How vulnerable populations can mitigate infection risk

Explain how a community nurse can decrease or prevent the occurrence of an infectious disease, chronic illness or safety concern the community is at high risk for. Using the community assessment, describe how you would educate your community on primary, secondary and tertiary care based using this illness or infectious disease.

To begin primary prevention looks to prevent the occurrence of the infectious disease prior to it occurring. As it relates to an issue such as water safety preventative tactics must be employed. As a community nurse I would first look to leverage partnerships with governments and businesses. Here, a collective effort is required in order to provide quality water to residents. For one, governments typically own the infrastructure used to help prevent infections within vulnerable communities. This infrastructure includes public government jobs, mission critical utilities such as utilizes, highways, airports and so forth. Infection diseases are particularly pertinent during areas of large public gatherings. Many of which governments own. As a community nurse to prevent the occurrence of an infectious disease it is important to emphasize personal protections. These protections can include areas with large gathering, protective clothing or equipment and even vaccinations. All of these procedures coalesce to help prevent the occurrence of an infectious disease (Stamler, 2019).

As it relates to education on primary level, legislation or an outright ban on certain behaviors or products can be warranted. In addition, advocation of immunizations are also critical in help to reduce community risk. From a secondary perspective, protection for diseases that have already occurred are centered around regular exams and screenings to better detect the disease. Here it is critical to detect the disease as soon as possible in an effort to help prevent further infection and complications for the patient. Finally, for tertiary based care, a lowering the impact on disease that has been ongoing, it is important to manage the long-term impacts of the disease. This includes managing the more complicated health concerns related to issues. Solutions can vary dramatically depending on the individual. Treatment options here can include support groups, vocational rehabilitation programs and other forms of treatment (Stanhope, 2016).

Identify one of the unique populations. Research this population and use one journal article to discuss the unique health needs of the population. What are the challenges this population faces? What resources can a community nurse use to get the population to practice healthy / risk reduction lifestyle.

Minorities with disabilities are typically a unique population that is adversely impacted by infectious diseases. These individuals have very unique needs and challenges. According to the center for disease control the African American community has the second highest disability rate behind American Indian. Chart 1 below provides a visual representation of the disparity between races

Chart 1

The unique health needs of minorities can be varied, particularly those of African Americans. For one the challenges they face are related to socio-economic status. Many African Americans with disabilities cannot afford many of the treatment options available to them. In addition, there is a lack of research specifically catered to the needs of African Americans with disability. The research that has been conducted has typically been inconclusive and difficult to replicate in a controlled setting. A number of these disabilities are related a sedentary lifestyle and an overall poor nutrition plan. Here, for many, dietary habits high in both fat, sodium, and artificial ingredients helps to exacerbate many of the issues within the population overall.

From the perspective of a community nurse, the individuals must be sensitives to the both the cultural and physical needs of this population. Likewise, they will need to leverages the use of research related to cultural sensitivity. They should also be mindful of how to properly supplement proper nutrition within the overall treatment plan. Community nurses should also engage with African Americans on a much more personal level to properly develop trust within the treatment options and to mitigate distrust within the community.

The issues related to these African Americans with disabilities are deep rooted a require a comprehensive approach to mitigate them. For one, many minorities, particular African Americans, mistrust the healthcare system overall due to atrocities committed against them over many centuries. Here, those with disabilities are often reluctant to use healthcare systems or treatment plans for their ailments. Likewise, African Americans with disabilities are often lower on the socio-economic rung and therefore require a larger percentage of their incomes on healthcare treatment. Currently healthcare treatment accounts for 18% of the United States GDP or $11,500 per person. The median household income for Americans is roughly $65,0000. The median household income for African Americans is roughly $40,000 (Allender, 2010). As a result, spending nearly a quarter of income on healthcare related expenditures and prevention is not a viable option. As a result, a community nurse must emphasize prevention and primary prevention in order to avoid cost healthcare expenditures at a later date. In addition, minority communities must be targeting as it relates to pertinent healthcare research, outcomes, and prevention (Vollman, 2016).