The purpose of this assignment is to identify an area or topic within health care that you would like to further understand.
In this assignment, you will begin to create a research rough draft based on the information you prepared in the “Identification of a Research Topic” from the topic 1 assignment (i have attached the draft below). Utilize the GCU library and locate three additional articles that will complement and support your specific topic of interest. In a research rough draft, utilizing the research process (refer to your text, Understanding Research), include the following:
An introduction to the topic.
An explanation of how the articles are used in scholarly research within health care as it relates to the allied health care profession.
A discussion of the ethical considerations for data collection.

An explanation of what the data reveals in terms of statistical analysis, including quantitative and qualitative. Include a discussion of the conclusions that can be made from the data and how it would be applied to the health care setting.
An evaluation, based on the research, of whether there is enough information to make a decision on the effectiveness on the topic as it relates to the allied health care professional.
A summary of the conclusions from the articles.
Support your rough draft with at least 3 scholarly resources.
Comprehensive Insights into Childhood Obesity
Holly M. Lasso
Grand Canyon University
HLT 317: Communication and
Application of Research in Practice
Deborah Conway
19 May 2024
2
Topic Selected: Childhood Obesity
Why I Selected the Topic
I chose childhood obesity as my field of research due to the increased rate in incidence
with this particular age group and the significant health risks it imposes on children and
adolescents. Hence, understanding the etiology of the problem and identification of effective
preventive and therapeutic strategies is vital for better health status among the upcoming
generation.
Summary of Articles on Childhood Obesity
1. Childhood Obesity: Impact, Outcome, and Preventive Strategies
Shenoy and Nayak authored this article in the year 2023. In this article, they point out that
the rapid upsurge of childhood obesity is due to factors such as rapid urbanization and decreasing
physical exercise. In the article, the authors strongly point out that early identification of this
problem and inexpensive strategies to prevent it should involve schools, parents, and health care
givers. This paper talks about the epidemiology, diagnosis, causes, evaluation, treatment, and
prevention of childhood obesity. The causes mentioned include genetic, dietary, physical activity,
socio-economic, and screen time. According to the authors, motivational interviewing, counseling
principals for parents and physical activity have been underscored as important strategies for
prevention.
2. Childhood Obesity: An Overview
Bharti and Kulshrestha (2019) suggest that globally, children tend to have unhealthy food
habits, little or no physical activities, and are over-exposed to electronic media, which is a cause
of obesity in the little ones. The growth of obesity rates in children is sharply indicative all over
3
the world and in the scenario of India as well. This paper considers the health risks of child obesity,
including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, respiratory problems, psychosocial and
recommendations of Nutrition education giving importance on promotion of physical activities
and behavioral change in preventing and controlling obesity among children
3. Prevention and Management of Childhood Obesity and Its Psychological and Health
Comorbidities
Smith, Fu, and Kobayashi (2020) further continued to discuss on the psychological and
health comorbidities with obesity in childhood and outlined the preventive and the management
intervention. They emphasized the treatment of obesity focusing on the physical as well as the
psychosocial. The authors further stated that several intervention programs, community-based
intervention programs, in schools, and those of families all help lessen the prevalence of obesity
and assure better outcomes health-wise to the child.
Research Process and Findings
The research process involved an in-depth search of academic databases that contain
relevant journals on the causes, consequences, and preventive measures for childhood obesity.
Articles derived from my research present a comprehensive analysis of the multifaceted nature of
the problem identifying the play between genetic, environmental, dietary, and lifestyle factors.
Through publication, research findings are disseminated in statistical data, case studies, and
reviews of existing literature providing a firm evidence base for seeking solutions to childhood
obesity (Bharti & Kulshrestha, 2019; Shenoy & Nayak, 2023; Smith et al., 2020)
Significance of Evidence-Based Research
The evidence-based research on childhood obesity is significant because it will help in
developing public health interventions and policies. Identification of the etiology of the problem
4
as well as the most effective preventive strategies, by health care providers and policy makers, will
help in the designing of appropriate, cost-effective programs and service delivery, in order to
reduce the rates of obesity and promote a healthy original life course, among the children. This
research is within the standards of allied health care, especially concerning early intervention,
parental involvement and community-based initiatives towards the reduction of childhood obesity
(Shenoy & Nayak, 2023; Smith et al., 2020).
5
References
Bharti, A., & Kulshrestha, K. (2019, January 10). Childhood Obesity: An Overview. International
Journal
of
Current
Microbiology
and
Applied
Sciences,
8(01),
963–980.
https://doi.org/10.20546/ijcmas.2019.801.105
Shenoy, M. T., & Ramdas Nayak, V. K. (2023, May). Childhood obesity: Impact, outcome and
preventive strategies. Clinical Epidemiology and Global Health, 21, 101304.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cegh.2023.101304
Smith, J. D., Fu, E., & Kobayashi, M. A. (2020, May 7). Prevention and Management of Childhood
Obesity and Its Psychological and Health Comorbidities. Annual Review of Clinical
Psychology, 16(1), 351–378. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-100219-060201
1
Typing Template for APA Papers: A Sample of Proper Formatting for APA Style
Student A. Sample
College Name, Grand Canyon University
Course Number: Course Title
Instructor’s Name
Assignment Due Date
2
Typing Template for APA Papers: A Sample of Proper Formatting for APA Style
This is an electronic template for papers written according to the style of the American
Psychological Association (APA, 2020) as outlined in the seventh edition of the Publication
Manual of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the template is to help
students set the margins and spacing. Margins are set at 1 inch for top, bottom, left, and right.
The text is left-justified only; that means the left margin is straight, but the right margin is
ragged. Each paragraph is indented 0.5 inch. It is best to use the tab key to indent, or set a firstline indent in the paragraph settings. The line spacing is double throughout the paper, even on the
reference page. One space is used after punctuation at the end of sentences. The font style used
in this template is Times New Roman and the font size is 12 point. This font and size is required
for GCU papers.
The Section Heading
The heading above would be used if you want to have your paper divided into sections
based on content. This is a Level 1 heading, and it is centered and bolded, and the initial word
and each word of four or more letters is capitalized. The heading should be a short descriptor of
the section. Note that not all papers will have headings or subheadings in them. Papers for
beginning undergraduate courses (100 or 200 level) will generally not need headings beyond
Level 1. The paper title serves as the heading for the first paragraph of the paper, so
“Introduction” is not used as a heading.
Subsection Heading
The subheading above would be used if there are several sections within the topic labeled
in a first level heading. This is a Level 2 heading, and it is flush left and bolded, and the initial
word and each word of four or more letters is capitalized.
3
Subsection Heading
APA dictates that you should avoid having only one subsection heading and subsection
within a section. In other words, use at least two subheadings under a main heading, or do not
use any at all. Headings are used in order, so a paper must use Level 1 before using Level 2. Do
not adjust spacing to change where on the page a heading falls, even if it would be the last line
on a page.
The Title Page
When you are ready to write, and after having read these instructions completely, you can
delete these directions and start typing. The formatting should stay the same. You will also need
to change the items on the title page. Fill in your own title, name, course, college, instructor, and
date. List the college to which the course belongs, such as College of Theology, College of
Business, or College of Humanities and Social Sciences. GCU uses three letters and numbers
with a hyphen for course numbers, such as CWV-101 or UNV-104. The date should be written
as Month Day, Year. Spell out the month name.
Formatting References and Citations
APA Style includes rules for citing resources. The Publication Manual (APA, 2020) also
discusses the desired tone of writing, grammar, punctuation, formatting for numbers, and a
variety of other important topics. Although APA Style rules are used in this template, the
purpose of the template is only to demonstrate spacing and the general parts of the paper. GCU
has prepared an APA Style Guide available in the Student Success Center and on the GCU
Library’s Citing Sources in APA guide (https://libguides.gcu.edu/APA) for help in correctly
formatting according to APA Style.
4
The reference list should appear at the end of a paper. It provides the information
necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any source you cite in the body of the paper. Each
source you cite in the paper must appear in your reference list; likewise, each entry in the
reference list must be cited in your text. A sample reference page is included below. This page
includes examples of how to format different reference types. The first reference is to a webpage
without a clear date, which is common with organizational websites (American Nurses
Association, n.d.). Next is the Publication Manual referred to throughout this template (APA,
2020). Notice that the manual reference includes the DOI number, even though this is a print
book, as the DOI was listed on book, and does not include a publisher name since the publisher
is also the author. A journal article reference will also often include a DOI, and as this article has
four authors, only the first would appear in the in-text citation (Copeland et al., 2013).
Government publications like the Treatment Improvement Protocol series documents from the
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (2014) are another common source found online. A book
without a DOI is the last example (Holland & Forrest, 2017).
5
References
American Nurses Association. (n.d.). Scope of practice. https://www.nursingworld.org/practicepolicy/scope-of-practice/
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological
Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment. (2014). Improving cultural competence (HHS
Publication No. 14-4849). U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK248428/
Copeland, T., Henderson, B., Mayer, B., & Nicholson, S. (2013). Three different paths for
tabletop gaming in school libraries. Library Trends, 61(4), 825–835.
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2013.0018
Holland, R. A., & Forrest, B. K. (2017). Good arguments: Making your case in writing and
public speaking. Baker Academic.