"Students, in the course of their formation, must let the gritty reality of this world into their lives, so they can learn to feel it, think about it critically, respond to its suffering and engage it constructively. They should learn to perceive, think, judge, choose, and act for the rights of others, especially the disadvantaged and oppressed." - Peter-Hans Kovenbach, S.J. -
Do you see your doctoral level service learning experience contributing in any way to that quote? How?
My service learning experience is also my Capstone Project for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program with Regis University. I have done an extensive systematic review of evidences and examined both scientific evidences and expert opinions of clinicians and scientists. After many hours of intense literature search, I zeroed in on the Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity Prevention Program recommended by an expert committee that was convened by the American Medical Association, Human Resources and Services Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control in 2005 to revise the previous recommendations (National Initiative for Children's Healthcare Quality, 2007). The recommendation for the treatment and prevention of child and adolescent overweight and obesity is a four-staged approach and for Fort Bend Family Health Center (FBFHC) in Richmond, TX, the most appropriate intervention is the Stage I Prevention Plus.
I am, at the moment, waiting for the Regis University Institutional Review Board to do a full review of my project proposal. In the meantime, I am also planning to obtain the promotional materials I will need once the project starts. These includes posters, brochures, flyer, and rewards for the children who will be participating in the prevention program.
FBFHC is a community health center designated as a federally qualified health center. Therefore, they serve the medically underserved populations of three neighboring counties in various community health center (CHC) locations. Implementing the prevention program in these CHCs will address an urgent global issue that disproportionately affects children from poor families and those from racial and ethnic minorities, particularly Hispanic boys and African-American girls (Ogden and Carroll, 2010).
As I move along into the DNP Program, I learned how to develop strategic and business plans - applying the concepts and principles in developing my Capstone Project. One of the vital components of business and strategic plans is monitoring the regulatory climate and how this may hasten or impede the implementation of child and adolescent overweight and obesity program. I learned that the Affordable Care Act of 2010 is a very comprehensive plan that will greatly impact the healthcare of all Americans. The hope is to improve healthcare access for all Americans; however, there is a great amount of dollars involved when the full reform is implemented and debate ensues between Republicans and Democrats and various states are taking the case up to the highest courts to repeal the health care reform. Although it is not my intention to judge whether the reform is worth it or not, I am seriously reflecting on the short-term and long-term implications of this act on the nation's economy and overall health.
A good move on the part of President Obama was the establishment of a Task Force on Childhood Obesity to develop an inter-agency action plan in tackling the issue (Obama, 2010). Another development that excited me was the release of the National Prevention Strategy on June 16, 2011 (National Prevention Council). With the cost of US healthcare exceeding most of the industrialized countries, it is inevitable for the country to shift gear and focus more on wellness and disease prevention. In this prevention strategy, two of the seven priorities - healthy eating and active living - are reflective of the nation's effort to address obesity. It is my hope that the diffusion of childhood obesity prevention will be hastened by the collaborative efforts of various coalitions and collaborations between the public and private sector nationwide.
I am seriously contemplating on pursuing my involvement in the prevention of childhood obesity in the community after graduation. As a faithful steward of God's children, as a nurse, and as a mother, I am accountable to use the knowledge and skills, time, and talents given to me by God for the good of others, especially the disadvantaged and the poor. Although the ever changing social, economic and political climate in the country can either slow down or facilitate local and national efforts to alleviate childhood obesity, this will not deter me from doing whatever I can, in whatever little way I could, to make this world a better place for the children. Assisting community health centers and clinics in providing families with the tools, knowledge, and resources to make healthy choices about their nutrition and lifestyle can transform the nation, one community at a time... and save a generation of children who may be the first generation to "live sicker and die younger than the generation before them" (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 2011).
