Effective Technique for Grassroots Advocacy: a Visit with a Policymaker - Essay Example

Meeting with a policy maker Introduction A visit with a policy maker is an effective technique for grassroots advocacy. These visits always offer a foundation for future communications between policy makers, nurses and the public. In most cases, face to face meeting is the most preferred meeting when meeting a policy maker. This is because face to face meetings generate a connection and assist in building a relationship with the policy maker. Having a face to face meeting permits cooperation and the person interacting with the policy maker can learn about the personality of the policymaker and understand how to express and communicate the policy issue with the policy maker (Mason et al., 2011). Face to face interaction with a policy maker ensures effectiveness of the visit as almost all the questions are assured of an answer and the policy maker can hear all the policy issue concerns. In my visit to the policy maker, I placed a call to their office before visiting in order to book for an appointment. I obtained the number from the blue pages in my phonebook and called between the normal working hours. After calling his office, the call went through his personal assistant who was so quick to dismiss me. However, I insisted on talking with the Policy maker and the personal assistant heeded my plea and connected me to the commissioner’s line. Though the commissioner was busy, I knew I had limited time to persuade him and I told him about the primary aim of my visit and told him that meeting him would assist in reducing childhood obesity within the constituency as it had become prevalent. I knew that the commissioner had interest in the policy issue and that he would be willing to meet me to talk of the way forward and discuss some of the possible remedies to reduce its prevalence. After explaining myself, the policy maker told me that his weekly schedule was a bit tight, but he would slot some time on April 10th at 11 am for us to meet. I thanked the policy maker and we all looked forward to meeting each other. After this confirmation, I knew that I had to survey his office and numerous other areas to identify the ideal place for us to meet. I had to look for a room or place where we would be least distracted or with less noise. I considered the school library, a reading lawn or his office. However, I deliberated on his office as it would be convenient for him too since he had acknowledged that he had a busy week. I then communicated to him on where the meeting would be held. He was also relieved that we would hold the meeting in his office. The one week period before the meeting allowed me to prepare some of the questions I would ask him and collected adequate statistics on childhood obesity within the constituency. This also allowed me to go through my proposals and molded them to make them appealing to the commissioner. I also researched about the policy maker to assist in familiarizing with him. The visit On April 10th, I was up early to prepare for the meeting. I was ready with all my materials and had rehearsed what I would say to the policy maker. I got to his office on time and found that the office had been arranged and set up for the interview. Because he had a busy week schedule, it would have been unusual for the legislator to be late. He had his office press ready with a camera. When I asked about the presence of his press he said that sometimes he likes reviewing what he said and what a meeting was about in order to follow up and also in order to make his office yearly documentary of activities. By this time, he had been disrupted numerous times by calls from other constituents. However, he informed the personal assistant to handle any other matter that would arise while in the meeting. He was particularly enthusiastic to meet me. He offered me a cup of coffee as he got ready. He seemed to have had his research too as he also got ready with some papers. Two chairs had been set aside for the meeting. I sat on my seat awaiting the policy maker. He came and sat and I started off with a little introduction of who I am and what I do. I introduced myself as a nurse student and my interest in the policy issue. I informed the policy makers that I had been devastated by the current state of childhood obesity within the constituency and the state. Additionally, I informed the policy maker that childhood obesity is an issue that had received little attention and the people think that it is normal to be obese while it’s a life threatening issue within the public. The policy maker seemed to agree with me on that and he added by saying that he also had noted how childhood obesity had become prevalent and that there was little attention being paid to it. He also articulated that childhood obesity had increased dramatically over the past few years, with severe childhood obesity and obesity-linked comorbid conditions being on the rise. I took over the conversation and first introduced what is meant by childhood obesity, its prevalence and the risks associated with it. By giving reference to the National Center for Health Statistics (2014), childhood obesity occurs when children put on extra pounds. I clarified to the policy maker, “in most cases, childhood obesity is caused by a number of environmental factors such as eating unhealthy food items and less physical activity”. The Commissioner was fascinated in knowing some of the unhealthy foods. I informed him such diets included sugary drinks which are offered in schools. I delved into statistics and informed him that almost 8 million children in the state are enrolled in learning institutions and many of the children eat and drink meals offered there. I informed him that a study by Ogden et al. (2014) established that almost 70% of such institutions offer sugary drinks and unhealthy foods throughout the day at the school canteens and vending machines. I also informed the policy maker on the statistics presented by the National Center for Health Statistics (2014), which shows that childhood obesity has been on the increase over the past few years. I went through a history of the prevalence of childhood obesity within the nation by articulating that for the years between 1998 and 2012, childhood obesity increased from 4% to 22% and from 22% to 30% between 2012 and 2014. This shows that by 2014 the number of obese children was almost a third of the population of children within the nation. After explaining the definition of obesity and its prevalence within the nation, I then explained about the adverse effects of childhood obesity. I first informed him that childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on the well-being of children. By this time, the policy maker was attentive and was jotting down some notes on what I would say about the issue at hand. I informed him that the immediate health effects of childhood obesity include increased risk factors for cardiovascular illnesses such as high blood pressure. By referencing the National Center for Health statistics (2014), I informed the policy maker that 70% of children between the age of 5 and 15 have faced the risk of high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The other immediate effect that I enlightened the policy maker about was the high risk of pre-diabetes, a condition where blood sugar levels indicate a high susceptibility of getting diabetes. Lastly, I informed the policy maker that obese children are likely to get joints and bone issues, sleep apnea and psychological and social problems. By this time, the policy maker was amazed at how children were at risk from childhood obesity. I told him about a case where a 16 year old girl was admitted to the ICU for respiratory problems that required intubation. She weighed 72 kg and had gained more than 35 kg over the past two years. She suffered from high blood pressure. I now proceeded to enlighten him on the long-term effects of childhood obesity. He was taking notes on every point that I made. I informed him that as the children grow older, they will be at a higher risk of getting heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis and stroke. According to Ogden et al. (2014), among the obese children 60% of them are likely to be obese when adults. Additionally, obesity and overweight people have increased risk of numerous types of cancers such as colon, breast, esophagus, kidney, gall bladder, pancreases, ovary, cervix and endometrium. By now the policy maker was aware of the adverse effects of childhood obesity and the reasons why the issue needed to be addressed. He asked me where I had obtained the statistics from and I handed him a print out of the statistics obtained from the National Centre for Health Statistics. After having mentioned the causes of childhood obesity, the policy maker seemed thoughtful and made a comment that questioned the role of the parents in childhood obesity. I was quick to respond and noted that parents have a responsibility of ensuring that their children are not fed unhealthy foods and drinks. Additionally, I noted added that parents understand the risks associated with childhood obesity yet they do not assist their children to lose weight, either through exercising or eating healthy. The policy maker was aware of the situation at hand and knew that it needs to be controlled. I then told him that all hope is not lost as there are numerous interventions that can be adopted to save the situation. In my first solution, I told the policy maker that in order to reduce the effects of childhood obesity; he should give an upper hand to the requirements of federal nutritional standards on all foods served in schools. According to National Association of State Boards of Education (2009), staff and students ought to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) developed by the US department of Agriculture (USDA). As seen in the causes of obesity, the foods and drinks served to children in schools are not healthy and are sugary, and causes increased obesity among the students. Therefore, the meals offered should be reviewed to allow the children to enjoy healthy meals that would assist in reducing obesity. Secondly, I proposed to the legislator that the legislative policies should include provision of comprehensive, standard-based nutritional education that is integrated in the school curriculum (Berkowitz & Borchard, 2009). I enlightened the commissioner that traditional, knowledge-based programs and curricula had proved to be less effective than behaviour-directed programs and curricula. The latter include programs that provides practical health information and strategies and those that works on changing individual and family values towards healthy lifestyles, which are critical to the sustainability of obesity prevention efforts. I also offered some evidence by referring to researches that have proved that most children from low income families are the most affected by the obesity calamity. This situation calls for making of policies that would look into creation of recreational facilities in these undeserved areas. This would provide opportunities for physical activities for the children thus minimising the risk they face in developing obesity. I also offered some of the statistics and researches held by the CDC on childhood obesity. I encouraged the policy maker to gear up for the implementation of local wellness policies that would heighten the efforts to fight obesity towards the right direction. I articulated that failure by the federal government to fund the local wellness programs has resulted to the policies related to this program being ignored or only implemented to meet minimum standards as required under the policy. By articulating Jones (2010) arguments, I showed the legislator how 70% of the schools are not implementing the wellness policies adequately. The wellness centres can assist in getting the people to work out and burn some of the calories and reduce the effects of childhood obesity, not only on the children but also on the adults. I also pointed out the role of nutritional education to parents in order to improve their dietary practices. If parental education would be successful together with the standard federal meals offered in schools and recreational activities, then children would take part in it while in school. From my discussion with the policy maker, it was apparent that parents have a role to play in the heath of their children. In this regard, it would be significant to train the parents on better feeding methods and hold them accountable for neglecting their children’s health. I also proposed the adoption of a legislation that would allow the state government prosecute parents who are negligent of their children’s health. According to the case that I had used as an example to the policy maker, the parents had been negligent of her well-being and the 16 year-old gained almost double of her weight in less than two years. Response After informing the policy maker about the numerous proposals, he seemed to have made his notes to respond to them. In my first proposal to have the schools meet the requirements of federal nutritional standards on all foods served and offered, the policy maker noted that it would be a good idea but most of the foods that are recommended are not as tasty as those that may cause obesity. The policy maker noted that children like and find sugary drinks tasty and wonderful. Therefore, it would be almost impossible to serve students with low calorie foods such as vegetables and cereals while they can buy Pizzas, chocolates and fries from other outlets near the school. However, the policy maker acknowledged that the best thing would be to offer tasty but less calorie food substances. He also acknowledged that checking on the diets at schools would help reduce obesity among children. The policy maker was happy with my second proposal on educating children about obesity. He said that sensitization of the children at a tender age would play a significant role in reducing childhood obesity. He said that any information inculcated at an early age remains in the minds of the young ones for a long time. He said that this would need to be passed to the education committee to include programs in school curricular. The policy maker was happy that I had included a wellness center among the proposals. He said that he was in the process of gearing for a wellness center within the communities. Though this may require more resources, he acknowledged that he would get the congressman to support it and assist in establishment of such centers within the state. However, he said the wellness centers would not be offered free of charge but at a subsidized fee that would make them cheaper and affordable compared to the other expensive wellness centers. He said that this would keep the children busy and would assist in reducing their weight. The legislator articulated that parents are sometimes to blame for obesity of their children. He supported my point that some parents should be held liable for some conditions of their children. In fact, he asked whether the 16 year old recuperated and what action was taken against the parents. He seemed angered by that story and noted that parents should take responsibility for their children’s health. The legislator said that he would push for the enactment of such laws to make the parents liable if a child would suffer chronic effects of obesity. He also said that a parent should check the weight of children and should try to take the children for outdoor activities such as swimming to reduce cut on their weight. Reflections on the process The meeting was a success right from booking the appointment to the meeting. The policy maker was composed and waited calmly and patiently as I went through my proposals. I delivered my message to the policy maker in just ten minutes and the policy maker was aware of the situation at hand and had offered my solutions to curb the dilemma. He was attentive throughout my presentation and I offered him a hand out that had statistics available as offered by the CDC. From this visit, it was eminent that the policy maker had interest in childhood obesity and would like to have the issue resolved. In my first solution, I told the policy maker that in order to reduce the effects of childhood obesity; he should give an upper hand to the requirements of federal nutritional standards on all foods served in schools. He responded by noting that it would be a good idea but most of the foods that are recommended are not as tasty as those that may cause obesity. The policy maker acknowledged that children like and find sugary drinks tasty and wonderful. Therefore, it would be almost impossible to serve students with low calorie foods such as vegetables and cereals while they can buy Pizzas, chocolates and fries from other outlets near the school. Secondly, I proposed to the legislator that the legislative policies should include provision of comprehensive, standard-based nutritional education that is integrated in the school curriculum. He supported this point by acknowledging that enlightening children would assist in fighting childhood obesity. I also encouraged the policy maker to gear up for the implementation of local wellness policies that would heighten the efforts to fight obesity towards the right direction. He also responded by noting that a wellness centre would be a great step in reduction of obesity not only among children but also among the adults. Lastly, we agreed that parents have a role to play in the health of their children and that there ought to be legislations to make parents liable if a child faces chronic effects of obesity. However, I learnt that the political and policymaking process goes through a series of steps that requires input of numerous stakeholders. I learnt this after the legislator informed me that he would need to get the support of the congressmen to support the establishment of the wellness centre. These steps include identification of the problem, agenda setting, and formulation of the policy, adoption and implementation of the policy. In this case, I played a role in the identification of the problem. A problem is identified as a condition that disturbs people such as childhood obesity. The rest of the steps are up to the legislator to push through to ensure that the policy is formulated, adopted and implemented. Follow up After the meeting, I also compiled the responses of the policy maker in order to make my own report and have a better apprehension of his stand on the issue. A day after the meeting, I wrote a letter to him through this office thanking him for the opportunity he had offered me and the time to discuss such a grave matter with him. I also wrote on some of the issues that he had talked about and informed him that I would be more than happy to be part of the team that will assist in the implementation of the proposals. I also informed some of my friends to write letters to the policy maker informing him on the gravity of the matter in the community and how he would assist through adoption of numerous interventions. However, communication with the policy maker does not stop here and I intent to communicate with him at least twice in a month to remind him of the recommendations and to update him on the status of the issue in the community. As an additional follow up, I intent to share what we discussed with the congressman in order to make him aware of the public issue at hand and to ask him to join as we fight the issue. Importance to nursing Interaction with a policy maker ensures that such issues are aired and well understood and action is taken to curb or reduce its prevalence. In this case, pprevention of child obesity is particularly significant in nursing practise as the primary goal is to prevent diseases and promote healthy lifestyles in the society. This goes a long way to imply that nurses must take a leadership role in responding to the epidemic of obesity. This visit allows nurses to hair the public concerns on childhood obesity and its effects. Nurses can promote healthy lifestyles patterns that minimizes the risk of overweight by emphasizing on the importance of breastfeeding, physical exercises, regular meals and nutritional weight counseling. Conclusion The journey with meeting the policy maker, Commissioner Juan Zapata, started with the preparation that engrossed calling the office to book an appointment. After approval, I made arrangements on how and where the meeting would be held. I resolved to have the meeting at the policy maker’s office because his schedule was a bit tight. I resolved to have a face to face meeting with the policy maker as this would assist in developing personal relations with the commissioner and would ensure that all my recommendations are heard and respond to any question that the policy maker would have. I arrived in time for the meeting and presented my issues within fifteen minutes. It is within this interaction that I took the commissioner through the effects and prevalence of childhood obesity within the state and nation. I offered my possible solutions to curb the issue and the commissioner also responded to each of the recommendation. The commissioner was interested in the issue and was happy to observe that someone had taken the initiative to reduce its prevalence among children. After the meeting, I send a letter to the policy maker through his office thanking him for the time. I plan to send follow up letters at least twice a month to remind him on the issue. The meeting was a success. References Berkowitz, B & Borchard M. (2009). Advocating for the Prevention of Childhood Obesity: A Call to Action for Nursing. The online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 14 (1). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol142009/No1Jan09/Prevention-of-Childhood-Obesity.html Jones, T. (2010, June). Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/Policy-Advocacy/Positions-and-Resolutions/Issue-Briefs/Childhood-Obesity.pdf Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J. K., & Chaffee, M. W. (Eds.) (2011). Policy politics in nursing and healthcare (6th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders Elsevier. National Association of State Boards of Education (2009). Preventing Childhood Obesity. Retrieved March 30, 2015, from http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/web-assets/2009/01/preventing-childhood-obesity- National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, (2014). With Special Features on Socioeconomic Status and Health. Hyattsville, MD; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Ogden C. L, Carroll M. D, Kit B. K & Flegal K.M. (2014). Prevalence of childhood and adult obesity in the United States, 2011-2012. Journal of the American Medical Association 311(8):806-814. Read More