Nauta Colleen, Byrne Claire, Wesley Yvonne
Frederic A. Priff Elementary School, Waretown, New Jersey, USA.
Issues Compr Pediatr Nurs. 2009;32(1):16-30. doi: 10.1080/01460860802610186.
Childhood obesity has escalated to an alarming proportion in the last twenty years. It is currently the most preventable nutritional disease of the 21(st) century. Anecdotal literature suggests that school nurses play a pivotal role in the fight against the escalating incidence of childhood obesity. However, research has not clearly shown that school nurses engage in health promotion behaviors that combat childhood obesity.
A convenience sample of 103 New Jersey school nurses who attended county school nurses association meetings were surveyed. A 55-item tool was used to measure school nurses' knowledge and practice regarding childhood obesity.
While ninety-nine percent of the nurses are aware that childhood obesity is becoming more prevalent, more than 35% of the school nurses reported a lack of competence in recommending weight-loss programs for children. More than 65% rated using age-specific BMI to calculate childhood obesity "sometimes," "rarely," or "never."
Data from this study indicates that New Jersey school nurses are knowledgeable regarding childhood obesity, yet many do not report levels of competence in recommending weight-loss treatment to promote healthy lifestyle choices for their students. Further research is needed to understand the barriers to health promotion practices among school nurses.
在过去二十年中，儿童肥胖问题已升级到令人担忧的程度。它是目前21世纪最可预防的营养疾病。轶事文献表明，学校护士在应对儿童肥胖发病率不断上升的斗争中发挥着关键作用。然而，研究尚未明确表明学校护士会参与对抗儿童肥胖的健康促进行为。
对参加县学校护士协会会议的103名新泽西州学校护士进行了便利抽样调查。使用一个包含55个条目的工具来衡量学校护士关于儿童肥胖的知识和实践。
虽然99%的护士意识到儿童肥胖问题日益普遍，但超过35%的学校护士表示在为儿童推荐减肥计划方面缺乏能力。超过65%的人将使用特定年龄的BMI来计算儿童肥胖评为“有时”“很少”或“从不”。
这项研究的数据表明，新泽西州的学校护士了解儿童肥胖问题，但许多人在为学生推荐减肥治疗以促进健康生活方式选择方面未报告具备相应能力水平。需要进一步研究以了解学校护士健康促进实践的障碍。
