581-6-a. Collaboration in Pediatric Primary Care.

Collaboration in Pediatric Primary Care
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Collaboration in Pediatric Primary Care
Pediatric healthcare practice is one of the essential components of health care delivery. It is a broad area of practice that encompasses monitoring both physical and psychological growth and development, age-matched screening, diagnosis, and treatment of both chronic and acute health conditions. It also entails the management of emergency and life-threatening conditions, case referrals, and maintaining coordinated and collaborative care. Pediatric primary health care focuses on children and adolescents, and its approach is leveraged on family and community support. This paper will focus on the case of childhood obesity, which I witnessed during pediatric clinical rotations and as an example of a case that requires a collaborative healthcare delivery.
Obesity in the U.S and other parts of the world is a health challenge not only to adults but also to children. The prevalence of obesity among children in the U.S is worrying. The prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States is increasing and has remained consistently high, with one in five children having obesity (Skinner et al., 2018). Lee & Yoon (2018) findings also showed an increased prevalence of obesity among children and adolescents, with over 100 million children affected as of 2015. Childhood obesity is a resultant interplay of various factors, including the imbalance of caloric intake and physical activity, genetic factors, and socio-environmental risk variables, which encompasses national policies, schools, family, and community. Childhood obesity and its progression to adulthood constitute a major risk factor for diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases. Given the sophisticated nature of obesity, a strategy that is multifaceted and comprehensive, which deploys behavioral, psychological, and environmental risk-factors reduction, ought to be adopted with a view of managing obesity in children and adolescents (Lee & Yoon, 2018).
Obese children not only face the risk of chronic disease, but they are also potential victims of bullying, which results in low self-esteem and depression. An obese child does not have full control of factors that elicit obesity but can manage this condition through exercise and diet, which can be achieved through personalization. However, it is an uphill task to control childhood obesity because the affected child lacks full control of his or her behavior. Instead, the facility habits, including dietary and physical exercise practices, have a great influence on the body weight of children. Obese parents may create an environment that leads to equally obese children. Thus, child obesity can be managed better if the healthcare provider develops partnerships and collaboration with parents in the adoption of strategies that would maintain a healthy weight. It is evident that better outcomes including improved dietary practices, more physical exercises and enhanced motivation towards a healthier lifestyle that aims to maintain a healthier weight.
I encountered an incident of obese children in pediatric clinical rotation. This case requires a holistic and collaborative from a team of healthcare providers, health coaches and nutritionists, among others, and is supported by the child’s family or parents. It is well known how the family set up is one of the key determinants of health behaviors, and significantly predicts the health status of a child, as an embodiment of various health outcomes. When the parents of the obese child were fully integrated into collaborative strategies, there was an increased positivity and satisfaction levels from the whole family and showed an improved commitment to pursue healthier lifestyle practices.
While working in healthcare arenas, including primary pediatric care, it is crucial to managing the majority of the conditions from a collaborative and team-based approach. Effective communication is the backbone...