GALVESTON, Texas - Class projects rarely serve as a platform for public policy. But that didn't matter to a group of master's students enrolled in the Public Policy and Nursing class at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Nursing. They saw their proposal to create an obesity awareness week become law during the 80th regular session of the Texas Legislature.
Starting last September, and during the second week of upcoming Septembers, Texans will observe Obesity Awareness Week.
"I am very proud of them and it is a wonderful example of the kind of learning that can occur in our courses," said Professor Linda Rounds, who now teaches the course
Donald Harper and Christi Wargo, two of the master's students, didn't know what to expect from the class. Also participating in the class were Ann Adams, Elizabeth Covarrubias, Mary Johnson, James Xie and Tim Traugott. Covarrubias, Harper, Wargo and Xie will graduate with master's degrees as nurse practitioners on April 18. Traugott graduated in December.
"Anything pertaining to government and politics has always made me feel a little inferior or overwhelmed," Wargo said. "This class really opened my eyes and empowered me."
The first task for the students was to find an issue that resonated for everyone. They wanted to focus on doing something that could result in a lifestyle change. The group considered health insurance.
"We decided that tackling big insurance and Medicare was not feasible, especially at the graduate student level," Harper said.
Harper, who will graduate with a degree as a family nurse practitioner, surveyed the array of awareness weeks devoted to various causes, finding no mention of an obesity awareness week in Texas.
"Obesity has been a hot topic in both the news and in our curriculum," Harper said.
Based on Harper's research, the group settled on raising obesity awareness. Giving scale to the extent of obesity in Texas, they turned to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They found that in 2004, 63 percent of Texas adults, 30 percent of Texas high-school students, 26 percent of fourth graders and 19 percent of eighth graders were overweight or obese.
It wasn't long before they learned that the Department of State Health Services had already implemented the "Strategic Plan for the Prevention of Obesity in Texas."
The agency created a statewide obesity task force several years ago and one of its strategic goals was to increase awareness of obesity but had not moved forward on this goal. Although DSHS did not collaborate with the students, the fact that their strategic plan included an awareness campaign gave the students leverage with policy makers.
Although simply meeting with a policy maker would have satisfied a course requirement, the students were determined to push their class project beyond the requirements of the course and into the spotlight.
Fortunately, they found a receptive advocate in State Rep. Patrick Rose whose district includes Blanco, Caldwell and Hays counties in Central Texas. Hoping to add more clout to Rose's endorsement, the students then met with State Rep. Susan King, a nurse, who represents Nolan and Taylor counties in West Texas.
Rose agreed to sponsor the legislation, with King as co-author, and filed it as House Bill 2313 last March. It sailed through the House with only one modification, changing the date for the week to September.
In early May it came before the Senate under the wing of State. Sen. Robert Nichols, whose district covers a number of counties in East Texas. The bill was sent to the governor's office in late May and Gov. Rick Perry signed it into law on June 15.
For Harper, the biggest challenge of the project was making sure the data they provided to support the policy was accurate. "It would have been disastrous to have someone in the Texas House Committee on Healthcare find contradictory information within our proposal," he said.
Wargo, who will graduate as a pediatric nurse practitioner, found that the course stretched her definition of what it is to be a nurse.
"Nurses have a very important role in government and politics and we should be some of the main policy makers regarding health and wellness," she said.