Community Challenge Week 7

This week’s community challenge is about a10 year old boy by the name of John Wall. The next six
weeks, you will work with John and his mother. Think about the information presented and how
you feel about taking care of this patient related to the issues surrounding community/population
health nursing. You will want to think about social determinants of health, family and population
characteristics, cultural issues, ethical issues, resources, and epidemiological issues, to name a few. 

You work in a community pediatric clinic and know that 10-year old John Wall will be coming in
today. From his last visit, you are aware that he is overweight, and you are concerned about him
and his health. You believe he needs to lose at least 30 pounds to be healthier and at a lower risk for
health problems. You have never been overweight and can't figure out how a child this young can
be so overweight.

You have seen several young children who are overweight but not to the degree that John is
overweight. You spend some time looking up childhood obesity on the internet via the CDC
website to better understand the causes and long-term health issues associated with it. The website
address is: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/obesity/facts.htm

You start thinking about ways to better inform patients and their families about the risks, causes,
and effects of childhood obesity and wonder if there is an infographic/poster or some way to easily
convey this information to them. You complete another web search to find an appropriate tool to
use with your patients and families.

Questions
1. Please answer in 50-100 words or less how you feel about obesity in children; you may use
an example.

Childhood obesity is a large issue within our country that has caused a lot of internal debate for me.
For many of those suffering with childhood obesity, it is due to the fact that they do not have the
access to healthy foods or after school physical activity programs. I was fortunate enough to grow
up being able to play sports and have a balanced diet, but many others are not as fortunate. People
are quick to blame parents, when in many cases they have no control over the situation and already
feel guilty.

2. List 3 nursing interventions you might use to assist John and his Mom to positively deal
with his obesity.

Ask about some of John’s favorite foods and try to find a way to allow him to eat his favorite foods
while making some substitutions to add some more nutrient dense foods.

Encourage physical activity through walks, sports, and play to make exercise seem fun and not like
a chore.

Encourage preparing meals together to increase family time and John’s involvement in what he is
eating.
 3. Provide 2 appropriate therapeutic communication sentences you would use to introduce the
subject of obesity with John and his Mom.

“Ten years old can be a very fun time with more decision making and finding things that you enjoy,
I want to make sure you are able to do the things that you enjoy how do you feel about playing
outside more?”

“What kinds of foods do you like to eat, I think these all sound so good and I like to alternate
between packaged snacks and fruits or vegetables, they are so colorful and really do taste good does
that sound like something you might want to try?”

4. Provide the web site url for a poster/infographic/other tool appropriate to use with this patient
population related to childhood obesity.

https://www.myplate.gov/resources/graphics/infographics