Overview of the Healthcare Policy and Role in Nursing

An exact policy in the health field can allow one or an entire community to obtain specific goals and accolades. This health policy encompasses the decisions, plan and actions that are undertaken to reach the desired goals. This process defines a vision for the future and allows for the road map to achieve the targets and points of reference for the short and long terms (“Health Policy,” 2018).

 When dealing with policies in the healthcare field, it is imperative that policies define and integrate the correct standards to the delivery of care and that all conditions crucial for the proper care to occur. The policy addresses different healthcare programs such as finance, quality of health care system, equity of the system and appropriate delivery of health care services. Advocacy plays a very instrumental role in the nursing field. Nursing is more than a profession, it is a calling and it is entirely distinct from other fields because here one is dealing with the lives of people. It is known that nurses who help to influence policy are truly creating a positive future for the quality of care for future generations. 

Resource allocation is impacted by policies and should be heavily weighed on the pros and cons before approving all policies (Burke, 2016). If one is an advanced practice nurse, the daily duties include promoting, advocating, rights protection, overall health, and the general safety of all patients (ANA, 2015). Being a patient advocate comes along with many stressors and responsibilities the role of an advanced practice nurse includes many responsibilities, advanced head-to-toe assessment, diagnosis, ordering tests, prescribing medications and treatments for a patient’s health condition, and directing medical management. In addition to these duties, an advanced practice nurse needs to continue to be a patient advocate. Knowing the patient's social life and means to arrive to the appointment, It could also include knowing the patient’s insurance coverage, so they are able to have access for their necessary medications (Hanks, Starnes-Ott, & Stafford,2017)

Obesity is reaching epidemic levels, it has become one of the serious health care concerns not only in the United States but worldwide. An article written by Sahoo & Bhadoria talks about children that are overweight at early stage of life is likely to grow into overweight adolescent and then overweight adult. “ And are more likely to develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age” (Sahoo & Bhadoria,2015). Obesity may not only affect physical health, but has a huge impact on social, well-being, and self-esteem. It is also associated with poor academic performance (Sahoo & Bhadoria,2015). Parents must be very vigilant to notice the occurrence of obesity in a child’s early years and address it appropriately. If this is not done in a timely manner, results are most likely to be immense and unbearable. 

Such kinds of incidence are indicators of high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels.(Ralston, Walker, & Truby, 2012). A child can become overweight due to a number of issues or factors. These factors can be identified taking into consideration the lifestyle habits of a concerned child. A child eating junk foods is likely to be overweight (Sjöberg et al., 2012). Physical exercises also play a role in a child being obese. Without the appropriate amount of physical activity, a child will experience health-related issues. Diet also plays an important role and parents must pay a lot of attention in regards to sugary drinks, snack foods, and the amount of food consumed throughout the day.

 Body Mass Index is a tool that helps to reveal obesity by simply taking into account such factors as the weight and height of a child. It is the role of a physician to calculate the BMI of a child and provide the results to his/her parents. The calculation involves the use of percentiles, for example, a child with a percentile above ninety-five is considered obese (Sjöberg et al., 2012). BMI of healthy children ranges between five to around eighty-five. As a result, obesity is considered the second leading cause of death in the United States. And more children are developing type 2 diabetes.

The Impact on the Group

No child is proud of being obese and no parent is proud of his/her child being obese. They experience a lot of difficulties at school, playgrounds and in the community in general. Such individuals may develop a lower esteem and result in a number of psychological complexes as they age. Moreover, it is hard for them to make friends and get along with their peers. This leads to reduced quality of life due to major health concerns like type 2 diabetes or high blood pressure. On the positive side obesity is preventable and should not seriously stress the parents. A child who is obese is affected mentally, the quality of his/her life is lower as compared to other children who are not obese. Resulting in a less functional life. The affected children suffer from damages to their body and organs like arteries; moreover, they may develop multiple sclerosis later in life and a feeling of isolation. The advancement of technology is partly to blame, as today most children spend their free time glued to TV or computer screens, playing video games, or playing with their smartphones.

Impact of the Problem of Obesity on the Whole Community

Community is a social unit that comprises of people who live in the same area or share similar values. Therefore, in one way or another, the problem that affects a particular family should be addressed collectively and not individually (Kunin-Batson, Seburg, Crain, Jaka, Langer, Levy, & Sherwood, 2015). The time and place to implement education and outreach programs are now and at the level of the homes, schools, and communities. Obesity is more of an epidemic, expecting the school system to battle this alone is not sufficient. I truly believe this should be a collaboration system. If the parents and children are educated and feel the community support. It enables them to be willing to change their lifestyles. 

The proper environment surrounding a child during the early stage of his/her development directly or indirectly influences daily eating habits of the young ones and impacts their physical activity as well (Kunin-Batson et al., 2015).The provision of a healthy food environment also plays a vital role in curbing the problem of obesity; this is done by providing food outlets. Farm to table, have an area at the school where children grow healthy foods and educate them on the meaning of farm to table.Such measures help in the reduction of obesity among children and society at large. Schools must also ensure that children consume a lot of water as opposed to sugar-sweetened beverages and should limit the number of products that contain added sugar and fat. It is important to create a policy to assist in the promotion of the awareness of childhood obesity as a health risk. This policy should implement various strategies aimed at the promotion of healthy living.

Identify an Appropriate Solution to the Problem

Parents need to be aware of what they are consuming in front of their children. Parents are the role models and the ones who take care of their children. They decide what to prepare for their children at meals, all these can directly contribute to obesity in children. Most parents are working and running children from one activity to the next causing them to be tired at the end of the day. Without even realizing they neglect their role of cooking for children . Today most parents buy fast food in between activities. However, they are not aware of the impact of these foods on the young ones. Parents buy quick-ready meals or canned food products high in calories and with low nutritional value. When they do a food shop. Some of the products they buy are high-fat foods that when not appropriately metabolized can cause serious health issues like cardiac problems (Musa et al., 2012). Nutrition education is therefore fundamentally sound for student,parents and the community as a whole. Nutrition educators help in fully eradicating the issue and provide more insight on the matter at hand. They do so by providing forums that helps in equipping both teacher,students, and parents on improved health choices that will improve their lifestyles within a classroom, community and at home.

Physical Activities

Staying fit is not only recommended for people who are obese but for everyone. It helps in making your body organs to function optimally and to keep the body healthy and disease-free. Physical activities help in maximizing energy expenditure of the body. It helps in stabilizing energy balance within the body by burning excess calories. Physical activities help in maintaining a healthy weight and lower the risks associated with heart diseases, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stress among others (Guha, 2013). The problem that is closely related to obesity is a state of the economy of well developed countries like the US. 

Most people in these countries are economically empowered and do not see the benefit of exercising. They believe that proper living includes an appropriate diet and traveling to various destinations. Such negligence has soon spread to the representatives of the middle-income class (Guha, 2013). That is why the issue of obesity has become pandemic and if not thoroughly checked our future generation is at risk. As a matter of fact, that is why chronic illnesses have been steadily on the rise. Today, people have become less active as compared to when individuals were very active. Surprisingly the number of those who venture in sports has decreased considerably so people fail to understand where the invariability comes from. Factors attributing to these issues are technology advancement, increased transportation and fewer interactions among people (Guha, 2013). Exercises help an individual to reduce stress and to remain economically sound; this is a motivator aimed at ensuring that fitness routine is appropriately maintained.

All these strategies cannot be implemented alone. Society should learn how to accommodate every individual. These are our brothers and sisters. People should not look down on them but instead, come up with a program in regard to how these people can be helped. The problem can affect anyone in the world (Andersen, 2011). People are therefore required to change their mindsets and be ready to embrace the changes regarding how they live and interact with others. Simple fitness activities can be introduced to help people lose weight without having to engage in strenuous body exercises (Andersen, 2011). The changes should also be geared in maintaining the mood within the family and reducing the rate of break-ups that are unforeseen (Kunin-Batson et al., 2015). In turn the affected families should embrace the change because it creates long-term and short-term benefits.

Being a person who himself had once been obese, he manages to inspire the representative of both genders that our status does not matter at all. It depends on the character of a person as he or she needs to have enough courage to win the elections. Firstly, Dolan just recently manage to take control over his weight/health. He had the required patience and diligence to make a breakthrough. 

This action can simply encourage people regardless of their situation that they can overcome any problem and get the results they want. Some of the issues that were advocated by Dolan, included opposing question 2 “ Allowing the state board of Elementary and Secondary education to authorize up to 12 new charter schools throughout the state each year”. to be allowed on the ballot. He argued that such charter schools being costly, they have high suspension rates and thorough process to take ideal students and unequal opportunities. 

All students should have equal opportunity to education, learn new ideas and change the world. This resonates well with the topic because education opens more bridges and assist in finding more solutions to the problems that people face. He seems to be Transparency and trustworthy if these values and instincts are successfully implemented all the stakeholders in the society including parents, the board, teachers and students themselves must be ready to bear the consequences. Obesity is not only the problem of parents but the society as a whole. When a child’s life is lost many people are affected and the community is lost as a whole.

Conclusion

People are living in the modern world where digital progress has reached another level. Technological changes have revolutionized the world and the results have been tremendous both in the nursing and medical fields. The presence of sophisticated equipment has also helped in the faster diagnosis of health problems and proposes a remedy for the problems addressed. Obesity is not something that erupted today; it has been there and will be there. People need to look for solutions to get rid of the problem.

 For the children to be helped people must embrace education. Education is not only fundamental within the classroom but also in real life. Children are inspiration and eye-openers to their parents, thus, no matter what the problem is they must take the burden and be ready to help. Education on food environment is very important to children as they will be able to be healthy and fit. Not only children but everyone should be aware of the amount of calories they consume on a regular basis. Food products that are rich in calories include sweets, a variety of beverages, and other calorie-dense foods. Apart from that, moderating the amount of food people take is also beneficial. 

Children should eat quality and not quantity. The body needs quality in food and not quantity. Quality helps the body build and the excess results in obesity. A child can eat virtually anything he/she wants but the amount matters a lot. It is not a secret that people have to agree that losing weight is a tough call but when the condition becomes extreme proper measures must be put in place before the situation gets out of hand. Our bodies behave like movable machines that run based on whatever one supplies them with.

 Being metabolically active children should involve themselves in numerous exercises in case obesity has been noted. The problem with our bodies is that when it loses a substantial amount of weight it fights hard to regain it. However, people should not be scared by those developments but rather remain positive regarding the fact that their body fights against metabolic roadblocks. Reducing body sugar is, therefore, not an option but a must because sugar prompts the liver to produce excess body fat thus leading to obesity. 

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