NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience

Grand Canyon University NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience– Step-By-Step Guide

This guide will demonstrate how to complete the Grand Canyon University NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience  assignment based on general principles of academic writing. Here, we will show you the A, B, Cs of completing an academic paper, irrespective of the instructions. After guiding you through what to do, the guide will leave one or two sample essays at the end to highlight the various sections discussed below.

How to Research and Prepare for NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience     

Whether one passes or fails an academic assignment such as the Grand Canyon University NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience depends on the preparation done beforehand. The first thing to do once you receive an assignment is to quickly skim through the requirements. Once that is done, start going through the instructions one by one to clearly understand what the instructor wants. The most important thing here is to understand the required format—whether it is APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.

After understanding the requirements of the paper, the next phase is to gather relevant materials. The first place to start the research process is the weekly resources. Go through the resources provided in the instructions to determine which ones fit the assignment. After reviewing the provided resources, use the university library to search for additional resources. After gathering sufficient and necessary resources, you are now ready to start drafting your paper.

How to Write the Introduction for NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience     

The introduction for the Grand Canyon University NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience  is where you tell the instructor what your paper will encompass. In three to four statements, highlight the important points that will form the basis of your paper. Here, you can include statistics to show the importance of the topic you will be discussing. At the end of the introduction, write a clear purpose statement outlining what exactly will be contained in the paper. This statement will start with “The purpose of this paper…” and then proceed to outline the various sections of the instructions.

How to Write the Body for NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience     

After the introduction, move into the main part of the NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience assignment, which is the body. Given that the paper you will be writing is not experimental, the way you organize the headings and subheadings of your paper is critically important. In some cases, you might have to use more subheadings to properly organize the assignment. The organization will depend on the rubric provided. Carefully examine the rubric, as it will contain all the detailed requirements of the assignment. Sometimes, the rubric will have information that the normal instructions lack.

Another important factor to consider at this point is how to do citations. In-text citations are fundamental as they support the arguments and points you make in the paper. At this point, the resources gathered at the beginning will come in handy. Integrating the ideas of the authors with your own will ensure that you produce a comprehensive paper. Also, follow the given citation format. In most cases, APA 7 is the preferred format for nursing assignments.

How to Write the Conclusion for NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience     

After completing the main sections, write the conclusion of your paper. The conclusion is a summary of the main points you made in your paper. However, you need to rewrite the points and not simply copy and paste them. By restating the points from each subheading, you will provide a nuanced overview of the assignment to the reader.

How to Format the References List for NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience     

The very last part of your paper involves listing the sources used in your paper. These sources should be listed in alphabetical order and double-spaced. Additionally, use a hanging indent for each source that appears in this list. Lastly, only the sources cited within the body of the paper should appear here.

Stuck? Let Us Help You

Completing assignments can sometimes be overwhelming, especially with the multitude of academic and personal responsibilities you may have. If you find yourself stuck or unsure at any point in the process, don’t hesitate to reach out for professional assistance. Our assignment writing services are designed to help you achieve your academic goals with ease. 

Our team of experienced writers is well-versed in academic writing and familiar with the specific requirements of the NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience assignment. We can provide you with personalized support, ensuring your assignment is well-researched, properly formatted, and thoroughly edited. Get a feel of the quality we guarantee – ORDER NOW. 

Sample Answer For NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience

Nurses play a valuable role in restoring people’s health. Interacting with people and identifying community health problems characterize routine work for community health nurses. In response, community health nurses should help people live healthily through health education, connecting people to resources, and diagnosing and treating diseases, among other interventions. Community teaching provides a unique opportunity for nurses to create an informed populace. It helps people understand their health problems better, ask questions about their health statuses and risks, and collaborate with health care professionals to adopt appropriate interventions. The purpose of this paper is to describe my teaching experience with teenagers vulnerable to internet addiction. 

Summary of the Teaching Plan 

The primary purpose of teaching is to impart knowledge. It usually responds to a health care challenge that can be addressed by fixing a knowledge gap. The teaching focused on teenagers at risk of internet addiction due to increased use of smartphones and access to the internet. Besides chronic diseases, mental disorders, addiction, and substance abuse are typical in Broward County (Cleveland Clinic, 2019). As a result, the community teaching concentrated on an issue hampering the overall County’s health and requiring an immediate, practical response. It was conducted at the community health center’s programs hall. 

Nurses should have specific, measurable, and attainable objectives when teaching people. The main objective was to enable the participants to identify the risks associated with internet addiction or uncontrolled smartphone usage. The central focus was lifestyle diseases, whose main cause is sedentary living associated with physical inactivity among internet addicts (Woessner et al., 2021). The other objective was to enhance the participants’ knowledge regarding the types of addictions associated with uncontrolled internet exposure/smartphone use. Learning areas included cybersex addiction, compulsive information-seeking and online gaming addiction. The third goal was to ensure that the participants were adequately informed about the interventions necessary to cope with addiction and available resources. 

To achieve the desired objectives, the teaching session included five broad areas. The first area involved defining internet addiction as the compulsive need to spend a lot of time on the internet or using smartphones. The second area was the signs of addiction. This section was included since most young people are unaware of addiction signs and when to seek help. The third area was the types of internet addiction to enable participants to understand the risk factors. The fourth area was the effects from a health dimension, primarily lifestyle diseases and mental disorders. The fifth section was on the interventions necessary to promote positive behavior change to avoid internet addiction. 

Health care professionals also utilize different learning theories in activities involving knowledge enhancement. The most appropriate theories for health education are behavior change theories. As a result, I was guided by the transtheoretical model of change principles. According to the transtheoretical model, behavior change occurs through five stages: pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance (Hercelinskyj & Alexander, 2019). Before the learning commences, the participants were viewed to be in the pre-contemplation stage due to unawareness or low awareness of the problem. After the learning exercise, the teenagers were expected to move to the contemplation stage, where people are aware of a problem and committed to taking action. Preparation combines intention and behavioral criteria, such as creating internet use guides. Action means modifying one’s behavior. In this group, avoiding increased internet usage and gaming during sleeping hours is a suitable example. It is a phase that requires considerable time and energy commitment. Maintenance involves preventing relapse, which can be achieved through therapy or joining support groups. 

Activities varied to ensure that participants enjoyed the session and participated actively. The first activity included focus group discussions on how to avoid addiction. It was important to know whether this vulnerable group uses any strategy to stay offline. The second activity was demonstrating the most effective strategies from standard practice and research. It was a mini-lecture conducted simultaneously with a presentation. The third activity was to guide the group to download, install, and run the Freedom app. It is among the apps used to block distractions, particularly social media. There was also a question-answer session to clarify unclear areas and assess knowledge acquisition. 

Epidemiological Rationale for Topic 

Global statistics demonstrate internet addiction as a growing problem, increasing young people’s risk of obesity and other lifestyle diseases. Frequent internet usage increases the risk of being overweight or obese by 47% (Graber, 2019; Aghasi et al., 2020). Young people are at a higher risk of internet addiction than older populations. From 2000 to 2020, the risk of addiction had increased from 1.5% to 6% (Citlik-Saritas et al., 2020). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the prevalence of obesity among teens (12-19) years is 21.2% (CDC, 2021). With internet usage expected to increase over time, the risk of lifestyle diseases among teens is expected to increase progressively.  

Any rise in the proportion of people with mental disorders or chronic diseases increases health costs proportionately. Currently, obesity management costs up to $260 billion annually in the United States (Cawley et al., 2021). Besides the rising health costs, chronic diseases are associated with increased hospital visits. They increase health care professionals’ workload and reduce the overall productivity of the community. Since young people are at a very productive age, preventing them from such risks should be a priority for the government, community stakeholders, and health care professionals. 

Evaluation of the Teaching Experience 

The most effective way to evaluate an education session is from the teacher and learner dimensions. From the teacher’s point of view, the teaching experience offered me an exciting opportunity to interact with a vulnerable group in the community. It also allowed me to share knowledge and skills regarding disease prevention and management. Above all, it allowed me to explore a prevalent health problem risking the overall health of people in Broward County. The proposed interventions will be pivotal in preventing internet addiction, reducing the rate of lifestyle diseases, and ensuring that young people’s overall health stays at optimal levels. 

The teaching experience was also successful from a learner’s point of view. Across communities and societies, the quality of people’s health depends on their knowledge. For the same reason, education is a leading social determinant of health. An educated populace makes informed decisions regarding preventive health measures, healthy living, and using community resources for health promotion. The participants gained valuable knowledge regarding signs, effects, and interventions for internet addiction/uncontrolled smartphone usage. The knowledge gained will empower them to make rational decisions regarding individual, family, and community health. 

Community Response to Teaching 

As earlier mentioned, the primary objective of community teaching was to impart knowledge. Participants were expected to learn and commit themselves to apply the knowledge gained in everyday life. Overall, the response was positive, and several indicators can be used as reference points. Participants were very active throughout the session and asked different questions regarding the connection between smartphone use, internet addiction, and health and well-being. Activity level through focus groups was also encouraging. The other indicator was their commitment to utilizing app blockers and timers to control social media use, which is their leading exposure to internet addiction. Above all, they committed to sharing the knowledge with friends and family members to improve the community’s health and well-being. 

Areas of Strengths and Areas of Improvement 

Areas of Strengths  

The strengths of a teaching session help to achieve the desired objectives. One of the key strengths of the experience was the diversity of the teaching methods. Although the pamphlet was the primary teaching tool, focus group discussions, lecture, and a short presentation were utilized interchangeably. From an educational dimension, mixing teaching methods increases student engagement (Camerino et al., 2019). It also improves comprehension of the content since different learners capture content differently. The other key strength was varying learning content. The topic was explored broadly. More importantly, knowledge was assessed through a question-answer session, and a follow-up education is expected after three months to evaluate behavior change. 

Areas of Improvement 

Despite the above strengths, several areas require improvement. Broadly, the session was somewhat teacher-centered since I planned what the participants would learn. Teacher-centeredness affects outcomes adversely due to a high possibility of boredom. The second area where improvement is necessary is evaluation strategies. The evaluation was primarily through a short question-answer session. There should be some practical activities and student demonstrations for such programs in the future. Learning materials should be plenty too. 

Overall Observation 

In community teaching, nurses should be ready to meet people with varying expectations, attitudes, and beliefs. They should select the content wisely to avoid sensitive discussions that make participants uncomfortable. Barriers should be expected and response strategies identified in advance. For instance, I expected uncooperative students. In response, we set rules to follow during the lesson and punishment strategies outlined in case of violation. The rules effectively controlled the session. Nurses should also expect people with varying comprehension levels. As a result, they must be highly flexible and mix learning strategies as the students’ learning levels obligate.  

Conclusion 

The community teaching exercise focused on preventing lifestyle diseases, primarily obesity, by controlling internet usage among teens. Internet addiction is a prevalent health problem whose rates keep soaring due to increased exposure to the internet. Seeking to create an informed populace, the teens learned about the signs and health-related dangers of internet addiction and its control. It was a successful session overall intended to help young people make more rational choices regarding their physical, mental, and emotional health than before. Preventing lifestyle diseases is critical to the health, well-being, and productivity of people in Broward County and the broader American populace. 

References 

Aghasi, M., Matinfar, A., Golzarand, M., Salari-Moghaddam, A., & Ebrahimpour-Koujan, S. (2020). Internet use in relation to overweight and obesity: A systematic review and meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 11(2), 349–356. https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz073 

Camerino, O., Valero-Valenzuela, A., Prat, Q., Manzano Sánchez, D., & Castañer, M. (2019). Optimizing education: a mixed methods approach oriented to Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR). Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1439. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01439 

Cawley, J., Biener, A., Meyerhoefer, C., Ding, Y., Zvenyach, T., Smolarz, B. G., & Ramasamy, A. (2021). Direct medical costs of obesity in the United States and the most populous states. Journal of Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy, 27(3), 354-366. https://doi.org/10.18553/jmcp.2021.20410 

CDC. (2021). Childhood obesity facts. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html#:~:text=For%20children%20and%20adolescents%20aged,to%2019%2Dyear%2Dolds. 

Citlik-Saritas, S., Cevik, S., & Ozden, G. (2020). The relationship between internet addiction and obesity in nursing students. International Journal of Caring Sciences, 13(2), 1280. http://www.internationaljournalofcaringsciences.org/docs/52_1_saritas_original_13_2.pdf 

Cleveland Clinic. (2019). Community health needs assessment 2019. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/-/scassets/files/org/about/community-reports/chna/2019/2019-florida-chna.pdf?la=en 

Grabber, E. (2019). Internet use and obesity. American Society for Nutrition. https://nutrition.org/internet-use-and-obesity/ 

Hercelinskyj, G. J., & Alexander, L. (2019). Mental health nursing: Applying theory to practice. Cengage AU. 

 Woessner, M. N., Tacey, A., Levinger-Limor, A., Parker, A. G., Levinger, P., & Levinger, I. (2021). The evolution of technology and physical inactivity: the good, the bad, and the way forward. Frontiers in Public Health, 9, 672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.655491 

Sample Answer 2 For NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) emerges as a major health burden not only in developing economies but also in affluent nations like the United States of America. Approximately, 17.7 million people succumb to cardiovascular diseases in 2015 and this represented about 31% of all deaths globally (Benjamin et al., 2018). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) heart disease is the leading cause of fatality in a list of non-communicable illnesses in America. In 2016, cardiovascular disease led to 840,678 deaths in the country accounting to about 1 in every 3 fatalities in America. Heart disease is among the most prevalent condition in America which also result in high expenditure in health budget as evidenced by more than $320 billion spending annually to manage the condition (Benjamin et al., 2018). In a demographic survey to identify the epidemiologic pattern of CVD, there is inconsistency in the burden of the disease among the racial groups in the United States of America (Zidek et al., 2014). African Americans are disproportionately affected by the condition as the community have high rates when compared with other races in the country. Due to this, the life expectancy of Blacks remains relatively low when compared to Whites. However, despite the critical nature of CVD, it is among the most preventable illnesses throughout the world.  

The present paper delves into a discussion on a community teaching experience with African American adults in New York about prevention and health promotion approaches in addressing the high rates of heart disease among the racial group. A summary of the teaching experience, epidemiological rationale for the topic and evaluation of the teaching experience will be made. Besides, the discussion focuses on community response to teaching administered. Finally, I will explore strengths and weaknesses of the teaching in addition to identifying areas of improvement for future practice.      

Summary of Teaching Plan 

The community assessment involved a collection of vital data relevant to the Longs Island city in the state of New York. The well-being of the community was examined and heart diseases were ranked as among the most causes of death in the city in addition to cancer, obesity and diabetes. African Americans, however, suffered most from the fatalities when compared with other racial groups.  

Following an examination of the educational needs of the African American adults in Longs Island, a discussion on heart disease was found to be necessary. The topic decided was addressed in the context of prevention and health promotion strategies to reduce the risk among the racial group. Even though the median resident age for the community was 35.3 years, there was a need to address the prevalence of CVD among the elderly (Benjamin et al., 2018). As such, the target of the education focused on the African American adults more than 65 years.  

The idea about teaching the selected population group about promotion was one thought, but it actually gave a bundle of evidence on the necessary knowledge to guide them in prevention. The presentation was however, one of the toughest experience I have ever thought to do. At the initial stage of presentation, I got very nervous owing to the fact that it was my first teaching I administered in a community setting (Billings & Halstead, 2015). I was also not familiar with the audience and considering that I lack much experience in public speaking, I found the exercise challenging. I have a clear conviction that public speaking is not my strongest attribute, but I believe it was my call as a nurse to administer complete knowledge to strangers not only to improve quality of care but also to save their lives in the future.  

I have to give credit to technology because it helps boost my confidence during presentation at the community outreach program. Specifically, I used Microsoft PowerPoint presentation when explaining the key subjects of the discussion on prevention strategies. I used about 20 minutes to discuss concepts on prevention of heart diseases (Hart, 2015). I made my presentation compelling by using images and graphics relevant to the topic. I also used a case study of a patient with congestive heart failure and deliberated on how the client managed the condition. The entire presentation focused on how to identify CVD and preventive measures to respond to the disease (Benjamin et al., 2018). I gave my audience ample time to comprehend concepts taught after which I allowed about five minutes for questions and answers. The discussion focused on how to identify the disease and prevention measures. Specifically, I related CVD with lifestyle habits and therefore emphasized on appropriate nutrition to respond to address the condition.  

When I the presentation ended, the time elapsed much faster than I had scheduled and I spent additional two minutes. The reason was perhaps the education topic was interesting not only to the audience but also to me as I had the knowledge to defend myself. At the end, I felt very confident and I believe my ability to teach is improved for subsequent community outreach program that might arise.  

Epidemiological Rationale for Topic 

Epidemiology relates to the patterns of diseases and the need to develop prevention strategies to manage the conditions. In Longs Island city, cardiovascular disease emerges as the second cause of death after cancer. The elderly African American population are the hardest hit considering that a majority are in the low income bracket and are likely to lack a health insurance coverage. The population seek health services at the Long Island Community Hospital, which is located 18 miles from the city (Zidek et al., 2014). About 68.9% of the residents of Longs Island are categorized as obese and has a profound effect in increasing the rates of heart diseases among the populations. Nonetheless, African Americans have disproportionately high rates of high blood pressure which is also a risk factor for heart disease. As such, preventive measures through health education is necessary to address the condition among the racial group. However, the highest incidence rates of heart diseases affect population in the rural setting. The premise could perhaps be due to lack of access to the health facility in the city and low income.  

Evaluation of Teaching Experience 

On April 16, 2020 and at Long Island Community Hospital, an education forum was held with African American adults seeking care at the facility. The participants reported for the forum at about 10 minutes before the starting time and this indicated their willingness to receive training messages (Hart, 2015). Out of the 12 participants in the forum, 9 were African American adults, 1 was a middle-age male Caucasian while 2 were elderly female Hispanics. They were welcomed and greeted in a friendly manner in readiness for the forum. All the 12 participants reported a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.  

After a warm reception, the education forum started. The presentation commenced by asking a question to the audience about the potential risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and complications associated with the condition. Deliberations on the questions were made through open forum discussion where chest pain was selected as the primary complication associated with heart diseases (Billings & Halstead, 2015). A laptop and an overhead projector provided by the facility was used during the presentation. My teaching mainly focused on addressing prevention strategy and used delivered using PowerPoint presentation. The slides for the presentation was developed using simple and clear terms suitable for the understanding of every participant. The font size for the Power Point was eye catching and relevant pictures were used to attract the attention of the audience. Besides, handouts that contained the contents of the slides were availed to the participants.  

The presentation lasted for about 20 minutes after which participants were asked if they had questions. A member from the audience thanked the presenter for incredible information about heart diseases he was not aware about. He, however asked a question on the association between obesity and heart diseases. The question was addressed accordingly as the presenter received contributions about the subject matter from the audience. With no other question, the forum was adjourned and participants left at their pleasure.  

Community Response to Teaching 

The forum on community education was successful due to positive response of the audience. All the participants were attentive during the education session as none worked out to make phone conversations except for visits to the washroom (Billings & Halstead, 2015). In an attempt to evaluate the response of the audience, it was clear that they engaged the presenter especially by asking questions and also providing feedback about the subject matter. Participants were also proud of the presentation especially when one audience commented positively about the aspects on prevention of heart diseases. Interestingly, despite organizing the forum for the elderly African Americans, a more diverse audience reported to the community forum and this provide clear message about the benefit of the education to the residents of Hampstead (Zidek et al., 2014).  

Areas of Strengths and Areas of Improvement 

During presentation, there were areas of strengths that were identified which will help in the subsequent forum. I exhibited good communication skills with the audience as I was open and audible in addressing the topic of education. I also gained courage to express my honest opinion about the prevalence rates of heart disease among African American adults (Hart, 2015). I found the PowerPoint presentation helpful as I complemented information from the slides with my own knowledge to confidently educate the participants.  

Areas of weakness became evident in time management. I reported to the forum 2 minutes past the schedule time and I found about three-quarter of the participants already settled. Moreover, I extended the presentation with 2 minutes more than the recommended time (Billings & Halstead, 2015). As such, I intend to improve on time management when confronted with such a task in future.  

Conclusion 

Prevention as well as health promotion strategies for heart diseases is important for many communities due to the nature of the condition as the leading causes of death in American and across the world. Teaching communities involve holding forums where they are likely to congregate. Education forums as illustrated in the preceding discussion provide an incredible platform where people share their experiences about heart disease and this helps decrypt misconceptions that can help in prevention of the condition.  

References 

Benjamin, E. J., Virani, S. S., Callaway, C. W., Chamberlain, A. M., Chang, A. R., Cheng, S., … & de Ferranti, S. D. (2018). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2018 update: a report from the American Heart Association. Circulation. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000558 

Billings, D. M., & Halstead, J. A. (2015). Teaching in nursing-e-book: A guide for faculty. Elsevier Health Sciences. 

Hart, S. (2015). Engaging the learner: The ABC’s of service–learning. Teaching and learning in nursing, 10(2), 76-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.teln.2015.01.001 

Zidek, C., West, E., Holmes, J., & Crytzer, M. (2014). A survey comparison of rural versus urban residents and household preparedness. Home Healthcare Now, 32(7), 420-429. 

Sample Answer 3 For NRS 428 Community Teaching Plan Experience

Holistic care during the postpartum period entails educating women and their partners about infant nutrition and supporting them to facilitate success with the feeding method chosen. Providing parents with current, evidence-based information, clinical guidance, and identifying appropriate resources when needed enables mothers to achieve success in nourishing their newborns (Bibbins-Domingo et al., 2016). In the previous assignment, I developed a community teaching plan proposal on “Promotion of Infant Nutrition through Breastfeeding.” I presented the proposal to the community health provider who provided feedback and approved the teaching plan. This essay will provide a summary of the health promotion teaching plan, the epidemiological rationale for the topic, and an evaluation of the teaching experience.

Summary of Teaching Plan

The topic for health promotion was on “Promotion of Infant Nutrition through Breastfeeding.” The targeted aggregate was postnatal mothers, and the planned venue was at the Maternal-Child Health clinic in the Community Health Centre. The health topic was in line with the Healthy People 2020 goal of Improve the health and well-being of women, infants, children, and families. It is under the objective number MICH-21: Increase the proportion of infants who are breastfed. I planned to use the Teach-Back Learning theory and use materials and equipment such as Pamphlets, Laptop, LCD Projector, Speaker, and Infant mannequin.

I targeted the audience’s cognitive, psychomotor, and affective domains in the teaching plan. The objectives in the cognitive domain included, by the end of the session, the postnatal mother will be able to describe the composition of breast milk. The objective would be met by teaching the audience about the types of breast milk and the nutrition composition of breast milk. The second objective was: The postnatal mother will be able to state at least five signs of effective breastfeeding. The objective would be met by educating the audience on effective breastfeeding and latching techniques.

The objective targeting the psychomotor domain was: The postnatal mother will be able to demonstrate at least two breastfeeding positions. This objective entailed demonstrating different breastfeeding positions and encouraging the mothers to practice the positions with their babies. Lastly, the objective targeting the affective domain was: The postnatal mother will be able to appreciate the importance of breastfeeding to the baby and the mother. The objective would be achieved by educating the mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding.  

Additionally, the teaching plan identified various teaching styles and methods such as brainstorming, demonstrations, videos, and PowerPoint presentation. I also planned to employ active listening when interacting with the audience and nonverbal communication techniques.

Epidemiological Rationale for Topic

I selected the topic of Infant Breastfeeding because it has been established as the optimal infant feeding method. The CDC 2018 Breastfeeding Report Card revealed that among babies born in 2015 in the US, 4 out of 5, 83.2%, started to breastfeed after birth. However, only 57.6% of these infants were exclusively breastfed at six months. Besides, only 35.9% of the infant was still breastfeeding at one year (CDC, 2018). Regardless of the recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding of infants in the first six months, less than 50% of infants are exclusively breastfed in the first three months. Only 25% of these infants are exclusively breastfed through 6 months (CDC, 2018). Besides, about 1 in 6, 17.2%, breastfed infants born in 2015 were initiated on formula supplementation within the first two days of life.

Although breastfeeding rates in the US have had a tremendous increase in the past years, there are specific populations that are less likely to breastfeed. Women with low breastfeeding rates include mothers below 25 years, women with a low income, African Americans, primiparas, and women with a high school education or lower (Anstey, Chen, Elam-Evans & Perrine, 2017). This contributes to poor health outcomes among infants from mothers belonging to these populations.

Evaluation of Teaching Experience

The health promotion teaching experience was exciting and very interactive, with 19 mothers alongside their infants in attendance. I conducted the health promotion activity in the maternal-child health clinic waiting area. The staff working in the clinic and the community health provider offered a helping hand in setting up the area and organizing the mothers.  The activity started at 9:30 am and ended at 10:40 am. The activity started later than the planned time due to lateness by the mothers. I had prepared teaching materials such as LCD projector, Laptop, speakers, pamphlets, and infant mannequins. I requested the nurse in charge of the clinic to start the session with a welcoming speech.

There was a lot of commotion at the beginning of the activity as the mothers were arriving in the clinic and settling in the waiting area. Fortunately, this was solved with the help of the clinic staff, who directed the mothers to sit and advised them to keep their babies comfortable to prevent them from crying.

I started with the first subtopic on the composition of breast milk. I brainstormed the audience on the nutrients found in breast milk, and the mothers were well-versed with the topic. Nevertheless, the audience demonstrated knowledge deficit on the importance of each nutrient to the baby. The second subtopic was on signs of effective breastfeeding. The audience was familiar with signs of effective breastfeeding. This is based on their response to how they would establish whether their babies are breastfeeding effectively.

The third sub-topic was on latching and breastfeeding positions. The audience, especially the first-time mothers, were not conversant with techniques on effective latching. Besides, most mothers demonstrated poor latching techniques and were only familiar with one breastfeeding position. The demonstration on latching took approximately 40 minutes, and all the mothers got a chance to practice every breastfeeding position. This was the most interactive part of the session, and the audience also demonstrated some breastfeeding positions they find comfortable. The fourth topic was on the benefits of breastfeeding. I employed brainstorming, and the audience was familiar with the benefits of breastfeeding on the baby. However, most mothers were not conversant with maternal benefits.

After the presentation, the audience had numerous questions, mainly on myths about breastfeeding. They also shared tips on promoting breastfeeding, such as foods to take and how working women can store breast milk safely.  This part was very interactive, and I learned various tips on promoting effective breastfeeding. I provided each mother with pamphlets that contained more information on the topic of infant breastfeeding. I also provided the audience with resources to access information and professional help on breastfeeding and infant nutrition, including complementary feeding. 

Community Response to Teaching

The community was positive about the health promotion experience based on their cooperation during the entire activity. The audience responded to the questions in the session and shared their breastfeeding experiences. The multiparas made the session more interactive by demonstrating to the rest of the mothers on latching techniques and breastfeeding positions. Besides, the audience willingly volunteered to illustrate the breastfeeding positions they had learned. The audience further appreciated the health promotion activity, evidenced by their cheerful nature during the session. At the end of the session, the audience expressed their appreciation and requested that I organize more health education talks on maternal and child health.

The mothers mentioned that the breastfeeding techniques and positions learned would help ease the challenges they experience while breastfeeding. Some of the mothers mentioned that they had experienced breast problems due to improper positioning, and the skills learned would help prevent future occurrences. The staff in the facility and the community health provider also appreciated my efforts and requested for more health education activities in the future.

Areas of Strengths and Areas of Improvement

After the presentation, I conducted an assessment of the lesson and evaluated my teaching method and style to identify areas of strength and improvement. One of the strengths was in the topic selection. I selected a topic that affects a majority of postnatal mothers, and that raises numerous questions due to the myths surrounding breastfeeding. Besides, most mothers experience challenges when breastfeeding their infants due to poor breastfeeding techniques (Boquien, 2018). Consequently, a health promotion activity that would help address the common myths and reduce challenges associated with breastfeeding kept the audience captivated in the entire session.

Secondly, the teaching method used facilitated the success of the presentation. I employed brainstorming to gauge the audience’s knowledge on the subject and also avoid boredom. Moreover, I used videos to demonstrate latching techniques and breastfeeding positions, which was a great way to keep the audience captivated and promote understanding of the subject. I also used demonstrations, which made the session more exciting and interactive. Furthermore, providing pamphlets at the end of the presentation facilitated the retention of the lesson’s topic.

On self-assessment, I identified that being conversant with the topic facilitated the success of the presentation. I had researched the subject, which made it easy to present the topic and answer questions. I also employed appropriate nonverbal communication techniques, which in turn increased my confidence during the presentation. I also effectively employed active listening, which facilitated an interactive session with the audience.

Nevertheless, I identified several areas of improvement from the presentation. Firstly, I had poor classroom management skills, and I had a hard time controlling the audience. I encountered challenges keeping the audience quiet, especially when I employed brainstorming questions. Besides, the audience had chorus responses, which made it challenging to identify mothers who did not understand a concept. Furthermore, I need to improve on time management in the future. The session took more time than the estimated time of 45 minutes. This was contributed by taking lots of time on demonstrations. I can improve this in the future by requesting other health providers to assist in the demonstrations.      

References

Anstey, E. H., Chen, J., Elam-Evans, L. D., & Perrine, C. G. (2017). Racial and Geographic Differences in Breastfeeding – the United States, 2011-2015. MMWR. Morbidity and mortality weekly report, 66(27), 723–727. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6627a3

Bibbins-Domingo, K., Grossman, D. C., Curry, S. J., Davidson, K. W., Epling, J. W., García, F. A., A. R., Krist, A. H., Kurth, A. E., Landefeld, C. S., & Mangione, C. M. (2016). Primary care interventions to support breastfeeding: US Preventive Services Task Force recommendation statement. Jama, 316(16), 1688-1693 https://doi.org/ 10.1001/jama.2016.14697

Boquien, C. Y. (2018). Human milk: An ideal food for the nutrition of preterm newborns. Frontiers in pediatrics, 6, 295 https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2018.00295

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). CDC releases 2018 breastfeeding report card. August 20, 2018.