NURS FPX 4900 Assessment 4 – Patient, Family, or Population Health Problem Solution

Strategies for Effective Communication and Collaboration in Childhood Obesity Care

Successful communication and collaboration strategies are pivotal in supporting our patient, 10-year-old John, who is dealing with clinical obesity. His supportive network consists of his parents and primary school teachers.  Communication strategies for a ten-year-old child like John include clear and concise descriptions using age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and understandable methods. Moreover, the benefits of incorporating John and his family’s input in managing and treating the health condition will result in improved adherence to proposed interventions, creating more awareness about the severity of the issue and contributing to a supportive environment for behavioral changes necessary in managing John’s condition. Best-practice strategies for effective communication and collaboration derived from current literature include:  

  1. Active Participation- Involving John in the planning and execution of his care plan promotes ownership, maintenance, and adherence to healthier behaviors (Luig et al., 2019). 
  2. Family-based Interventions- Addressing obesity involves concerted efforts from the family. Collaborative family sessions can help facilitate understanding and commitment toward healthier meal choices, reduce sedentary time, and increase physical activity (Varagiannis et al., 2021).
  3. School Collaboration- Collaborating with school professionals (i.e., counselors, teachers, and physical trainers) increases John’s exposure to consistent health messages (Luig et al., 2019). This encourages a positive environment that promotes better health decisions.  

Therefore, incorporating the viewpoints of John and his supportive network in the treatment plan and employing evidence-based communication methods can tremendously promote improved health outcomes for John.

Guided Intervention: Child Obesity and Policy-Driven Strategies

Several state board nursing practice standards and relevant organizational and governmental policies have mainly informed the design of the proposed intervention for John’s clinical obesity. Specifically, the California Board of Registered Nursing (BRN) outlines a standard on patient advocacy (Standard IV) that emphasizes the importance of effective and clear communication, active collaboration, and in-depth education for the patient. These components of the BRN standard informed the proposed intervention, ensuring that John and his family would be engaged appropriately and that there would be continuous collaboration among his caregivers (Nsiah et al., 2019).

Alongside this nursing practice standard, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has significantly guided the development of the proposed intervention. Notably, the ACA supports early intervention and prevention programs for childhood obesity. The ACA provisions for Preventive Health Services emphasize the importance of regular health evaluations and dietary counseling for children at risk of obesity, which has been integrated into the intervention for John. For instance, a study by Smith et al. (2020) demonstrated that adopting and implementing child health interventions based on the ACA’s preventive perspective resulted in clinically significant weight outcomes.  

Moreover, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Global School Health Initiative has advocated for school participation in addressing health issues, which guided our collaboration strategy with John’s school. Another study by Yuksel et al. (2020) confirmed positive behavioral changes and weight control in students when school-based intervention methods recommended by WHO were adopted. Therefore, the outlined nursing standards and health policies have significantly guided the conceptualization of the intervention. By adopting these best practices, which have been tested and demonstrated as effective in dealing with children’s obesity, we hope to effect positive change in John’s situation.

Improving Care Quality, Patient Safety, and System Costs through a Multifaceted Intervention for Childhood Obesity

The proposed intervention to address John’s obesity involves a two-pronged approach: increasing physical activity and improving nutritional habits. Individually and collectively, these measures will contribute to improved quality of care, enhanced patient safety, and reduced costs.  Alongside the studies already mentioned, more recent research has highlighted the positive effects of regular physical activity and dietary changes on pediatric health outcomes. For instance, Cordellat et al. (2020) confirmed that regular physical activity significantly improves c

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