Community Research Paper #1

Consider yourself a community health nurse.

• Is obesity a major health issue in the United States?
• According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NCHS, CDC; BRFSS, 2012), how is obesity defined?
• What is your role as a community nurse?
• What risk factors should be explored for Maria’s family for cardiovascular disease? Mention social determinants of health in this case. Incorporate the concepts of health promotion and risk reduction.
• Would you apply any of the behavioral change models to address health promotion and risk reduction in this case (theoretical frameworks of behavioral change / models discussed on Chapter 5 of textbook). Describe your selection.
• Public health nurses use statistics to demonstrate the need for obesity program development and community interventions. According to the most recent CDC data: What data were identified about obesity in children and adults?
• Is there a necessity of planning a community nursing intervention? How will you do that? Will you work alone or in collaboration / teamwork? Will you look for funding? How?
• If you decide to do a community intervention. How would you evaluate the community-level intervention(s)?
• Will you use social marketing to change health behaviors or beliefs, social or cultural norms, or community standards to improve health or benefit society. Which resources will you use?

10.Mention research studies that support any of the above (1 through 9) (mention at least 3 research studies in the paper)

Answer preview

Obesity is defined by the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES) as people having a bodyweight or a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30kg/m². However, it is classified as a grave public health threat that is even more dangerous than the opioid epidemic. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has illustrated Obesity to be a national epidemic that maximizes the risk of a person contracting High blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, depression, arthritis, sleep apnoea, and breathing problems, high cholesterol levels, stroke, type 2 Diabetes and anxiety (Rosenthal et al., 2017). The estimated figures show that 34% of adults and 15-20% of children in the US having Obesity (Conway, Han, Munro, Gross, Shu, Hargreaves, & Blot, 2018). As a result, Obesity is classified to be a major cause of death in the US.

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