PICO Framework

 
Introduction
Obesity has affected all groups in the population irrespective of their socio-economic status in Australia. However, the problem has affected aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders more than any other group in the population. According to the recent report by Australian Bureau of Statistics, the prevalence rate among these groups of population is twice the national prevalence rate (National Health and Medical Research Council, 2003; Australian Bureau of Statistics (2006). Children between 0-12 years are among the worst affected group among indigenous population making it a serious issue of concern among the stakeholders in the healthcare sector. About 30% of the indigenous school-going children are overweight and more than 20% are obese (National Obesity Taskforce, 2005). The problem is attributed to sedentary lifestyles, poor eating habits, and lack of physical exercise among the indigenous children. This study is aimed at investigating the role that parents can play in preventing and curing overweight and obesity among the indigenous children in Australia.
Research question
“Does parental responsibility play any significant role in preventing and curing overweight and obesity among the indigenous children?”
PICO framework
Problem
The increased prevalence rate of overweight and obesity among the indigenous children is a great concern to the government because it is associated with increased cases of cardiovascular diseases, some cancers, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems, gall-bladder and kidney disease, osteoarthritis among other health care problems (Dunn & Dewis, 2001). This study will provide important information on whether parental responsibility can offer solution to the increased cases of overweight and obesity among the indigenous children. This information will be very relevant to the governments, parents and other stakeholders in the health care sector who will use it to prevent and cure the disease. The government will come up with the necessary policies that can be implemented in the rural Australia where indigenous children live in order to curb the increasing rate of this health problem. Aboriginal and Torres Strait island parents will also know how they can prevent their children from becoming overweight and obese through practicing health lifestyles.
Intervention
The intervention method that will be used in this case is improved lifestyles among indigenous children through their parents. First, parents can play a crucial role in ensuring their children are balancing their calories intake, hence developing eating habits that are healthy to their bodies (Zimmet, Alberti, & Shaw, 2005). In this experiment, parents will help indigenous children to take care of the amount of calories they drink and eat in their food and to participate in physical activities that will promote their normal growth. Since a significant number of indigenous parents are not literate, they will be taught how they can develop healthy eating habits for their children such as providing plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole-grains products, avoiding fatty meat and milk products, drinking a lot of water, limiting sugary beverages and eating reasonable portions. Secondly, parents will be taught the benefits of ensuring their children remain physically active and reducing their sedentary time (Lindsay et al., 2006). Some of these benefits include strengthening bones, reducing blood pressure, weight management, building self-esteem among others. Finally, they will be taught how to avoid temptations of taking calories rich food such as salty snacks, high sugar, and high fat products.
Comparison
The experiment will compare the impacts of using parents in addressing overweight and obesity problem among indigenous children compared to using medication intervention method. The medication method that will be used for comparison in this experiment is orlisat (xenical) that will be part of weight loss program among those indigenous children already diagnosed with overweight and obesity. Normally, the drug prevents or inhibits absorption of excess fat in the intestine of the patient.
Outcomes
The researcher will be interested on the impacts of parental responsibility outcomes in addressing the overweight and obesity problem among indigenous children, as it will provide a viable solution to the issue. After the experiment, it is expected that parental responsibility will have greater impacts in preventing and treating overweight and obesity compared to using orlisat drug. This is because parental responsibility is easier and cheaper since it prevents the problem from occurring. The intervention method requires just education in order for indigenous parents to know how to help their children live healthy lifestyles. Using medication intervention is likely to be expensive to parents whose economic status is normally low and they may even not afford it. Secondly, if the drug is used for long time, it may have other impacts to the body of the children. Thirdly, orlistat efficiency is also low compared to parent intervention method and may not help much in addressing the problem among the indigenous children.

Outline of the proposed strategy
Sampling
20 indigenous parents (10 informed and practicing healthy lifestyles for their children and 10 uninformed and not practicing) will be randomly selected
Data collection & Data analysis
Data collected using questionnaires and analyzed using statistical methods
Drawing conclusion
Valid conclusion drawn
Comparing with available literature
Literature from governmental health publications, peer reviewed journals, textbooks and other health magazines on parent role in obesity prevention will be analyzed. Some of the keywords will include obesity, indigenous parents, healthy lifestyles, intervention, among others.
Conclusion
Given the low economic status of the indigenous families, obesity prevention program can be better than curing overweight and obesity among their children. This study will provide important information to the policymakers and indigenous parents on how they can support obesity prevention program for the children.
References
Australian Bureau of Statistics, (2006). National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Australia, 2004-05. Canberra: Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Dunn, S., & Dewis, E. (2001). Healthy weight program evaluation, Queensland 1996-1999. Aboriginal and Islander Health Worker Journal, 25(4), 26-28.
Lindsay, A.C., Sussner, K.M., Kim, J., & Gortmaker, S. (2006). The role of parents in preventing childhood obesity. Future Child, 16(1), 169-86.
National Health and Medical Research Council, (2003). Clinical practice guidelines for the management of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents. Canberra: National Health and Medical Research Council.
National Obesity Taskforce (2005) Healthy weight 2008: Australia’s future. Retrieved on sep 8 2015 from http://www.healthyandactive.health.gov.au/docs/healthy_weight08.pdf
Zimmet, P., Alberti, K., Shaw, J.E. (2005). Mainstreaming the metabolic syndrome: a definitive definition. Medical Journal of Australia, 183(4), 175-176.
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