Discussion 2.1: Health Program Planning

• Provide the title and a brief overview of the podcast.      I chose to listen to Early Weight Watching on the CDC podcast. This podcast was originally posted 2.15.2018 and talks about the concern of increased weight among children. It was stated that children being overweight has tripled since the 1970s and they are experiencing obesity more than any other generation has. In 2015-16 13 million children ages 2-19 or 18.9% of the population were overweight. The podcast went to discuss the immediate health concerns with being overweight such as low self-esteem, hypertension, depression and diabetes. The other concern is the once a child is overweight, the odds of being overweight as an adult continues to be high. As adults then the concerns include premature death, cancer, hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Parents and schools can find resources through the CDC and American Pediatric Association to learn more about balancing foods, increasing activity, limiting sugar based foods and drinks and processed foods as well. Parents can also visit www.healthychildren.org for more information too (CDC, 2018).
• Which program planning model would you choose to guide this health planning project and why?      For this situation I feel I would use the Logic Model. This is a model that is used by many program planners and is clear to implement and evaluate. It is also a good way to organize ideas and provide understanding as to the why’s and how’s of the program also.  The other beneficial point to the logic model is that once the project is complete, planners will be able to see the progress and how it is related to the objectives from the beginning which is an important piece of evaluation success or otherwise (Savage, 2020).  I believe this model provides it offers the ability to be clear and concise in its project objectives and can be evaluated effectively. The logic model is something that could be used in evaluating families and children for the prevalence of obesity and daily activities.
• What other data might you want to collect before starting?      Other date I might want to find out before starting this type of project planning would include things such as: how many children, 18 years old and younger are in the community; is there access to nutritional food within the community; how many fast food restaurants are accessible; what types of meals are served in school; how many parents both work possibly limiting homemade meals and eating together; how many children are active in sports or other daily exercise activities; how long are physical education classes at school and what does it include; does obesity or other health concerns run in family; how many children are already overweight; how much screen time do the children have on a daily basis; do the children already have any pre-existing health issues; is the community willing to participate and do they share concerns about the children; what do food portion sizes look like.
• Based on the data, choose one of the risk factors and discuss a possible intervention.        Based on risk factors discussed, hypertension is a leading factor for further cardiovascular disease, heart attack, stroke and premature death. For some children, the treatment plan will be to modify the diet, increase physical activity and reduce weight which can significantly lessen the risk factors associated with obesity. However, for some children who may be diagnosed with hypertension or even diabetes and have not had success with a modification plan, it may be necessary to start an anti-hypertensive medication treatment to help in reducing blood pressure. Without early intervention, childhood obesity can lead to many other significant health issues and death (Wuhl, 2019). Along with this intervention of weight reduction, increased activity and medications if needed, education of family and children about weight is necessary as well. One cannot change without knowing and understanding the reasons behind the need for change and even then it can be a challenge which may lead to the need of a check in system with school nurses or other community health professionals to see how progress is being made.
• How would you evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention/program?        To evaluate the effectiveness of the program I would look at the success rate of reduction in overall weight and any other health issues that may have resulted from weight. I would also look to see if there have been any changes in diet to a more whole food approach vs processed sugar based foods. Looking at increased activity levels, decreased screen time and family engagement in the overall change would be some other ways to monitor effectiveness. If there are changes in these areas and health among children is increasing then the program produced what it set out to do initially. Another way to evaluate effectiveness is with community surveys or check ins to monitor how well families and schools are continuing to reinforce and solidify the changes made.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2018). Early Weight Watching (A Cup of Health with CDC), February 15, 2018.  Retrieved from on October 20, 2021.

Savage, C. (2020). Public/Community Health and Nursing Practice: Caring for Populations, (2nd ed.). F.A. Davis. Philadelphia, PA.

Wuhl, E. (2019). Hypertension in Childhood Obesity. Acta Pediatrica. 2019 January, 108(1); 37-43. doi: 10.1111/apa.14551.