NUR2300: Nursing Assignment- Assessment Answer

Nursing Assignment Help

Case Scenario/ Task

Provide a brief introduction to the assignment – for example:

• A brief indication of the national health priority area and links with nursing
• The key areas that your assignment will focus on e.g. scoping the current literature in relation to a national health priority and relationship and importance with nursing

1. Asking a Clinical Question using a PICO framework

Based on your chosen national health priority area, develop a PICO question that relates also to nursing. The PICO question should consider the following aspects:

• It should be phrased as a question (and end with a question mark)
• It must be related to your chosen national health priority area and have a clear link with nursing
• It must clearly identify aspects of the PICO framework within the body of the question, for example (P), (I), (C), and (O). This means within your question, actually place the PICO in brackets where appropriate within the body of the question.

2. Method and rationale for locating and retrieving evidence-based nursing literature

Refer to 2.3 (method) and 2.4 (data selection) on page 1388 of the article by Davis, Drey & Gould (2009). In a similar format, describe the methods and processes you used to select data which was relevant to your PICO question. For this task, use third person to describe the method – see how the paragraph is written in the article. For example, you can state… The method used to identify the evidence-based literature was threefold; 1)……..2) and 3)…..... . It is highly recommended that you support your literature searching processes with other literature e.g. from your text or course content, or additional research textbooks.

Your description can include:

• USQ online databases that you used and why
• Peer-reviewed journals (how and why you used them)
• Recency of information (e.g. you decided to narrow your search to certain years)
• Certain peer reviewed journals
• How you narrowed your search to find relevant information
• Hierarchy of evidence that you focused on (be specific about what you based this on e.g. Joanna Briggs Hierarchy of Evidence)
• Types of studies that you considered appropriate to include e.g. qualitative or quantitative or types of study methods used.
• Key search terms relevant to the PICO question – identify alternative search terms that were also used to help broaden search strategy if required
• Key search strategies - e.g. Boolean operators
• Inclusion or exclusion criteria that you applied and why
• Publication types e.g. primary research articles, clinical guidelines

3. Study Selection (approx. 500 words)
4. a) Using Figure 3 (pg. 1389) of the article as a basis, represent your search in a diagram.
5. b) See Table 1 (pg. 1390). As a framework, summarise the evidence that you have collected. For this step, you are only asked to summarise 10 articles. Create a table using the same headings as Table 1, add your studies details and then copy and paste into your assignment.
6. Collate, summarise and report
7. a) This task requires you to synthesise the evidence. This is a deeper more critical approach to summarising the evidence. This means that you are asked to consider the evidence fromacross all of the 10 articles which you have collected in your literature search. Your synthesis of the evidence should include a summary of the followingand must include in text referencing - you need to reference your articles plus any other relevant literature:

• Key findings and conclusions from the across evidence
• Any recommendations for nursing practice based on the articles
• Any gaps found in the literature
• An analysis of the overall strength of the findings and research
• How well the literature answers or doesn’t answer the PICO question

Introduction

Obesity is a medical condition in which there is accumulation of too much fat in your body. Obesity occurs after a while when you consume more calories than are broken or used by the body (Bray & Bouchard, 2014). At this point, it becomes hard for the body to strike a balance between calories in and calories out, leading to accumulation of fat deposits on one’s body. When a person is considered as obese, it basically means that their body weight is considered as past the healthy weight levels. When someone is suffering from obesity, the individual is most likely to develop health problems that are related to the weight (Keating et al., 2013). An obese person is at risk of some of the majorly recognised chronic diseases in the world today: heart complications such as strokes and attacks, diabetes (Diabetes type 1 or Diabetes type 2), arthritis, bone and joint diseases, hypertension, commonly referred to as high blood pressure and in some cases, cancer (Huxley, 2014). It also causes premature deaths for pregnant women and has led to high mortality rates. Like most diseases, obesity is easily preventable, through practices such as proper nutrient intake, regular exercise, and avoiding excessive consumption of high-calorie foods. However, this may not always be the case, because diabetes can be hereditary, and if it is passed from one generation to the next, it becomes even more challenging to help put an end to it, since it is already encoded in the genetic makeup of an individual.

Clinical Question Using the PICO Framework

There has been an increase in reports over the past twenty years which indicate that obesity has become one of the seven leading causes of death in Australia, including high blood pressure and diabetes, among others. It is estimated that 1.9 million deaths were as a result of obesity in the year 2014 (Bray & Bouchard, 2014).Obesity has been found to be prevalent in the developing countries, accounting for nearly 70% of all the diagnosed cases globally. What therefore, is obesity, what are the causes, and effects of the disease? The following report seeks to unfold what exactly is Obesity (Problem), complications (Interventions), causes (Comparison) and the success that the medical world has achieved in fighting the disease (Outcome) in Australia.

Methods of Data Collection

In order to be conversant with the topic in question, data and all relevant information regarding the topic is very important to have at hand. Therefore, a few methods of data collection were identified and used to gather information on obesity. These methods are as follows:

Literature Review

For the literature review, articles and medical journals about obesity were used. These articles and journals have been published in the past five years. The articles had statistical data collected from different parts of the world; they enable the reader to gain a better understanding in regard to the prevalence of the disease globally. Most of the articles found have been written by professors and doctors who have studied the disease for a long period of time, and can identify particular patterns that the disease takes. The research involved terminologies such as body fat, calories, energy, body metabolism, physical activity, body image, weight and diabetes. These terms are directly and indirectly related to the disease, and they enable the researcher to have an easier time tracking down the relevant information.

Community Involvement

A number of volunteers were asked to participate in the activity in order to acquire results that would act as a representation of an estimate of statistics of obesity in the different chosen areas. The results would indicate the number of participating individuals, those affected and the individuals are already seeking medical attention. A total of 200 people per region were chosen to participate in the activity that lasted for five days in five different towns. Data such as weight, age, height, and medical history was recorded. This would help identify any possible trends that might have contributed to the rise of obesity and overweight cases. Affected individuals were at a better advantage since they got an opportunity to interact with the medical officers that were conducting the exercise. Additionally, questionnaires were handed out to be filled by people. The questionnaires would be a good source of gaining additional information because it was realised that some people were not very expressive verbally. Therefore, they were handed a set of questions, which not only helps researchers determine the level of knowledge and understanding that the public has, but also gave them an opportunity to be comfortable and share the little or much that they know concerning obesity as a disease in general. The questionnaires had a maximum of seven questions, which were easy to articulate to most of the people.

Clinical Data

Hospital records that contain information on statistical data on the reported cases of obesity over a specified number of years were collected from different national institutions. Comparisons were made for the reported cases that had been recorded, and case studies that had been carried out in the past four consecutive years. The case studies mainly talked about what was the cause of the changing numbers of patients with the disease, from those suffering from overweight and those suffering from obesity. All in all, this was the greatest asset that enabled me to learn more about obesity and its changing trends, not only in Australia but the world in general.

Findings

The figure and table below are a representation, summary, and analysis of the materials I used to collect my information that I have based my research on.

Discussion

The most common assumption about obesity is that it is the same thing as being overweight. However, the two are very different. As earlier defined, obesity is the accumulation of excessive fats in the body, while being overweight has to do with the weight from muscle, body water and bones (Huxley, 2014). These two are however linked together since the excessiveness of each factor in the body is believed to bring about negative effects in a person’s general health and well being. Obesity is recognised as Australia’s fastest growing health condition affecting children and the middle aged (Ng et al., 2014). Prevalence of the age in children is mostly between the ages of 6-16 while in the young and middle-aged adults, it ranges from 19-35 years. Statistics indicate that 1 in every 10 children has obesity or weight issues while 1 out of every 13 adults is suffering from the condition (Keating et al., 2013). With children and adolescents being the largest age group being affected, the number of diagnosed patients with the disease is expected to rise from 1.6 million in 2015 to 3.9 million by the year 2030. This age group of children (6-16), accounts for 38% of all diagnosed cases, while adults follow close behind with a prevalence rate of 33% (Rahman & Harding, 2013).

Obesity is a medical condition that is cursed by several factors. The condition is caused when there is an imbalance between the energy in and energy out, and the balance is what helps us maintain a healthy weight (Grimes et al., 2013). Other causes include an inactive lifestyle, where it is very rare for an individual to engage in physical activities, exercise or co-curricular activities. Spending many hours watching television, playing video games or simply idling around puts one at risk of overweight and obesity (Nasreddine et al., 2014). Lack of participation in physical activity results to weight gain because no calories are broken down by the body. Additionally, the over-reliance on cars to cover short distances and the use of elevators offers limited options of partaking in physical activity. People are advised to walk for at least twenty minutes per day, and to take stairs whenever going to top stories of a building. Without straining, theses few physical activities burn a considerable amount of calories stored in the body and reduce the risk of being obese (Swinburn & Wood, 2013). Secondly, the environment in which one lives in could be a contributing factor to excess weight gain. The environments are mainly attributed by our lifestyles, which include long working hours which restricts one from getting involved in physical activities, large servings of food, especially junk foods which contain a lot of calories as well as sugars (Grantham et al., 2013). Moreover, access to healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables has become a rare commodity because they are either unavailable or very expensive. Additionally, the congested neighbourhoods do not have sidewalks or recreational facilities such as parks, fields or swimming areas where people can do exercise. Thirdly, obesity, just like diabetes, can be hereditary and passed down generations (Keating et al., 2013). Although one can take part in proper dieting and regular physical activity, they are still likely to get diabetes, that is if one parent has been diagnosed with the condition. This is because genes affect the amount of fat that is stored in the body and also, the places on your body where the fat is stored. For most people, the fat deposits on the body are the neck area, the waist, thighs, upper arms, face and legs. Another contributing factor to obesity is medical conditions and the resulting medication (Walls et al., 2012). Conditions such as hypothyroidism and Cushing syndrome slow down body metabolism and in turn cause weight gain. Medicine such as antidepressants slows down calorie breakdown, cause water retention in the body as well as increased appetite, hence gain in weight. Pregnancy also causes weight gain and more often than not, leads to obesity. The average pregnant woman gains up to 10 kilograms during her pregnancy. The weight gained is used to aid in the growth and development of the baby (Valery et al., 2012). The weight can be lost after the baby is born, but this becomes a challenge for some, especially for the women who had gotten accustomed to eating every now and then while pregnant. Ageing can also cause obesity, due to reduced body metabolism. Ageing comes with the loss of muscle, hence reduced ability to take part in rigorous physical activities. However, older people can prevent obesity through reduction of intake of foods high in calories. Other factors such as lack of sleep, age, emotional distress and smoking also put one at risk of overweight and obesity, and should be avoided at all cost (Grimes et al., 2013).

Unfortunately, most of these secondary complications, such as cancer, do not have permanent cures and are very hard to operate (Huxley, 2014). Additionally, they impose great burdens on both the affected individual and the family members. Such burdens include financial support, social support and most importantly, psychological support. Family members are advised to be there for their loved one because this helps them cope and adapt easily to their present conditions (Buchmueller & Johar, 2015). Most affected individuals will have esteem issues, and at times, depression. This can further be accelerated when family members, relatives and friends begin avoiding them. Being obese and overweight has been a major challenge, and the psychological effects can be very devastating, especially for teenagers (Brennan et al., 2014). At this point in their lives, teenagers are at the point where image means everything, and any factor that will make the feel out of what is mostly considered as a ‘normal range’ will always plant feelings of doubt, self-worth, and they become more body and image conscious (Farhat, Iannotti, & Caccavale, 2013). Understandably, the need and feeling to fit in as a teenager is beyond human control, and this has been the biggest challenge for most adolescents that have had overweight issues ever since they were infants. Once feelings of rejection and self-pity begin, depression sets in, and suicidal thoughts are not too far-fetched. Women suffering from obesity are at a high chance of suffering from breast, gall bladder, colon and uterine cancers, while obese men are at a risk of prostrate and colon cancers (Kendall et al., 2015).

Obesity is a progressive disease associated with a wide range of serious complications which result in reduced quality of life on the individual. The good news is that it is easily preventable. Early diagnosis and treatment of the disease is a vital stage in control of the complications associated with overweight and obesity (Lobstein et al., 2015). Simple lifestyle measures have proven to be effective in preventing or delaying the occurrence of the disease. People are encouraged to acquaint themselves with the relevant information about obesity and are encouraged to learn about the risks and warning signs associated with the condition. Knowledge on this leads to earlier diagnosis hence earlier treatment which may save a life or two.

Conclusion

World Health Organisation regards obesity as among the most rigorous health issues facing the world today. The good news is that occurrence of obesity can be minimised significantly by welcoming a few adjustments in certain aspects of daily routines. A selection of certain foods as well as regular physical or co-curricular activities can go a great deal in reducing the amount of fat deposition in the body as storage. Each and every person in the society has a part to play in preventing the occurrence of obesity, starting from parents, representatives from the concerned educational institutions as well as clinicians.