Welcome to our blog! We are a group of two nurse educators, two nursing students and one economics student who will be visiting Guangzhou, China this spring and early summer.
My name is Lee-Ellen Kirkhorn. I have been a Nursing Professor at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire for the past seven years. Prior to my tenure in Wisconsin, I worked as a nurse educator in the state of Washington. I am a registered nurse with a clinical specialty in public and community health nursing, and I hold a PhD from Gonzaga University in Spokane Washington.
Although you might be thinking that the issue of obesity is unique to the United States, in fact, China has a problem with obesity ~ due in no small measure~ to the influence of the fast food industry, less eating at home, and more dining in restaurants.
But, although the problem of obesity is a serious one in the United States, it is a shameful problem for young people in China. In fact, being obese and Chinese is cause for scorn and humiliation.
Our team is going to bring a nursing and public health intervention to middle schools. We will be working with at-risk Chinese youth in partnership with nurses at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University.
The focus of our intervention includes a simple and direct message about sensible eating, physical activity and exercise. We will be working with students identifed by parents and teachers at risk for Type II diabetes, due to being overweight or obese. Our team will create an after school or in-school enriched exercise program that is culturally appropriate for Chinese students. Students will participate in our club-like program that will combine positive messages about sensible eating and exercise with a targeted program of physical activity. The intervention will last six weeks.
Students will be weighed and measured and have their blood pressure checked before, during, after, and 6 months following the intervention. It is our hope that the program will continue, even after the US team leaves China.
We will be sharing our progress and our photos on this blog. Other members will introduce themselves. Stay tuned.
