Fit-Body And Soul

The health disparities among the Blacks/African American is on the rise which is of being mostly affected by diabetes the United States and Maryland. Diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are connected which can lead to increase mortality among this population. In that matter, the Health Empowerment African Americans Diabetes Program proposal includes my creating awareness which will offer diabetes education as connected to other commodities and self-management and counseling. This will be done through outreach programs in the community in health classes and health fairs through health screening, blood glucose screening, A1C, exercise activities, body mass index (BMI), weight, monitoring of individual self-monitor log, and

Diabetes  is a serious health condition that is a chronic illness for the African Americans. Diabetes preventions strategies in African American community can be a tricky task to contain and prevent for several reasons I will discuss in this paper.

According to Rural Health Information Hub (2017), the fundamental purpose of disease prevention is to keep individuals healthy. One implements health promotion interventions in an effort to promote healthy behaviors and to decrease the risks of developing chronic illnesses (RHIH, 2017). According to the ADA (2016) individuals that participate in health promotion behaviors are more likely to have better health outcomes compared to those who do not. The EBP change project has shown that educating patients with prediabetes can increase diabetes knowledge and promote an increase in health promotion behaviors. The EBP change project outcome has indicated that participants who completed the 6-week diabetes education program were able to increase their knowledge regarding type 2 diabetes. Therefore, with the positive outcome of the EBP change project, the EBP change project site can incorporate certain aspects of the diabetes education program into their patient education to increase diabetes knowledge, picking healthier food options and participants in activities that would increase physical fitness.

The intervention that was conducted targeted African Americans and the Latino Community because the intervention reports that African Americans and Latinos experience 50 percent to 100 percent of the illness and mortality. It also reports that both these ethnicities also experience diabetes more than White Americans. The intervention was conducted by Community Health Workers (CHW), the CHWs gathered 164 African Americans and Latinos from 2 health systems which where in Detroit and Michigan. The hemoglobin levels in these communities were high according to the intervention and decided to focus on this aspect of the disease. The main focus of this intervention was to educated the target population on how to reduce their hemoglobin A1c levels. CHWs provided the target population with many skills such as self

However, due to the United States’ aging population, along with an increasing prevalence of obesity, diabetes is on the increase. Of the approximately 313 million population count in the United States, 97 million adults are overweight or obese. “Both excess body fat and physical inactivity predispose to type 2 diabetes. Several ethnic groups are particularly susceptible to Type 2 diabetes” (Scott 1134). Hispanics, blacks,

Recruited were a total of 28 African-American women to participate in this faith-based weight loss study by word of mouth, fliers in the church, and pastoral encouragement. Inclusion criteria included ages 18 to 80, self-identified as African-American, female, at least 25% above ideal body, and in reasonable health. However, the researcher randomized only 16 women; 8 into the faith intervention group and 8 into the control group.

However, the participants in this EBP change project will be given a pre-and posttest to evaluate the efficacy of a culturally sensitive education program regarding increasing healthy lifestyle behaviors regarding nutrition, exercise, and knowledge regarding Type 2 Diabetes.

Diabetes (DM) is one the many initiatives that Healthy People 2020 have been focusing on to reduce this disease morbidity and mortality rates throughout the communities. In the United States alone, the number of individuals diagnosed with diabetes has increased from 1.5 million in 1958 to 25.8 million in 2011. The Center for Disease and prevention (CDC) also estimates in the year 2011, 79 million people age 20 and over were noted to have pre-diabetes, in which the blood sugar was higher than normal levels, however, have not reached the level for a diagnosis of DM. Eleven percent of those individuals with pre-diabetic readings of raised blood glucose will progress in full blown diabetes a matter of three years. Healthy People 2020 have used evidence –based practices to aid in the prevention and treatment of diabetes. Evidence have shown by simply modifying one’s lifestyle such regular exercising and healthy eating have been recognized to effectively prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes in high-risk persons. Case in point, the Diabetes Prevention Program research trial revealed that the utilization of lifestyle interferences had its utmost impact in elderly adults and was also effective in all racial groups.

Despite the well-publicized health and emotional consequences of obesity, a successful weight-loss industry, and a high rate of voluntary dieting, the prevalence of obesity in African American women continues to increase. For the most part, African American women are aware of the serious health risks related to obesity. Honest attempts to diet and exercise properly usually resulted in gaining of the weight loss and additional pounds in the process. A limited number of studies suggest that African American women maybe less motivated to control their weight because of culturally determined, permissive attitudes toward obesity (Kumanyika & Guilford-Davis, 1993). In fact a select few of obese African

Both her parents were born in this country and English is the primary language. Utilizing the heritage assessment tool, one can deduce that she has a relatively strong identification with traditional heritage. Although she is not in contact with her grandparents, she has a strong base of nuclear family support and asserts that the family will always seek family guidance and support before making critical decisions, including those about health care. Her family mostly utilizes traditional Western remedies rather than natural or herbal remedies, however preventive care is not often sought until an illness or symptoms become more intense. Prayer and religious practice are very important to this family and regarded as crucial for positive health outcomes and recovery. The interviewee asserts that she and her family often seek religious counsel and active Bible reading in times of distress. In this family, traditional foods are often prepared including largely fried foods, potatoes, and minimal vegetables. This correlates with many African-American cooking traditions of overcooking greens and frying foods (Gardner, 2012). According to the interviewee, most members of this family do not actively seek preventive care unless there is a more severe problem. This correlates with other studies regarding health behaviors of this culture. Whether it is due to mistrust or discrimination, African Americans do not always access medical care in a timely, preventive oriented

African American women have the highest prevalence of being overweight and obese in the United States, at 82%. A primary goal of Health People 2020 is to eliminate health disparities for populations that are at higher risk of developing chronic conditions related to obesity, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. Contributing health factors that cause obesity, such as decreased physical activity, stress, and poor nutrition, is also an area of focus. Church is a long-standing source of support for African American women and is a good place to promote faith-based healthy lifestyle programs (Kyryliuk, Baruth, &

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease where patient education is imperative and requires education that surpasses the primary care office. According to Cha et al. (2012) basic education and family involvement is an essential component for pre-diabetic and diabetic population to achieve glycemic control. Time management and time constraint are obstacles that are affecting the primary care provider in initiating health promotion topics and disease prevention information (Kowinsky, Greenhouse, Zombek, Rader & Reidy, 2009). Recognizing the time constraint at the EBP change project site for health promotion and patient education a culturally sensitive educational program would be created to promote healthy lifestyle behaviors targeting African Americans with prediabetes.

Carter, Barba, and Kautz (2013) report culturally tailored education can lead to significant improvements in self-care in African Americans with type 2 diabetes. Also, appropriate dieting, exercise, medical checkups and medication regimens for prevention and management show efficient improvements. The Health Belief Model is realistic and acknowledges that having a desire to change health behavior may not be enough. Therefore, two elements that may be helpful include cues to action and self-efficacy. The cues to action are external whereas, self-efficacy focuses on his or her ability to make a health-related change (Boskey, 2014).

One other reason I believe I’m perfect for FIT is due to my certainty. I am certain that graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design from FIT is what I want. For the last three years, I tried to concentrate on other fields of studies at my current university (to please my parents’ wishes) but, nothing interested me. I had no desire for the things I was learning and, I became unmotivated to do great in a school I felt lost in. After switching my major twice, I found that nothing other than fashion kept me happy. I realized that I was wasting time attending my current university especially, when I knew FIT was the one school I wanted to attend. Because of this experience in college, I was positive that the major I needed to study was

The African Americans are at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality than other ethnicities.1 This obvious health disparity between African-American population compared to other ethnicities calls for attention towards the need for an increased awareness of heart disease that affects African-Americans in the United States. Although African-Americans women have a higher risk of developing heart disease, very few are aware of their risks or get the medical care. Thus, the HBM model forms the conceptual framework that helps develop an ideal intervention that targets the African-American women’s lack of awareness of their health risk. On the other hand, the TTM model provides the perfect model to assesses the participant’s readiness to take charge and make the necessary behavior change, and helps recognize and create an ideal environment for the individuals to utilize the opportunities provided for the intervention to be effective. The physical activity intervention is a great intervention that targets younger as well as non- educated or low socio-economic status