Research Aim On Childhood Obesity Background Information - 2200 Words

Research Aim On Childhood Obesity: Background Information (Research Paper Sample) Content: Research AimThe main aim of the research analysis is to address the occurence of obesity in children and at the same time identify the reasons behind the common disease. The research examines childhood obesity based on the global consensus that childhood obesity continues to rise year after year. Owing to the neglect of regular exercise and suitable eating habits both at home and at school, childhood obesity continues to affect children at an alarming rate.IntroductionThis chapter focuses on dispensing an overview of the research proposal. It avails a brief presentation which includes the research questions that forms the cornerstone of the research. Furthermore, the introduction section takes precedence of the underlying disputable issues hinted in the phenomena included in the study and the crucial instructions that can be generally followed in the study.Background InformationAccording to Green and Duffull (2004) obesity has persistently afflicted children on a glob al scale and in the western worlds it is termed as one of the most popular diseases with serious health repercussions. Obesity is most common among the poor in society due to the financial limitation of affording healthy food. Obesity is mostly attributed to heart diseases, some cancers and type II diabetes and at the same time leaves children vulnerable to the threat of such diseases. Comprehension of the economic and social forces that impact poor people in society helps in imposing policies that limit food that is commonly affiliated with obesity. Countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom have recently rated as the single two nations with the highest obesity cases(Ogden, 2014). It is worth noting that that other than income inequality obesity is also generated from and individuals level of education. It is crucial to analyze childhood obesity on a global scale to ascertain its impacts in addition to information acquired by other researchers. According to Olstad a nd Ball (2015) good-tasty, high-calorie and inexpensive foods have now been distributed all over the world and promotion for such foods appeals to a large number of individuals. The epidemic of obesity is partly blamed on certain changes in the environment and behaviors of susceptible people. However, dietary changes cannot be entirely blamed for the obesity epidemic. Adopting technological innovations both in school and at home has made children reluctant in engaging in physical activities. This research analysis tries to compile information and statistical data that will be used to ascertain that determining the reason for the childhood obesity epidemic is the key to develop obesity prevention measures.Relations to existing researchBased on research byMcLennan and Ulijaszek(2015) an estimate of 43million children were obese in the year 2010 hence a 60% rise in cases of obesity since 1990. By comparing the number of obesity cases between the rich and the poor, a greater number of t hese cases came from the poor side of the scale. Out of the 43 million, 35 million come from developed countries mostly the UK and the US (McLennan and Ulijaszek). There is a global consensus that neglecting physical activity and eating a poor diet are the most common factors that cause illnesses that could be avoided and death of children in Europe, and the fact that obesity continues to be a major problem in Europe creates a significant public healthunsettlement.Obesity in the adults of most European Union member states accounts more than 50% of the adult population (Green Paper, 2005). In the European Union, an estimated 22 million (30% 0f the total children population) children are overweight and this figure continues to grow by 400,000 anually(Public health, 2015). The main factors that are widely known to be the reason why the number of overweight children continues to rise yearly include; calorie intake and the modern lifestyle where children rarely engage in physical activit y. According to BMC Public(2010)highest obesity levels are mostly observed in Western Europe and the United Kingdom. A study conducted by BMC indicates that in the UK, obesity levels stand at a rate of 24.9% making it the European country with the highest levels of obesity(BMC Public Health, 2010). These high levels of obesity in the UK are mostly attributed to the modern lifestyle of long office hours hence in saving time, fast foods are preferred by most employees; the continued use of the car instead of walking; eating food with high calories; computers and televisions.Sedghi(2014) explains that the number of obese people has been increasing at an alarming rate in the UK from 1980 to 2013. (Sedghi) further states that the number of obese boys and girls increased from 38.5% in 1980 to 43.5% in 2013. Tackling obesity related issues in children is one of the main points of focus by medical researchers.The growing number of obese children over the last three decades has been mostly p revalent in the UK. Inequalities in England indicate that individuals who are socially and economically better off compared to the lower class individuals are favored in terms of health care(Wilkinson and Marmot, 2003).Contemporary health studies indicate that there is a relationship between poverty and poor health. For example, smoking pervasiveness and self-reported longestablisheddiseases are all related with poverty. An increase in poverty levels is expected to result in broadening health inequalities. Poverty statistics are closely related to the number of obese children in Hackney hence the obesity levels have continued to maintain above national average(BMA, 2010). (BMA) further explains thatthe percentage of poor children has dropped from 44% in the year 2008 to 40% in the year 2009; however this prevails as roughly double the Englands national average. Childhood obesity in Hackney (situated in north east London) accounts for one of the highest number of obese children in En gland (BMA, 2014).Research objectivesThe findings of the research will be utilized in dealing with issues that lead to obesity in children thus reducing the pathology in both children and adults.The study will address the following questions: 1 To identify obesity levels in children attending school. 2 To outline aspects of obesity among children in school. 3 To determine whether elements that cause obesity are more important at home or in the school environment.Research designIntroductionThis section explains the inclusive and non-inclusive of elements of the research. It aims at a continuous analysis of the research for a better comprehension of the underlying issues. This section mainly explains the essence of conducting the research and also identifies beneficiaries of the study and how they will benefit.Study scopeThe data that will be utilized in the research will be drawn from a cross section survey conducted at the Hackney in London. According to Gail(2000)cross section stud ies are mainly used to study either an entire population or a subset that is selected from the entire population but stands for the characteristics of the population. The study will be designed to avail information on factors that cause childhood obesity, poor eating habits of children in school and at home and childrens involvement in physical activities such as sports based on the schools learning hours. Data on the factors that lead to childhood obesity and childrens eating habits will be assessed using clinical evaluations that will measure the height and weight of the children. The study will also incorporate a second part that involves participants filling out questionnaires after the clinical evaluations. The following research method will be suitable for the research due to the ability to cover a wide range of children with obesity in schools which are expected to give a satisfactory result of the research data. It also indicates data at a certain period when childhood obesi ty levels rapidly increase in the data collection period(Jekel, 2007).Data collectionCategorization of data sources is classified into either secondary or primary data. Primary data is collected from questionnaires, interviews, observations, experiments and surveys. Secondary data on the other hand is collected from books, journals, publications, newspapers and sources from the internet. Merits of secondary data as stated by Axinn(2006)include time saving: internet sources have simplified access to information much quicker compared to other data sources. Accessibility of secondary data sources gives merit to secondary data over primary data. Secondary data also saves cost in terms of transport cost and other logistics unlike primary data where cost must be incurred. The limitations that can be identified in secondary data include: information from previous years may not reflect the current situation. Another demerit of data sources includes the fact that some sources may not be cred ible and researchers may fail to know this(Susan C. Weller, 1988). Primary data on childhood obesity will be collected through the issue of questionnaires essentially containing closed questions that are mainly addressed to the parents of 50 children with ages between 13 and 17 selected from a sample size of 5 classes. Thechildren will be intentionally selected from Haggerston secondary school specifically to children who have the intellectual ability to read and interpret the questions in the questionnaire. The questions will be quantitative in nature hence participants will answer them using grading or scaling. Open ended questions will also be included in the questionnaire to establish respondents opinion on the reasons behind the increasing obesity levels in childhood.Data presentationBoth secondary and primary data will be incorporated i...

How Does Play Therapy Improve the Cognitive and Social Functions of Young Children - Free Essay Example

Introduction This essay will discuss how play therapy improves the cognitive and social functions of young children. A brief review of child development theories and how these underpin play therapy will be done. A critical analysis of published literature on play therapy and its impact on child development will then be presented. Finally, a conclusion summarising the key points raised in this essay will be presented. Child Development Theories and Play Therapy Piagets theory proposes that cognitive development of children occurs in four stages: sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational and formal operational stages (Nevid, 2008). Piaget observes that very young children engage in general patterns of behaviour once they are at play. These include being fascinated with objects, covering objects, filling or emptying containers, transporting objects and connecting them together. Crowley (2014) explains that these behaviours are known as schemas. As children assimilate new experiences and accommodate learning, these schemas will help them to make sense of the world around them (Crowley, 2014). Hence, allowing children to play and explore will help them develop a schema of their environment (Keenan and Evans, 2009). Piagets theory helps to underpin play therapy since it acknowledges that play will help children to construct knowledge and develop cognitive abilities. For instance, in the sensorimotor stage, providing children with a tr easure basket will expose very young children to a wealth of sensory stimuli (Shaffer and Kipp, 2009). In turn, this will promote cognitive development as children become acquainted with different sounds, shape, colour, taste and texture of toys. Children, according to Piaget, develop through assimilation or through using an existing schema to make sense of a new situation or object (Shaffer and Kipp, 209). This is then followed by accommodation when existing schema has to be changed in order to deal with a new situation. As children continue to develop, new information is quickly assimilated based on existing schema. Piaget explained that equilibrium is reached when children learn to deal with new information through assimilation. Meanwhile, Vygotskys theory proposes that social interaction is crucial in the cognitive development of children (Shaffer and Kipp, 2009). He suggests that social, linguistic and interpersonal factors all play a role in the mental development of children. In this theory, social interaction during play is critical in developing cognitive learning. It has been shown that during play, social skills are developed along with skills on problem solving (Keenan and Evans, 2009). Critical Review of Play Therapy Play has long been recognised as crucial in the healthy development of children (Ray, 2011). However, it was only in the 1900s when therapeutic settings began using play as a means for young children to express their emotions and feelings. Early proponents of play therapy include Melanie Klein and Anna Freud (Ray, 2011). They used play to help analyse childrens behaviour, feelings and responses to events or situations. Both early scholars used play to help children communicate non-verbally. Today, child-centred play therapy is widely accepted as a means of helping children resolve or prevent psychological and social difficulties and in helping them to achieve optimal development (Keenan and Evans, 2009). A meta-analysis (Bratton et al., 2005) on the efficacy of play therapy reviewed and pooled data from 94 studies that investigated play therapy outcomes. Forty-two of these studies were published in peer-reviewed journals while 50 were unpublished dissertations. Two of the articles were from the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Studies included in the meta-analysis utilised the comparison or control-group design or pre and post-treatment measures. Treatment effect was calculated after pooling data from these studies. Findings of the study reveal that the effect of play therapy on different treatment outcomes ranges from 0.66 to 0.84. According to Cohens guideline for interpretation of treatment effect, a value of 0.80 suggests a large treatment effect (Ellis, 2010). This suggests that play therapy is effective in managing behavioural and emotional difficulties in children. Although duration of treatment varies, findings suggest that 35-40 sessions of play therapy significantly improved treatment outcomes. Findings also appear to suggest that positive outcomes declined with prolonged sessions. For instance, findings suggest that positive outcomes declined after multiple sessions (40 sessions). This suggests that findings should be take n with caution in determining whether long-term play therapy is effective.ÂÂ   In contrast, children ending play therapy prematurely or engaging in less than 14 sessions of therapy did not show positive treatment outcomes compared to children who completed 35-40 play therapy sessions. Meanwhile, investigators of the study failed to mention the average number of hours for each session. This could have provided important information on how long each session should last.ÂÂ   Findings also show that gender and age were not significant predictors of the treatment outcomes, suggesting that this type of therapy is equally effective for boys and girls and across all ages of the children. Although the study shows equal effectiveness of play therapy for different age groups, this intervention might be more successful in younger children. Since play therapy is considered as sensitive to the development stage of the children (Nevid, 2008), it is reasonable to apply this form of therap y to younger children while older children might benefit more from traditional talk therapies (Bratton et al., 2005). The study also suggests that when parents are trained to partner with healthcare professionals in conducting play therapy, the treatment effect of play therapy significantly increased when compared to therapy conducted by professionals alone. Hence, when supervised by healthcare professionals and therapists, the involvement of parents would result in the greatest benefit. A meta-analysis allows pooling of data from studies with small sample sizes and hence, insufficiently powered (Polit et al., 2013). It should be noted that small studies are often rejected for publication due to sample size or once published, have limited applicability due to insufficient treatment effect (Polit et al., 2013). Hence, a meta-analysis would be able to address this issue since findings are pooled (Ellis, 2010). A review of the study of Bratton et al. (2005) reveals that all resource s for both published and unpublished studies were exhausted to avoid publication bias (Burns and Grove, 2013). Further, investigators only included studies that reported statistics and have sound methodological procedures. Further, the study was able to establish that play therapy could be an agent in changing childrens behaviour, help them adjust socially and adapt to a group in order to fit in. Likewise, play therapy also appears to be uniquely responsive to the childrens developmental needs. However, play therapy was compared only to no intervention, making it difficult to establish if play therapy is the most effective intervention for childrens behavioural, social and cognitive difficulties. Comparing play therapy with other form of interventions might help to provide more information on its effectiveness in improving the behaviour of children. Apart from promoting positive treatment outcomes, play therapy also facilitates social competence and problem solving skills in pres chool children (Stone and Stark, 2013; Chinekesh et al., 2014). Stone and Stark (2013) reveal that short-term therapy groups were shown to facilitate development amongst 3-5 year old preschool children. Findings are noteworthy since it has been suggested that very young children are not yet developmentally prepared to engage in a group process (Stone and Stark, 2013). However, findings of the study suggest that very young children are able to participate in structured play therapy. Further, they benefit from these structured plays as evidenced in improvements in their social skills. Meanwhile, Chinekesh et al. (2014) investigated the effects of play therapy on childrens emotional and rational skills. A total of 372 pre-school children were recruited in the study and randomly assigned to the group play therapy and control group. Pre and post-tests were done to compare the childrens self-regulation, self-awareness, empathy, social interaction and adaptability before and after the inte rvention. Findings between case and control groups were also compared. Results of the study suggest that play significantly improved the childrens social and emotional skills (p0.001). Further, Chinekesh et al. (2014) observe that play therapy could help improve the childrens ability to learn problem-solving skills and communicate with other children. Providing an environment where children are engaged in unstructured play would help them develop their social skills as they learn to interact with other children (Chinekesh et al., 2014). Play therapy has also been shown to improve outcomes among children with disabilities. For instance, the studies of Abdollahian et al. (2013); Kasari et al. (2012); Wilkes-Gillan et al. (2014); Cantrill et al. (2015) have similar findings and suggest that play therapy is effective in improving social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). For instance, Kasari et al. (2012) s uggest that play therapy could help improve the language skills and communication of children with ASD. This was a longitudinal study and followed preschool children who received early play therapy intervention. During the 5-year follow-up, children who received play therapy were more likely to have better language skills. The strength of a longitudinal outcome is its ability to show patterns regarding how play therapy improves the social and cognitive skills of children over time (Ellis, 2010). However, panel attrition might affect the findings of a longitudinal study (Gray, 2009). Panel attrition could occur if several members of a cohort decide to drop out or are unable to participate during the last stages of the study. In addition, play therapy (Abdollahian et al., 2013) has been shown to be effective in reducing symptoms associated with ADHD. Abdollahian et al. (2013) emphasise that play therapy would be effective in managing symptoms associated with ADHD. Meanwhile, Cantrill et al. (2015) point out that childrens social play skills are further enhanced when parents are involved in the delivery of the therapy. A third study (Wilkes-Gillan et al., 2014) suggests that social play outcomes of children with ADHD significantly improved following play therapy. Although this study has a small sample size (n=5 children with ADHD), it was able to demonstrate preliminary efficacy. In summary, recent literature has shown that play therapy consistently promotes positive outcomes for children with or without disabilities. Specifically, it promotes social and cognitive skills in very young children and could be used as a method to prepare these children for transition from kindergarten to infant school. The effectiveness of play therapy is also not influenced by gender and age, suggesting its effectiveness for both boys and girls and those in the younger or older age group. However, the impact of play therapy appears to be greatest amongst younger age children. Thi s form of therapy could also be used to improve language skills in children suffering from autism (Kasari et al., 2012). Literature also demonstrates that the participation of parents significantly enhances the effectiveness of play therapy. This suggests that parents should be involved to facilitate sustained positive outcomes in children. Conclusion Play therapy could help to improve both social and cognitive functions of children with or without disabilities. Hence, there is a need to provide children with a safe environment that would allow them to play and interact with other children. While most studies reviewed in the present essay used play therapy as treatment for behavioural and social difficulties, play therapy could also be used for children without disabilities. Specifically, it can be used for preschoolers to help them develop their social and cognitive skills. As Vygotskys theory suggests, social development would help children develop mentally. Hence, promoting play therapy amongst young children with no disabilities would not only help to develop their social skills but also their cognitive skills. Finally, play therapy could also promote social and cognitive skills in children with disabilities such as ADHD and ASD. It is recommended that play therapy should be introduced into preschool settings for better outc omes for children. It is also recommended that parents should be involved in order to enhance the impact of play therapy. Hence, there is a need to train parents on how to deliver this type of therapy on their children. References: Abdollahian, E., Mohkber, N., Balaghi, A. Moharrari, F. (2013) The effectiveness of cognitive-behavioural play therapy on the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children aged 7-9 years, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders, 5(1), pp. 41-46. Bratton, S., Ray, D. Rhine, T. (2005) The efficacy of play therapy with children: A meta-analytic review of treatment outcomes, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36(4), pp. 376-390. Burns, N. Grove, S. (2013) The practice of Nursing Research: Conduct, critique and utilisation (7th ed.). St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders. Cantrill, A., Wilkes-Gillan, S., Bundy, A., Cordier, R. Wilson, N. (2015) An eight-month follow-up of a pilot parent-delivered play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and their playmates, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 62(3), pp. 197-207. Chinekesh, A., Kamalian, M., Elternasi, M., Chinekes h, S. Alavi, M. (2014) The effect of group play therapy on social-emotional skills in pre-school children, Global Journal of Health Science, 6(2), pp. 163-167. Crowley, K. (2014) Child development: a practical introduction. London: Sage Publications. Ellis, P. (2010) Understanding research for nursing students. Exeter: Learning Matters. Gray, D. (2009) Doing research in the real world. London: Sage. Kasari, C., Gulsrud, A., Freeman, S., Paparella, T. Helleman, G. (2012) Longitudinal follow-up of children with autism receiving targeted interventions on joint attention and play, Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 51(5), pp. 487-495. Keenan, T. Evans, S. (2009) An introduction to child development. London: SAGE. Nevid, J. (2008) Psychology: Concepts and applications. London: Cengage Learning. Polit, D., Beck, C. Hungler, B. (2013) Essentials of nursing research, methods, appraisal and utilization (8th ed.). Philadelphia: Lippinc ott Williams Wilkins. Ray, D. (2011) Advanced play therapy: Essential conditions, knowledge, and skills for child practice. London: Taylor and Francis. Shaffer, D. Kipp, K. (2009) Developmental psychology: Childhood and Adolescence. London: Cengage Learning. Stone, S. Stark, M. (2013) Structured play therapy groups for preschoolers: Facilitating the emergency of social competence, International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, 63(1), pp. 25-50. Wilkes-Gillan, S., Bundy, A., Cordier, R. Lincoln, M. (2014) Eighteen-month follow-up of a play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Australian Occupational Therapy, 6(15), pp. 299-307.