Planning a Policymaker Visit

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Introduction

Child obesity has been linked to health complications in adulthood, which include diabetes 2, cardiac failure, and prostate cancers among others. Statistics obtained from the World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that about 18% of children in the US are overweight or obese (CDC, 2011). Therefore, appropriate policies need to be adopted to mitigate the illness. The rise in childhood obesity has been linked to excessive sugary food intake both at home and in schools. Most schools have allowed companies producing soft drinks in the US to set up vendor shops in the various institutions for financial gains. Soft drinks are the main source of sugar foods, thus allowing their sale in schools is a major setback to the fight against childhood obesity in the US. This proposal will advise policymakers to enact legislations to restrict the free sale of soft drinks in schools to cut down their consumption by students.

The chosen policy issue, the results, and the importance of this issue to nursing

Various researchers have focused on the topic of childhood obesity to unravel the relationship between the disease and the consumption of sugary food. Welsh et al. (2005) found that daily “consumption of one or more sugar-sweetened drink increased the chance of overweight among children” (p. 225). Besides, this trend escalated the likelihood of remaining overweight among children already established as obese. Therefore, Welsh et al. (2005) recommended a set of policies to regulate the consumption of such drinks in schools. The policies are based on increasing of taxes to make the soft drinks more expensive and, as a result, less attractive to kids. However, such policies have faced opposition from the producing companies and other lobby groups. Attempts to enforce policies to regulate the sale of soft drinks in schools have also faced various drawbacks across the world. For example, in New York, a court order stopped a proposal to ban the sale of big sodas (Lesser, Zimmerman, & Cohen, 2013).

This policy issue is important to the nursing practice since it will lead to a decrease in the number of children seeking medical help from nurses. The disease has been linked to other diseases in adulthood such as diabetes and hypertension, which are some of the leading causes of death in the world. Given that nurses are directly involved in the provision of care for patients with various complications, the policy will work to reduce cases of such diseases, thus make the nurses’ work easier. Additionally, the cost of health had an increasing trend over the past few decades, thus forcing the US government to spend almost half of the country’s GDP on healthcare (Anderson & Butcher, 2006). Nurses are directly involved in the formulation and implementation of healthcare budgets in their respective hospitals hence they are expected to ensure that the costs are regulated.

The policymakers involved in the chosen policy issue and how I can contact my policymaker

My policy issue shall focus on the ban on the sale of soft drinks in elementary schools located in Brooklyn District. As a resident of the area, I have noted that most schools in the mentioned district have signed agreements with soft drinks manufacturing firms allowing them to install vending shops within different learning institutions. This aspect has increased the overall consumption of the soft drinks among the kids, thus predisposing them to the risk of being obese. In my policy proposal, I will contact the local policymakers since the procedure may not need the involvement of the federal officers. One of the policymakers is Senator Jesse, I will contact him through his official email address, scheduler @gmail.com. The decision to deal with him through the email was made by my previous attempt to communicate with him through his personal phone number as I had been advised to do so. The second person I will contact to discuss my policy issue is the Congresswoman, Yvette Clarke. I would intend to converse with her through the phone number 202 225 6231, which I was given when I visited her at Linden Boulevard 4^th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11226.

The plan for my legislative visit – when, where, and how

The venue of the legislative visit will be decided following consultation with the concerned officials upon contacting them through the addresses mentioned above. However, I have the address for each and I intend to visit the officers in their offices during the working hours. Senator Jesse is available at his office along the Bedford Avenue, 2^nd Floor & Mezzanine Brooklyn, NY 11225 from Monday to Friday. I will propose to meet him in his office on a Monday when I reach him through the email address. For Yvette Clarke, I hope to meet her at her office in Linden Boulevard 4^th Floor Brooklyn, NY 11226 on a Tuesday during the official working hours.

My message to my selected policymaker/legislator, recommendations, and expectations for my visit

Given the increasing rate of children with obesity in Brooklyn District and around the world, I would recommend the enactment of a policy that will prohibit the selling of soft drinks to children in elementary schools. Most schools in the district have allowed soft drink manufacturers to establish vendor shops in their respective schools without regulating the consumption of such drinks by the children. The children are exposed to the risk of becoming obese, which is closely associated with a myriad of developmental disorders. Obesity reduces the ability of a child to perform well in school, and it may lead to stigmatization (Woodward-Lopez, Kao, & Ritchie, 2011). Research indicates that children who suffer from childhood obesity are at a high risk of suffering from diabetes, heart diseases, stroke, cancers, and other health related issues that can result in premature death (Gibson, 2008). Training people of the inherent risks from the consumption of such drinks can be an effective strategy towards eradicating the illness. However, children do not have the skills to resist pressure from peers and the vendors. Therefore, the best course of action is to ban the sale of the commodity in schools. My expectation during the visit is to receive a warm welcome from the policymakers. Besides, I expect my recommendations to be reviewed and implemented. I also expect that the officers will make their inputs on the proposal and perhaps make amendments to my original report to reflect the interest of the population covered and ensure compliance with the current legislations.

How I plan to convey my message

Due to the busy schedule by the officials that I intend to meet, I will prepare a policy statement in which I will incorporate every detail of my proposal. I will split the text into sections bearing subtopics for easy reading and comprehension of the main ideas. The unimportant points shall be excluded from the report, and only the weighty issues shall be considered. During the meeting with the policymakers, I will brief the officers on the contents of the report and the importance of adopting the recommendations given. I will prepare a set of power points on which the major objectives shall be outlined to ensure that the policymakers understand the contents of the proposal. I will explain the objectives as the power points run to make the sessions as brief as possible.

The feedback from the policymakers, the expected actions, and how left things

The response to my request for an appointment with the policymakers was impressive since they gave me their personal addresses, which I would use to plan a visit. Senator Jesse gave me his email address through which he asked me to detail my concerns and book an appointment. On the other hand, Yvette Clarke gave me her personal phone number and asked me to call her to decide on the venue. Given the positive responses from the policymakers, I am convinced that my policy issue shall be considered and implemented. Besides, the issue is important since it revolves around the health of people of Brooklyn District.

Conclusion

My proposal focuses on convincing policymakers to ban the selling of soft drinks in schools located in Brooklyn District. In achieving this objective, I plan to meet with Senator Jesse and the Congresswoman Yvette Clarke, who are local policymakers. In the meeting, I will advise them on the importance of prohibiting the sale of soft drinks in schools. I will cite the negative effects associated with the consumption of the commodity. I expect my policy issue to be adopted by the legislators. Besides, I will welcome any relevant amendment to the original policy document. Given that the officers have a daily busy schedule, I will make the meetings as brief as possible. I will only give a synopsis of the proposal and submit a detailed script.

References

Anderson, M., & Butcher, K. (2006). Childhood obesity: trends and potential causes.The Future of Children, 16(1), 19-45. Web.

CDC. (2011). CDC grand rounds: childhood obesity in the United States.Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 60(2), 42-46. Web.

Gibson, S. (2008). Sugar-sweetened soft drinks and obesity: a systematic review of the evidence from observational studies and interventions.Nutrition Research Reviews, 21(02), 134-147. Web.

Lesser, I., Zimmerman, J., & Cohen, D. (2013). Outdoor advertising, obesity, and soda consumption: a cross-sectional study.BMC Public Health, 13(20), 1-7. Web.

Welsh, A., Cogswell, E., Rogers, S., Rockett, H., Mei, Z., & Grummer-Strawn, M. (2005). Overweight among low-income preschool children associated with the consumption of sweet drinks: Missouri, 1999–2002. Pediatrics, 115(2), 223-229. Web.

Woodward-Lopez, G., Kao, J., & Ritchie, L. (2011). To what extent have sweetened beverages contributed to the obesity epidemic. Public Health Nutrition, 14(03), 499-509. Web.

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