The Dietary Intervention Program (Research Paper Sample)

proposed programme
The consumptions of high sugar-rich foods have adverse effects on their health. Dietary programs that involve parents have positive outcomes. Parents play an instrumental role in ensuring that their children follow the appropriate dietary guidelines. On the other hand, if there is a collaboration between dentists and school nurses, behavioural change among children will be realized. The proposed program will involve a 4-month family-based intervention to reduce sugar consumption among children. Through this program, self-efficacy and behaviour change among children will be developed. Additionally, a 7-day dietary record will be used to measure the program's desired outcome. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and other food which are rich in sugar may have negative consequences on children's health if their consumption among children is not properly regulated. There is a high probability of children being overweight; this is also the case among adults (Zhang et al., 2020). the intake of micro-nutrients will also be compromised due to consuming sugar-rich foods.
As stated earlier, the program will be a 4-month family-based intervention. The group that will be involved in the program are school-going children between the ages of 5-7 years. Essentially, parents will play a vital role in the success of this program because they will be responsible for recording their children's intake of food and drinks. Additionally, there will be consultation on a diet with school nurses; the nurses will give parents materials and tools that will assist them at home to make the program a success and finally, a selected social media platform will be used to help parents enrolled in the program communicate with each other.
In this program, there isn’t an inclusion criterion regarding disease or diet. The recruitment process for the participants in the program will be through phone calls from local dental clinicians or voluntary participation by parents with school-going children between the ages of five to seven years. The participants of this intervention program will receive their participant information sheet through their mailboxes. However, it is vital to note that some challenges may emerge due to this program. One of the major challenges is the lack of time by a parent or inadequate resources required to make this program a success.
This dietary intervention program will offer parents and children a free consultation with health nurses. The dialogues between the school nurses and the parent will revolve around the health and well-being of their children. Additionally, there will be dialogues on the individual problem if a particular child experiences problems at school or even at home. It is vital to note that the school nurses will be provided with appropriate teaching materials. The material will address several issues: sleeping, diet and screening time.
It is instrumental to note that this program comprises three important elements; through this program, guidelines on the amount of sugar-rich food will be promoted. The first element of this program is a “sugar-rich food screener”. Through this program element, it will be possible to look at how pre-defined discretionary food is consumed. This program will provide consultations focusing on the intake of sugar-rich food in line with the new guidelines. The second element of this program involves providing the participating parents with a box of home-use materials. The main aim of these home use materials in this program is to act as
a source of inspiration so that the children can reduce their sugar consumption. The materials are also essential because they increase the time spent with families. There are various materials which will be in the box. Some of them include a card game, a booklet to act as a source of inspiration, a serving size board whose main role is illustrating the amounts of servings for food and drinks in a healthy diet; there will also be several activity suggestions and finally a children's playbook.
The third element of this dietary intervention program comprises communication and social media platforms that all the participants will use. Communication is important as it makes a certain program to be a success. Through the selected social media platform, the participant will receive information on positive dietary changes. Additionally, social media will actively remind all the participants about the program; therefore, they will end up following the stipulated guidelines.
It is vital to note that the social cognitive theory (SCT) will guide this dietary intervention program. One reason for this is the program targets the participant's home environment. Various concepts are derived from the social cognitive theory. Some of these concepts include self-efficacy, reciprocal determinism, observational learning, and behavioural capability, among others (Von Philipsborn et al., 2019). Employing theories is essential when coming up with a particular dietary intervention program.