With no doubt, making health care accessible is the most significant issue in the health system in low-middle-income countries. This affects low-middle income countries and there are fewer hospitals, fewer doctors which results in less access to healthcare. The finances to support more healthcare organizations is non existent so people have to travel long distances to even see a doctor. The public sector for healthcare is extremely weak and unsupported while the private sector is the opposite. This causes a disbalance in governance because there is no regulation in the private sector. Health disparity leads to poor public health which directly affects productivity and the national economy. Health disparity is the starting point of this a vicious cycle.

Something that would benefit the issues in low-middle income countries is training the lower-level employees to do what higher-level employees do. Because there is a lack of educated employees, those that know what they’re doing should pass on their knowledge to others so that there can be more patients seen. It is important to help the government communities in low-and-middle- income countries recognize the costs and consequences of poor public health on economics. In addition to these solutions, there could be a way to create policies that no one should be ever turned away. The poor should have to pay what they can afford and the very poor should have access to free healthcare. Many people are turned away to come back another day which results in an addition of patients in the next several days. The last thing that can be done is creating a national survey to see where there is a lack in the health status. After this point, funds and health resources can either be raised or/and shifted to supply these areas. 

Maintaining one’s health starts from a young age. That being said, what one puts in their body and how they treat their body is important. Childhood obesity is a serious problem that is slowly on the rise. Obesity is when one’s weight is above the normal amount for their age and height (Mayo Clinic, 2018).

Childhood Obesity: Mayo Clinic Radio (2017). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMaWEmpNXTI (Links to an external site.)

Numbers and Costs

Obesity affects 13.7 children and adolescents between 2-19 (CDC, 2019) all over the world. According to the National Survey of Children’s Health, just within the United States, there are 4.8 million children between the ages of 10 to 17 that have obesity (State of Childhood Obesity, 2019). That number of obese children directly correlates with the class (upper, middle, or lower) that they live in. In most cases, the lower the class, the higher the chance of obesity. Some people may not have access to healthier food because it is more expensive. Therefore, they opt out to purchase cheaper food that may not be the healthiest choice. The cheaper food is filled with chemicals, GMOs, and can be low in nutrition and high in calories. From another perspective, the percentage of obesity decreases when there is an increased level of education per household (CDC,2019). Because children don’t typically buy the food, it’s important that parents and caregivers are educated in nutrition and purchase food based off of what feeds the children’s body in a healthy way rather than the cheapest option.

From the financial perspective, over a lifetime, childhood obesity costs $19,000.00 per child in comparison to lifetime medical costs to a normal weight child (Global Health, 2014). The main reason for this is related to medical treatment for children that are obese and have other diseases or medical problems because of it. On the country’s scale, in the US, childhood obesity alone is estimated to cost $14 billion annually (State of Childhood Obesity, 2019)

Factors and Causes

Childhood obesity can affect both girls and boys. Dietary factors have been studied and are linked directly as to one of the main causes of obesity. A few examples are sugary beverages, snack foods, and portion sizes. When even looking at fast food place, they always offer a larger size or more or a larger portion of a condiment for example. Most restaurants do not serve portion size but rather double or triple the right size.

Another factor that contributes to childhood obesity is the activity of the child (NCBI, 2015). According to Kids Health, children must get an average 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous activity daily (Gavin, 2018). Many kids don’t get this type of activity because they live a sedentary lifestyle. This has been a more prominent issue as time has passed, as technology has developed. They spend hours in front a screen whether it be a TV, smartphone, tablet and they look at a variety of media outlets.

Lastly, genetics may also come into play with childhood obesity. This can be how well the child’s, parent’s, body processes food. From the parents also come eating habits which can be passed down to the children. Typically, a family eats similarly.

The Risk of Being Obese

Obesity has long term effects. One increasing concern is the high risk of  cardiovascular diseases like high cholesterol and high blood pressure. Obesity can also result in diabetes, bone and joint problems, shortness of breath, restless sleep, and it can make asthma symptoms worse. Another side of problems may be emotional issues. Many obese children have a problem with low self-esteem and may even be prone to bullying. This can result in depression, eating disorders, unhealthy dieting, and even substance abuse (Gavin, 2018). If continued, childhood obesity can even reflect into how long the child will live once they become older. Struggling with obesity can be a lifelong struggle with food if not managed

How are we Addressing Childhood Obesity?

Even with all these facts, there is still hope. Schools throughout the entire US participate in the National School Lunch Program and in the School Breakfast Program. These programs have updated standards where they increased more whole grains, fruits, vegetables, fat-free and low-fat milk, and foods with less sodium, saturated fats, and sugars. In addition to this, schools are required to have a physical education class where they can be more active and they also learn more about nutrition (State of Childhood Obesity, 2018). Also, there are State Policies to prevent obesity. There are PE Time requirements and even programs encouraging breastfeeding, and even policy changes to media advertising. Under the Hunger-Free Kids Act of  2010, schools may only feature advertising for foods that fit under “smart snacks” nutrition guidelines. Lastly, a development made was nutrition facts labeling. Companies will be required to post revamped labels that clearly reflect the nutritional value of the food which will allow kids to make better food decisions.

References

Childhood obesity. (2018, December 5). Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/childhood-obesity/symptoms-causes/syc-20354827 (Links to an external site.)

Childhood Obesity Facts. (2019, June 24). Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html (Links to an external site.)

Gavin, M. L. (Ed.). (2018, June). Kids and Exercise (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/exercise.html

Gavin, M. L. (Ed.). (2018, June). Overweight and Obesity (for Parents) – Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/overweight-obesity.html

Over a Lifetime, Childhood Obesity Costs $19,000 Per Child. (2014, April 7). Retrieved from https://globalhealth.duke.edu/media/news/over-lifetime-childhood-obesity-costs-19000-child (Links to an external site.)

The State of Childhood Obesity. (2019, November 21).  Retrieved from https://stateofchildhoodobesity.org/

The Purpose of Visibility Boards

At my field study site, I was given the opportunity to create a visibility board for the credentialing department. To be quite frank, prior to starting, I did not know what a visibility board even was. The first several days were spent researching various types of visibility boards and their importance within an organization. I also took a tour of the visibility boards within several different departments and was able to see how they used them. 

Visibility boards are used to improve health care efficiency and they promote communication between healthcare team members. The board could depict the past, present, and also future. It can display benchmarks, progress of projects, and simple miscellaneous things like events or even jokes of the day.  Another use could actually be for celebration.  That is one aspect of the Polyclinic credentialing department’s board. One thing teams can forget to do is celebrate their accomplishments or the large amount of work that they’ve already completed.  This can result in an low employee morale and even discouragement. This can especially happen in a fast paced, changing, environment of healthcare where everyone is extremely busy. It’s important to sometimes stop and realize how far a work assignment has came or the growth over the past several years.