This essay will discuss healthy start as a current healthcare initiative in the United Kingdom. It will also look at the historical overview of healthy start its aim and how the initiative is structured, problems associated with in adequate nutrition with relation to socioeconomic status and the effectiveness of health promotion/health education will be reviewed with its implication to health care delivery, finally this write up will discuss about different nursing theories and models, which promote healthy start and how the knowledge of transcultural nursing and reflective practise will promote nursing practice.
The history of a healthy start is as far as 2002 when similar initiatives were in place, namely National school fruit scheme, Five a day program, Promotion of breast feeding and Welfare food scheme (Department of Health DH, 2005)
Welfare food scheme initiative focused on distribution of milk to schools, nurseries and low income families. Upon scientific review it was understood that the beneficiaries where not getting adequate nutrition, vitamins and weaning diet was not included, as the focus is on milk distribution only and researchers fear that if it continues it will discourage breastfeeding, it was agreed that a new program be designed that will better meet the need of the people (DH 2005).
Healthy start is a government initiative that replaced the food welfare scheme. The focus is on provision of fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, infant formulas and vitamins to children below 4years and pregnant women. (Robert et al. 2005). This initiative is targeted towards supporting low income and disadvantaged families, pregnant women and children below age four. Beneficiaries receive vouchers which will be utilised in purchasing vegetables, fresh fruits, milk or infant formulas. However, according to DH (2010) low income families still have difficulty providing their children with a healthy, balanced diet this includes varieties of