Introduction
Weight loss programs are essential in healthcare because they help people maintain a healthy body weight. Being overweight is related to a high risk of developing hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, and cancer, among others (Chooi et al., 2019). Statistics show that 68% of adults in the USA have a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or more, meaning that the majority of the people are either overweight or obese (Smith et al., 2019). Hospitals have therefore developed various weight loss programs to help people reduce and maintain a healthy weight.
The Weight Loss Program: Costs and Outcomes
The weight loss program will run for three months and will focus on assisting patients to reduce weight through dieting, exercise, and behavior change. The first step in implementing any program is identifying the key stakeholders (Walden University, 2018-2021). This program will require the cooperation of different experts in the healthcare industry, including patients, nurses, doctors, physical instructors, nutritionists, and therapists. The sampled patients will visit the clinic twice a month for evaluation by the involved care providers for three months.
The overall expected outcome of the program will be to achieve a BMI of below 25 and adopt healthy eating habits and lifestyles. The program’s estimated cost will be $6600 per patient for the three months.
Figure 1: The cost of the weight loss program per patient
Target Population
The program’s target population will be overweight people with a BMI of 25 and above, and even those diagnosed with obesity. The normal BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9. A BMI of 25.0 to 29.9 falls within the overweight range, whereas a BMI of 30.0 or higher falls within the obese range (Chooi et al., 2019). Targeting this population aims to help patients achieve and maintain a healthy weight.
The Role of the Nurse in the Design of the Weight Loss Program
Nurses play a vital role in patient intervention programs because they have the first and continued contact with the patient. Nurses have a better understanding of patients’ experiences, which can be turned into usable data that can, in turn, be used to inform policy implementation (Sacristan & Dilla, 2015). Nurses will identify overweight patients, educate them on their health risks, and advise them on lifestyle modification (Milstead& Short, 2019). In this program, nurses identify the patients, take their vitals, and develop the best approaches that can work with each patient on weight reduction.
The Role of the Nurse Advocate for the Target Population of the Weight Loss Program
The nurse advocate will be invaluable to this program because they will link all the needed experts. The advocate nurse ensures that every practitioner plays their/for the betterment of the patient (Abbasinia et al., 2020). They also ensure that healthcare programs are designed to promote the wellness of the patients (American Nurses Association). The nurse advocate will also communicate with the patients about their preferences and what could work better for them, then relay the message to other clinicians.
The Influence of the Advocate on the Design of the Weight Loss Program
The advocate nurse’s role will ensure that all the experts working with the patients are on the same page and do not provide conflicting information. For instance, the nutritionist must know the patient’s exercise regimen to prescribe a diet aligned with the activities. Likewise, the physical instructor must know the patient’s diet to offer an appropriate workout plan.
Evaluation Tools for Designing the Weight Loss Program
WAVE and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Questionnaires are the most appropriate evaluation tools for weight loss program design. WAVE is a 4-point nutrition quick assessment tool that helps primary care providers to assess and discuss weight, physical activity, and eating habits with their patients (RHIhub, 2022). The instrument aids in establishing the patient’s weight, nutrition, and physical activity.
WAVE is an acronym for: Weight, Activity, Variety, and Excess. For weight, the practitioner looks at the BMI and any recent unexplained weight gain or weight loss. The practitioner also evaluates the daily activities of the patient. The tool also assesses the variety of foods like the grains, fruits, vegetables, protein, and dairy the patient has been taking. The instrument measures excess food intake in terms of fats, saturated fats, calories, salt, sugar, and alcohol.
The BRFSS Questionnaire is a survey tool incorporating a standard set of questions assessing demographic characteristics and current health behaviors, such as tobacco use and seatbelt use (Marks et al., 2020). The tool contains questions that assess the link between certain behaviors and being overweight.
Justification
WAVE is a suitable tool for this program because it evaluates all the aspects associated with weight loss initiatives, including weight, activities, types of foods, and food intake. WAVE summarizes all the elements associated with weight gain and weight loss. On the other hand, the BRFSS Questionnaire assesses the behaviors that result in weight gain, and therefore, with this tool, practitioners can address weight gain from its root cause.
The Healthcare Team Needed to Implement the Weight Loss Program
The program will require collaboration between nurses, doctors, nutritionists, physical fitness instructors, and psychological therapists. The nurses will act as the link between the patients and other experts and enhance communication between the parties. Doctors will examine patients before confirming they are fit to partake in the weight loss program. The nutritionists are key in this program because diet plays a vital role in weight loss; they will work with the patients on diets that help reduce weight. The physical instructors will help with structuring exercises that fit each patient.
The Role of the Nurse in Weight Loss Program Implementation
The relationship between nurses and patients is vital in the treatment program. The nurses will monitor the patients’ vitals during the program’s implementation. The nurses will also use their relationship with the patient to keep them motivated and informed throughout the program.
The Specifics of the Nurse’s Role
The nurse suggests approaches to reduce patient weight loss in the design process. Nurses work with diverse patients, and through their interaction with patients, they can understand what works best for patients in certain situations; therefore, their suggestions for policies are paramount. In the implementation process, the nurses keep the patients motivated, informed, and connected to all experts collaborating in the program.
References
Abbasinia, M., Ahmadi, F., & Kazemnejad, A. (2020). Patient advocacy in nursing: A concept analysis. Nursing ethics, 27(1), 141-151.
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Advocacy.
Chooi, Y. C., Ding, C., & Magkos, F. (2019). The epidemiology of obesity. Metabolism, 92, 6-10.
Marks, J. S., Mokdad, A. H., & Town, M. (2020). The behavioral risk factor surveillance system: information, relationships, and influence. American journal of preventive medicine, 59(6), 773-775.
Milstead, J. A., & Short, N. M. (2019). Health Policy and Politics: A Nurse’s Guide: A Nurse’s Guide (6th Ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Rural Health Information Hub (2022). Evaluation tools for rural obesity programs. ruralhealthinfo.org.
Sacristan, J. A., & Dilla, T. (2015). No big data without small data: Learning healthcare systems begin and end with the individual patient. Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice, 21(6), 1014–1017.
Smith, G. I., Mittendorfer, B., & Klein, S. (2019). Metabolically healthy obesity: Facts and fantasies. The Journal of clinical investigation, 129(10), 3978-3989.
Walden University, LLC. (2018-2021). Getting your program designed and implemented [Video]. Walden University Brightspace.