Healthy People 2020
Instructions:-
I would like to focus on health screening for young adults African Americans living in low income areas .
Healthy People 2020’s commitment to promote health and prevent disease encourages individuals to make healthy lifestyle choices for themselves and their families. Conceptual models and theories play a major role in health promotion and disease prevention. In addition, epidemiological data, such as morbidity and mortality statistics, helps identify health problems common to a particular population.
Select one of the Healthy People 2020 initiatives and discuss available preventative health services (immunizations, health screenings, etc.) relevant to the initiative, as well as health promotion strategies to be implemented by the advanced practice nurse for a selected population/age/ethnic group (neonates, children, adults, pregnant female, older adult). Please consider theoretical concepts and epidemiological data while discussing health promotion strategies.
Solution
Healthy People 2020
The healthy people 2020 program seeks to improve health outcomes for all Americans, based on science. The program seeks to encourage collaboration between communities, as well as to encourage individuals to make informed decisions. In this brief review, the focus is on promoting healthy lifestyle decisions amongst young African Americans. The specific initiative chosen is diabetes, owing to the various comorbidity factors associated with the condition.
Amongst the numerous initiatives identified by the Healthy people 2020 program, one of them is diabetes. This initiative has a two-fold goal. First, it seeks to reduce the incidence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Additionally, it also seeks an improvement in the lives of those with Diabetes Mellitus or those at risk. The focus on young African Americans is based on the fact that minorities have been identified as being at a higher risk for developing the condition. African Americans, in particular, are 1.7 times likelier to develop the condition compared to white Americans. Philis-Tsimikas and Gallo (2014) indicate that factors like the lack of insurance distrust, transportation and caregiving barriers contribute to a greater risk of readmission for African Americans alongside Latinos. Young African Americans have been identified as being at a particular risk. Zieghan et al. (2013) indicate that 21% of African American students are obese. Moreover, African Americans comprised 31.0% of young people between 3 and 19 years with diabetes.
Evidently, young
African Americans face an elevated risk of diabetes. The situation can be
combatted through strategies that target lifestyle changes. Healthy People
(2017) identifies lifestyle change as a proven strategy that has been effective
in mitigating the emergence of type 2 diabetes in high risk individuals. CDC
(2017) recommends strategies such as encouraging regular mobility, healthier
food choices and tracking of changes in lifestyle as some of the viable
strategies for improving the diabetes outcomes amongst African Americans.
Advanced nurses should thus focus on encouraging better decision-making.
References
CDC. (2017, April 19). National Diabetes Education Program. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/ndep/communities/african-american/resources.html
Healthy People. (2017, August 03). Diabetes. Retrieved August 04, 2017, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/diabetes
Philis-Tsimikas, A., & Gallo, L. C. (2014). Implementing community-based diabetes programs: The scripps whittier diabetes institute experience. Current diabetes reports, 14(2), 462.
Ziegahn, L., Styne, D., Askia, J., Roberts, T., Lewis, E. T., & Edwards, W. (2013). Strategies to prevent and reduce diabetes and obesity in Sacramento, California: The African American leadership coalition and university of California, Davis. Preventing chronic disease, 10.