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Introduction
The development of a health education program is based on the particularities of the population selected as a target audience concerning the statistical indicators characterizing one of the health concerns this population encounters. According to Scarinci et al. (2012), developing a culturally sensitive intervention program should include intervention mapping based on the PEN-3 model. This model allows for identifying population needs assessment and the investigation of their relationship and cultural empowerment effects (Scarinci et al., 2012).
Culture plays a decisive role in peoples perception of and beliefs about health. For that matter, the development of a weight-loss program for the Hispanic population addressed in this paper will be informed by the cultural particularities of this group. The paper is designed to explain the approach to planning and implementing the proposed program and the challenges that might complicate the projects conduct.
Justification of the Approach to the Health Educational Program
Target Audience
The program would be aimed at a neighborhood of the Hispanic population where people with obesity reside. Such an approach is validated by the generalized cultural and community-based factors contributing to obesity prevalence in the Hispanic population. Indeed, according to Lindberg et al. (2013), Hispanic communities living in the USA are prone to obesity due to a high-fat diet and low socioeconomic status, which reduces their ability to regulate their body weight systematically. While a person and extended family have closer relevance to individual cases, the purpose of the health education program is to make a broader change. It will induce a substantial improvement in the lifestyles of a whole community through the dissemination of evidence-based information (Perez & Fleury, 2018). Indeed, local food choices, collective attitudes toward obesity, the economic status of the neighborhood, and the availability of community-based support justify the selection of the neighborhood as a target audience.
Perceptions, Enablers, and Nurturers
There are several positive perceptions, enablers, and nurturers that would be reinforced within the framework of the health education program. Firstly, the perceptions of a body image with positive attitudes without stigmatization will help encourage healthy attitudes toward bodies under the impact of the pursued changes (Alert et al., 2019; Lindberg et al., 2013). Secondly,
the positive enablers that should be reinforced within the program include access to online nutrition information and courses, available healthcare facilities in the neighborhood, and available sporting activities (Garcia et al., 2019). Thirdly, the nurturers that would have positive impacts on the population during the interventions are the religious affiliations in the neighborhood that will facilitate the positive outcomes of the population, as well as the intergenerational support.
The negative factors that would need to be overcome in the course of the program planning and intervention include several perceptions of health and body image. In particular, as stated by Lindberg et al. (2013), Hispanic populations perceive high-calorie food as an indicator of well-being. Moreover, a sedentary lifestyle and the perception of obese bodies as normal should be addressed and discouraged in the program (Alert et al., 2019). The negative enablers include insufficient access to fresh produce due to low socioeconomic status (Garcia et al., 2019). Finally, the nurturers that should be overcome are the reinforcement of being overweight by family members due to their views that excessive weight contributes to good health.
Cultural Empowerment
Cultural empowerment aspects might have both positive and negative implications for the achievement of the programs goals. In particular, extended family support, optimistic and resilient worldview, and persistence in goal-achievement characteristics to the Hispanic population might be a positive cultural empowerment (Lindberg et al., 2013; Perez & Fleury, 2018; Sanchez-Johnsen et al., 2017). As for the negative cultural empowerment aspects, one might state that Latino men and women engage in less leisure time physical activity than non-Hispanic Whites (Sanchez-Johnsen et al., 2017, p. 827). This particularity should be overcome, as well as the culturally implied lack of precise measurement use in cooking (Lindberg et al., 2013, p. 2). Finally, existential cultural empowerment sources religious and spiritual practices that encourage the Hispanic populations to overcome problems and achieve their goals.
Foreseeable Challenges
One of the challenges that one might encounter when planning the educational program is over-generalized information about the cultural group. Indeed, studies suggest statistical predispositions and cultural particularities of the Hispanic population at large (Alert et al., 2019; Garcia et al., 2019). However, before implementing the program in a specific neighborhood, it might be relevant to collect background information about their particular cultural beliefs to ensure the appropriateness of the chosen interventions for Hispanic individuals with obesity (Salinas et al., 2020). Moreover, when implementing the program, one might face a problem of participants resistance to change, which should be overcome by appealing to the enablers and cultural empowerment elements that have a positive effect. Furthermore, the impact of negative perceptions, enablers, and cultural empowerment elements might jeopardize the achievement of program goals. Deliberate culturally sensitive approaches such as discussions, individual and family meetings, as well as attending religious facilities should be encouraged to address this challenge.
Conclusion
In summation, when planning and implementing the health education program for weight loss in Hispanic populations with obesity, the neighborhood would be the focus audience due to the prevalence of the issue based on community-related factors. The positive factors, such as family support, positive perception of body images, persistence, religious and spiritual empowerment, and resilience, would be reinforced. The sedentary lifestyle, perception of an overweight body as a norm, and the problems with access to fresh produce will be reduced to eliminate negative implications for the program outcomes.
References
Alert, M. D., Saab, P. G., Llabre, M. M., & McCalla, J. R. (2019). Are self-efficacy and weight perception associated with physical activity and sedentary behavior in Hispanic adolescents?. Health Education & Behavior, 46(1), 53-62.
Garcia, M. L., Gatdula, N., Bonilla, E., Frank, G. C., Bird, M., Rascón, M. S., & Rios-Ellis, B. (2019). Engaging intergenerational Hispanics/Latinos to examine factors influencing childhood obesity using the PRECEDEPROCEED model. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 23(6), 802-810.
Lindberg, N. M., Stevens, V. J., & Halperin, R. O. (2013). Weight-loss interventions for Hispanic populations: The role of culture. Journal of Obesity, 2013, 1-7.
Perez, A., & Fleury, J. (2018). Using a cultural framework to assess motivation for physical activity among older Hispanic women. Family & Community Health, 41(1), 10-17.
Salinas, J. J., Sheen, J., Carlyle, M., Shokar, N. K., Vazquez, G., Murphy, D., & Alozie, O. (2020). Using electronic medical record data to better understand obesity in Hispanic neighborhoods in El Paso, Texas. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 1-11.
Sanchez-Johnsen, L., Craven, M., Nava, M., Alonso, A., Dykema-Engblade, A., Rademaker, A., & Xie, H. (2017). Cultural variables underlying obesity in Latino men: Design, rationale and participant characteristics from the Latino mens health initiative. Journal of Community Health, 42(4), 826-838.
Scarinci, I. C., Bandura, L., Hidalgo, B., & Cherrington, A. (2012). Development of a theory-based (PEN-3 and health belief model), culturally relevant intervention on cervical cancer prevention among Latina immigrants using intervention mapping. Health Promotion Practice, 13(1), 29-40.
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