NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1: COMPARE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1: COMPARE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS
Compare vulnerable populations. Describe an example of one of these groups in the United States or from another country. Explain why the population is designated as “vulnerable.” Include the number of individuals belonging to this group and the specific challenges or issues involved. NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
Discuss why these populations are unable to advocate for themselves, the ethical issues that must be considered when working with these groups, and how nursing advocacy would be beneficial.
The United States puts much effort in trying to eliminate or reduce health care disparities. However, vulnerable people continue to experience problems in access to health care, and they have high cases of mortality and morbidity. For instance, those who live in poverty are more likely to be in poor or fair health and have disabling conditions. The vulnerable populations include those that are economically disadvantaged, ethnic and racial minorities, low-income children, the uninsured, and the homeless (Falkner, 2018).
The vulnerability of these populations is enhanced by ethnicity, race, age, gender, and factors such as insurance coverage, income and lack of natural source of care (Falkner, 2018). Their health and health care issues interconnect with the societal factors including poverty, housing, and insufficient education.NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
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An example of a vulnerable population in the US is the impoverished. This group “consists of those who cannot financially provide the basic necessities of life” (Falkner, 2018), and may experience challenges in adopting and maintaining healthful behaviors. What makes this population vulnerable is that they have limited resources, and cannot afford healthy and affordable foods.
Healthy foods are costly while refined grains, added sugars, and fats are generally affordable and readily accessible to low-income populations. These foods that are affordable and readily available typically are the causes of multiple diseases. Besides this fact, this population may face high-stress levels and poor mental health.
The poverty rate in America is 12.7% of the population, meaning about 40.6 million people live in poverty (Falkner, 2018). This population often has a hard time advocating for themselves because they do not have the funds, energy, or motivation to do so. One of the ethical issues when handling this population is their lack of funds and basic necessities to live.
As health care providers we should be assisting these individuals by helping them access health care and proper treatment, along with providing resources to basics such as food, water, and clothing (Falkner, 208). We are able to do this by involving case management and social work, if doing so in the health care setting (Falkner, 2018).NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
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Reference:NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
Falkner, A. (2018). Community as clients. In Community and public health: The future of health care. https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs427vn/community-and-public-health-the-future-of-health-care/v1.1/
Great post! Like you pointed out, one of the most vulnerable populations is low-income and homeless individuals. These individuals are more vulnerable because in many cases they do not have access to and are unable to afford basic needs to live. not having access to these basic needs puts them at a greater risk for developing chronic diseases
such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and long-term stress and behavioral health issues such as anxiety, depression, and substance abuse problems. (Joszt, 2018) Living in poverty, these individuals do not have the resources to advocate for themselves. One of the main issues with individuals living in poverty is the lack of access to healthcare needs. Nurses need to advocate for these individuals. NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
The nurse can put the patient in contact with a social worker within the patient’s local area. Social workers work to help the patient gain access to basic needs like food, clothing, shelter, and also social benefits including healthcare. (Miller, 2021) This can help patients get the important resources they need so that they can lower the adverse health risks associated with poverty and improve and maintain good health.
Resources:
Joszt, L. (2018, July 20). 5 vulnerable populations in healthcare. AJMC. Retrieved January 10, 2022, from
https://www.ajmc.com/view/5-vulnerable-populations-in-healthcare
Miller, A. (2021). Social workers’ roles in helping the poor. Work – Chron.com. Retrieved January 10, 2022, from
https://work.chron.com/social-workers-roles-helping-poor-24938.html
There is a lot of evidence indicating the connection between high stress, low income or poverty, and the addictive properties of sugar when it comes to eating as a method of self-comfort (Spinosa et al., 2019). Hemingsson found that low socioeconomic status is connected to obesity due to psychological distress which “transfers from parents to children, thus creating a disharmonious family environment” (2014).
This distress and environment can cause maladaptive eating behaviors which along with stress induced disturbances to metabolic signals can cause obesity and weight gain (Spinosa et al., 2019). NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
As nurses, ways to target obesity related to low socioeconomic levels include collaborating with local entities to provide nutritious foods for low income families, aggressive education about nutrition, and educating people in the community about the link between stress, income, eating, and weight gain.
Patients cannot or will not make lifestyle changes successfully if they do not understand the entire problem, and simply telling people that they should eat a nutritious diet does not help them understand why they continue to make unhealthy choices.NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
Vulnerable populations refer to individuals with poor access to health care, receiving poor-quality care, and experiencing poor care outcomes (Commonwealth Fund, n.d.). These issues often result from societal injustices related to race, ethnicity, poverty, gender, sexual orientation, age, first language, or physical or mental health conditions.
Description of a Vulnerable Population
One group that is considered a vulnerable population in the US is low-income individuals. People belonging to this group are the homeless and racial and ethnic minorities. These individuals are considered vulnerable because they face significant barriers to getting the healthcare they need (Waisel, 2013).NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
These obstacles include lack of health insurance, language or cultural barriers, discrimination, stigma, and lack of housing or transportation. Consequently, low-income individuals have untreated chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, or untreated communicable diseases (Waisel, 2013).
At the same time, they have unaddressed mental health conditions like bipolar disorder or major depression, which negatively affect themselves and their families.
Why Low-income Earners are Unable to Advocate for Themselves
People living in poverty cannot speak up for themselves to obtain needed resources. These individuals are affected by mental illness or other chronic conditions that make it challenging to advocate for their needs (Guelder et al., 2012). At the same time, they are not included in the dominant culture, have compromised language ability, and are out of their familiar turf, which may make them not be heard.NRS-428 Topic 3 DQ 1
The Ethical Issues
Various ethical issues must be considered when working with low-income individuals. To begin with, the nurse should respect people as ends, not means. This means a nurse should view and treat everyone as a unique individual who matters, not as a number in a political, social, or clinical calculation (Lee, 2017).
In addition, respect for everyone’s human, civil, and legal rights is crucial when working with low-income individuals as it involves non-discrimination and cultural sensitivity (Lee, 2017).
How Nursing Advocacy Would be Beneficial
Nursing advocacy would be beneficial to low-income individuals. Nurses can advocate for the right social policies to promote justice, fairness, and health equity and adequately address social determinants of health (Williams et al., 2018). These policies would interrupt the cycle of poverty, disadvantage, and poor health. In essence, the right social policies would aid healthier communities.
References
Commonwealth Fund. (n.d.). Vulnerable populations. https://www.commonwealthfund.org/programs/vulnerable-populations
Guelder, S., Britton, G., & Terwilliger, S. (2012). Giving voice to vulnerable populations: Rogerian theory. Caring for the Vulnerable: Perspectives in Nursing Theory,Practice, and Research, 3, 125-134. https://samples.jbpub.com/9781449635923/03984ch09v2.pdf
Lee, L. M. (2017). A bridge back to the future: public health ethics, bioethics, and environmental ethics. The American Journal of Bioethics, 17(9), 5-12. https://doi.org/10.1080/15265161.2017.1353164
Waisel, D. B. (2013). Vulnerable populations in healthcare. Current Opinion in Anesthesiology, 26(2), 186-192. https://doi.org/10.1097/aco.0b013e32835e8c17
Williams, S. D., Phillips, J. M., & Koyama, K. (2018). Nurse advocacy: Adopting a health in all policies approach. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 23(3). https://doi.org/10.3912/OJIN.Vol23No03Man01
Vulnerable populations are groups of people that are at a higher risk than others for diseases and are unable to communicate their needs emotionally, cognitively, or physically. “Persons who fall into the vulnerable category often have social determinants of health that contribute to such vulnerability such as poverty, ethnic minorities, sexual preference, and insurance status” (Falkner, 2018). There are several different vulnerable populations that exist throughout the world.
Refugee and immigrant population are considered a vulnerable population because of the unknown environment they live in, “little understanding of the new culture, resources, or language and will likely require a host of support” in order to adjust to the new environment (Falkner, 2018). As of May of 2022, more than 1 billion migrants globally, “48 million internally displaced, 26.4 million refugees” (Refugee and migrant health-global).
This vulnerable population will face discrimination, poor housing, work, and living conditions. They might also have a language barrier which will prevent them from advocating for themselves. The United States has seen a lot of this population moving into the states to hopefully live a better life and have that American dream. Living in poverty is also another vulnerable population.
According to Falkner (2018), “12.7% of the population or approximately 40.6 million people live in poverty”. Living in poverty includes those who cannot provide food, water, clothing, shelter, or any other basic necessities. This population is unable to advocate for themselves based on lack of money/financial freedom, feeling hopeless, and feeling isolated from their community. Nursing advocacy is beneficial in providing the resources they need to survive and then educating them on health promotion. Nurses might find a lack of health literacy, reading level, and lack of motivation among this group, education is key to overcome these challenges. Lack of Insurance also plays a role with living in poverty.
Uninsured or underinsured individuals are another type of vulnerable population. Even though we have the Affordable Care Act, there are still “31.6 million (9.7%) people of all ages uninsured” as of 2020 (Cha & Cohen, 2022). These individuals lack “advocacy for their health care needs because of fear of cost or no access to resources” (Falkner, 2018). Nursing advocates have helped by opening free clinics that allow individuals to have health screenings, dental, medical, and mental health care available.
Another vulnerable population consists of Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender/Questioning (LGBTQ). This “populations vulnerability stems from the adversity and discrimination they may face when seeking necessary medical services, as well as certain disease processes that may be more prominent” within this population (Falkner, 2018). Nurses can advocate for these individuals by supporting them, giving them the help or treatment, they need without judgment.
References:
Cha, A., & Cohen, R. (2022). National Health Statistics Reports – Centers for Disease Control and … National Health Statistics Report. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhsr/nhsr169.pdf
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