Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

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Explain how Health Literacy, HIT on Patient Outcomes, and Health Economics may be integrated into and impact clinical practice for your healthcare organization or nursing practice. Be specific and provide examples. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

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Health economics “can be defined as the application of Economic theories(such as scarcity, opportunity costs, supply and demand for health),tools and concepts of economics as a discipline to the topics of health and health care.-Since health economics is concerned with issues related to the allocation of scarce resources to improve health, this includes both resource allocation within the economy to the health sector and within the healthcare system to different activities and individuals. Health literacy is a way to help improve patient health through education. It allows patients to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to help make appropriate health decisions (U.S. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay Department of Health and Human Services, 2019). Understanding health literacy means taking into consideration one’s ability to read and comprehend any material provided by healthcare providers regarding the patient’s disease, as well as their ability to care for themselves and perform tasks needed to do so. Individuals with lower health literacy tend to not have the best healthcare outcomes due to their daily struggle obtaining and applying health information. According to the HRSA (2019) low literacy is more common among older adults, minorities, individuals with a lower socioeconomic status, as well as those who are culturally and linguistically incompetent. As a healthcare provider it is crucial to acknowledge these deficits when treating patients. HIT on patient outcome, health literacy and health economics when not in adequate proportion in every individual creates health disparity. These disparities can lead to higher prevalence for a wide variety of diseases, delayed diagnosis, poorer response to treatment and disease reoccurrence (Raingruber, 2017). Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay The socioeconomic status among racial/ethnic minorities and elderly populations is frequently associated as a contributor to the lack of healthcare. An example of barriers individuals with a lower socioeconomic status may come across is unreliable healthcare and insurance coverage, which can lead to poor access to services, unaffordable costs of doctor’s visits, lab tests and even medications. Even those who obtain proper insurances still may face obstacles such as the inability to pay co-pays, deductions, and prescriptions.

Describe your understanding of the concept of health literacy. Why is it important to understand implications for the lack of health literacy for nursing practice? Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay
Health literacy is important for everyone because at some point of our lives, we all need to able to find, understand, and use health information and services. Health literacy can help us prevent health problems and protect our health as well as better manage those problems and unexpected situation that happen. without health literacy patients struggles to access health information and services putting their health at risk. Health literacy is as important for clinicians as it is for patients to bridge gap between the medical information provided and its implementation. health literacy skills are necessary to understand: Medical terms and human biology, risk and benefits of a treatment and medication diagnoses and test result, self-care guidelines, Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

health issues affecting the community that are being voted on. Low health literacy has been associated with non-adherence to treatment plans and medical regimens, poor patient self-care. High health care cost, and increased risk of hospitalization and mortality.

Discuss and evaluate how COVID-19 may have impacted each of these topics for healthcare delivery and nursing practice. Be specific.
COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in dramatic losses globally. In many countries, especially in slum areas, access to diagnostic and medical services is a problem (Poudel & Subedi, 2020). The COVID-19 pandemic has created havoc in society. It has affected various sectors, from the health of the population to financial markets. The pandemic has also caused a crisis in the health systems, economy, and patient care delivery.  Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay Many questions have been asked about the health care system’s ability to find a solution for this problem. Many nursing aspects have been affected, including practicing nursing, students who wish to become nurses, teaching staff, and the retired nurses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing has played the role of alleviating the suffering by treating the disease and preventing its spread. However, as frontline workers, nurses face challenges, including risking their lives, heavy workload, long working hours, fatigue, stress, and underpayment. In addition, the current COVID-19 pandemic has put stress on the healthcare organization. In most countries, emergency capacity has been expanded in hospitals by suspending non-urgent and chronic care. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

Recommend at least two strategies you might implement for overcoming challenges/barriers related to these topics in your healthcare organization or nursing practice.
One strategy to increase patient knowledge on health care is through the implementation of educational programs which will teach patients how to access their care and participate in their treatment decisions (AMA, 2020). Another strategy that could help minimize the impact of disparities would be to support the use of interpretation services, such as interpreters to those individuals and populations in need 100% of the time (AMA, 2020). The implementation of strategies both through providing proper care and through education helps to create a holistic patient approach that enhances the knowledge of individuals despite of their disparities. Understanding the level of literacy of everyone is crucial in minimizing deficits when treating patients.  Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay Through education and patient care, health literacy can provide individuals with an understanding of their diseases and can help improve the management of diseases day to day, which can ultimately help reduce the struggles of economic disparities. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

References

American Medical Association. (2020, January 24). Reducing disparities in health care. https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy/reducing-disparitieshealth-care.

HRSA. (2019, August 13). Health literacy. U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration. https://www.hrsa.gov/about/organization/bureaus/ohe/health-literacy/index.html. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay

Raingruber, B. (2017). Contemporary Health Promotion in Nursing Practice: Vol. Second edition. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2019, December 31). Health literacy online. Home of the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. https://www.health.gov/communication/literacy/quickguide/factsbasic.htm. Addressing Social Determinants of Health And Health Disparities Essay