NRS 425 Benchmark – Policy Brief Infographic GCU

Policy Brief Infographic

Obesity is a critical public health concern in Alabama and nationwide characterized by a body mass index of above 30.

Background and Significance

• Statistical data about the condition:
• According to the Centers for Disease Prevention (CDC), in 2023, Alabama’s adult obesity rate is 39.2% compared to a national statistic of 40.3%, which places the state in the nation (ADPH, d.).
• An estimated 17% of children and adolescents were also obese.
• Impact of the condition:
• The condition predisposes persons to several conditions, such as diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease, including coronary artery disease (Lam et al., 2023).
• Other examples are obstructive sleep apnea, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, cancers, reflux disease, osteoarthritis, stroke, and depression.
• Risk Factors for obesity include:

1. Family history
2. Unhealthy habits such as consumption of tobacco and alcoholic beverages.

• Unhealthy diets such as energy, carbonated, and sweetened drinks and salty, sugary, saturated fatty, ultra-processed, and discretionary foods (Endalifer et al., 2020).

1. Physical inactivity due to sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise

• Prevention strategies

1. Nutritional education to increase intake of nutritious meals and reduce intake of fast foods (Endalifer et al., 2020).
2. Physical activity, exercise, and adequate sleep.

Policies

• Alabama Physical Activity and Nutrition Plan 2023-2033 is an action plan policy designed to provide recommendations for nutrition and physical activity strategies that improve health behaviors. The policy aims to address obesity from an individual to a community level (ADPH, d.).
• Food companies should indicate nutritional values for every product they sell to the markets to further enhance the existing policies.
• When implementing a policy change, one needs to identify a need, outline policy content that includes a purpose statement and specifications, and get input from stakeholders. One then writes the policy, sends it out to stakeholders for feedback, implements changes, and schedules for implementation for further review (Havers et al., 2020).
• Stakeholders include government, research participants, healthcare providers, researchers, advocacy groups, donors, policymakers, partners, the public, and businesses.

References

Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) (n.d.). www.alabamapublichealth.gov. https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/awa/trends.html

‌Endalifer, M. L., & Diress, G. (2020). Epidemiology, Predisposing Factors, Biomarkers, and Prevention Mechanism of Obesity: A Systematic Review. Journal of Obesity, 2020, 6134362. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/6134362

Havers, S. M., Martin, E. K., Wilson, A., & Hall, L. (2020). A systematic review and meta-synthesis of policy intervention characteristics that influence the implementation of government-directed policy in the hospital setting: Implications for infection prevention and control. Journal of Infection Prevention, 21(3), 84. https://doi.org/10.1177/1757177420907696

Lam, B. C. C., Lim, A. Y. L., Chan, S. L., Yum, M. P. S., Koh, N. S. Y., & Finkelstein, E. A. (2023). The impact of obesity: a narrative review. Singapore Medical Journal, 64(3), 163–171. https://doi.org/10.4103/singaporemedj.SMJ-2022-232

Assessment Description

The purpose of this assignment is for students to create an infographic to educate the community on the impact of a public health issue and make recommendations for policy change.

Research public health issues located on the American Public Health Association (APHA) website, found in the topic Resources under “Topics and Issues.” Select a public health issue related to an environmental issue within the U.S. health care delivery system and examine its effect on a specific population.

Based on the public health issue selected, create an infographic that briefly addresses the following:

• Describe the selected public health issue and its impact on the community. Include data that demonstrate the significance of this issue and key risk factors leading to this issue.
• Discuss ways that the public health issue can be prevented, including key concepts of epidemiology.
• Explain a policy that currently addresses this issue and the impact of this policy on population outcomes including social justice and health equity.
• Propose at least one change to existing policies to better address this issue. Support recommendations with appropriate evidence.
• Summarize what steps are required to initiate policy change. Identify necessary stakeholders required to initiate policy change (government officials, administrator, etc.) and explain their level of influence.

Refer to the resource “Images, Infographics and Graphics Resources,” located in the GCU Library, for additional guidance on completing this assignment in the appropriate style.

Cite a minimum of three sources to complete this assignment. Sources must be published within the last 5 years, appropriate for the assignment criteria, and relevant to nursing practice.