Healthy People 2020 (graded) The federal government developed Healthy People as a set of national health objectives that are periodically evaluated to measure progress in the nation’s health goals and healthcare services. HP 2020 has a renewed focus on identifying, measuring, tracking, and reducing health disparities through a determinants-of-health approach. This week, please briefly discuss a Healthy People 2020 objective under the topic area of your choice. Go to www.healthypeople.gov and select any one of the objectives under the topic area of your interest. Using the local, national, or international news, describe actions you, as a community health nurse, could take in formulating policy changes to help promote the objective you have selected. Cite references to support your views. Please note: There is a helpful “Introduction to Healthy People 2020 website” document in Doc Sharing to aid you in navigating the HP 2020 website. Our textbook,Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.) was published prior to the final version of Healthy People 2020, resulting in some of the book content differing from the Healthy People 2020 website. Determinants of Health (graded) Healthy People 2020 identified four Foundation Health Measures (FHM) that reflect the major health concerns in the United States. The third FHM isDeterminants of Health. The description of Determinants of Health is: “A range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health status are known as determinants of health. Determinants of health include such things as biology, genetics, individual behavior, access to health services, and the environment in which people are born, live, learn, play, work, and age” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d., About Determinants of Health section, para. 1). Go to the “Learn More About Determinants of Health” (.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/DOHAbout.aspx”>http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/about/DOHAbout.aspx ) and choose one of the five Determinants of Health that you feel is most important for community health. In your posting, share the determinant of health and the rationale for your choice. Remember to cite any references used for developing your rationale. Please note: There is a helpful “Orientation to Healthy People 2020″ document in Doc Sharing. Our textbook, Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.) was published prior to the final version of Healthy People 2020 resulting in some of the book content differing from the Healthy People 2020 website. WEEK 2 Census Data and Epidemiological Data (graded) Go online to the U.S. Census Bureau at.census.gov/”>www.census.gov. Obtain information about the demographic characteristics of the population for your county of residence. Once you are on the website, choose the link to “QuickFacts”, and from there you can choose state, county, and city data. You may have to look at county data if your city is not listed. There is also a tab where you can see U.S. comparable data, too. Include information about age, income, housing, and education. Post a brief summary of the key demographic characteristics of the population in your county (do not copy and paste directly from the website) and apply these data to your community by answering the following questions: How do the data from your county compare to the sets of data from the other counties posted by other students in your discussion group? Based on the demographic data, what health needs might you anticipate for the population in your county? Please note: There is a helpful tip sheet located in Doc Sharing that will assist you in using this website. Remember that this data will help you get started on your assignment, Caring for Populations: Assessment and Diagnosis. Communicable Diseases (graded) Review the levels of prevention of communicable diseases discussed in Chapter 25 (Nies & McEwen, 2011). Choose a communicable disease objective listed within theHealthy People 2020 topic area (p. 492). Discuss a role (function) that you, as a CHN, could play in implementing the objective. What community health nursing intervention would you implement? Describe at least two levels of prevention you could address and how you can address them. WEEK 3 Collaborating With the Community (graded) Identify a community or aggregate you are currently involved with at home (personal life) or at work. Cite some major value, major strengths, and health needs of your community or aggregate. How could a nurse work collaboratively with a community to build on these strengths and facilitate community empowerment? Keep in mind the different methods of community outreach the nurse could utilize. Please note: According to Nies and McEwan (2011), the definition of an aggregate is a “community composed of people who share common characteristics” (p.92). Remember, aggregates do not necessarily know or interact with one another, but share a common bond such as religious belief, age, life experience, illness, etc. Reference: Nies, M. A., & McEwen, M. (2011).Community/Public health nursing: Promoting the health of populations (5th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Saunders/Elsevier. Resources (graded) Assurance is one of the three core functions of public health. Knowing what resources are available is part of this function. Find a resource in your community that could be used as a referral source and share information about the services provided. Who is eligible for the services? What could be done in order to improve the accessibility, acceptability, affordability, or availability of this resource in your community? Make sure to address all four of the A’s in your posting. WEEK 4 Concerns for the School Nurse (graded) As the school nurse role continues to evolve, there are increasingly more health concerns for the school nurse. Does the locale make a difference in the problems, or are health problems in children and adolescents universal? In some inner-city areas, poor nutrition is a prevalent issue. What do you think are the biggest problems in your areas? Nurse’s Role in Community Health Settings (graded) When caring for populations in community settings, the nurse has many different roles, such as advocate, case manager, educator, researcher, administrator, and so on. Choose one of the community healthcare settings from your textbook or lessons and discuss how one of these roles might be carried out by the community health nurse in the setting you chose. WEEK 5 Vulnerable Populations (graded) As nurses, we all know what we should do to maintain a healthy lifestyle, but often knowledge does not translate into actual behavior. Vulnerable populations may face additional individual and/or societal barriers to being healthy. What are those barriers? What can nurses do to overcome some of the barriers that you identified? Priority Setting When Working With Vulnerable Populations (graded) This week, we have discussed many different vulnerable populations. Choose a vulnerable population and discuss what you think the top three priorities are for a CHN working with them. Cite at least one scholarly reference that supports your decision. WEEK 6 Environmental Pollutants (graded) Visit the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Envirofacts website at .epa.gov/enviro/”>http://www.epa.gov/enviro/ . Enter your city, zip code, or location. Explore the site to learn more about your environment and things that might be impacting the health of its citizens. Identify something new you learned about your environment and how it could be affecting health by completing this statement, “I didn’t know ____.” How could you, in the role of a community health nurse, address these concerns? Please note: Look in Doc Sharing under Threaded Discussion Information for the Envirofacts Guide to learn how to navigate this website. Disaster Preparedness (graded) Visit the website .ready.gov/”>http://www.ready.gov . Review the steps for being prepared for a disaster. As a community health nurse, what elements do you think are important to stress to the community? How is your community preparing for a potential disaster, or how has it prepared? WEEK 7 How Do You Define Health? (graded) Think about how you define health. Do you think your definition is universal, or is it specific to your culture and/or beliefs? How might another culture’s definition differ? Affordable Healthcare (graded) Please explore the website .healthcare.gov/”>www.healthcare.gov. Choose the “Get Answers” tab towards the top of the page. Please review several of the topics under this tab and share something that you learned about how the Marketplace works and how this would apply to those in your community. The Affordable Care Act is a controversial topic and I’m sure there are many different viewpoints represented in our class. For this discussion, let’s focus on understanding the basics of the Marketplace so that we can provide accurate information for our patients and communities.
