NURS FPX 4060 Assessment 4 Health Promotion Plan

Sample Answer

Communities have diverse individuals and groups experiencing different health issues based on locations, lifestyles, behaviors, and other factors. A critical part of healthcare professionals’ responsibilities is to enable individuals or groups to live healthily and productively through health promotion interventions. Typically, health promotion plans are specific to the needs of the targeted population, underlining the need for measurable goals. Collaborating with the targeted population is crucial to a smooth health plan implementation and adherence to the recommended health improvement measures. The purpose of this paper is to develop a hypothetical health plan to address a health concern for a group living in the community.

Health Concern Analysis

The health promotion plan focuses on obesity among community-dwelling teens. These are young people (12-19 years), school-going, from diverse ethnic communities, and at a high risk of obesity. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2024) demonstrated obesity as a severe, costly disease affecting some community groups more than others. Among teens, obesity is a behavioral issue that can be addressed by promoting obesity-prevention behaviors. Bakour et al. (2022) cited these behaviors as fast-food consumption, physical inactivity, high consumption of sugar-sweetened foods, and occasionally eating away from home. Anxiety and poor media influence are other risk factors manifesting across populations. Given this, appropriate interventions should focus on educating at-risk teens on appropriate risk prevention measures.

Analyzing obesity among community-dwelling teens leads to some assumptions and analysis. For instance, it is assumed that obesity is a behavioral issue whose risk can be minimized through behavior-related interventions. It is also assumed that the target population would respond positively to health education. Regarding uncertainty, it is uncertain whether these teens will adhere to the recommended interventions and encourage their peers by sharing information and skills. The other uncertainty is whether there are adequate community-based resources to help teens engage in health promotion and achieve their desired health goals.

Why Teen Obesity is Important for Health Promotion

Demographic and population health data depict obesity among teens as a significant health risk requiring increased attention from healthcare providers and policymakers. The National Survey of Children’s Health statistics reveal that 17% of young people between 10 and 17 years of age have obesity (Bakour et al., 2022; State of Childhood Obesity, 2024). Significant disparities by race, ethnicity, and income also exist, challenging obesity prevention and the realization of healthy living in the community. For instance, obesity rates are higher among ethnic minorities like Hispanic blacks and American Indians than non-Hispanic Whites. Children in the lowest-income households have the highest obesity rates (24.1%), while high-income households record as low as 9.7% (State of Childhood Obesity, 2024).

The prevalence signifies a health risk that necessitates intensified health promotion. Trust for America’s Health (2023) reported that obesity rates among young people keep soaring and have tripled since the mid-1970s. The outcomes are profound due to obesity’s high potential to ruin health and increase healthcare spending. Type 2 diabetes, some cancers, heart disease, and stroke are closely linked to obesity, increasing healthcare costs by approximately $170 billion annually (Trust for America’s Health, 2023). Health promotion targeting teens is critical to preventing these severe consequences.

When developing educational plans and other health promotion interventions, healthcare professionals should consider factors contributing to health, health disparities, and access to services. These multidimensional factors include economic and environmental inequities, negative peer influence on eating behaviors, and poor attitudes toward health (Chung et al., 2021; Trust for America’s Health, 2023). These factors influence health-seeking behaviors and determine access to healthy food and physical activity opportunities. Social relationships that influence obesity would be the main component of a sociogram. As Serrano-Fuentes et al. (2022) cited, social ties influence weight-related behaviors and body size ideals. These factors connect in a network of social relationships that influence obesity-related behaviors and health outcomes of individuals with obesity.

Establishing Agreed-Upon Health Goals

Health promotion is a collaborative process seeking to achieve shared goals. This collaboration requires health promoters to involve patients and other target groups in goal setting, decision-making, and implementing plans. From an outcome perspective, establishing agreed-upon health goals ensures a shared responsibility for goal-setting, which improves adherence to health plans and involves health consumers in the co-production of health service delivery (Oksavik et al., 2020). A similar approach is crucial when implementing an education plan for teens with or at risk of obesity. The agreed-upon goals include:

• Achieve a healthy body mass index (BMI) through exercise and healthy eating within three months
• Engage in an aerobic activity for at least one hour daily to lower body fat in three months
• To reduce screen time not to surpass the daily maximum of two hours to prevent gain

Conclusion

Obesity is a serious health problem affecting teens. Broadly, the issue is behavioral, and a health education plan can help community-dwelling teens avoid obesity-related risk factors. Setting agreed-upon goals is the foundation of healthy living since it helps health consumers participate in decision-making and adhere to the recommended plans. Regarding teen obesity, these goals include improving BMI, being more active, and reducing screen time.

References

• Bakour, C., Mansuri, F., Johns-Rejano, C., Crozier, M., Wilson, R., & Sappenfield, W. (2022). Association between screen time and obesity in US adolescents a cross-sectional analysis using National Survey of Children’s Health 2016–2017. Plos One, 17(12), e0278490. https //doi.org/10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0278490
• Chung, A., Vieira, D., Donley, T., Tan, N., Jean-Louis, G., Gouley, K. K., & Seixas, A. (2021). Adolescent peer influence on eating behaviors via social media Scoping review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(6), e19697. https //doi.org/10.2196/19697
• Oksavik, J. D., Kirchhoff, R., Sogstad, M. K. R., & Solbjør, M. (2020). Sharing responsibility municipal health professionals’ approaches to goal setting with older patients with multi-morbidity–a grounded theory study. BMC Health Services Research, 20, 1-11. https //doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-4983-3
• Serrano-Fuentes, N., Rogers, A., & Portillo, M. C. (2022). The influence of social relationships and activities on the health of adults with obesity a qualitative study. Health Expectations an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy, 25(4), 1892–1903. https //doi.org/10.1111/hex.13540
• State of childhood obesity. (2024). Explore data by demographic- ages 10-17. https //stateofchildhoodobesity.org/demographic-data/ages-10-17/
• Trust for America’s Health. (2023). State of obesity 2023 Better policies for a healthier America. https //www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2023/
• U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Adult obesity facts. https //www.cdc.gov/obesity/php/data-research/adult-obesity-facts.html