Nursing assignment help essay on: Obesity is National health – Australia
Question1: Discuss why obesity is a National Health Priority in Australia?
Answer 1: Obesity has very important impacts from the perspective of health, society, and economy and is closely linked with the lack of diet and exercise. Being obese or overweight increases the risk of suffering from the wide range of conditions such as, Type 2 diabetes, cancers, and coronary heart disease, hip and knee problems (Obesity, 2010). According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics report 2008, it was estimated that around $58 billion from the total annual cost of obesity in Australia includes, health system costs, carers’ costs, and loss due to decline in productivity (Health Risk Factors, 2012). The proportion of adults which are in the age of 18 or above, were classified as overweight or obese is estimated to 61% in 2008-2009. For men, there was an increase from 64% to 68% in 2008-2009, while in women, the proportion increased from 49% to 55% (Health Risk Factors, 2012). Life expectancy decreases due to increase in number of obese people who have health problems. Obesity is the health risks that impact the ability of a person to work or even participate in the family or community. In 2008, Australian society and government estimate $58.2 billion incurred for the overall cost of obesity (Children who are overweight or obese, 2009).
Australia obesity rate is among the highest in the world; having 1 in 4 Australian adults are obese. Obesity is the major cause behind health problems and increases the cost to Australian health cost in significant manner. According to the survey taken in the year 2007-2008, population aged between 20-50 years; 21% of the adults are obese and 35% adults were overweight. In 2008, the Australian Health Minister’s made obesity as a health priority area that will help in driving the collaborative efforts for tackling the obesity at the national, state, territory, and local levels.
Question2: Explain how the ‘Determinants of Health’ need to be considered in relation to childhood (children from 5-15 years) obesity as a health issue in Australia?
Answer2: Theories of Tuah, Amiel, Qureshi, Car, Kaur & Majeed (2011) explains that current obesity trend threatens the research along with the public health that supports that obesity is not only precursor to morbidity, but it is also an economic drain on the funds of the government that in turns cause the implication for the nurses for accommodating the patients that are physically difficult to handle. The Body Mass Index (BMI) is the measurement for determining what state the body is currently in. BMI also explains that, if the BMI is between 18.5 and 24.9 then the weight is normal. The trends in this research confirm increase of BMI’s in the last 20 years (Tuah, Amiel, Qureshi, Car, Kaur & Majeed, 2011). As per the Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements, Australian children’s proportion of the overweight has increased from 60%-70% since 1985 and this proportion in increasing till date (Overweight and Obesity in Adults in Australia, 2011).
Western nation has unlimited access to the fast food that has allowed unhealthy food of convince, which geographically and economically destroys the health. Advertisements on television also target the young children between 5-15 years that influences their decisions. Obesity and other linked chronic health conditions maintain the healthy body weight, which is one of the health promotion strategies that conduct balance act.
Question3: Discuss primary, secondary and tertiary health promotion in relation to childhood (children from 5 to 15 years) obesity as a health issue in Australia?
Answer 3: Primary Health Promotion for obesity
Primary health promotion is encouraging the behaviour of the younger’s to improve the health, in relation with the primary health promotion to the obesity. Childhood obesity is the critical public health for the 21st century and even reduces the implications for future when the children become adults. Australian government has launched many programs for primary school children through which they are taught to harvest vegetables in school garden; benefits of lifelong skills, and portraying exercise to be fun and social activity. These programs are run at school in order to address the childhood obesity and even providing them healthy choice that decreases children from becoming obese.
Secondary Health Promotion for Obesity
Interventions and screening for the obesity has become important in order to battle with the increasing epidemic plaguing. As the educational programs are running in school that provides primary strategies of health promotion, the school also takes the responsibility for interventions and screening. The Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing introduced the health check program in the year 2009, which was available for all the Australian residents and determine if the children’s are healthy, fit and prepared to learn (Overweight and Obesity in Adults in Australia, 2011). Health checks are used for detecting the risk of childhood obesity, which has illustrated that 1 in 5 mothers are not able to correctly identify that the child is overweight and has high risk of obesity.
Tertiary Health Promotion for Obesity
Tertiary Health Promotion for Obesity is often identified and includes a different variety of treatments that are available for obesity covering, physical exercise, diet, pharmacological treatment, surgery, and behavioural modifications. For undertaking this treatment, assessing it and identifying the risks, it is important top ensure the ways of treatment and that are not offered to the patient education (Overweight and Obesity in Adults in Australia, 2011).
Question 4: Discuss the involvement and roles of community nurse in health promotion that targets childhood (children from 5 to 15 years) obesity within a community setting in Australia?
Answer 4: The role of the school nurses in Australia is not defined in a proper manner. There are very less literatures that assess the role of the nurse. Research undertaken by the Victorian Government Health Information in the year 2006 has defined the role of the school nurse that covers, school community development activities, clinical care, health counselling, general clinic management, and networking and resource (Wilborn, Beckham, Campbell, Harvey & Galbreath, 2008). The activity does not reflect on the role of the school nurse in NSW; therefore, another research is conducted, in which the data is serve to inform the policy, build evidence base for the activities and profession. Through setting the standardised activities log a nurse can easily collect health data without subjecting the questions. Through programs, a Nurse can create awareness about exercise and proper diet in preventing obesity, create awareness about the risk of obesity, promote the importance of selecting healthy food, and promote preventive actions for obesity.
A community child Health Nurse adopts the family partnership approach for supporting the parents for caring the babies aged between 0-4 years. Community child Health Nurses gives a range of services that includes antenatal information, breastfeeding support, information to immunisation, development and health information and information related to behavioural management.
A community nurses work in the diverse community that provides primary and health care to the patients. The traditional form of burse only provides the continuum of health that requires wide range from the management of particular diseases to broad community development. Health promotion centre are viewed holistically that considers social conditions and that affect an individual health status (Health Risk Factors, 2012). In the recent years, the role of community nurses has shifted and focuses on the provision of disease recovery when they move out of the hospital environment. Along with that community nurse’s role is more focused over the provision of intervention measures for preventing the complications of clients.
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