Evidence-Based Population Health Improvement Plan
Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX 6011
Professor Name
Due Date
Evidence-Based Population Health Improvement Plan
Slide 01
Hi, I am _______. I am excited to share a comprehensive health improvement strategy geared towards addressing obesity within the African American population.
Environmental and Epidemiological Data
Slide 02
Major Population Health Issue
Obesity is a crucial health condition since it broadly affects the health status of the population. On one hand, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presents the following information: 8%, or 76 million residents of the United States, are diagnosed with obesity. Besides this, severe obesity is more prevalent among the age group 40 to 59-year-old adults compared to other age brackets (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.). Whereas the prevalence of hypertension is higher in African Americans than in European Americans, the rate of obesity among African Americans stands at 49.9%, significantly above that of Latinos, which stands at 45.6% (Trust for America’s Health, n.d.). This high prevalence of obesity should be attended to.
Environmental Factors
Various factors contribute to obesity among African Americans; these include socioeconomic and environmental conditions. For example, lower class income is associated with reduced food choices; hence, they cannot afford healthy foods that reduce the chances of developing obesity as explained by Spinner (2022). The environmental condition presents barriers to curbing obesity. Kahan and Mehrzad (2020) have explained the relation of environmental factors associated with obesity. The ready availability of fast foods along with other dietary factors is affecting an individual’s health and well-being. Moreover, leading a sedentary lifestyle is aggravating the increasing prevalence of obesity.
Level of Evidence
The sources used in the description of each key are of good quality. For instance, while using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a source of information on obesity in the United States, the statistics obtained are more valid. Further, the data obtained from Trust for America’s Health is consistent with the obesity rates among African Americans. Other research works also provide important information about the factors leading to obesity among this group of people. The reliability of the information is achieved by the use of data from reliable organizations and scholarly articles. In addition, the literature reviewed for this study is only the literature published in the last five years to make sure that the findings of the study are accurate.
Ethical Health Improvement Plan
Slide 03
Environmental Challenges
In health improvement planning, environmental considerations are required. Obesity is a significantly higher risk among African Americans due to disparities in income levels, racism, and prejudice. Poor eating habits that lead to obesity are associated with low-income statuses, through which the capability to access healthier food options is constrained by income levels. Additionally, it can be surmised that stigma and discrimination associated with obesity further influence African Americans to avoid consulting medically about weight loss (Washington et al., 2023). These environmental factors need to be addressed if true success is to be achieved in attempting to reverse this epidemic prevalence among this population and should be part of any health improvement plan.
Interventions
An ethical health improvement plan should be culturally sensitive and therefore should be made for African Americans. To improve the quality of food consumed, a nutrition education program will be conducted to assist the participants in selecting better foods to consume (Jones et al., 2022). The lack of information is one of the reasons why the African American community is facing high chances of obesity, and therefore giving them educational materials will be crucial since they will be informed. Also, a physical activity program will be implemented to increase fitness and decrease obesity among African Americans (Gaesser & Angadi, 2021). These two are important in managing obesity within this population.
Potential Barriers
The barriers to implementing the health improvement plan will also be discussed. For instance, a limitation could be that African Americans are health illiterate, which could restrict their knowledge of appropriate diet practices. In this case, multilingual education can be used to combat language barriers and provide more information on appropriate diet choices.
Slide 04
Outcome Criteria
Outcome measures are very important in the determination of the success of the project. Some of the key indicators include the change in the levels of obesity and the extent of compliance with the physical activity programmes. The success of the nutrition education program will be evaluated by the degree of participants’ adherence to the program. For instance, more implementation of nutrition education that leads to the reduction of obesity level is an indicator of the program success (Rakhra et al., 2020). Further, the level of compliance with the physical activity program will also be assessed to determine the effectiveness of the interventions. This will entail assessing the levels of adherence to the physical activity program before and after the intervention (Celik & Yildiz, 2021). These measures will be crucial in evaluating the general impact of the proposed interventions.
Slide 5
Collaboration Plan
Stakeholders Identification
The health promotion plan should engage African American advocacy groups, policymakers, legislative staff and health care providers. These stakeholders should be involved in the process of implementing a proper health promotion strategy that will help in combating obesity. This is because they bring out different perception in evaluating the community attitudes and coming up with the right health improvement strategies (Wanjau et al., 2021). Also, their participation helps in the development of culturally appropriate plans that will help the community to attain its goals. It also helps to improve the work on the creation of effective strategies and increase the community’s support for the project.
Communication Strategy
A two-way communication approach is particularly important in effectively communicating the need for health improvement plans for African American communities through a direct interaction of ideas from all stakeholders by mutually knowing what to do and how to implement specific actions to address obesity. This interactive approach appreciates the contribution of every stakeholder in devising a health promotion plan that precisely caters to the needs of the community, hence ensuring its success. Besides, mobile applications can also be used as strong tools for awareness creation in the community regarding the risk factors associated with obesity and healthy eating (Seid et al., 2024). Such digital platforms would easily allow the sharing of information among members and the bridging of a knowledge gap in health terminology and body fat-related problems. Other aspects include engaging trusted local organizations and healthcare providers in the development and delivery of such an initiative; addressing socio-economic barriers; reducing resource access barriers; promoting long-term engagement in health-related efforts; and increasing individuals’ capability to make informed choices about their health.
Slide 6
Value and Relevance of Evidence and Technology Resources
Evidence Related to Community Health Concerns
The health improvement plan incorporates evidence-based interventions and technological resources that are well-suited to address obesity among African Americans, drawing upon guidance from reputable organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Trust for America’s Health, as well as insights from peer-reviewed literature. The nutrition education program aims to promote healthy eating habits by providing culturally relevant information through trusted community channels, while the physical activity program focuses on increasing opportunities for physical activity and creating supportive environments, consistent with the CDC’s recommendations for designing communities that connect homes, schools, parks, and workplaces to promote active lifestyles. By leveraging existing resources and partnering with local organizations, the plan can effectively reach and engage African American adults, contributing to the reduction of obesity in the community.
Resources to Support Health Improvement Plan
With this in mind, studies by Gaesser and Angadi, 2021, and Jones et al., 2022, avail the needed evidence for embedding obesity management interventions; there is a need for effective means of addressing the same. The peer-reviewed studies also support the position for the utilization of technology resources in embedding health interventions as supported by Seid et al., 2024 who proposes the application of digital tools such as mobile phones to increase awareness of the risk factors associated with obesity and healthy eating. Also, Dallagiacoma et al., (2023) list the advantages of technology platforms in delivering information related to the management of obesity. All these pieces of evidence support collectively for the health promotion plan on obesity reduction in African Americans.
References
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Obesity basics. Cdc.gov. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db360.htm
Celik, O., & Yildiz, B. O. (2021). Obesity and physical exercise. Minerva Endocrinology, 46(2). https://doi.org/10.23736/s2724-6507.20.03361-1
Gaesser, G. A., & Angadi, S. S. (2021). Obesity treatment: Weight loss versus increasing fitness and physical activity for reducing health risks. IScience, 24(10), 102995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102995
Dallagiacoma, G., Alberti, F., & Odone, A. (2023). The efficacy of digital media tools to promote a healthy diet in children: A systematic review of intervention studies. PubMed, 94(3). https://doi.org/10.23750/abm.v94is3.14293
Jones, H. E., Ramsay, C. F., Briggs, M. A., & Young, J. (2022). The effectiveness of nutritional education interventions on dietary intake in young black males: A near-empty systematic review. Nutrients, 14(11), 2264. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14112264
Kahan, L. G., & Mehrzad, R. (2020). Chapter 10 – Environmental factors related to the obesity epidemic. Sciencedirect.com. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128188392000107
Rakhra, V., Galappaththy, S. L., Bulchandani, S., & Cabandugama, P. K. (2020). Obesity and the Western diet: How we got here. Missouri Medicine, 117(6), 536–538. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7721435/
Seid, A., Fufa, D. D., & Bitew. Z. W. (2024). The use of internet-based smartphone apps consistently improved consumers’ healthy eating behaviors: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials. Frontiers in Digital Health, 6. https://doi.org/10.3389/fdgth.2024.1282570
Spinner, J. R. (2022). An Examination of the impact of social and cultural traditions contributing to overweight and obesity among black women. Journal of Primary Care & Community Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.1177/21501319221098519
Trust for American Health. (2023). State of obesity 2023: Better policies for a healthier America. Tfah.org. https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2023/
Wanjau, M. N., Bitok, L. W. K., Aminde, L. N., & Veerman, J. L. (2021). Stakeholder-engaged research: Strategies for the prevention and control of overweight and obesity in Kenya. BioMed Central Public Health, 21(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11649-0
Washington, T. B., Johnson, V. R., Kendrick, K., Ibrahim, A. A., Tu, L., Sun, K., & Stanford, F. C. (2023). Disparities in access and quality of obesity care. Disparities in Access and Quality of Obesity Care, 52(2), 429–441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gtc.2023.02.003