Caring for the Poor: Analysis of Nurses' Attitudes Toward the Culture of Poverty.

ABSTRACT: Living in a culture of poverty challenges people when they seek healthcare. Attitudes of healthcare workers caring for the poor can affect both return to care and subsequent health outcomes. This quality improvement project at a U.S. Midwestern hospital employed a quasi-experimental design to examine the effect of a voluntary educational intervention on nurses' attitudes toward the culture of poverty. Findings indicated a significant positive change in attitude dealing with stigmatizing statements about people living in the culture of poverty.

Implementation of a Screening and Management of Overweight and Obesity Clinical Practice Guideline in an Ambulatory Care Setting.

Introduction: Obesity is a rapidly growing health problem reaching epidemic levels around the world (World Health Organization, 2014). According to the World Health Organization, the current incident rate of obesity makes it the leading risk for deaths across the globe. The United States (USA) is amidst in this growing global epidemic. The obesity epidemic is a nondiscriminatory health problem affecting millions of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and social status. One group impacted by this disease is the US military. The health-related consequences of overweight and obesity has increased our military health care expenditures and has a direct impact on our nation's military readiness (Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense, 2014). Materials and Methods: The purpose of this Doctor of Nursing Practice project was to implement the Veterans Affairs/Department of Defense's Clinical Practice Guideline on Screening and Management of Overweight and Obesity at a military treatment facility in the Midwest. The goal of the project was to reduce the incidence rate of overweight and obese active duty military service members assigned to a military installation in the Midwest. With institutional review board approval, project implementation results were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics (paired t- tests). Results: The goal to reduce the incident rate of overweight and obese by 5% was not achieved, but in turn the rate of overweight and obese increased by 1.57% over the 6-mo period. There were decreases in the normal with an increase in the overweight and obesity rate. This inverse outcome was unexpected and concerning. Conclusion: Based on the project's finding, there is a need to address the perceived barriers to maintaining healthy behaviors to plan future activities. An in-depth look at whether there is a knowledge deficit, a perceived lack of self-efficacy, competing life priorities preventing engagement in health promotion behaviors, or some other element influencing the motivation to change would be beneficial to understanding how to curb the growing rate of obesity. The utilization of the transtheoretical model of behavior change would make a sound theoretical framework to base such a new study, focusing on the stages of change as it relates to health promotion behaviors.

Weight management: A concept analysis.

AIM: There is a need to develop sound healthcare practices where patients and providers are able to succeed in meeting weight management goals. The aim of this analysis is to develop a better understanding the concept of weight management. BACKGROUND: Obesity is a rapidly growing healthcare issue, reaching epidemic levels around the world. According to the World Health Organization, the current incident rate of obesity makes it the leading risk for death across the globe. DESIGN: Walker and Avant's model for concept analysis. DATA SOURCE: A literature search was accomplished using Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health, Health Source: Nursing Academic Edition, Medline, and ProQuest Health and Medical Complete. REVIEW METHODS: Keywords included weight management, weight control, weight loss, obesity, weight, and management. RESULTS: Weight management is complex concept. Strategies to develop successful weight management programs need to be multifaceted to have impact on this healthcare crisis. CONCLUSION: The critical attributes for weight management are dietary measures, physical activity, behavior modification, motivation, education, and lifelong changes. Unsuccessful weight management results in metabolic disorders and increased risk of mortality. Successful weight management practices include the prevention of weight gain, weight loss, and maintenance of ideal body weight.