A Policy for Change, Health Education, and Childhood Obesity Prevention
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2021-05-11
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Abstract
The rate of overweight and obese children continues to rise; it becomes apparent that there is a gap in healthcare regarding childhood obesity. Overweight and obese children have more health issues. Methods: A policy was created for the local area community healthcare clinic based on the AAP’s Algorithm for assessment and management of childhood obesity in patients 2 years old or older. The algorithm implemented the EBP into the organization. The policy was customized to the community health clinics’ unique population of culturally diverse, lower socioeconomic status, under-insured, uninsured, and under-served patient population. Findings: Overall results were that 81.82% of providers felt the policy helped educate children, 90.91% of providers felt the policy assisted with providing consistent care, 100% of the providers felt that having policy in EHR made following and documenting care easier, 90.91% of providers found the policy in the EHR valuable to practice, and 27.27% of the providers notice a reduction in patient’s BMI. Discussion: Implementation of EBP in the form of a policy and policy implementation for treating and educating overweight and obese children, showed to be effective in assisting providers and provider’s patient populations. This project occurred during the COVID-19 and potentially has larger implications during non-pandemic conditions. Application to Practice:The use of EBP and a policy could significantly improve practices that do not have this in place already.
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Keywords
Childhood obesity treatment, Childhood obesity, Childhood overweight, Pediatric overweight, Pediatric obesity