Part 1: Obesity in Texas
Instructions:
The Discussion this week focuses on the use of the Population-Based Intervention Model outlined in the course text Health Care Delivery in the United States, as well as how this model can be applied to strengthen advocacy programs.
To prepare:
Select one of the behavioral risk factors from the Healthy Population 2010 Objectives (listed in Table 7.1 on p. 122 of the course text) that is of interest to you.
Using the Walden Library and other credible websites, research how this risk factor is affecting your community or state.
With your selected risk factor in mind, review the information on the Population-Based Intervention Model on pp. 132-137 in the course text, Health Care Delivery in the United States. In particular, focus on the concept of downstream, midstream, and upstream interventions. Consider at least one intervention that could be put into place at each stage.
My topic is Obesity.
There is a part two to this assignment:
Application Assignment 2: Part 2 – Developing an Advocacy Campaign
The following application, Part 2, will be due in Week 7.
To prepare:
In the first assignment, you reflected on whether the policy you would like to promote could best be achieved through the development of new legislation, or a change in an existing law or regulation. Refine as necessary using any feedback from your first paper.
Contemplate how existing laws or regulations may affect how you proceed in advocating for your proposed policy.
Consider how you could influence legislators or other policymakers to enact the policy you propose.
Think about the obstacles of the legislative process that may prevent your proposed policy from being implemented as intended.
To complete:
Part Two will have approximately 3–4 pages of content plus a title page and references. Part Two will address the following:
Explain whether your proposed policy could be enacted through a modification of existing law or regulation or the creation of new legislation/regulation.
Explain how existing laws or regulations could affect your advocacy efforts. Be sure to cite and reference the laws and regulations using primary sources.
Provide an analysis of the methods you could use to influence legislators or other policymakers to support your policy. In particular, explain how you would use the “three legs” of lobbying in your advocacy efforts.
Summarize obstacles that could arise in the legislative process and how to overcome these hurdles.
Paste the rubric at the end of your paper.
do you think you can make part one and part two go together?
Solution
Part 1: Obesity in Texas
Recent reports from media houses in Texas suggests that the levels of obesity have reached a higher percentage of approximately 30.9% since last year regardless of the decline in the year 2012 (Landers, 2014). Furthermore, reports in the year 1990 suggest that 1:10 Texans are obese. Obesity has been one of the major behavioral risk factors in communities in the US as well as in Texas. Further reports suggest that obese individuals in Texas are likely to develop other clinical complications unless they undergo weight loss. For instance, chronic heart failure has affected approximately 1.26 million persons in Texas as projections suggest that by the year 2030 the figure will quadruple to 5.7 million. In Texas, the most affected population that has reported cases of obesity includes adults (35.9% overweight and 31.9 % obese)(CDC, 2017). Obesity has been a critical behavioral risk factor in Texas, and advocacy campaigns must come up with a way of educating the Texans or the right food choices as well as giving them the correct guide to healthy eating.
Downstream Intervention
These types of intervention are focused on the individual and the individuals who are obese (Knickman, Kovner, & Jonas, 2015). For obesity, it is evident individuals must focus on individual food choices that can trigger management and prevention of being overweight or obese. Additionally, the patient-doctor visit is imperative interventions in this case in that having a one-on-one interaction with a physician might be therapeutic as well as a source of good food-eating practice advice that might help one to manage their obesity status (Zhang et al., 2014). Furthermore, more interventions focus on self-evaluation regarding the interpretation of the BMI index. As such, there is need to emphasize individuals to make good choices of the food they consume so that they can control the amount of calorie intake.
Mid-stream Intervention
These interventions focus on a specific environment, per se, a school environment or the Texas community. Arguably, the introduction of the Physical Education (P.E.) in the Texas Schools’ curriculum has been a way of making the children aware of the importance of exercise and activities that burn fat in the body. Essentially, one of the most effective ways of preventing overweight and obesity is through exercise. Evidently, this policy can be improved through increasing the 30-minute lesson allocated to the P.E. session to at least an hour. This can be allocated in the morning and evening to keep the children active.
Up-Stream Intervention.
According to Knickman et al. (2015), upstream interventions focus on larger groups or
at a wider population level. Many states, inclusive of Texas have
stipulated multiple policies concerning prevention and management of obesity
within their borders. Recently, SUMA Social Marketing collaborated with Texas
Health and Human Services Commission and Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing in
stipulating a research for the SNAP Nutrition Obesity Prevention Campaign that was focused on helping the Texans to eat
healthy foods that are free of calories and engaging in enough physical
exercise (USDA, 2016). This research was
geared with objectives directed to HHSC to communicate with parents
effectively, promote the campaign, community engagement and promoting the “small steps” to healthy eating.
Such an intervention is focused on
promoting overweight and obesity campaigns in collaboration with research to
change eating behaviors of Texans.
References
CDC. (2017). Texas State Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Profile | DNPAO. Retrieved June 29, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/state-local-programs/profiles/texas.html
Knickman, J., Kovner, A. R., & Jonas, S. (2015). Health Care Delivery in the United States. New York: Springer Publishing Company.
Landers, J. (2014). Texas obesity rate expands again, to 30.9 percent of population. Retrieved June 29, 2017, from https://www.dallasnews.com/business/business/2014/09/04/texas-obesity-rate-expands-again-to-30.9-percent-of-population
USDA. (2016). Final Rule: SNAP Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program | Food and Nutrition Service. Retrieved from https://www.fns.usda.gov/fr-033116
Zhang, Y., Liu, J., Yao, J., Ji, G., Qian, L., Wang, J., … Liu, Y. (2014). Obesity: Pathophysiology and intervention. Nutrients. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu6115153
