Introduction
Nurses play a critical role in improving societal health outcomes. They possess the knowledge and skills to deal with illnesses and eradicate factors leading to poor health outcomes. Nurses can also empower individuals and societies with knowledge and skills to preserve their health and well-being, reduce disease burden, and generally create healthy societies. They achieve these goals by focusing on specific public health issues that require constant and sometimes urgent attention. In this article, the author focuses on how nurses can create healthy communities by focusing on a specific public health issue. The defined public health problem assessment occurs from a collaborative, leadership, and communication perspective. It includes change management and policy issues, which vary from one community to another. Proper outcomes are attainable by spending sufficient time with the concerned population to understand their challenges and make recommendations for improvement based on the identified needs.
Population Health Problems Relevant to Personal and Professional Practice
Being overweight and obesity are among the most significant public health problems relevant to my personal and professional practice. The World Health Organization (WHO) now recognizes overweight and obesity as chronic, non-communicable illness (Chu et al., 2018). While overweight is defined by a body mass index (BMI) of 25 and above, obesity is defined by a BMI of 30 and above. These population health problems – also defined as the presence of excessive body fat – have reached epidemic proportions globally (Tchang et al., 2021). Today, about one billion adults are overweight, out of which 300 million are obese (Meslier et al., 2020). This problem has contributed to the global burden of disability and other chronic illnesses, including diabetes, certain forms of cancer, stroke, hypertension, and cardiovascular problems. In developing countries, overweight and obesity co-exist with undernutrition and have serious social, economic, and psychological components affecting all ages, races, genders, and socioeconomic groups (Emerenziani et al., 2019). The consequences of being overweight and obese range from an increased likelihood of premature death to severe chronic illnesses that significantly impact the health and well-being of an individual.
Various factors contribute to the growing cases of overweight and obesity in the world. Increased consumption of energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods is one of them. Individuals are consuming foods that contain excessive added sugars and salt. Most of these foods are highly processed and manufactured (Ortega‐Loubon et al., 2019). With their busy schedules and demand for convenience, people find it better, cheaper, and desirable to order fast foods to save time. People are also consuming fewer fruits and vegetables and are leading sedentary lifestyles. Physical inactivity extends to children playing computer games indoors rather than running and engaging in physical activity outside. As children spend more hours indoors eating, watching TV, and playing computer games, they find themselves overweight and obese, which increases their likelihood of developing chronic illnesses (Chu et al., 2018). In some parts of the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, China, the Pacific Islands and the Middle East, obesity has increased by three times since the 1980s. This epidemic is likely to continue in the future unless individuals implement lifestyle and nutritional changes.
The problem of overweight and obesity is important to my profession because it underpins my patients’ general health and well-being. Overweight and obese patients tend to be sick, which increases the cost of care. It is also difficult to maintain a healthy and productive life if one is overweight and obese, and this is a personal problem that I would like to resolve. It is in line with my professional determination to promote community health.
Evidence Describing and Guiding Nursing Action Related to the Defined Population Problem
Scholars have conducted numerous studies to understand the causes of overweight and obesity. These studies have formed the basis for treating and managing overweight and obesity. For example, after many years of research, scientists now understand the physiology of weight regulation and the pathophysiology of weight gain and maintenance despite reasonable lifestyle changes to eradicate the problem (Meslier et al., 2020). Scientists also understand the adverse health effects of central and generalized obesity and constantly make recommendations for dealing with the problem. First, they recommend that individuals change their diets to include enough amounts of sodium and potassium. Emerenziani et al. (2019) state that excessive sodium and potassium intake can lead to overweight, obesity, and hypertension. Therefore, individuals desiring to reduce overweight and obesity must consume a moderate amount of these nutrients. Eating more fruits and vegetables can also decrease overweight and obesity. According to Ortega‐Loubon et al. (2019), when people eat more fruits and vegetables, they will experience weight loss because fruits and vegetables are healthy and can fill the stomach, reducing the sensation of hunger and the desire to eat frequently.
Exercising is another proven methodology for managing overweight and obese patients. When people exercise regularly, they burn excess calories and prevent fat accumulation in the body. Exercising places high energy demands on the body, converting fat reserves into energy, and reducing overweight and obese individuals. Given the importance of exercising to health and well-being, scientists recommend that individuals participate in physical exercise for at least 30 minutes daily. This regular physical activity could be walking, running, or swimming, among others (Chu et al., 2018). Individuals should supplement exercising with healthy living to obtain the most optimum results. According to Meslier et al. (2020), healthy living also involves reducing the intake of highly processed foods such as fast-food restaurant servings. Most of these foods offer empty calories and are less reliable in offering the desired nutrients.
How State Board Standards and Governmental Policies Affect the Defined Population Problem
Standard one of the American Nurses Association standards of nursing practice is assessment. It is the process of collecting comprehensive data to help improve patient health. This standard is relevant to addressing obesity by helping the nurse to collect pertinent data about the patient’s health and situation. The second standard, diagnosis, is about analyzing assessment data to identify patient issues (Tchang et al., 2021). This standard helps nurses identify obesity and overweight within a population and address the issue. The third is standard is outcomes identification and entails recognizing the desired results or outcomes for patient treatment or management. This standard helps individuals deal with obesity and identify the appropriate intervention. The fourth standard, planning, is about developing a plan prescribing strategies and alternatives to achieve expected goals. This standard helps nurses create an effective strategy for patient health improvement.
The four principles underpinning this nursing practice – and most nursing standards advocate – are beneficence, autonomy, non-maleficence, and justice. Existing government policies and standards also encourage the utilization of these principles. As outlined in these nursing standards and government policies, the principle of beneficence maintains that healthcare workers must refrain from the maltreatment of patients. Instead, they must minimize harm and promotes the maximization of good to patients (Ortega‐Loubon et al., 2019). Healthcare workers, in general, and nurses, in particular, demonstrate the principle of beneficence by ensuring that patients have access to a balance of benefits against the prevailing risks and include offering prompt and reliable care when demanded. Beneficence ensures that nurses remain productive at work while prioritizing the health and well-being of the patient. It is also about helping patients execute duties and functions that improve one’s quality of life.
As it applies to nursing, the principle of justice affects how the professional treats the patient. The expectation is that nurses treat their patients with honor, respect, dignity, fairness, and equality (Ortega‐Loubon et al., 2019). Patients should receive the same kind of fair and equal treatment whether or not they are related to the nurse. Nurses must treat patients well even when their interests seem to compete (Chu et al., 2018). Under the principle of justice, patients are guaranteed high-quality services at all times, irrespective of their location. Patients have a right to no harm; the treatments and recommendations for improvements that nurses give them must be reliable and harmless (Emerenziani et al., 2019). Patients should also enjoy autonomy, even when this demand competes with nursing guidelines. People are always free to refuse medication and treatment, surgery, and medical intervention because they know what is good for them. In addition to knowing the code of ethics within their practice area, nurses should also recognize their integrity and moral character (Meslier et al., 2020). They should clearly understand ethical principles and apply them to their daily lives.
Leadership Strategies to Improve Outcomes, Patient-Centered Care, and the Patient Experience
The first leadership strategy to improve outcomes is effective written and verbal communication. Leaders can plan properly, implement strategies, and achieve enhanced results through proper and unambiguous communication (Emerenziani et al., 2019). The second leadership strategy is collaboration and delegation. It ensures that nurses can delegate care and reduce the likelihood and prevalence of obesity. Another strategy is continuous improvement and technology utilization. When hospitals and healthcare centers have advanced technologies, nurses make fewer errors, serve more people, and provide high-quality services (Tchang et al., 2021). Another way that leaders can transform the nursing profession is through policy formulation and implementation. Nursing leaders must force the government to implement better technologies that improve nursing experiences and work outcomes (Ortega‐Loubon et al., 2019). For example, hospitals should have enough service providers so that no medical practitioner is overwhelmed by work or over-utilized. Since the provision of nursing care often requires person-centered care, the work can be tasking for individuals if they lack a strong support system.
Conclusion
Overweight and obese is a significant problem that the entire world faces today. It refers to excessive body fat and a BMI of 25 and above. This pandemic has become increasingly common as people’s lifestyle has changed. Individuals eat less quality food and fail to exercise daily, leading to problems with their weight. As the body weight increases, the risk for other chronic illnesses, including stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, also increases. Nurses play a critical role in resolving this public health issue by letting individuals lead healthy lifestyles. They also provide recommendations for dealing with problematic body weight and preventing it from occurring again in the future. It is part of the medical practitioner’s responsibility to guide others to healthy living and create programs for public health improvement. Nurses are also responsible for improving the information available to help ordinary public members make informed decisions about their health. It is part of the nurse’s work of facilitating justice, autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence.
References
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