County Health Rankings,” 2020).

*

The aggregate population was the obese population. The key observation elements of the population were that some of the persons in the population that appeared obese were less active, had low self-esteem, and also appeared lonely. Others appeared to be anxious. These behaviors can be linked to their issue of being overweight and obese. A majority of the persons that appeared obese were middle-aged adults.

*

Maria; The key informants that will assist the community health nurse include the mayor, public health nurses, community workers, urban planners, and councilors. First, city mayors lead the development and implementation of health initiatives aimed at improving public health. Second, community workers assist individuals with their daily activities supporting them to be independent. Third, urban planners are important individuals in the policymaking processes that affect the public health sector (Bruechert et al., 2017). Lastly, city councilors are local government officials with the legislative and policymaking powers to enact policies to tackle obesity in the community.

*

Sydney; The community health diagnoses made from the data obtained from the community assessment is that a significant portion of the population is obese, and the middle-aged adult population is the most affected by obesity. Although most of the people observed appeared to be healthy, some people appeared overweight which is a key characteristic of obesity. On the other hand, the wellness diagnosis is that there is a low level of awareness of the causes and health implications of obesity since overweight people could be seen in fast food outlets that serve foods with large amount of carbs, fat and sugar. The population’s health status can be linked to its lifestyle as many people were less active and were observed eating junk food (Nies & McEwen, 2019).

*

Sydney; The short-term goals of the priority diagnosis are prevention of further weight gain and reduction of body weight. The clients will be expected to at least maintain their weight in the short-term, which would take up 2 weeks before they get accustomed to the intervention plan. The short-term goals may take between 1 week and 6 months where clients would be expected to lose between 1-2 pounds per week, and between 5-10%. The long-term goals are achieving a 10% reduction in body weight within or after 6 months of intervention, and maintaining a low body weight in the long-term.

*

Sydney; Counselors should turn into coaches to improve client involvement by allowing clients to develop their own plans rather than instructing them on what to do. Clients become more active when pursuing their own goals. Also, individualized plans increase client involvement by listening more and talking less, allowing the clients to direct the conversation. High client involvement is critical for the plan to achieve the desired outcomes. Coaches should act as advisers and not instructors. The plan will advance the knowledge of community members by educating them about the health effects associated with obesity that threaten the society, and the strategies they can implement to manage their weight such as regular exercise and healthy eating habits.

*

Ife; Obesity can be prevented and managed by developing healthy eating habits and maintaining active lifestyles through regular physical exercise (Fruh, 2017). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2019) stated that there is no single intervention that deal with the issue of obesity. The agency recommended a multifaceted approach to deal with the issue through creation of a supportive environment to help people maintain healthy and active lifestyles (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2019). The interventions are aimed at preventing obesity at the primary, secondary and tertiary levels. At the primary level, the interventions will prevent occurrence of news cases of obesity. At the secondary level, it will reduce the risk of developing other conditions associated with obesity, while at the tertiary level, the interventions will improve the recovery of the affected individuals.

*

Ife;The level of practice for the interventions for the priority diagnosis will be the community level. The primary objective of the nursing intervention is to improve the health status of the community through application of community health concepts aimed at improving community care (Nies & McEwen, 2019). Through prevention and control of obesity, the community will be less vulnerable to health conditions associated with obesity such as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes. The interventions will improve the capacity of individuals and families for self-care by maintaining healthy lifestyles (Schroeder et al., 2018).

*

Ife; Nurses implementing the interventions will make a weekly evaluation of the clients’ behavior in response to the interventions. They will identify whether the intervention is working or not. To do so, the nurses will compare the actual outcomes with the desired intervention outcomes. The desired outcomes will be maintenance or reduction of weight. They will examine whether the goals have been achieved on a weekly basis since the short-term goals should be achieved in a week, which include losing 1-2 pounds per week. The nurses will make conclusions based on the findings.

*

Ife;The nurses implementing the interventions will be required to evaluate the interventions’ outcomes and decide whether to continue with, modify or discontinue the intervention based on the actual intervention outcomes. If the goals of the interventions are met, it would be prudent to continue with the intervention to prevent weight gain. If the patients loses 10% of their weight within 6 months, the nurse will examine the patients to decide whether further weight loss is necessary or whether the intervention will be modified to prevent further weight loss and maintain a low body weight in the long-term. The goals will be evaluated at the individual level and the community level. At the individual level, the goal would be prevention of weight gain in the short-run as well as in the long-run after the sufficient weight reduction has been achieved. On the other hand, the intervention will be expected to reduce the overall prevalence of obesity in the community to improve the health status of the population.

*

Maria; The community resources that would be useful when implementing the interventions would include community health workers, schools, and patients. Public health providers are useful since they have a good understanding of the community they serve and are trusted by the local people (Schroeder et al., 2018). Clients would be more relaxed when dealing with a familiar health care professional than a stranger which makes it easy to develop a therapeutic relationship. Also, health care facilities are important resources since individuals with obesity can easily be identified when seeking other health services. Patients with obesity are likely to suffer from other conditions that might necessitate them to seek health care services.

*