Introduction
A rising incidence of infectious diseases forces healthcare organizations around the globe to take response measures to stabilize the occurring situation. The recent studies indicate that the virus of Salmonella has been responsible for 69% of community-acquired bloodstream infections in the African region over the past four decades (Uche, MacLennan, & Saul, 2017). Along with the host and agent indicators, environmental constituents arrive as the key factor to impact the disease prevalence: changes in climate have allowed the infection to be spread around other climatic zones as well.
The American Association of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) puts maximum effort to educate their nurses about the effective models of care delivery to patients with infectious diseases. The implementation of evidence-based practices grants clinicians an opportunity to approach the treatment much more efficiently.
Disease Analysis and Demographic Breakdown
Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) is a substantial cause of community-acquired infections worldwide. Considering its incidence in Africa, “with the serovars Typhimurium and Enteriditis responsible for 91% of NTS bacteremia,” the disease poses a threat to the life of every infected individual (Uche et al., 2017, p. 17). As to the mortality and morbidity statistics, the average fatality rate counts for 20.6% and serves as one of the major reasons for a demographic breakdown in the region (Uche et al., 2017, p. 17). The prevalence of infection is considerably higher in such food products as beef, poultry, and pork.
Lack of hygiene and contact with reptiles may be additional causes of contamination. Common symptoms usually list for fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, headache, and other signs. Transmission is usually performed orally through the ingestion of contaminated food. If not timely treated, the disease may provoke complications associated with pain in joints (arthritis), the lining of tissues, vascular occlusion, and more. Standard treatment involves drinking a lot of fluids and taking antibiotics throughout the course.
Determinants of Health and Risk Factors
The determinants of health-related to Salmonella development include such factors as a sustainable farming system, the quality of consumed water, food packaging, delivery time, the state of one’s health and immune system, and more. They can be synthesized according to the following categories: the quality of manufacturing, adherence to safety norms, delivery speed, and individual’s state of health. The biological agent of the disease is always a microbe (Salmonella Typhimurium), causing the outbreak of the infection (Rodriguez-Rivera et al., 2016). An agent is known to infect a host, which can be either a human or an animal. A host does not necessarily fall ill, as it can act as a carrier without showing any symptoms.
Environmental factors, such as climatic conditions, population density, interaction with other humans and species (shaking hands, playing in sandboxes, getting in touch with reptiles, chickens, or cattle) tend to determine the rate of disease incidence. A conducive environment (weak immune system or polluted air/water) allows bacteria and viruses to thrive more rapidly. In Asia, where the population density is higher compared to other regions, the prevalence of the infection is also higher.
The Role of Nurses in the Management of Infectious Diseases
Understanding the very principles of disease transmission is essential for nurses since it leads to more effective care delivery and more open communication with patients. One also gets the needed knowledge as to how to protect oneself during contact with the infected. A nurse’s role in disease management involves screening for possible cases of its further spreading, respiratory precautions, surveillance for the presence of symptoms or complaints, and other duties (Olans, Olans, & DeMaria Jr, 2015).
The primary interventions are reduced to controlling the intake/injection of antibiotics and monitoring the recovery dynamics. The secondary measures involve collecting information, identifying changes in the disease flow, and analyzing data. Finally, the tertiary interventions presuppose reporting to doctors and providing care.
To ensure that nurses’ tasks are achievable, healthcare organizations have developed behavioral models to support nurse practitioners in performing their duties. AANP, for example, makes emphasis the need to utilize various evidence-based theories, among which one may figure out Johnson’s behavioral model, Neuman’s system model, Imogene King’s theory, and other concepts (Olans et al., 2015).
Imogene King’s model finds the largest applicability due to a simple and logical chain of actions. It offers perception, judgment, action, reaction, interaction, transaction (Olans et al., 2015). The theory provides nurses with an opportunity to quickly identify a client’s situation and even plan preliminary interventions. With regards to epidemiological tasks and the treatment of Salmonella, in particular, the model allows one to quickly collect the required data and transfer them to doctors/managers.
Conclusion
The virus of Salmonella is among the infectious diseases that are characterized by high mortality statistics and rising prevalence worldwide. Efficient treatment of the infection is one of the key duties nurse practitioners need to fulfill in a clinical setting. To help them cope with the mentioned task, healthcare organizations have introduced specific theoretical models aimed at the improvement of nurses’ performance. Imogene King’s theory is a concept that is highly applicable in treating viral infections.
References
Olans, R. N., Olans, R. D., & DeMaria Jr, A. (2015). The critical role of the staff nurse in antimicrobial stewardship – unrecognized, but already there. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 62(1), 84-89.
Rodriguez-Rivera, L. D., Cummings, K. J., Loneragan, G. H., Rankin, S. C., Hanson, D. L., Leone, W. M., & Edrington, T. S. (2016). Salmonella prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility among dairy farm environmental samples collected in Texas. Foodborne Pathogens and Disease, 13(4), 205-211.
Uche, I. V., MacLennan, C. A., & Saul, A. (2017). A systematic review of the incidence, risk factors and case fatality rates of invasive nontyphoidal Salmonella (iNTS) disease in Africa (1966 to 2014). PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 11(1), 1-28.