Boolean Terminology, Essay Example

To search for articles on childhood obesity interventions and treatments, I used the words childhood obesity and interventions and preventions. That search yielded over two million results. In order to narrow down the search, I added the word “nursing,” which provided much more specific and pertinent results. Barlow et al. (2002) conducted a study that sought to identify treatments and interventions utilized by pediatric medical experts for treating childhood obesity in order to identify particular provider educational necessities. Moreover, the authors wanted to understand the correlation between particular provider traits with evaluation practices. To do so, they devised study that disseminated questionnaires about diet, exercise, and recommended medications for overweight patients to a random selection of pediatric nurses, pediatricians, and registered dietitians. The questionnaires also included information about specialist referrals and programs for their overweight patients. Results show that health providers promoted healthy eating habits and physical activity and discouraged stringent diets or medications for weight control.

Childhood obesity prevention programs based in schools have proliferated because of a noted reduction in youth physical activity, poor diet, escalating child obesity rates, and increased sedentariness.  Extant systematic reviews attest to the efficacy of school-based obesity interventions and treatments, although very few have actually investigated what role school nurses play in such interventions targeting childhood obesity. Tucker & Lanningham-Foster (2015) develop previous studies by examining how a health program in schools conveying refined and reinforcement messages to fourth and fifth graders by the school nurse with on-site, health coaching by experienced nursing students. Two elementary schools and two nursing schools partook in this study. The authors took measurements of student body mass index, their level of physical activity, and qualitative descriptions of self-reported health habits at the beginning of the school year as a baseline and at the end of the year. Results demonstrate that there was a statistically significant increase in physical activity and a marked improvement in the self-reported health habits of the students. The results of this study reveal that school nurses can impact child obesity prevention through school-based interventions. Future research on the currency of school-based, nurse-led interventions targeting child obesity is warranted.

References

Barlow, S.E., Trowbridge, F.L., Klish, W.J., & Dietz, W.H. (2002). Treatment of child and adolescent obesity: Reports from pediatricians, pediatric nurse practitioners, and registered dietitians. Pediatrics, 110(1), 229-235

Tucker, S. & Lanningham-Foster, L.M. (2015). Nurse-Led school-based child obesity prevention. The Journal of School Nursing.