Critical Thinking Assessment Tool for Minority Parents of Overweight Children

Introduction

Critical thinking is a crucial skill that allows an individual to assess a situation, find a solution, and decide based on the facts. It contributes significantly to the US’s daily running, including health, education, and general decision-making. Parents of chronically ill children need to have strong critical thinking skills. The parents may be confronted with varying kinds of complex medical information, decisions concerning treatment, and lifestyle issues; this thus explains the need to think critically for the child’s sake. This assessment tool focuses on evaluating the cognitive processes and actions of the parents of children with chronic illnesses referred to in the text, highlighting the role of fostering these habits in this particular group.

Population

The population of this critical thinking evaluation tool is minority parents with overweight kids. These parents are entrusted with the burden of bringing up a child dealing with their weight-associated challenges and, therefore, need analytical reasoning to uplift the child’s total health (Austin et al., 2015). The data released by the CDC show that minority children are the most affected by childhood obesity: more African Americans and Hispanics (CDC, 2022). Lastly, minority families also encounter socio-economic differences, having a compounding effect on acquiring the necessary resources and support for their child’s health.

Importance of Cognitive Habits or Behaviors That Encourage Critical Thinking

Critical thinking has a significant role in making good decisions relating to health matters. It helps individuals evaluate information with a critical mind that guides the decision-making in health choices that have a positive impact (Whiffin & Hasselder, 2013). Parents of overweight children belonging to minority communities can particularly benefit from having good critical thinking skills as they will be able to handle challenges that come with promoting their child’s health (Rubenfeld & Scheffer, 2015). Critical thinking can help parents apply cognitive habits and behavior that will give them enough information for the best health interventions and advocacy.

Questions and Rationales:

1. How do you feel about your child’s health? Your family’s health?

Rationale: Contextual perspectives – This question tests the importance of critical thinking skills in ‘Contextual Perspective,’ which includes considering several factors that can influence a situation. Doing a health assessment of the parents can help the nurse know their opinion about the health and well-being of their child and family (Rubenfeld & Scheffer, 2015). This can reveal their views on the matter and underlying issues that could influence the child’s weight.

2. How often does your child take part in physical activity?

Rationale: Curiosity, the desire to know more, and Openness- This question gauges the critical thinking attributes of curiosity and openness to new information and inquiries. Through physical activity, the RN will reveal the parents’ knowledge level and willingness to learn about the child’s physical health.

3. How do you plan and cook for your child?

Rationale: Analysis and reflection- This question tests the thinking habit of analysis and reflection, which is reviewing the data to examine its quality, relevancy, and significance. By eliciting the parents’ meal planning and preparation habits, the nurse can have a concrete idea of the type and quality of food the child is eating that leads to their weight problem.

4. What kind of strategies have you put in place to assist your child’s weight loss?

Rationale: Systematicity- This question tests the systemic thinking habit, establishing a systematic framework for a particular objective. By asking questions about the strategies parents employ in encouraging weight loss, the nurse can evaluate the parent’s capability to operate a systematic plan for managing their children’s weight.

5. What are your kid’s favorite foods and snacks?

Rationale: Accuracy and precision – this question tests the habit of thinking critically by evaluating the ability to seek, use, and process precise and accurate data. Through the question “What is your child’s favorite food?” the nurse can assess the parent’s knowledge of their child’s eating habits and make suggestions for healthier alternatives.

6. What are the top obstacles to your child’s weight control?

Rationale: Reflection- This criterion tests the critical thinking skill of reflection, involving looking back on one’s thinking and activities. According to (Whiffin & Hasselder, 2013), the nurse can also assess the parents’ level of reflection on their behaviors and attitudes and, thus, pinpoint the factors that prevent their child’s weight loss by asking about barriers to weight management.

7. How does your child’s weight influence their performance of everyday activities and self-esteem?

Rationale: Fairmindedness- Here, the question probes at the thinking attitude that is fair-minded, and it involves listening to a point of view from both sides and then giving out an unbiased and nonpartisan decision. She can determine the parents’ capacity to recognize different influencers of the situation and act on them by asking them how being overweight affects the child’s everyday activities and self-esteem.

8. How do you incorporate your child into their weight management plan?

Rationale: Inquisitiveness- This question evaluates the critical thinking routines that are inquisitive, curious, and committed to pursuing new knowledge. The nurse can determine the parents’ willingness to include their child in weight control if the nurse asks about their child’s weight management involvement (Austin et al., 2015). In addition, the nurse can promote the child’s sense of ownership and responsibility in managing their weight through doing this.

Conclusion

Critical thinking is a salient skill for minority parents of obese children because it helps them make informed decisions regarding their children’s health. The questions chosen for the assessment cover the cognitive processes and behaviors crucial for critical thinking habits, including perspective, curiosity, analysis, systematization, accuracy, inquisitiveness, reflection, and fair-mindedness. These critical thinking skills are evaluated by nurses, allowing them to view the parents’ thinking patterns to provide guidance and targeted support for their children’s health. Furthermore, this method helps the parents analyze their critical thinking skills and identify improvement areas. In this way, the parents become more conscious of supporting their child’s weight control.

References

Austin, E. W., Pinkleton, B. E., Radanielina-Hita, M. L., & Ran, W. (2015). Parents’ critical thinking about media shapes expectancies, efficacy, and nutrition behaviors for families. Health Communication, 30(12), 1256-1268.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, May 17). Childhood obesity facts. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html

Rubenfeld, M. G., & Scheffer, B. (2015). Critical thinking tactics for nurses. Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Whiffin, C. J., & Hasselder, A. (2013). Linking critical appraisal, thinking, and analysis. British Journal of Nursing, 22(14), 831-835.