...Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness Paper Leah Robertson June 19, 2012 NUR/440 Sharon When thinking about vulnerable populations, individuals, and families there are so many different keys that affect what makes a person vulnerable. Being aware of the attitudes, stereotypes, demographics, and financial aspects that make a certain population or person vulnerable can be a valuable lesson in being a nurse. Using a population from episode one in the neighborhood I would like to identify why I felt this particular population was vulnerable and my perceptions before and after the research that I have done. I feel that episode one had a good variety of different situations within one small area, starting with a predominantly white neighborhood with middle to low-income jobs. Several types of housing are available and cost of living at 94%, and a low unemployment rate at 4.4%. Looking at the community you would think it was just a normal place to live with little to no issues or problems. When I began looking into the neighborhood facts and evaluating the demographics this was my perception of what the families would be like, white, normal, middle aged and middle range income. The family that I choose to research is the Allen family, Clifford, Pam and Gary. Clifford and Pam have been together for 40 years and are happily married, with a 24-year-old son that lives at home. When I see this my stereotypes come out, I thought you couldn’t get more normal and happy...
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...Vulnerable population and self-awareness paper Name Institution Vulnerable population and self-awareness paper Biases among the healthcare personnel calls for self-awareness in order for them to understand how such biases affect delivery of healthcare to vulnerable groups such as mentally ill. Self-awareness is a conscious process that creates personal understanding. It enables them to determine their strengths and limitations, emotional understanding and their behavior with others in a mental health environment. Development of self-awareness enables the health providers to take control of situations. This provides a genuine, authentic and honest presentation of the mental healthcare nurses (Tusaie, 2013). The vulnerable group to be discussed is the depressed mentally ill population. Depression is a chronic disease that significantly affects American’s health and productivity. Demographics of the depressed Depression affects over 21 million people, including children and adults in America. It is the leading major cause of disability for people in the age of between 15 and 44. This is according to the report of the Mental Health America and Thomson Healthcare. More so, depression with anxiety is experienced by approximately 9.6% of Americans and 2.6% without anxiety. The prevalence of mixed anxiety and depressive disorder is relatively more in women than in men. Overall, occurrence of depression is 1 in every 10 adults at a given...
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...Vulnerable Population and Self Awareness University of Phoenix Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population NUR 440 Belinda Condit, MSN, RN, NE-BC March 5, 2013 Vulnerable Population and Self Awareness This paper will discuss the vulnerable population of child abuse caused by the children’s parents. It will include a description of the populations’ demographic based on research of professional literature. It will also include the description of my personal awareness of population before studying the demographics. It will state the effect of research on personal attitudes after gathering knowledge. It will then describe how knowledge might affect health care delivery. Finally, I will use self-reflection to evaluate my perception before and after learning about the population (University of Phoenix, 2013). Description of the Population’s Demographic The population’s demographic affected by the child abuse by parents, are both the parents and the children. Children affected by parental child abuse are a vulnerable population because often time children do not know who to seek help from. The children demographic are affected greatly because many times children feel that they do not want to get their parents in trouble because of the abuse. Children abused by parents are often considered a social problem, which is often silent. “Child abuse and neglect by parents remains a salient social problem, thus warranting a continued evaluation of measurement tools...
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...Vulnerable Populations and Self-Awareness Paper Barbara D. Ross University of Phoenix Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population NUR 440 Marcella Hardy - Peterson April 19, 2010 Vulnerable Populations and Self-Awareness Paper The social stigma of cigarette smoking has grown over the last 25 years. Many states have established anti-smoking legislation that prohibits smoking in public areas. This paper examines current social, economic and health related impact of the chronic smoker in today’s sociality. The author began smoking cigarettes as an enlisted Navy recruit, quit “cold turkey” when a severe morning cough convinced her that smoking cigarettes might not be conducive to optimum health. The conversion from smoker to non-smoker was not difficult. Cigarette smoking can be part of a social and cultural ritual. Tobacco use became popular in the United States in the 1800’s. Chewing tobacco was the method of use for the early American pioneers. In 1880, James Bonsack, created a machine that rolled tobacco in paper. The creation of the cigarette machine increased the cigarette production and revolutionized the tobacco industry. The health concern of long termed cigarette smoking came to the forefront in the mid-twenthth century. The CDC estimated in 2005, that 20.9% of all U.S. adults, were current cigarette smokers, 80.8% smoked daily and 19.2% some days. The highest prevalence of ethnic smokers...
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...Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness Paper NUR/440 – Health Assessment and Promotion For Vulnerable Population 12 December 2011 Vulnerable Populations and Self Awareness Introduction This paper is a study of the vulnerable population of the elderly in the United States and will discuss the mindfulness of this author’s personal biases, attitudes, and conceived stereotypes regarding this population. The patient chosen as an example for this paper is Norma James from the University of Phoenix “neighborhood”. Mrs James is a widow who’s vulnerability relating to health care will be compared with information gathered through research and applied to the elderly population and those with chronic illness. The vulnerabilities faced by Norma will be a realistic representation of the challenges associated with this population. Elderly Patients with Chronic Illness Despite the efforts of healthcare providers and various organizations across the United States to reduce or eliminate disparities within vulnerable healthcare populations, significant disparities continue to cause limited access to healthcare. This limitation poses risk to populations such as elderly and those living in poverty. The health domains of vulnerable populations can be divided into 3 categories: physical, psychological, and social. Those with physical needs include the elderly, chronically ill and disabled, chronic medical conditions include respiratory diseases, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia...
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...Vulnerable Population and Self Awareness Doreen Carranza NUR/440 August 13, 2012 Vicki Clithero Vulnerable Population and Self Awareness Effective healthcare is dependent on understanding vulnerable individuals and populations with respect to biases and prejudices of healthcare providers. According to de Chesnay (2008), “Vulnerability is a general concept meaning susceptibility, and its specific connotation in terms of healthcare is at risk for health problems” (p. 3). Anyone can be vulnerable at different times in his or her life under specific circumstances. According to de Chesnay (2008), “Vulnerable populations are those at risk for poor physical, psychological, or social health. Anyone can be vulnerable at any given point in time as a result of life circumstances or response to illness or events” (p. 3). In order to render good healthcare, healthcare providers need to be aware of their own vulnerability. This paper will discuss the vulnerable population of the elderly; demographics of the elderly; personal awareness of the elderly including attitudes, biases, and stereotyping prior to studying the elderly; the impact of research on personal attitudes after gathering information, and how knowledge might affect the delivery of healthcare to the elderly. The amount of aging people in the United States continues to increase, in We the American Elderly (1993) it states that: From 1990 to 2020, the elderly population is projected to increase to 54 million persons...
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...and its relationship to health care delivery system. This paper will indentify a vulnerable population; describe the population demographics based on research of professional literature and websites including locals, state or national levels. It will also describe a personal awareness of the population, attitudes, biases, and serotypes; it will state the effect of research on personal attitudes and how it might affect health care delivery. Finally, it will use self reflection to evaluate our perception before after learning about the population. Background of Focal Point Gil Martin in the ‘neighborhood’ is a fifty two year old Hispanic male married to Helen. They have been married for eighteen years. He had a son Mark from the previous marriage and a step daughter Tracy. Gil’s father recently passed away and he has been helping his elderly mother manage her home. While at the mother’s house, Gil suggested to his mother (Mary) to consider moving in with them. Mary accepted the suggestion with happiness but to Gil’s surprise. When Gil got home, he told his wife and was met with a negative reaction. Vulnerable Population The elderly in America are considered to be a vulnerable population in regards to health, wellness and provision of healthcare. While this consideration may sometimes be based on assumptions related to age and wellness, there are increased risk factors that do place a majority of this population at a higher risk for illness and injury. Most of the risk...
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...Winston-Salem State University The School of Health Sciences Division of Nursing RN-BSN Option [pic] NURSING 2312 Dynamics of Professional Nursing FACULTY: Steven K. Pierce RN, MSN, APRN, CNE Winston-Salem State University The School of Health Sciences Division of Nursing RN-BSN Option Course Number: Nursing 2312 Course Title: Dynamics of Professional Nursing Placement: Level II Credit Hours: 3 Semester Hours Pre-requisites: Completion of General Studies requirements and nursing support courses or special permission. Faculty: Course Description: This course is designed to introduce the registered nurse student to concepts inherent in baccalaureate nursing education. The philosophy, conceptual framework, program purpose and objectives will be discussed. Emphasis will be placed on the nursing process, as well as knowledge and skills that bridge prior learning experiences with current professional nursing practice. Course Objectives: 1. Describe the characteristics of professional nursing practice. 2. Interpret the relationship of the major concepts and theories threaded throughout the nursing curriculum to professional nursing practice. 3. Relate to professional nursing practice philosophical beliefs about man, environment and health. 4. Evaluate how nursing theory guides nursing practice. 5. Analyze how the professional...
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...Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness University of Phoenix Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness The vulnerable population chosen as the focus of this paper are the mentally retarded or intellectually disabled. According to the tenth revision of the WHO (world health Organization): intellectual disability (ID) is a disorder defined by the presence of incomplete or arrested mental development, principally characterized by the deterioration of concrete functions at each stage of development and that contribute to the overall level of intelligence, such as cognitive, language, motor, and socialization functions; in this anomaly, adaptation to the environment is always affected. For ID, the scores for intellectual development levels must be determined based on all the available information, including clinical signs, adaptive behavior in the cultural medium of the individual and psychometric findings (Katz, 2008) There are many causes of intellectual disability, but doctors find a specific reason in only 25% of cases (Mental retardation, 2010). Intellectual disability affects approximately 1-3% of the population. Persons with intellectual disability can expect to live 50 years and beyond depending on the severity of their health problems (Staff, 2009). With early intervention and improved health care, life span continues to increase. Prior to researching mental retardation, my personal awareness was very limited. I have not had much experience or interaction...
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...Assessment Tool Analysis Paper Assessment is the first and most important element of the nursing process. Assessment tools are not merely designed to measure the physical nature of the illness. They can also measure the psychosocial, spiritual, and emotional well-being of the patient. Watson felt that addressing the patient's mind, body and spirit can promote health and individual or family growth. She felt that nursing was distinctive through the science of caring and medicine involved curing (Suliman, Welmann, Omer & Thomas, 2009). In this paper I will be discussing three assessment tools that can be used by nurses to verify better, organize, and interpret a patient's emotional and spiritual well-being. I will describe the purpose of each tool and the population it might be useful. I will give data such as; cost, length of time to complete, ease of using and intended population. I will also describe how this tool enhances the assessment phase of the nursing process and the quality of care delivered by the nurse. Lastly, I will apply these tools to the vulnerable older population chosen from my Self Awareness paper. The three assessment tools that I selected were: The Spiritual Well-Being Scale, Derogatis Stress Profile, and the Perceived Stress Scale. The Spiritual Well-Being Scale This Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWBS) is an easy assessment tool, designed for adults to self-assess their perceived spiritual well-being. There are twenty questions answered by paper and pencil that...
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...Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness Paper Following long hours of thinking, outlining, investigating, and reading about different topics it was not easy to choose a vulnerable population. After going through the Neighborhood it became apparently clear that my desire is to write on the subject of the Down syndrome population. This vulnerable population is like no other. The individuals living with Down syndrome is a sub-group of people living with a genetic condition or a disorder and I wanted to know what makes Down syndrome individuals a vulnerable population. During extensive reading and research the realization is that the Down syndrome population requires special care and has specific needs and medical conditions through his or her lifespan. Individuals in this group, although sad to say are regarded by others as mentally retarded. Individuals who have Down syndrome should not be called “retarded” because according to the National Down Syndrome Society (NDSS) who stated that “using this word is hurtful and suggests that people with disabilities are not competent” (n.d.). In this instance, regrettable so the words mental retardation are clinically accepted, which is unfortunate; however the NDSS goes on to say it is more acceptable to refer to individuals with Down syndrome as intellectually disabled. People living with this disorder depending on his or her range of disability some can live normal lives. Down syndrome individuals depending on his...
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...Vulnerable Populations in Current Events Paper Nursing 440- Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population July 21, 2014 Deanna Radford Vulnerable Populations in Current Events Paper According to De Chesnay and Anderson (2012), there has been an increased recognition of not only identifying and understanding vulnerability but in gaining the skills needed to help these populations. Furthermore, De Chesnay and Anderson (2012) states that there is a call to go beyond just helping the vulnerable, empowering them in an effort to provide more sustainable outcomes. A discussion was made recent periodical on a vulnerable population. The vulnerable population is defined, and barriers from obtaining needed services are discussed. The author describes experiences with vulnerable populations in her own life. Vulnerable Population Recent periodical discussing a vulnerable population The manuscript by Sanders, Schneiderman, Loken, Lankenau, and Bloom (2009) identifies gang youth as a vulnerable population. Sanders et al. (2009) discusses risk factors of being in a gang, examples of which are deprived socioeconomic backgrounds, living in communities with a long history of drug sales, crime, and gang activity. This gang youth are considered vulnerable as are 60 times more likely to be killed than the rest of the population. Sanders et al. (2009) considers gang youth to be a vulnerable population “because of their relatively poor social and economic...
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...Vulnerable Population: Elderly population NUR/440 July 11, 2011 Anavictoria Fortaleza Vulnerable Population and Self-Awareness Paper The Elderly Population According to Chesnay (2008) “vulnerable populations are those with greater than average risk of developing health problems by virtue of their marginalized sociocultural status, their limited access to economic resources or personal characteristics such as gender or age. Anyone can be vulnerable at any given point in time as a result of life circumstances or response to illness or events” (p 3-4). For the last few decades, society and government have put a great deal of concern and interest on the aging population. The number of elderly population in the United States is rapidly increasing. The US population under the age of 65 tripled during the 20th century. This number is to double by the middle of next century. Over 70 million American citizens will be considered elderly by 2030, or about 20% of the population will be senior citizen (Walsh, 2009). The growing numbers are attributed to aging “Baby Boomers” and increasing life expectancies. Disability and disease are more common in elderly population such as hip fractures, parkinson’s disease, malnutrition, cardivovascular disease and malignant cancer. More than 70% of the elderly population has been diagnosed with a chronic disease (Pishchita, 2007). According to CDC, arthritis is the leading cause of disability among individuals over 65 years of age and 47% of...
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...the integration of the mind, body, and spirit dimensions of each patient. This paper will state three assessment tools that evaluate a patient’s physical measures, describe each tool and the population for which it may be useful, and state data about each tool. Such data may include cost, length, ease in using the tool, for what population it is best designed, and the validity of the information. A description of how each tool enhances the assessment phase of the nursing process and affects the quality of health care delivered by the nurse will be discussed. Each of these tools will be applied to a chosen vulnerable population researched from the Vulnerable Population and Self-awareness paper. The vulnerable population I researched consisted of the elder population. Mrs. James was my subject. She is a 65-year-old widow who lives alone. She has become socially isolated with little to no support system. She has two sons who live out of state and very rarely keeps in contact with them. She does not work and has limited savings. Currently she relies on social security benefits for her income. She also does not drive and uses public transportation when needed. She has been diagnosed with type two diabetes, hypertension, and atrial fibrillation. “Watson defines the person as a being-in-the-world who holds three spheres of being—mind, body, and spirit—that are influenced by the concept of self and who is unique and free to make choices” (Watson,...
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...Teenager Obesity and Societal Bias NUR/440Health Assessment and Promotion of Vulnerable Population September 19, 2011 Teenager Obesity and Societal Bias Obesity is a well-recognized disease, and childhood obesity is a long-term risk factor for adult morbidity and social disabilities (Flodmark, Lissau, & Pietrobelli, 2005) Weight prejudice is rampant in the health care, according to Puhl 2009, there is no antidiscrimination laws against weight discrimination. The common thought that obese patients did that to themselves triggers negative attitudes, societal stigma and/or unfair treatment of the overweight or obese patient. Obesity is prevalent in our society with 30% of the adult population considered obese. Within that population, teenagers are even more vulnerable than adults and can be more deeply affected by compromised preventative care, whether because of themselves or society (Puhl, 2009). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2011), among U.S. high school students * 12% are obese. * 29% drink at least one soda a day. * 23% do not have 60 minutes of physical activity on any day during the survey. * 67% did not attend PE classes daily when they were in school. * 33% watched television three or more hours per day on an average school day. * 25% used computers three or more hours per day on an average school day. Because body fat levels change as children grow and mature, doctors use gender-specific BMI-for-age charts...
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