In a community where there is an increase in the number of obese elementary school students, a community nurse must develop an effective health promotion strategy that would reduce obesity cases. Since the goal of such an intervention is to achieve positive patient outcomes manifested via healthy weight and well-being, it is essential to investigate what social determinants of health impact obesity in the community. This paper will integrate research findings to identify determinants of health and their application to resolve the community health problem of obesity in children.
The health promotion program should be aimed at eliminating the causes of obesity and excessive weight in children to avoid health complications in their adulthood. In particular, research shows that income level is one of the pivotal social determinants contributing to obesity since low-income communities are more prone to becoming obese (Imoisili et al., 2021). Another determinant is food concerning its quality and availability due to the direct connection between dietary choices in families and children’s weight (Yusuf et al., 2020). Finally, access to healthcare is another important social determinant of health since obesity might be associated with other conditions requiring professional handling.
Given the identified social determinants of health about obesity in elementary school children, it is necessary to generate questions that would inform an inquiry for the proposed health promotion intervention. Firstly, the questions to the determinant of income level might be as follows: Are obese children predominantly from low-income households? Does the community have a high rate of low-income households? Secondly, regarding the questions about food quality and availability, one might ask the following: Do the children obtain a proper nutritional diet daily? Do the households have access to healthy foods and produce? Finally, to inquire about healthcare access, one might generate the following questions: Do the children undergo yearly check-ups? Do the households have an opportunity to obtain proper healthcare coverage?
References
Imoisili, O., Dooyema, C., Kompaniyets, L., Lundeen, E. A., Park, S., Goodman, A. B., & Blanck, H. M. (2021). Prevalence of overweight and obesity among children enrolled in Head Start 2012–2018. American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(3), 334-343.
Yusuf, Z. I., Dongarwar, D., Yusuf, R. A., Bell, M., Harris, T., & Salihu, H. M. (2020). Social determinants of overweight and obesity among children in the United States. International Journal of Maternal and Child Health and AIDS, 9(1), 22-33.