Injury Prevention
Car accidents, murders, domestic and school violence, child mishandling and neglect, and unintended drug overdoses are significant public health anxieties in the United States. In addition to their instant effect on health, the aftermath of injuries and ferocity outspread well beyond the injured individual or object of violence, distressing family members, friends, colleagues, managers, and the public. Observing or being a victim of fierceness is connected to lifetime damaging physical, emotional, and social consequences.
When we speak about injury prevention, the first and the foremost thing that comes to mind is that we should strive to reduce fatal and nonfatal injuries. Sixty deaths per 100,000 people were caused by injuries in 2007, and the goal is to reduce the number to at least a 10 percent lesser number (2020 Topics and Objectives – Objectives A–Z, n.d.). Behavioral factors can be changed to reduce injury, given certain conditions, but it is possible to control injuries constantly by changing environment and products irrespective of behavior (Gochman, 2013).
Trying to meet the objectives, the Nurse used individual assessments of each patient, including their likelihood of sustaining an injury. Consequently, the use of medicines that are most dangerous or likely to lead to injury has also been minimized. The Nurse performed system checks to prevent overmedication and chemical restraint. It was essential to remove hazards and add safety features to the patient’s ward. The nurse has also implemented exercise programs and vitamin D supplementation to improve mobility and decrease injury. This approach has practically helped the Nurse meet the objective of preventing the sustaining injuries and treat the patients in a way that would help considerably lower the rates of those who get injured every year in different types of accidents.
Mental Health Status Improvement
One of the major issues concerning mental health status improvement is the suicide rate. At the present time, there is no sign that suicide is clinically foreseeable in an individual, even though the standard entails that suicide risk should be evaluated in psychiatric patients, who express a preeminent risk in general, and hard clinical work is to be made to lessen risk. There is no evidence that short-term treatment can prevent suicide, but there is a conclusion drawn from the long-term studies that preserving maintenance medicine can decrease the proclivity to suicide in high-risk patients (Cannon & Hudzik, 2014).
In 2007, there were 11 suicides per 100,000 people in the United States. The government is looking for a 10% improvement as their target is to reduce the number of suicides to at least ten suicides per 100,000 people (2020 Topics and Objectives – Objectives A–Z, n.d.). The majority of inpatient suicides happened, in fact, not on the ward but outside the buildings when the patient was on leave or managed to escape. Activity peaks arise shortly after the suicidal gets put in the hospital and shortly after release.
When dealing with a suicide risk patient, the Nurse tried to recognize what triggers the crisis. She put down a list of personal warning signs of a possible crisis, which included thoughts of suicide and an increased urge to drink. The Nurse has also developed an effective internal coping strategy, which involved exercising and going for a walk. It was conceivable to diminish suicide risk on the ward with the help of a non-violent environment, improved patient visibility, proper patient supervision, attentive assessment, awareness of and deference for suicide risk, decent teamwork and communication, and suitable clinical treatment. The Nurse’s involvement was pivotal in terms of evaluating risk and preventing future suicide, and she managed to meet the objective of improving the mental health status of the patient.
Weight Status
Even though one of the nationwide health objectives is to decrease the commonness of obesity among grownups, data shows that obesity is trending upwards. Abdominal obesity has been found to be associated with a greater risk of stroke in men and women in all ethnic groups. With obesity on the rise, an increasing number of people will be at risk (Corrigan, Escuro & Kirby, 2013). There may be several reasons for obesity, such as imbalanced nutrition, disturbed body image, impaired social interaction, or deficient knowledge.
The main goal is to reduce the proportion of adults who are obese. The baseline is that 34 percent of persons aged 20 years and older were obese in 2012. The plan is to minimize the number of obese individuals by 10% and drop it to a total of 30% (2020 Topics and Objectives – Objectives A–Z, n.d.). Obesity is usually evidenced by a weight of 20% or more over optimum body weight or excessive body fat by skinfold.
In order to meet the objective and successfully overcome obesity, the Nurse reviewed the individual cause of obesity caused by imbalanced nutrition, carried out and reviewed daily food diary, and discussed with the patient the emotions and events associated with eating. The Nurse has also identified realistic increment goals for weekly weight loss and developed an appetite re-education plan with the patient. The nurse has ultimately expanded the activity to a decent extent and scheduled a progressive isometric program personalized for the individual’s goals and preferences, which included outdoor strolls. In order to meet the objective, the Nurse had referred to a dietitian to regulate the necessities for the individual’s fat loss. The Nurse has also prescribed proper medication to the patient with the intention of enhancing the effect of exercise and diet.
Health Communication and Health Information Technology
An initial principle of well-educated health care establishments is that they make vibrant and effective communication with the patients a priority crosswise all levels of the organization (Hernandez, 2012). It is of great importance to work on health literacy as it would improve the quality, safety, and value of health care services.
The main goal of this health communication objective is to increase the proportion of persons who report that their health care provider had always given them comprehendible instructions on what to do to approach their disease or health condition properly. Sixty-five percent of people age 18 years and older reported that instructions from health care providers were easy to understand in 2011, and the target of the government is to pass the 70% mark (2020 Topics and Objectives – Objectives A–Z, n.d.).
The Nurse, through her holistic practice and intimacy with patients, was uniquely positioned to assess the signs of inadequate health literacy. As the nurse-patient relationship evolved over time, the patient felt more comfortable disclosing health literacy deficiencies and was more willing to seek clarification when health information provided by the clinician was not understood. In the short run, the Nurse paid attention to the signs that indicated that the patient had inadequate health literacy skills or was completely illiterate. In the end, the Nurse helped the patient understand basic health concepts and connect this health-related knowledge to health decision-making and action-taking, which helped her meet the objective of fighting poor health literacy.
References
2020 Topics and Objectives – Objectives A–Z. (n.d.). Web.
Cannon, K. E., & Hudzik, T. J. (2014). Suicide: Phenomenology and Neurobiology. New York, NY: Springer.
Corrigan, M. L., Escuro, A. A., & Kirby, D. (2013). Handbook of Clinical Nutrition and Stroke. New York, NY: Springer.
Gochman, D. S. (2013). Handbook of Health Behavior Research IV: Relevance for Professionals and Issues for the Future. New York, NY: Springer.
Hernandez, L. M. (2012). How Can Health Care Organizations Become More Health Literate?: Workshop Summary. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.