Table of Contents
Community Health Nursing Diagnosis Statement
My community health nursing diagnosis is an increased risk of obesity amongst adults 18-65 related to food insecurity as evidenced by an average obesity rate of 30.7 percent in Duval County, Florida.
Health Inequity/Disparity
The health disparity in the obesity rate amongst adults in Duval County correlates to low income, which results in food insecurity. Residents earning less than $25,000 a year make up 38.3% of the obese adults in Duval County (Flhealthcharts, n.d.).
Primary community and Prevention Resources
In Duval County, many initiatives are underway to address obesity-related to food insecurity. For example, The Northeast Florida Hunger Network is a network that gathers together organizations and people involved in nutrition and food to find solutions that attempt to eliminate barriers to food access while increasing the availability of nutritious food in Northeast Florida communities. Additionally, Feeding Florida is a network that provides nutritious foods to over 2.8 million Floridians, annually.
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Feeding Florida has a program called “Farmers Feeding Florida” which, in partnership with Florida’s agricultural department, redirects millions of pounds of fresh produce to the food insecure in Duval County. Considering obesity directly relates to food insecurity, ensuring access to fresh produce is a primary prevention tool in fighting surging obesity rates. Feeding Florida also provides Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients with “Fresh Access Bucks” which is a USDA funded initiative that matches up to forty dollars of SNAP benefits spent on Florida-grown fruits and vegetables at participating vendors, for a total of eighty dollars.
Underlying Causes
One of the reasons Duval County residents at or below the poverty line are obese is related to food insecurity. The USDA defines food insecurity as “a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food” (USDA, n.d.). Food insecurity relates to a lack of access to healthy, whole food due to an absence of grocery stores and the presence of convenience-type stores, which sell and stock mostly processed foods. Food insecurity and obesity are more prevalent in low-income demographics. Adults with low- income are more food insecure by default and may rely on inexpensive, high-calorie food choices, which can lead to obesity due to consuming more energy than the body requires.
Evidence-Based Practice
In the International Journal of Medical Reviews, an Article titled “A Review of the Relationship between Obesity and Food Insecurity” (International Journal of Medical Reviews, 2016) surmised that food insecurity and obesity prevalence depended on factors such as age, income levels, and race. The article concluded that due to the similar prevalence amongst these demographics there seemed to be a direct correlation between food insecurity and obesity recognizable amongst most gender and age groups.
Food insecurity can also lead to disordered eating patterns. An article titled “Disordered eating patterns and food insecurity” (Obesity research & clinical practice, 2016) shared that although food insecurity has been historically related to individuals being underweight, current trends now show because processed foods high in refined carbohydrates and fat are cheaper than their more nutritional counterparts, people choose to be full over being healthy. A diet high in processed foods leads to overeating because the body still needs nutrients, which are not provided, and individuals’ fuel that drive with even more processed foods.
Identification of Data
In Duval County, Fl, 30.7% of adults 18-65 are obese compared to the overall Florida obesity rate of 27.4 %. As you can infer, Duval County has an increased risk of obesity compared to the state of Florida. 38.3% of obese Duval County residents, age 18-65, earn less than $25,000 per year compared to 24% who earn $50,000 or more per year. In Duval County, 82.7 % of residents, age 18-65, eat less than 5 servings of fruits/vegetables per day, which correlates to obesity. Only 26.4% of adults, age 18-65, in Duval County live within .5 miles of a healthy food source, which means 73.6% of residents have limited access to nutritionally dense foods contributing to the obesity rates (Florida Department of Children and Families, 2019).
Social Media Campaign Objective
The objective of using social media is to decrease the obesity percentage rates in Duval County adults, age 18-65, by at least 4.0 % in order to result in an obesity rate lower than the overall obesity rate of Florida.
Social Marketing Interventions
Two population-focused social marketing interventions would be to create an online database of all Duval County food banks and participating “Fresh Bucks” vendors, the days and hours of operation, and any requirements, such as proof of income, identity, or residency. I would also create a database of alternative methods to acquire nutrition-dense foods outside of conventional groceries stores, For example, may Duval County residents may be unaware that Amazon, Publix Grocery stores, and Wal-Mart all have delivery options available in Northeast Florida (Feeding Florida, n.d.)
By socially marketing an online database of food banks, obese residents of Duval County will be able to access information that will contribute to food security by allowing access to information related to the “how” and “where” of obtaining nutritious food. Access to nutritious foods will help lower the obesity rates of adults in Duval County by providing options other than the processed foods readily (un) available in or near their homes.
Home Delivery and online ordering of food can benefit people who do not have access to a grocery store, due to location or lack of transportation access. Food delivery may help eliminate the frequent nutritionally poor meals of those without access to a grocery store. Exposing the obese adults of Duval County to the many different options of nutritious food delivery will expand awareness of the current grocery trends, which are taking advantage of increased social media and online delivery use.
Description of Social Media Platform
In order to reach my target population, I would use Facebook to create a “Nutrition Granted” group open to obese residents of Duval County. This will give obese individuals a judgment-free online environment to exchange meal ideas, alert fellow members to scheduled food giveaway, coordinate rideshares to food banks, and participate in a shared motivation to lose weight. A closed Facebook group is ideal for the obese adult population in Duval County because it lessens the possibility of the fat and poor shaming that many individuals belonging to those demographics experience.
Benefits of Social Media Platform
A closed Facebook group is ideal for the obese adult population in Duval County because it lessens the possibility of the fat and poor shaming that many individuals belonging to those demographics experience. Feeling invited and welcomed is an important part of changing an individual’s perspective and makes them more open to new ideas and visions. Furthermore, Facebook is free to low-cost, user-friendly, and easily accessible to most adult residents of Duval County, Florida.
Benefit to Target Population
Obese adults of Duval County, Florida will benefit from this health message by being provided increased access to nutritionally dense foods via awareness of informational resources. Nutritionally dense foods, and access to them, are key to fighting obesity-related to food insecurity.
Best Practices for Social Media
Best practices for implementing social media tools for health marketing are 1) ensure the health campaign is authentic. Users can tell when the social media campaign is contrived, which decreases the possibility of the user relating to the underlying messages. Encourage users to share their stories and to interact with users who share theirs. 2) Strive to create an interactive user experience by creating an exchange that helps users and promotes a sense of community. Create creative healthy meal or exercise challenges, share progress pictures, or create quizzes to help the users gain self-reflection. And 3) Share truthful data with the users of your social media platform. Show them the obesity rates of Duval County, show them the lack of healthy food options, and show them how food security decreases obesity. Members responded better when they are shown information rather than simply being told.
Stakeholder Roles and Responsibilities
I would be the sole stakeholder of this social media obesity decrease campaign, I would be responsible for granting access to the group, page design, act as the group mediator, creating relatable content and updating all data-driven information. However, Facebook allows one the opportunity to assign Administrative duties to select members, which will be helpful as the campaign grows.
Potential Public and Private Partnerships
Potential partnerships to my “Nutrition Granted” obesity decrease social media campaign could be private or public. Feeding Florida, a network of food banks, allows sharing and linking of their data on social media platforms. More private partnerships would be utilizing the friends I already have on Facebook to “like” or “share” my proposed group, this would increase membership by increasing the number of views received by my group.
Timeline
Initially, I would create a new Facebook account and a closed group. Following the creation of my group, I would begin marketing my idea by sharing my page with family and friends and established weight loss groups. For the first 2 weeks, I would add new data daily hopefully, enticing users to join gradually. I would update my group/page daily with new data from the Florida Department of health, nutrition-related trivia, and motivational messages. Once a week I would update my page with scheduled food distributions in Duval County with encouragement to members to add or volunteer corrections or information. Every weekend I would advertise and link the various farmers’ markets hosted in Duval County, Florida. As group membership grows, I will conduct surveys bi-weekly to weekly in order to assess members’ needs and requests. Realistically, I believe my campaign can be implemented in less than a month, and since Facebook does not charge to create groups the cost would be free.
Evaluation
I will evaluate the success of my social media campaign by the biweekly and monthly amounts of shares and likes my closed group receives my Facebook users. I will also be able to evaluate the success by considering the average daily contributions by group members and assessing the daily traffic to my page. Member interactions can also be used as a tool to measure the effectiveness of my campaign.
Cost of Implementing the Campaign
My “Nutrition Granted” obesity decrease social media platform would be free to implement, as Facebook does not charge to create groups and I can link to various food bank resources for free.
Reflection on Social Media Marketing
Social media is an ideal tool for nurses to use as a change agent in their community simply because the vast majority already utilizes some form of social media, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. Most social media platforms linked to the others resulting in increased and shared user traffic between platforms. A social media health campaign is one of the fastest and most efficient ways to disseminate information to a large population in a cost-effective manner.
Reflection on Future Nursing Practice
My social media campaign could apply to my future practice by making me more aware and sensitive to the impact of health inequity and disparity on weight. This will allow me to refrain from judging potential patients while enabling me with data and tools to empower them to make healthy choices by raising their awareness of more healthful food options and modes of access. I will also be able to enlist my fellow healthcare workers in advocating for increased food access, thereby decreasing obesity rates and chronic health problems by extension.
References
- Disordered eating behaviors and food insecurity: A qualitative study about children with obesity in low-income households. Obesity research & clinical practice, 10(5), 544–552. doi:10.1016/j.orcp.2015.11.007
- Feeding Northeast Florida. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2020, from https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank/feeding-northeast-florida
- FLHealthCHARTS. (n.d.). Retrieved March 13, 2020, from http://www.flhealthcharts.com/charts/default.aspx
- Healthy Jacksonville | Florida Department of Health in Duval. (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2020, from http://duval.floridahealth.gov/programs-and-services/wellness-programs/healthy-jacksonville/index.html
- Mohammad, A., Ajami, M., Abdollahi, M., Kolahi Ahari, G. (2016). A Review of the Relationship between Obesity and Food Insecurity. International Journal of Medical Reviews, 3(1), 381-388.Tester, J. M., Lang, T. C., & Laraia, B. A. (2016).
- 2016 Florida Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System … (n.d.). Retrieved March 10, 2020, from http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/survey-data/behavioral-risk-factor-surveillance-system/reports/2016 Reports/Duval.pdf
