Assessment of Nutrition in Children
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Program Name or Degree Name (e.g., Master of Science in Nursing), Walden University
COURSE XX: Title of Course
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Month XX, 202X
Assessment of Nutrition in Children
The well-being of children depends entirely on the environment as well as their nutritional health. Undoubtedly, the developmental milestone relies largely on the accessibility to safe and healthy nutrition (Ball et al., 2019). Children from impoverished backgrounds have disproportionate disparities in the quality of their health. Most often, these children experience undernutrition due to a lack of access to adequate food (Duncanson et al., 2021). Undernutrition in children is a health issue of concern as it predisposes those affected to other comorbidities.
In this study, a case of a 7-year-old severely underweight Hispanic child has been selected. A breakdown of the health issue and risk will be explored. Information for further assessment of the case will be gathered and sets of questions asked to provide more insight into the case studied. Finally, health promotion strategies will be suggested to the parents of the child to help improve his health for future well-being.
Health Issues and Risks for the Assigned Child
The case represents a health issue of underweight which is likely to emanate from undernutrition. Even though the child remains an incredible case for this study, the mother whom she spent the longest time with is also predisposed to the issue of underweight (Kofinti et al., 2021). The premise may lead to an abstract conclusion that the nutrition status of the child was attributed to poor feeding habits from the mother. While this assertion remains unclear, one may hypothesize the underweight condition of the child arises from low appetite, underlying medical condition, and increased need for energy required to achieve optimal growth and development (Claudia et al., 2019). Family factor may also result in underweight especially when the child is left to feed alone, lack of adequate meals, and poor food selection that fails to provide sufficient nutrients for growth.
Additional Information needed for further Assessment of the Child
Supplementary data are required to further assess and develop a diagnosis for the case study. The information needed includes the activity pattern of the child and their parents to ascertain the extent of risk. The social and economic status of the parents will also provide insights about how the child can access healthy and sufficient nutritious food to address the health issue (Ball et al., 2019). However, a health professional will acquire additional information about the family history, food-seeking behavior, and information about the perception of birth parents on underweight (Kubota et al., 2021). Besides, screening of the child and parents should be undertaken to gather information on the predisposition of the family to health conditions that may result in underweight.
The genetic background of this family could be a trigger to underweight to the child. The mother could be predisposed to a health condition that might be transmitted to the child and this could have contributed to underweight (Keats et al., 2021). However, it suffices to say that the sexual development of the child might have contributed to poor weight gain considering that undernutrition in children may arise due to nutrient deprivation.
Further Information needed to gain a full understanding of the Child’s Health
Health providers need to ascertain the health of the child by gathering sufficient data on the diet of the patient. Further information about food consumption includes 24-hour food recall, feeding patterns, mealtime locations, and cultural aspects of food selection (Kofinti et al., 2021). However, data on social behavior during food consumption would be needed to ascertain social exclusion, parenting techniques, and bullying during meal times that can affect overall meal consumption (Kubota et al., 2021). Nonetheless, data on underlying health issues for the case study are required to address the case of underweight amicably.
Three Specific Questions to be asked
- What can you describe your feeding habits to be on a daily basis?
- How do you consider the weight of your daughter compared to other children of the same age?
- Has your child been diagnosed with any underlying health issue in the last six months?
Strategies Employed to encourage parents/caregivers to promote Child’s Health
Health improvement initiatives for the case study focus on improving nutrient intake to encourage weight gain for the child. In this regard, parents will be given nutrition education and counseling on selected foods that can provide sufficient energy for the case study (Keats et al., 2021). Particularly, the mother will be advised to adhere to a regular meal pattern that can encourage weight gain and this has a ripple effect in addressing the case for the child considering that they suffer nearly the same weight issue (Claudia et al., 2019). However, the parents will be encouraged to visit a health facility so that the well-being of the child is assessed to establish any underlying health issue that could predispose the case study to be underweight. Nonetheless, the parents will be encouraged to provide foods that are appealing to the child to encourage consumption only if the poor weight arose due to lack of appetite. Use of dietary supplements would be encouraged mostly when the case of underweight remains pervasive.
Conclusion
The case presented a scenario of underweight in children largely attributed to genetic factors and poor nutrient intake. While the case affected the child, the mother’s nutrition status remained precarious and therefore there is a dual burden of intervention to the family. However, resolving the underweight in the mother will have a double effect in addressing the issue for the child since they reside together. It is also prudent to assess the health factors of the mother and the child to establish the main contributing factor to underweight.
References
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby
Claudia, G. C., Lucia, M. S., Miguel, K. K., Patricia, C., & Edgar, D. G. (2019). Association between sociodemographic factors and dietary patterns in children under 24 months of age: a systematic review. Nutrients, 11(9), 2006. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11092006
Duncanson, K., Shrewsbury, V., Burrows, T., Chai, L. K., Ashton, L., Taylor, R., … & Collins, C. E. (2021). Impact of weight management nutrition interventions on dietary outcomes in children and adolescents with overweight or obesity: a systematic review with meta‐analysis. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 34(1), 147-177. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12831
Keats, E. C., Das, J. K., Salam, R. A., Lassi, Z. S., Imdad, A., Black, R. E., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2021). Effective interventions to address maternal and child malnutrition: an update of the evidence. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 5(5), 367-384. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30274-1
Kofinti, R. E., Koomson, I., Paintsil, J. A., & Ameyaw, E. K. (2022). Reducing children’s malnutrition by increasing mothers’ health insurance coverage: A focus on stunting and underweight across 32 sub-Saharan African countries. Economic Modelling, 117, 106049. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2022.106049
Kubota, Y., Pech, N. S., Durward, C., & Ogawa, H. (2021). Underweight and early childhood caries among young children in rural Cambodia: a pilot study. BDJ open, 7(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41405-021-00089-y