The duties of healthcare workers are not limited by their professional practice at hospitals or other institutions. In many cases, these specialists need to take action at a different level to ensure that the population’s health is out of danger. The paper presents the introduction of a healthcare policy that is aimed at reducing the spread of such a serious condition like obesity.
Overview of the Healthcare Policy and Solution
The Healthcare Policy
The suggested healthcare policy is the reduction of obesity levels among the population. In particular, this disease affects children and young people. So far, many attempts have been made to prevent and reduce obesity, but none of them is effective enough.
The Identified Solution
The most relevant solution in this situation is to involve parents and teachers in the process of policy implementation. Young people need to have support and guidance from their supervisors. Only by combining the efforts of all stakeholders, will a positive change occur. The solution, therefore, is to involve parents and teachers in the process of encouraging children and young people to quit unhealthy eating habits and engage in physical activity.
Relevance to the Community or Population Group
The policy is highly relevant to the community since people of all ages, genders, and ethnic origin are exposed to obesity. In the current policy, children are viewed as primary stakeholders, and their parents and teachers are regarded as highly important secondary stakeholders.
Communication Techniques
The Selected Elected Official and Position
It has been decided to address is Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall (“Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall,” 2018). She is a member of the Miami-Dade County school board.
The rationale for the Selection
The reason for choosing Dr. Bendross-Mindingall is that she had connections with schools, which means she could help in reaching out to teachers and parents.
Four Beneficial Communication/Presentation Techniques
Visual presentation
With the assistance of this tool, it is easy to demonstrate a concise report on the most crucial issues related to the policy. Also, visual presentations can engage the audience and make them interested in supporting some idea. In this particular case, a visual presentation of the healthcare policy may help to convince Dr. Bendross-Mindingall of the significance of the problem.
Asking for feedback
Inviting Dr. Bendross-Mindingall to offer her response to the project will promote her interest in the policy. To provide her opinion. Dr. Bendross-Mindingall will need to get acquainted with the materials first. Such communication technique is useful when one wants to raise the interlocutor’s interest and attention in the issue discussed.
Selecting the appropriate tone of the message
In all cases of professional communication, it is essential to sustain the appropriate level of politeness and distance. In this particular situation, it is necessary to address the selected official with respect. It is unacceptable to demand the change. Rather, it is crucial to convince Dr. Bendross-Mindingall with relevant data.
Evoking empathy
To promote the official’s support, it is necessary to evoke empathy by visualizing the severity of the healthcare issue in question. In the given situation, it is possible to provide statistics on obesity rates and demonstrate that society suffers from this problem.
Scholarly Resources Supporting the Use of the Communication Techniques
The books by Beesley, Watts, and Harrison (2018) and Woodcock Ross (2016) support the use of the chosen communication techniques. Both scholarly sources ate focused on the significance of communication in social work practice. Since nurses’ duties include social care about patients, it is possible to consider these two books as substantial proof of the importance of the selected skills in communicating with Dr. Bendross-Mindingall. The use of these techniques will help to persuade the elected official to support the policy.
Conclusion
The implementation of an obesity healthcare policy is a significant step in eliminating the spread of this serious healthcare problem. Addressing Dr. Bendross-Mindingall will allow contacting with teachers and parents and asking them to support the policy. Communication techniques to be employed are asking for feedback, visual presentation, evoking empathy, and selecting the appropriate tone.
References
Beesley, P., Watts, M., & Harrison, M. (2018). Developing your communication skills in social work. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Dr. Dorothy Bendross-Mindingall. (2018). Web.
Woodcock Ross, D. (2016). Specialist communication skills for social workers: Developing professional capability. (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan.