SCI 228 Week 7 Lab Introduction to Lifecycle Nutrition & Chronic Disease
SCI 228 Week 7 Lab Introduction to Lifecycle Nutrition & Chronic Disease
Lab Overview
Scenario/Summary
Students will select one lifecycle.
First year of infant’s life
Toddler
School age
Adolescence
Adult
Lactating female
Mature adult
Deliverables
Once a lifecycle has been selected, you will do the following three things.
Describe the lifecycle and the age to be in that lifecycle.
Describe nutritional challenges associated with that particular lifecycle.
Develop a diet specifically tailored to that stage of life (make sure to include all of the macronutrients [percentages of carbs, fats, and protein]), and explain the rationale. Do not forget to discuss specific nutrients that may be of concern during this particular lifecycle and elaborate on the reasons behind the issues and challenges associated with various nutrients.
Check Out also: SCI 228 Week 6 Assignment DIGITAL STUDY GUIDE
*All things will be considered when grading, including calories, types and amounts of food, inherent challenges associated with the particular lifecycle, and solutions.
Chronic diseases such as diabetes have huge disease burden to the affected patients and their significant others. The impacts include loss of lives, productivity, decline in the quality of life, and increased are costs. Nurses, including DNP-prepared nurses are centrally placed in healthcare to assist the affected by chronic diseases overcome them. Accordingly, they explore evidence-based interventions that are associated with enhanced outcomes such as safety, quality, and efficiency. Care interventions such as interprofessional collaboration enable the adoption of patient-centered practices in the care process. Therefore, the purpose of this research paper is to explore the issue of diabetes mellitus and the application of health belief model in its management.
Health Belief Model
Health belief model is a common theory utilized in nursing practice to influence behavioral change. The model was developed in the 1950s for use in the design and implementation of prevention and prevention initiatives. The failure of a free tuberculosis program during this period gave rise to the model. The model largely aims at determining the behavior of human beings by examining their attitudes and perceptions towards a health problem or outcomes associated with intended actions (Jeffrey et al., 2019).
The health belief model asserts that a change in human behavior occurs when three ideas exist simultaneously. The first one is the perceived severity and susceptibility to a health problem. An understanding of one’s susceptibility and severity of a health problem drives them to embrace the desired behaviors (Saghafi-Asl et al., 2020). The second idea is perceived threat. A person is likely to change his or her behavior if they understand their vulnerability to a disease or negative outcomes associated with a condition. The last idea is the understanding of the perceived barriers and benefits, which stimulate one to embrace actions that aim at averting the effects of a disease or a health problem (Dadkhah Tehrani et al., 2019).
The health belief model is associated with some strengths that make it effective in promoting behavioral change in nursing. First, the model focuses on the cognitive aspect of behavioral change. It uses individual’s motivations and beliefs to influence behavioral change. It also transforms the factors within and outside the patient that influence one’s attitude and beliefs towards action. The other strength is that the model guides individuals to develop realistic actions for their behavioral change. Studies have shown the use of the model in conditions such as hypertension and obesity result in sustainable change since it uses the resources within the patient’s disposal (Saghafi-Asl et al., 2020). Therefore, it makes the model and effective theory for use in addressing the issue of diabetes mellitus in the community and nursing practice.
Selected Chronic Disease
The selected chronic disease is diabetes mellitus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition that affects body’s metabolism. It is characterized by hyperglycemia due to the lack of or inadequate insulin needed to move glucose across the cells. Diabetes is classifiable into several types that include type 1, 2, and gestational diabetes. Diabetes mellitus has several causes. One of them is genetics. Individuals born to families with a history of diabetes have an increased risk of developing the disease (Cole & Florez, 2020). The other factor is obesity. Obesity predisposes hyperinsulinemia, which causes diabetes. The additional causes include polycystic ovarian syndrome, giving birth to a macrosomia baby, Cushing’s disease, autoimmune diseases, sedentary lifestyles, unhealth diet, and increasing age (Glovaci et al., 2019).
Patients with diabetes mellitus present the hospital with several symptoms. They include polyuria, polydipsia, polyphagia, fatigue, weight loss, blurred vision, non-healing ulcers, paresthesia, and frequent urinary tract infections. The physical examination findings of a patient with diabetes mellitus vary. They include weight loss, impaired vision, non-healing ulcers, and passage of dilute urine. The additional findings include poor sensation, hyperglycemia, normal or dry skin, Kussmaul respiration, dry mucus membranes, and hypothermia in severe cases. The treatment for diabetes mellitus depends largely on the type of diabetes. For example, insulin is the primary treatment option in type I diabetes mellitus while diet, exercise, and oral hypoglycemics are used in type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle modifications such as weight loss and healthy diets are recommended for both types of diabetes mellitus. Insulin is used in uncontrolled type 2 diabetes mellitus (Padhi et al., 2020). The treatments are usually combined for optimum glycemic control.
Patient Population
The target population that the health belief model will be applied are prediabetic African Americans. The population will be obtained through diabetes screening done to patients that come to the clinic. Patients with family histories of diabetes mellitus, obese, overweight, or suffering from diabetes-related comorbidities will be selected. African Americans are the appropriate population because of some reasons. First, the existing statistics show that diabetes rate is high among individuals of ethnic minority groups, including African Americans as compared to American whites. They are also increasingly predisposed to poor outcomes in the treatment of diabetes (Sims et al., 2020). Social determinants of health have been identified to play a crucial role in increasing diabetes rate in this population. For example, factors such as poverty, low income, unemployment, and structural injustices make it difficult for people of African American backgrounds become vulnerable to diabetes and its associated complications. The application of health belief model to prediabetic patients can reverse disease progression (Turkson‐Ocran et al., 2020). The utilization of interventions such as health education and motivational interviewing are effective in encouraging the prediabetics to adopt healthy lifestyles and behaviors, hence, the promotion of their optimum health and wellbeing.
Application of the Six Concepts
| HBM Concept | How the concept relates to the disease | Interventions to address the concept |
| Perceived susceptibility | Perceived susceptibility refers to the individual’s vulnerability to diabetes mellitus. The relationship with diabetes is that individual’s opinion on their risk of diabetes and its complications influences their behavioral change. If a prediabetic patient feels that he is at a risk of developing diabetes, then he is likely to embrace healthy lifestyles to reverse diabetes. | One of the interventions is health education. The prediabetics will be educated about the causes, risks, and prevention of diabetes. They will also be educated on the lifestyle and behavioral modifications to make and assisted in developing the desired plans (Saghafi-Asl et al., 2020). |
| Perceived severity | This refers to the individual’s susceptibility to a disease. A prediabetic may not understand the complications and challenges associated with diabetes. Increasing their awareness among them may stimulate positive change in lifestyle and behaviors. | The prediabetic patients will be educated about the health risks of diabetes mellitus. They are also educated on the strategies to live a healthy life. Increasing awareness will result in positive change in their lifestyle and behaviors, hence, reversing prediabetes and diabetes (Saghafi-Asl et al., 2020). |
| Perceived benefits | This refers to the benefits that the patients will get by changing their behaviors and lifestyle. The prediabetic patients are informed about the benefits of living a diabetes free lives. | Health education about the benefits of living a diabetes free life. This includes the elimination of health complications such as diabetic nephropathy, neuropathy, and wound, decline in the quality of life, and increased care costs (Jeffrey et al., 2019). |
| Perceived costs | This refers to the things that an individual must engage to achieve the desired health outcomes. The prediabetics have to change their lifestyles and behaviors for them to reverse the risks of developing diabetes. | Health education on the actions that the prediabetics have to embrace to prevent their risk of developing diabetes. This includes engaging in active physical activity, losing weight, eating healthy diets, and avoiding carbonated drinks (Azadi et al., 2021). |
| Cues to action | The reasons why a person realizes their risk of developing a disease. Triggers to behavioral change among the prediabetic patients are the cues to action. | Health education programs, community interventions for diabetes, and the media trigger behavioral change among the prediabetic patients (Dadkhah Tehrani et al., 2019). |
| Enabling or modifying factors | These are factors that support behavioral change. | Strategies such as linking the prediabetic patients with the existing social support groups, follow-up care, and giving them feedback on areas of improvement will contribute to the desired behavioral change (Wu et al., 2020). |
Use of the Framework by a DNP-Prepared Nurse
A DNP-prepared nurse can impact the quality of care by utilizing health belief model. First, the nurse uses the model in assessing the needs of their patients. The health belief model enables nurses to assess the attitudes, beliefs, and values that influence the behaviors of their patients. The understanding informs the strategies that nurses implement to facilitate behavioral change. The DNP-prepared nurse also uses the model to understand the perceptions of patients towards risks and their behavior. For example, nurses base their nursing actions on the perception of prediabetic patients towards diabetes and their behaviors (Saghafi-Asl et al., 2020). The understanding helps them to develop care plans that influence the lifestyles and behaviors of their patients, hence, minimizing their risk of developing diabetes and other health problems.
The DNP-prepared nurses also utilize the health belief model to address issues that affect the realization of optimum outcomes in the treatment process. Accordingly, issues such as poor treatment adherence and adoption of preventive services influence the health of the public. The health belief model is an effective tool for addressing these issues in nursing practice (Jeffrey et al., 2019). The DNP-prepared nurse uses the model to understand the influencing factors such the patients’ perception of barriers, benefits, susceptibility, and benefits of embracing the prescribed interventions.
The DNP-prepared nurse also uses the health belief model to promote preventive behaviors among populations at a risk of developing conditions such as diabetes. The model helps nurses to achieve this outcome by addressing constructs that include self-efficacy of the patients in meeting their needs. For example, the use of the health belief model in the study by Azadi et al., (2021) resulted in enhanced adoption of preventive measures because there were increase in the cues to action and perceived benefits among the study participants. Therefore, DNP nurses can use the model to stimulate positive behaviors among the vulnerable and affected populations in their communities.
Conclusion
In summary, the health belief model is a crucial tool for promoting behavioral change. The model can be applied to reversing the risk of diabetes among prediabetics. The concepts are applicable to diabetes prevention strategies. The DNP-prepared nurse can apply the model to improve the quality of care given to diverse populations in their practice.
References
Azadi, N. A., Ziapour, A., Lebni, J. Y., Irandoost, S. F., Abbas, J., & Chaboksavar, F. (2021). The effect of education based on health belief model on promoting preventive behaviors of hypertensive disease in staff of the Iran University of Medical Sciences. Archives of Public Health, 79(1), 69. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13690-021-00594-4
Cole, J. B., & Florez, J. C. (2020). Genetics of diabetes mellitus and diabetes complications. Nature Reviews Nephrology, 16(7), Article 7. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41581-020-0278-5
Dadkhah Tehrani, B., Tavakoli, R., & Jazayeri, S. A. (2019). The Effect of an Educational Intervention Based on Health Belief Model on Nutritional Behaviors in Type 2 Diabetics. Military Caring Sciences Journal, 5(4), 303–311. https://doi.org/10.29252/mcs.5.4.303
Glovaci, D., Fan, W., & Wong, N. D. (2019). Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus and Cardiovascular Disease. Current Cardiology Reports, 21(4), 21. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11886-019-1107-y
Jeffrey, B., Bagala, M., Creighton, A., Leavey, T., Nicholls, S., Wood, C., Longman, J., Barker, J., & Pit, S. (2019). Mobile phone applications and their use in the self-management of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A qualitative study among app users and non-app users. Diabetology & Metabolic Syndrome, 11(1), 84. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13098-019-0480-4
Padhi, S., Nayak, A. K., & Behera, A. (2020). Type II diabetes mellitus: A review on recent drug based therapeutics. Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy, 131, 110708. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2020.110708
Saghafi-Asl, M., Aliasgharzadeh, S., & Asghari-Jafarabadi, M. (2020). Factors influencing weight management behavior among college students: An application of the Health Belief Model. PLOS ONE, 15(2), e0228058. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228058
Sims, M., Glover, L. S. M., Gebreab, S. Y., & Spruill, T. M. (2020). Cumulative psychosocial factors are associated with cardiovascular disease risk factors and management among African Americans in the Jackson Heart Study. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 566. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08573-0
Turkson‐Ocran, R. N., Nmezi, N. A., Botchway, M. O., Szanton, S. L., Golden, S. H., Cooper, L. A., & Commodore‐Mensah, Y. (2020). Comparison of Cardiovascular Disease Risk Factors Among African Immigrants and African Americans: An Analysis of the 2010 to 2016 National Health Interview Surveys. Journal of the American Heart Association, 9(5), e013220. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.119.013220
Wu, S., Feng, X., & Sun, X. (2020). Development and evaluation of the health belief model scale for exercise. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 7, S23–S30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2020.07.006
ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CLASS
Discussion Questions (DQ)
Initial responses to the DQ should address all components of the questions asked, include a minimum of one scholarly source, and be at least 250 words.
Successful responses are substantive (i.e., add something new to the discussion, engage others in the discussion, well-developed idea) and include at least one scholarly source.
One or two sentence responses, simple statements of agreement or “good post,” and responses that are off-topic will not count as substantive. Substantive responses should be at least 150 words.
I encourage you to incorporate the readings from the week (as applicable) into your responses.
Weekly Participation
Your initial responses to the mandatory DQ do not count toward participation and are graded separately.
In addition to the DQ responses, you must post at least one reply to peers (or me) on three separate days, for a total of three replies.
Participation posts do not require a scholarly source/citation (unless you cite someone else’s work).
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I highly recommend using the APA Publication Manual, 6th edition.
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I discourage overutilization of direct quotes in DQs and assignments at the Masters’ level and deduct points accordingly.
As Masters’ level students, it is important that you be able to critically analyze and interpret information from journal articles and other resources. Simply restating someone else’s words does not demonstrate an understanding of the content or critical analysis of the content.
It is best to paraphrase content and cite your source.
LopesWrite Policy
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