The role of the community in the health level of its members becomes more critical as new issues arise. Close cooperation and managed leadership help cooperate with the public health nursing to identify the problems and develop the plan. Furthermore, by working on the solution, the communities can have the power to influence the situation and develop better conditions for proper healthcare with a detailed action plan.
Improvement of the community health system and the productive outcome is only possible with mutual interaction and practical cooperation between public health nursing and the family community. Neighborhood grows stronger as they face many obstacles and problems connected to health, substances, and crime. Those issues stimulate the members of the community to unite and fight against the problems inside the neighborhood to protect themselves. The community must learn how to indicate issues and the measures they should take to eliminate the challenges and preserve a peaceful and safe environment.
Therefore, the community develops a local leadership, and the group of people responsible for organizing and deciding the way of the development raises a question of public health nursing. According to Melo & Alves (2019), “nursing care to the community is the development of a collaborative and empowering action by the community that grounds the approach of community management as an enhancer of community health”. When the community takes the initiative, they create a possibility for closer interaction with the public health system. Thereby, it leads to the improvement of the health level of the community members.
Miami has nineteen medical health centers with a wide range of medical services. There are hospitals, including Doctors Hospital, Hialeah Hospital, Keralty Hospital Miami, Palmetto General Hospital, Jackson South Medical Center, and others, ensuring the successful implementation of the Healthy People 2020 population goals (Healthy People, 2021a). However, despite a large number of hospitals and medical centers, the health services are expensive, and many people cannot afford the proper treatment. The insurance usually does not cover the whole bill, so it is even harder to get medical help. In addition, there is a high cost of real estate, and people have minimal financial resources left to take care of their health due to struggling with rent payments. At the same time, the community has many schools and educational institutions where people with different income levels can get an education. Consequently, quality education may increase literacy among the population and give people chances for well-paid jobs.
The state-level data demonstrates the increase in the spread of COVID-19. For the last 90 days, there have been 3 403 registered cases of coronavirus infections, 4 169 people have been hospitalized, and 195 eventually died. In Miami, there are approximately 509 cases of coronavirus infections daily, 21 people hospitalized, and zero deaths a day, compared to the state data (New York Times, 2021). However, there are very satisfying results in vaccinating the population. 68% of all ages got at least one dose of the vaccine (New York Times, 2021). As for fully vaccinated people, there are 58% of all ages in the state (New York Times, 2021). In addition, the most vulnerable layer of the population are older people about seventy years old, and the least affected are minors under the age of eighteen.
The leading health indicator topic that relates to the family’s community is access to health services. Many people still struggle to get decent medical help due to the lack of insurance. Therefore, they cannot have the possibility to attend regular check-ins and doctor appointments (Healthy People, 2021b). With the inability to afford health care, many diseases and infections stay undiagnosed, and the poor suffer from the last stages or complex forms of the infections. The problem is urgent and needs to be solved because it will “prevent disease and disability, detect and treat illnesses or other health conditions, increase the quality of life, reduce the likelihood of premature death and increase life expectancy,” according to the Healthy People (2021b). Regular appointments can prevent people from severe diseases, stop the development of infections, and even avoid the lethal outcome.
Regular appointments are essential at every age and are required for people to stay healthy. For example, parents have to take their infants for routine check-ups and monitor their growth and development. Moreover, they have to be vaccinated for the safety of their immune systems and to avoid any chronic illnesses. To reduce the risk of obesity, children should do screening once in a while so parents can track their growth (Healthy People, 2021b). Adults similarly have to visit medical centers for regular check-ups of their blood pressure, weight and screenings.
The action plan serves the purpose of the improvement of the community members’ health state. The community can increase the affordability of medical services and provide its members with the opportunity for regular appointments and healthcare. Indicating the obstacles and creating the plan to work on the issues helps with managing the issues and improving the cooperation with the public health institutions. Hence, people will have access to quality medicine and a better level of life.
References
Healthy People. (2021a). 2020 LHI topics. Web.
Melo, P., & Alves, O. (2019). Community empowerment and community partnerships in nursing decision-making. In Healthcare(Vol. 7, No. 2, p. 76). Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute.
The New York Times. (2021). Tracking Coronavirus in Florida: Latest Map and Case Count. Web.
Healthy People. (2021b). 2020 LHI topics: Access to Health Services. Web.