NURS 6512 Discussion: Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children

Week 3: Assessment Tools, Diagnostics, Growth, Measurement, and Nutrition in Adults and Children Discussion: Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children INITIAL POST For this week’s discussio ...

Week 3: Assessment Tools, Diagnostics, Growth, Measurement, and Nutrition in Adults and Children Discussion: Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children INITIAL POST For this week’s discussion, I have selected the case of overweight child who is 5-year-old boy with overweight parents. This discussion will discuss the health-related risks which is relevant to the selected child. As an advanced practice nurse, it is important to assess weight- related health risks for pediatric patients and design effective strategies for communicating with parents or caregivers about children’s weight-related health. Health Issues and Risks An obese child can be challenged with numerous health risks especially when their parents are also obese. The prevalence of obesity among United States preschool-aged children (2–5 years) (8.9%) was lower than among school-aged children (6–11 years) (17.5%) and adolescents (12–19 years) (20.5%) (National Center for Health Statistics, 2015). Childhood obesity can cause several physical, emotional, social problems such as diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, asthma, sleep disorders, low self-esteem and being bullied, behavior and learning problems, depression (Mayo Clinic, 2016). It is the parent’s responsibility to limit their limit child's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, to provide plenty of fruits and vegetables, encouraging small portion of meal appropriate for age (Ball, Dains, Flynn, Solomon & Stewart, 2015). Specific Questions There are so many questions to ask the parents about their children who are obese to gather the information to plan the care. As an advanced nurse practitioner, I would ask the parents about the child birth weight and height to know the basic of his growth. By knowing that, we can calculate the child’s milestones and with BMI we can know which percentile falls on this child. Another question I would ask is about child’s eating habits. How healthy the child eats, how often and what quantity, what type of food he or she is interested in? by knowing the child’s eating habit, we can figure out what is the cause of his or her obesity. Additionally, asking if the child has any bone deformity or problem that is limiting physical activity is an important aspect while collecting history of the child. A practitioner can progress from novice to expert and become more efficient by asking the right questions in exercising clinical judgement by seeking relevant high quality information (Dains, Baumann & Scheibel, 2016). Following are the three specific questions that I would ask parents; • What was the child ‘s birth weight and length? Also, what about your gestational weight? • Can you explain how is your child’s appetite or eating habits? • Does your child have any bone deformity or problems? Strategies to Encourage Parents and Caregiver Parents play a crucial role in helping children who are obese feel loved and in control of their weight and they should bring up the topic of health and fitness to help the child better understand how to cope with the situation. It is normal that some children may feel like insult when their parents talk about their weight, health and fitness who is very sensitive but the parents and caregiver should encourage the child to talk openly. According to Mayo Clinic (2016) following are the coping and support strategies for parents whose child is obese; • “Avoid weight talk. Negative comments about your own, someone else's or your child's weight can be hurtful to your child, even if they're well-intended. Negative talk about weight can lead to poor body image. Instead, focus your conversation on healthy eating and positive body image. • Discourage dieting and skipping meals. Instead, encourage and support healthy eating and increased physical activity. • Find reasons to praise your child's efforts. Celebrate small, incremental changes in behavior but don't reward with food. Choose other ways to mark your child's accomplishments, such as going to the bowling alley or a local park. • Talk to your child about his or her feelings. Help your child find ways other than eating to deal with emotions” (para. 2). Therefore, parents play an important role in maintaining children health and can encourage children to eat healthy foods, do regular exercises, participate in sports, and share their feelings with parents or caregiver. References Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2015). Seidel's guide to physical examination (8th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2016). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby. Mayo Clinic. (2016). Childhood obesity. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases- conditions/childhood-obesity/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354833 National Center for Health Statistics. (2015). Prevalence of Obesity Among Adults and Youth: United States, 2011–2014. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db219.pdf