NU708: Hailey Demascio

United States Health Disadvantages U.S. Health Disadvantage: Causes and Potential Solutions | Policy, Performance, and Evaluation | CDC Americans Are Experiencing Considerable Health Disadvantage in Comparison with Other Nations.  What Are Some of the Underlying Causes of These Disadvantages?           Americans face health disadvantages far greater than individuals in comparable nations. Americans live with chronic health conditions, pay more for healthcare, have lower life expectancy, and have less access to health care (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2022). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, other factors that contribute to the health disadvantages Americans experience are: Taxation Lack of investment in education Poverty Income inequality Lack of affordable housing Violence Poor diet Alcohol consumption Drug abuse Cost of health care Lack of access to health care (Centers for Disease Control and Preventio...

Why Aren't Health Disparities Being Addressed in Vulnerable Groups?           Unfortunately, efforts are rarely allocated to reducing disparities that vulnerable groups experience. This can be due to limited prospects for profit, ableism, racism, classism, or sexism among many other variables (Baciu et al., 2017). Systems that create the foundation of our society are not designed to aide vulnerable groups. Structural inequities impact these individuals from the moment they are born, and continually impact them throughout their lives in a way that does not promote maximum health and wellness (Baciu et al., 2017). Until there is a structural and societal change, and the profit forward mentality of the health care and pharmaceutical industry changes, it is unlikely large amounts of progress will be made to address health disparities in vulnerable groups. References Baciu, A., Negussie, Y., & Geller, A. (2017, January 11). The root causes of health ine...

How Might Knowledge Regarding Social Determinants of Health Influence Practice as an Advanced Practice Nurse? Let's look at some social determinants of health and how someone could provide resources as an advanced practice nurse: Income💲 Ensure patients have applied for disability or unemployment if applicable. Discuss interest in employment and how that can look different for different people. If the patient is older ensure the patient is receiving social security income. Employment status📃 Offer job fair and staffing agency resources. Discuss jobs of interest. Access to food🍎 Provide information for food pantries and meals on wheels. Access to housing🏠 Set the patient up with a social worker who can help the patient apply for housing resources, as well as provide resources for homeless shelters. Access to health care🩺 If the patient has government funded insurance, see if there are transportation options included. Schedule future appointments that are at a time easily access...

What Are Social Determinants of Health?           Social determinants of health (abbreviated as SDH or SDoH) are non-medical factors that influence health outcomes, such as: Income Education and access to education Employment status Access to food Access to housing, living conditions, surrounding environment Economic status Access to health care Social inclusion Transportation (World Health Organization, 2024) What A re Health Disparities?           Health disparities are preventable differences in health experiences. The impact of adverse health events, effects of injury, and opportunities to achieve optimal health are experienced differently by socially disadvantaged populations  (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023) . For example, someone living in a rural area may die as the result of injury that could easily be addressed in an urban area that has readily available health care access, this would be conside...