Week 1 Advance Clinical B

Running head: PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION 1

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION AND DESCRIPTION 6

Problem Identification and Description

Yanet Galan

West Coast University

01/31/2021

Problem Identification and Description

Obesity is one of the leading healthcare challenges in the United States. The Centres for Disease Control (CDC) defines an obese person as one aged 20 years and above and has a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. Those with a BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 are considered overweight (White et al., 2017). Obesity is a leading health issue in the United States because it is a health condition that leads to several diseases. Obesity leads to an increased risk of stroke, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, among others (White et al., 2017). Although obesity rates in the United States are relatively higher than in other developed countries, African Americans are the most affected by the phenomenon. The subsequent parts of this paper present a PICOT evaluation of obesity among African Americans.

Population

African Americans form one of the leading ethnic groups in the United States. Most African Americans are of African ancestry, while some of them have non-black ancestors. A majority of African Americans are descendants of slaves brought to America from Africa by force to work in the continent's agricultural sector. Enslaved Africans were mistreated, and their rights were severely limited. They were also excluded from the social, economic, and political progress of the United States until later years after the country became more free and democratic. The effects of slavery and the deliberate exclusion of African Americans from the main spheres of American society are demonstrated in many ways. For example, most African Americans live in poor conditions compared to their white counterparts.

Additionally, African Americans are among the people who are heavily affected by diseases because of the disparities that exist in the country's healthcare system (Assari, Wisseh, & Bazargan, 2019). Since obesity is currently one of the leading health issues in the United States, African Americans have become the most affected ethnic group in the country. Knox-Kazimierczuk and Shockly-Smith (2017) state that African Americans have the highest obesity rates in the United States than other groups. It is estimated that almost four out of five African American women are overweight or obese. A study released in 2018 revealed that African Americans were 1.3 times more likely to be obese than other groups like non-Hispanic whites (Knox-Kazimierczuk & Shockly-Smith, 2017). A general audit of the African American population by the CDC in 2012 established that approximately 70% of African American adults are overweight or obese (Knox-Kazimierczuk & Shockly-Smith, 2017). The high rates of obesity among African Americans make it necessary for healthcare professionals like nurses to come up with effective interventions.

Intervention

Increased obesity rates among African Americans threaten to cause further problems in the community. Nurses should come up with effective strategies aimed at combating the phenomena. One of the interventions that can be used by African Americans to combat obesity is the adoption of a healthy eating plan and regular physical exercises. More than 85% of obese people have poor eating habits. Most of them ingest unhealthy foods full of calories, which cause obesity (White et al., 2017). Nurses should recommend a healthy eating plan with fewer calories as the first step towards weight reduction. People who are overweight should then participate in regular physical exercises such as jogging, playing basketball, going to the gym, or any other activity. Although it might take a relatively long time to reduce weight or obesity, the adoption of a healthy eating plan and regular exercises will, in the end, be useful in weight management.

Comparison

Although using a healthy eating plan and regular physical activities is an effective intervention, other interventions have been recommended to address obesity among African Americans. One of the trends in the fight against obesity is the use of weight-loss devices. Weight loss devices are used in instances where patients have tried and failed to reduce their weight. The electrical stimulation system is one of the methods that are used to address obesity. The electrical stimulation system allows a surgeon to place a device in a patient's abdomen through laparoscopic surgery (Assari et al., 2019). The device disrupts brain activity between a patient's stomach and brain, leading to reduced food intake. Although they offer an expensive intervention compared to healthy food plans and physical activities, weight loss devices offer hope to patients who have tried all the other weight-loss interventions with little success.

Outcome

The main outcome from the interventions' application is the reduction of the rate of obesity among African Americans. Current statistics reveal a worrying trend where as many as 4 out of 5 African American women are overweight. The objective of the interventions is to reduce the percentage of African Americans who are obese. Since Knox-Kazimierczuk and Shockly-Smith (2017) state that as much as 70% of the African American adult population is overweight and obese, the outcome of these alternatives is to reduce the number to at least 40%.

Time

The timeframe for the achievement of the outcomes depends on how well the interventions are applied. However, with all existing factors constant, the time frame for reducing obesity rates among African Americans from 70% to 40% should be at least 15 years.

From the analysis, it is evident that obesity is a severe problem among African Americans. It is estimated that about 70% of the total African American adult population is overweight or obese. Nurses and other healthcare professionals should apply the interventions discussed to reduce the trend.

References

Assari, S., Wisseh, C., & Bazargan, M. (2019). Obesity and polypharmacy among African American older adults: Gender as the moderator and multimorbidity as the mediator. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(12) doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16122181

Knox-Kazimierczuk, F., & Shockly-Smith, M. (2017). African American women and the obesity epidemic: A systematic review. The Journal of Pan African Studies (Online), 10(1), 76-110.

White, M. S., Addison, C. C., Campbell Jenkins, B., W., Bland, V., Clark, A., & LaVigne, D. A. (2017). Optimistic bias, risk factors, and development of high blood pressure and obesity among African American adolescents in Mississippi (USA). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(2), 209. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14020209