The presented case study reflects on the implementation of a new facility that are referred to as Epic inpatient and outpatient system. It was stated that the current system of McKesson was used by the Southeast Medical Center for several years, yet it proved to be inconvenient and outdated. The case provides specific advantages of the implementation of Epic system such as cost-effectiveness, integration of inpatient and outpatient medical records, and achievement of meaningful use criteria.
Analysis
Considering the value of investments that are to be made by the Southeast Medical Center, it is possible to note that the offered Electronic Health Record (EHR) system focuses on timely and coordinated health care reports. First of all, it is necessary to point out that current EasyDoc system is not suffice to ensure appropriate quality of care as it lacks to deliver a comprehensive picture of a patients health. On the contrary, Epic ambulatory EHR coordinates inpatient and outpatient health records in order to create the complete presentation of a patients health status. Another essential benefit of Epic relates to the fact that it opens access to information so that a patient would be able to achieve it online. This factor would undoubtedly increase the awareness of a patient and improve collaboration with doctors.
Furthermore, in terms of cost-effectiveness, the application of Epic ambulatory system requires $ 120 million in total including both ownership and implementation costs. This estimated total cost seems to be adequate to change the whole system, thus enhancing the overall performance of the medical center. Focusing on the mentioned advantages, management of this medical institution targets to achieve better outcomes in large populations. For example, it is expected to improve well-being of those patients who suffer from chronic diseases. Both researchers and clinicians would develop their clinical research and care practices by employing the existing confidential patient data, innovative resources offered by Epic EHR, and evidence-based approach.
Conclusions
From the above observations, it becomes clear that Epic ambulatory system that was proposed to be implemented at the Southeast Medical Center is a highly-effective, timely, coordinated, and cooperative facility. This system is likely to cover all the areas of health care delivery, focusing on both inpatient and outpatient care. In its turn, the latter factor can significantly enhance the level of staff professionalism and the patients satisfaction. Also, the system can be referred to as an advantageous as it promotes evidence-based research and real-time care. Although Epic EHR system requires certain costs associated with technology investments, it is likely to save more funds, decrease medical errors, and change the existing processes.
Recommendations
Based on the mentioned advantages along with research that was provided to find relevant information, it also seems appropriate to point out that the implementation of this new facility requires sufficient training of staff so that they can use it accordingly. In order to prevent any misunderstandings associated with the application of this system, it is possible to recommend to engage staff in continuous development of their professional skills and knowledge. As a result, all the procedures that are to be managed with the help of Epic system including patient registration, medical records, and a range of others would be provided at a high level and meet the patients expectations. At this point, another recommendation is made by Davis and Khansa (2016) who state that the focus of training should be aimed at specialization. This means that it is essential to tailor training in order to achieve adequate utilization of the system at all levels. For example, physicians and cardiologists are to be trained with different focuses that can be identified based on their job requirements.
It can also be recommended to implement one more feature associated with online access of a patient to his or her medical information. In particular, it seems appropriate to design a private or group chat to let the patients ask about their health problems or discuss it with others, if required.
Questions
It seems appropriate to use Epic metrics due to its potential value to the organization. As it was stated earlier in this paper, Epic system has several benefits that can improve the overall performance of the Southeast Medical Center and help it to achieve meaningful use criteria. The personnel and management are to be involved in the process of the implementation of this EHR. Every employee is to do his or her best to ensure the effective use of this system at a certain stage.
The attributiveness of change can be specified by the application of different measures. For example, in the framework of Pettigrew that involves the evaluation of context, content, and process of organizational change, it is possible to identify its causes (Boonstra, Versluis, & Vos, 2014).
The traditional Return on Investment (ROI) methods can be helpful to measure the outcomes of investments. In particular, the benefits and costs can be compared, and subsequent assessment of effectiveness can be made. The lack of ROI would show the unproductive performance of the organization, while high ROI rates would confirm the appropriateness of the system.
References
Boonstra, A., Versluis, A., & Vos, J. F. (2014). Implementing electronic health records in hospitals: A systematic literature review. BMC Health Services Research, 14(1), 370-375.
Davis, Z., & Khansa, L. (2016). Evaluating the epic electronic medical record system: A dichotomy in perspectives and solution recommendations. Health Policy and Technology, 5(1), 65-73.
The main aim of public health is to ensure patient safety. It is as a result of this fact that numerous precautions and measures have been put in place to ensure that the overall health of the public is guaranteed. Despite the efforts that have been put in place to ensure that this goal is realized, the society still faces various health challenges. One of the health challenges that contemporary societies are facing come from medication errors. As asserted by Grissinger (2013), medication errors are considered as being one of the most common medical errors in the contemporary world.
In the United States, for instance, approximately 1.5 million people are harmed by this predicament which result in the spending of approximately $3.5 billion directly or indirectly to put the resultant effects under control and a further $77 billion is spend on morbidity and mortality costs (PST, 2015). The Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP) recognizes medication errors as a major public health issue and has put a lot of effort in terms of research and funding to reduce its occurrence in the field of medicine. Despite the efforts of the AMCP and other bodies engaged in this campaign, the instances and effects of medication errors are still felt all around the globe. This paper will this expound on this issue by defining medication errors, exploring the factors that lead to their occurrence, critically analyzing the procedures and steps that are followed in an event of a medication error, and the recommendations that can be put in place to control and reduce its occurrence in medical practice.
Medication Errors
PST (2015) defined medication errors as errors that might come about at any stage from the drug prescription process by a clinician to the receipt of medication by a patient. On the other hand, preventable adverse drug events only occur when a patient actually receives and uses a prescription drug resulting harm. It is critical to note that most preventable adverse drug events are preventable if proper measures are put in place. In some instances, a patient might not be harmed by a drug that has been wrongfully administered, either through early interception or by the lack of reaction by their bodies. Such errors are referred to as potential adverse drug events. There are those patients who are harmed after consuming drugs that had been wrongfully administered to them, but this administration could have been mitigated. Such errors are referred to as ameliorable adverse drug events. Finally, there are events whereby a patient is harmed by a drug that was correctly prescribed and administered. Such errors are referred to as unpreventable adverse drug events, more commonly known as side effects.
One of the highest risk medications that is currently used in medicine is anticoagulant heparin. The administration of this drug is considered as being risky due to the fact that it dosage highly relies on the patients weight as well as consistent monitoring and testing of their blood clotting ability (PST, 2015). If the administered dose is too high, the patient stands a high chance of bleeding extensively. If the dose is inadequate on the other hand, the patient might experience clotting complications. Therefore, is a clinician prescribes heparin whose dosage is either too high or inadequate, this case will be treated as a medical error. If these errors are detected before the drug is administered to the patient, it will be considered as an ameliorable adverse drug event. However, if the patient fails to suffer from harm whatsoever, this case will be considered as a potential adverse drug effect. At this point, it is critical to note that medical errors can occur in either pharmaceutical setting where drug prescriptions are administered by qualified medical personnel or in ambulatory setting where patients administer drugs by themselves.
Causes of Medical Errors
In practice, the process of prescribing a drug to a patient is generally complex in nature. However, as pointed out earlier in this paper, medication error can occur at any given stage from the time a prescription is given to the point where the patient receives the actual drug. According to AMCP (2010), medication errors can arise as a result of the following factors:
Incorrect diagnosis.
Error during prescription.
Error in the calculation of dosages.
Poor drug distribution and handling practices.
Administration of incorrect drugs.
Poor communication.
Lack of proper education.
Drug device related problems.
Of the listed factors above, the most leading cause of medication errors is considered to be errors during prescription of the actual drug. Medication errors as a result of poor drug prescription have caused harm to millions of patients and in some adverse instances, this error has resulted in fatalities. In the USA, for instance, fatalities as a result of poor prescription of drugs were approximated to be around 198,000 (AMCP, 2010). By the year 2000, this figure had increased to 218,000 causing the economy to lose approximately $177 billion annually on mortality related costs (AMCP, 2010).
As put by Peters (2007), preventable medication errors occur due to inappropriate application of the systems that have been put in place to regulate the drug prescription and ordering process. Illegible handwritten prescriptions are one of the leading causes of preventable medical errors. In such an event, it is usually difficult, and at times impossible to determine the legitimacy of a given prescription. Errors may also arise due to the lack of critical information such as co-prescribed medicine, the response of the patient to previous dosages of the same drug, patients medical records and the possibility of allergic reactions to specific medication.
Such information is critical, as it will determine whether or not a patient should be administered a specific drug, the dosage to be administered, and the level of monitoring that should be put in place. Such considerations also eliminate the possibility of an incorrect drug or dosage being prescribed. Confusion also arises when drugs with similar names are prescribed orally. This confusion also extends when dispensing drugs that have names that look more or less alike while dealing with handwritten prescriptions. Finally, lack of proper drug documentation and utilization reviews can lead physicians to wrongly prescribe drugs especially during the sampling process.
Dispensing errors are also common causes of medical errors, especially in pharmaceutical settings. These errors arise as a result of omission or commission by medical personnel. Commission errors arise in events where medical personnel prescribe the wrong drug, dosage, or input an incorrect entry in the computer during the process of dispensing drugs. On the other hand, omission errors arise as a result of failure to counsel a patient, to conduct extensive tests and background checks (medical history) and so on. These errors result in the admission of an incorrect dosage (form or strength), an incorrect drug, or failure to determine the interactions and adverse effects that a specific drug might have on a patient.
Errors also do occur as a result of improper drug administration. These errors can arise either from the acts of a healthcare provider or a patient. In most cases, drug administration errors do come about as a result of miscommunication (AMCP, 2010). On one end, it is a common practice for patients not to take into consideration the information that is being conveyed to them while receiving oral or handwritten prescriptions for drugs. This can highly be attributed to the fact that they are unaware of the effects and repercussions that incorrect drug administration might have to them.
In such instances, medication errors do occur due to the miscommunication on the name of the drug, its appearance, the reasons behind the prescription of the drug, the quantity and frequency that the drug is to be consumed, the best time to take the drug, the duration of which the drug is to be taken and the common effects the drug might have on them, especially considering its consumption with food, substances and other drugs. Furthermore, over-the-counter medication also pose a huge threat of medication errors due to the fact that most patients do not take their time to read the information and instructions on these drugs. It is also difficult for healthcare providers to determine whether patients take over-the-counter drugs and if so, it is difficult to identify the ones that have been consumed.
Response to Medication Errors
At this juncture, it is critical to point out that healthcare providers do not deliberately commit medication errors in the course of their practice. These individuals are highly trained and possess the knowledge and skill that is required to ensure professional execution of their roles, especially with regards to drug prescription and administration (AMCP, 2010). It is perhaps as a result of this fact that when medication errors occurs, healthcare providers are usually the ones who get blamed for the incident, despite the fact that they might not in any way have been involved in the commission of the error. Normally, the such professionals tend to receive formal punishment from respective bodies and might include acts like the imposition of fines and suspension or revocation of their practicing licenses. In most cases, the accused professionals tend to lose respect from their fellow practitioners; an act that might have adverse impacts on them as compared to any form of punishment that might be directed towards them.
However, from a critical point of view, punishment might not be the best approach towards minimizing medication errors despite the fact that it is critical in ensuring professional standards and ethics are adhered to. It is much more important to determine system weaknesses that might have resulted in the actual commission of the error (AMCP, 2010). Therefore, a thorough investigation of the drug use and delivery system that is in place is important to identify and rectify system weaknesses as a means of preventing future incidences from occurring. The success of this approach highly relies on the efforts put by healthcare professionals with regards to monitoring, identification, and evaluation of medical errors. At the same time, it is important to ensure that an environment that is not punitive, threatening, and is confidential is present in a medical setting to encourage medical professionals not only to prevent medication errors from occurring but also in reporting these instances to ensure that corrective measures are put in place to prevent such incidences from occurring in future.
The responsibility of reporting medication errors lies on every individuals including healthcare providers as well as patients (AMCP, 2010; PST, 2015). There are specific organizations that these reports should be sent to. In the USA, for instance, the Institute of Safe Medication Practices as well as the Food and Drug Administration are examples of institutions that handle medication error reports. However, it is critical to point out that successful medical error reporting systems should ensure the confidentiality of the information reported and the individual or institution that reported the error. This is due to the negative attitude that healthcare providers and pharmaceutical companies have towards mandatory reporting laws and regulations, especially if the reports are made public (AMCP, 2010). Such systems are considered punitive and tend to result in lawsuits, revocation of licenses, loss of professional respect and trust among medical practitioners, hence not significantly improving the presence of medication errors.
In Abu Dhabi, the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD) has the mandate to control and investigate medication errors. Through its directives, HAAD has made it mandatory for all health professionals to have the responsibility of detecting, reporting, evaluating, and preventing medication errors in Abu Dhabi (HAAD, 2011). Furthermore, the HAAD has developed specific policies and measures that need to be adopted by all healthcare providers within Abu Dhabi that aim at promoting continuous quality improvement in healthcare service delivery. For instance, the HAAD has developed the medication error severity system that facilitates better management and follow up activities in an event where a medication error is detected.
Consistent with the literature covered earlier, most errors in Abu Dhabi arise in the process writing prescription of specific drugs, administration of drugs by pharmacists, preparation of the dosage of drugs at nursing stations, and administration of the drugs by patients (HAAD, 2011). Therefore, the Medical Error Severity system clearly classifies the types of medication errors, the impacts and urgency of different types of means and the procedures that are to be followed in reporting them. Furthermore, this system also makes it mandatory for every healthcare organization to develop specific medication error policies through their Pharmacy and Therapeutic Committees (PTC). The reports from respective PTCs should then be submitted to the HAAD Pharmacovigilance center for critical analysis to determine the causes of medical errors and appropriate means that can be put in place to prevent such occurrences in future.
Prevention of Medical Errors
Patient education is considered as one of the most effective approaches of preventing medication errors. As asserted by AMCP (2010), most medication error incidences arise from ambulatory cases. Therefore, the provision of patient education empowers them to actively participate in their healthcare management, thus minimizing the risk of medication errors. Education in this regard should mainly focus on understanding of medication nomenclature, importance of reading and understanding a medication prescription sheet, proper use of drugs and discourage medication sharing, the importance of reading and understanding medication instruction, taking into consideration their expiry date, proper means of storing and disposing medication, and most importantly ensuring that medication is kept out of reach of children. The importance of patient education came as a realization of the important role that they play in the medication error prevention systems by ensuring they are informed about the names of different medications, their proper administration in accordance to the dosage provided and other safety measures. Patients act as the final check in this system, hence their empowerment is key in reducing the occurrence of medication errors.
Prior authorization programs are also influential in the provision of high quality and cost effective drug prescription benefits. Prior authorization programs aim at ensuring patient safety is realized through the appropriate use of medication. Using medical evidence, this program can control the approved and unapproved of specific drugs in accordance to a specific health plan preventing adverse outcomes in highly contraindicated patient populations (AMCP, 2010). For instance, there are medications whose use are disapproved for pregnant patients as a means of preventing children born with birth defects. On a separate incident, this program can be used to prevent the administration of specific types of drugs such as antibiotics for a prolonged period of time to certain types of patients in a bid to avoid the occurrence of adverse outcomes.
Given the fact that we are living in an era of high technological advancement, electronic technology also plays a significant role in the reduction of medication errors. For instance, bar coding can be used to ensure that the right medication is prescribed and administered to the right patient in the right dosage given the intended usage. Electronic Prescription Record (EPR) is a tool that is used to ensure that contains data that is required to fill, dispense, and submit payment for prescriptions. This tool is important has it enabled healthcare providers, pharmacists in particular to ensure that the correct drug is prescribed with regards to the intended use of patients, their medical history, the current and past drugs they have been administered. This tool is further used to avoid negative drug interaction and duplication. This tool is also effective in minimizing errors that arise as a result of miscommunication.
Internal quality control processes are also important in reducing the occurrence of medication errors by controlling and regulating drug dispensing practices. The changes that are brought about by these new processes provide effective and efficient workflow evaluation analyses and enhance the overall process of detecting, reporting, evaluating and prevention of medication errors. To realize the set goals, these processes provide additional safety checks, additional instructions on prescription texts, and a messaging portal during the drug dispensing process, drug utilization reviews, and quality evaluation procedures. These checks not only control and regulate the drug dispensing process, but also ensure that standard practices are met, hence preventing medication errors.
Conclusion
Medication errors are common in the healthcare service delivery system and have adverse effects on the health of patients. These errors arise as a result of errors of omission or commission by healthcare providers and the patients themselves. Additionally, these errors can also arise as a result of drug dispensing system failures. It is as a result of this fact that effective and efficient systems need to be put in place to ensure that medication errors are detected, reported, evaluated and prevented early enough. At the same time, patient education is a critical empowerment approach of minimizing the risks associated with medication errors especially with regards to ambulatory cases. These considerations will not only enhance the overall quality of healthcare service provision, but will also reduce the occurrence of medication errors.
References
AMCP (2010). Medication errors. Web.
Grissinger, M. (2013). The role of managed care pharmacy in reducing medication errors. Journal of Managed Care Pharmacy 9(1), 62-65.
HAAD (2011). Reporting medication errors. Web.
Peters, M. (2007). Identifying and preventing medication errors. New York City: National Academies Press.
Provisions of Constitution That Allow for Healthcare Policy Regulation
The issue of the federal government being able to create, regulate, and mandate health care policies have been discussed in detail over the last decade. The main problem comes from the lack of any provisions of healthcare by the Constitution. However, the first article of the Constitution gives all the legislative power to the Senate and the House of Representatives. Currently, the federal government can perform various manipulations with the healthcare policy according to decisions of the Senate (Tushnet 15). This often creates issues as the definition of constitutional and non-constitutional policies may differ between the representatives of different parties. The largest issue that was encountered in the past decade concerned the Affordable Care Act as it was considered both constitutional and non-constitutional by various members of the Senate, which caused a variety of changes to be implemented into the finished policy. The controversial nature of the policy also caused a future attempt to repeal it by the following president of the United States. The issue of healthcare policy is likely to remain controversial as long as the Constitution does not feature it as one of its provisions in the form of the amendment (Lanford and Quadagno 619).
Example From Recent News
An article by Steven Porter from February 12 can be used to showcase a recent example of the federal government affecting health care policy. The story revolves around the decision of the federal government to repeal an Alaskan law related to health care competition in the region. The article describes that the certificate-of-need laws that the federal government wants to repeal were originally enacted due to the implementation of the previous change to healthcare legislation. The original laws were supposed to reduce healthcare spending and increase access to care. However, the Federal Trade Commission now states that these goals were not achieved.
Moreover, its representatives claim that these laws may harm the policy they were supposed to support. The state of Alaska is unique and has needs that other states do not. It is the largest state in the country, but its population is very low due to the harsh climate and complex geography. People who oppose the repeal of these laws state that the presented research does not apply to the realities of the Alaskan market. In response to this point of view, the Federal Trade Commission points out that there are other states, with a large portion of their population living in the rural areas, that were examined during the research on this issue, and they benefited from similar laws being repealed. The article concludes with a message that a vote on the bill has not yet occurred (Porter).
Conclusion
The issue of healthcare policy is one of the major topics in political discourse. No major political document has a provision that would guarantee healthcare to those who cannot afford it. However, with the advancements in treatment and medicine, as well as its availability, it becomes irresponsible to refuse to provide health care without putting people in debt. The widening gap between economic classes guarantees that a significant portion of the population would be unable to receive the majority of treatments they require, and the practice of price inflation on drugs often puts profits over peoples wellbeing. While profits are required for a large company to survive in a capitalistic society, a more human-focused policy should be created.
Works Cited
Lanford, Daniel, and Jill Quadagno. Implementing ObamaCare: The Politics of Medicaid Expansion under the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Sociological Perspectives, vol. 59, no. 3, 2016, pp. 619639.
Health and wellness are an essential aspect of life in our everyday life. This report will aim an investigating the various aspects of health and wellness and how best to maintain it. The report will also include the benefits or advantages of maintaining good health in our lives. Health has been a major topic of discussion in our daily news headlines and papers. Among the topics that will be covered in the report will include; an in-depth description of health and wellness, what self-management is, health benefits of physical activity, self-planning for healthy lifestyles, tobacco, and diabetes. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.4)
Health and wellness
Description of health and wellness; Health is the able being or the comfortable form of the body. When we are healthy, it means that all organs of our bodies are working properly and in harmony. Wellness refers to the optimal functioning of our bodies. Health means that our bodies can function well without medication or chemical support in them. (Corbin et al., 2009, p.5-6)
Dimensions of health and wellness; health does not only mean how good our bodies are but also the social and mental productivity in our lives. Mental growth that does not include stress or medical conditions is an aspect of good health. This includes our ability to think and interpret things properly. The social dimension of health and wellness is whereby we are able to interact with our peers well and have a common understanding. This goes hand in hand with behavioral wellness and information. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.9)
What are the factors influencing health and wellness? External factors are the main factors influencing our health and wellness. This means that the environment I live in will greatly determine how healthy or well I am. When we reside in places with environmental hazards, we are prone to becoming unhealthy. Foods high in certain minerals or components are bound to cause imbalances in our bodies. Behaviors or activities also influence our health. This calls for the best ways to adapt to our environments, prevention, and behavioral changes. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.10)
Self-management
Self-management is our personal activities or programs that aim at making us healthier and well. This means that we do not require help from other people when watching or adjusting our health. Self-management calls for our dedication to achieving or maintaining good health.
The five stages of lifestyle change. Lifestyle is every aspect of our daily lives. To change, it can be an upward task or rather difficult objective, especially when we are used to a specific way of living. When we are very unhealthy, we may require changing our entire lifestyle, but when we are better off, we only change a bit of it to achieve optimal health. There are five stages of lifestyle change. Maintenance is the first step of it. This means that the most important aspect of changing our lifestyle is maintaining what we have set or want to change. Keeping the new way of life at a constant is the main goal in this step. Taking action is the second stage. It means that we need to actively engage in exercises or changes to facilitate a positive change. Preparation of what we are about to undergo comes in third. We should be prepared to change our lifestyle both physically and psychologically. Contemplation is the second last step to achieving our lifestyle change. This calls for us to have a well and elaborate plan of how to change our lifestyles. After this, we then look at pre-contemplation. This is making any final adjustments to our program. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.96)
What are the factors that promote lifestyle change? Lifestyle is one of the hardest things we can change. To enable a smooth or fast change of lifestyle, self confidence has to be the major factor. This is the inner ability and willingness in us to change our lifestyle. Overcoming barriers and hindrances to lifestyle change is also a factor that promotes the positive change. We need to change old and baseless beliefs that may make changing of our lifestyles slow or futile. Lastly motivation is key factor in ensuring we are able to change. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.111)
Health benefits of physical activity
When we are engage in physical activities we are able to avoid many diseases that are tagged with poor lifestyles. Physical activity makes our bodies to be active and fight diseases by boosting immunity and rapid healing in case of injuries. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.12)
We are able to become more productive when we engage in physical activities. When our bodies are active, there is high metabolism and high blood flow rate. This makes the blood to flow to all organs in our bodies hence making us more active and vibrant to do all our chores or assignments. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.15)
Our mind relaxes and is able to develop properly when we engage in physical activity. Less stress levels in our bodies are associated with having enough physical activities. Stress in our bodies harbors our work, relationship and developments. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.19)
Physical activity leads to a long and healthy life. From exercises, we can avoid severe conditions such as stroke and diabetes. Physical activity ensures our whole body is in check and it does not develop complications. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.20)
Self-planning and healthy lifestyles
Self-planning involves clarifying the reason why we need to upgrade our lifestyle. This being the first step, it involves why we need to do so. Some of us may opt to do so because they want to be healthier or even want to avoid frequent visits to the doctor. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.22)
Identifying needs of changing lifestyle comes in second. Physical activity and proper diet aim at improving our health. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.24)
Setting personal goals is a major step in self planning. This involves change of behavior or attitude towards reaching a goal of good health in our life. Personal goals ought to be realistic as much as some of them might be hard especially on our first days of keeping fit. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.25)
We need to select a part of an activity or goal we want to attain. For example some of us want to reduce weight while others plan on physical activity to keep our blood vessels in check. For the male population of us, we mostly exercise to have a muscular physic. This is selecting the right component or part that fits us. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.29)
Setting and writing a plan is a major step in realizing wellness in us. This involves writing a promise or a pledge that we keep and strive to follow. A pledge is a symbol of honor once we attain or keep up to it. I some cases, we struggle because we are bound by the promise. It also acts as a motivating factor in our routine fitness program. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.45)
Evaluating our progress is the last step in self-planning for healthy lifestyles. This involves giving or writing a reply against our set goals. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.29)
Tobacco
The health effects of tobacco are many. To begin with, we will look at lung cancer which is the major risk that we are exposed to once we start smoking. The smoke in the tobacco has multiple components including tar that forms a layer or a thick surface lining on our lungs. Another complication that is caused by the smoking of tobacco is bronchitis. This is a severe condition of the air passage to the lungs. When we suffer from this disease, we can cough blood and have severe chest pains. Smoking also leads to gum and kidney diseases if it is prolonged. This calls for us to quit smoking and lead comfortable lives that do not depend on drugs or other substances that expose us to risks. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.32)
Strategies for breaking the nicotine addiction can be many. The first step towards breaking addiction is acceptance. It is important to note that far felt effects can be death and it might be too late to quit. After acceptance, we then need to seek professional help on how best to quit. This is because experts know what to do and what not to do. Drugs might be subscribed to us to make us not feel the urge to smoke. We may also be advised to cut down on the rate of smoking. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.37)
Diabetes
There are three types of diabetes. The first one is known as type 1. This is whereby our bodies produce low insulin levels. This type of diabetes calls for us to inject insulin in ourselves in case we are suffering from diabetes. The insulin will boost the low insulin present in our bodies. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.66)
Diabetes type two is when our body cells reject insulin. Blood cells and other cells in our bodies treat insulin produced at the pancreas as a foreign substance which is excreted as a normal by product. Therefore, sugar is not broken down from the food that we eat. Type 3 diabetes is gestational and affects pregnant women. They experience changes in blood sugar level. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.74)
There is health problems associated with diabetes. We might experience high blood pressure when we are suffering from diabetes. High blood pressure is known to lead to other complications such as cardiovascular ailments and heart attacks. When we are suffering from diabetes we are prone to the risk of developing kidney diseases. To help prevent diabetes, when we know we have the recessive gene, we should avoid over eating fast foods and high sugar level foods. We should exercise frequently and a lot. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.80)
Conclusion
Health and wellness are an essential aspect of life in our everyday life. As we have seen in the above report good health is living properly and being conscious of our body, mind and social wellness. We should avoid over indulgence in smoking, unhealthy eating such as fast foods and also in activity. We should have a fixe program that keeps us in check of our fitness and avoid stressful situations. As seen above smoking leads to cancer while inactivity leads to accumulated stress levels in our body. Too much fast food may cause diabetes. Having a program in self planning of keeping fit that we should strictly follow will help a great deal in changing our life style. Physical activity ultimately leads to a long and healthy life which is stress free. (Corbin et al, 2009, p.223)
References
Corbin, C. B., Welk, G. J. Welk, K. , (2010) Concepts of Fitness and Wellness: A Comprehensive Lifestyle Approach, McGraw-Hill, New York, NY
Epidemiology is a study discipline that is very reliant on statistics. This comes from the fact that it is actually the study of disease patterns across generalized populations described using statistical tools. Therefore, the most useful tool on a website with disease statistics is its search tool. It gives a user the ability to search for content having statistics. In addition, the study of epidemiology calls for the observation of very specific geographical locations when determining the prevalence of the disease or the potential for outbreaks. On the WHO website, the most useful tool is the search box. The search function on the website allows for simple keyword search and for advanced search, which increases the accuracy of search results. This tool works by giving search options based on Boolean operators and language. In addition, it allows for search based on the file format, domain, and sorting.
The simple keyword search on the site is suited for the general researcher who wants to use well-understood key terms (Mather, 2012). This tool is good for looking for general information relating to any subject on epidemiology that is present on the website. Search using the Boolean operators makes it possible for the user to search for information using delimiting operators. In the first case, it allows for the searching of information using a phrase. A test search using the phrase HIV AIDS in Africa yielded 7300 results from the field titled, with all the words (WHO, 2010). After adding the term, Sub Saharan to this search in the exact phrase field, the search results reduced to 136 (WHO, 2010). It is possible to narrow the results further by filling in the fields titled with at least one of the words and without the words (WHO, 2010). These search options use a keyword search to narrow down the search results to make them as exact as possible for any user.
Apart from a keyword search, the website has other search options based on file type, which enables a user to search the site for documents in pdf or in spreadsheet format. These formats tend to yield results with better statistics compared to general searches with website-based results. A user can also search for content written in eight languages, including Chinese and Arabic (WHO, 2010). This option is very useful for multilingual users who need information in a language other than English, which is the primary language for the website. In addition to these options, a user can search the site for information retrieved from specific domains. The advantage of this option is that it makes it possible for a user to choose from domains known to have academic or organizational information, as opposed to commercially oriented domains. The advanced search tool also allows users to sort the result either by date or by relevance. When sorted by date, the results show the most recent documents first. On the other hand, sorting the results by relevance brings up results that best match the keywords.
Locating information relevant to epidemiology requires the use of advanced search algorithms to increase the accuracy of the results (Mather, 2012). Therefore, the most useful feature on the website is the advanced search function. The ability to define search queries narrowly leads to highly specific results. This is important today because of the vast quantity of information online. Using the internet as a source of information necessitates the use of efficient information retrieval tools. The advanced search tool on the WHO website fits this role well.
Discuss top management support (Troshani et al. 2011 and/or Dong 2008) as it relates to the Queensland Health SAP-HCM implementation.
Top management usually makes strategic decisions and assigns resources to IT projects. In the case of Queensland Health, top management played a crucial role in initiating the SAP-HCM project. However, it is clear that there were project design problems relating to scope. In addition, the time available for the project was too little leaving no room for changes. The final problem was that there was no testing on the required scale to determine the efficacy of the new payroll system.
These three mistakes confirm findings by Troshani, Jerram, and Hill (2011), which indicate that management support in IT project design is critical for success when switching from old systems to new ones. Project design is part of the critical role that top management plays (Arnold 2007). There is a need to plan such projects carefully and to allow sufficient time and resource capacity in case of any eventualities. Troshani, Jerram, and Hill (2011) also pointed out that regulatory compliance is a key factor catalyzing the change process (p. 481). In this sense, there was a need for Queensland Health to uncover all the regulatory and environmental influences on the project. A risk analysis would have identified the problems that it is now dealing with, such as negative publicity and high profile redundancies. Top management also failed in its duties when it did not provide the best conditions to test the new system before going live.
There is a good degree of convergence with the response provided because of the concurrence of the place top management holds in the project design process and their role in supporting the implementation effort. The top management had the opportunity to ensure better testing of the new system to take care of all foreseeable eventualities from a technical perspective.
If you have been involved in an IS implementation (not necessarily an HRIS implementation), discuss how the Queensland Health SAP-HCM implementation is similar or different to the one in which you were involved.
I was involved in the design of a basic Electronic Health Records System for a local health facility. The objective was to reduce the overheads incurred in running the hospital by linking all the services offered. In particular, the system hoped to provide a real-time assessment of the services offered to individual inpatients and outpatients.
The key similarities with the Queensland Health are that top management initiated it and that the original deadlines were very ambitious, without sufficient regard to the human resource capacity. The major difference is the top management insisted on retaining the existing systems until they were certain the new one was handling the processes more efficiently.
The top management felt that with the skeleton staff in charge of IT at the facility, five members in total, the facility could implement a new low-cost system for handling health records Based on the local network at the facility. The systems relied on the efficient transfer of information between the reception, consultants, nurses, pharmacy, and the procurement department. The system was simple but there were very many issues regarding standardization and training that made it impossible to deliver within three months. The prototype design alone took three months.
However, as opposed to Queensland Health, the top management granted time extensions and refused to adopt any changes before they were sure that the changes were more efficient than the systems in use. There was an insistence on workability as opposed to meeting deadlines. The top management supported the project team all the way through by providing reasonable resource extensions and incentives such as pay for overtime work related to the project.
Reference List
Arnold, JT 2007, Moving to a New HRIS: Time for a New Human Resource Information System? Plan Ahead for a Painless Conversion, HR Magazine, June 2007, pp. 125-132.
Troiani, I, Jerram, C & Hill, RS 2011, Exploring the Public Sector Apotion of HRIS, Industrial Management & Data Systems, vol 111, no. 3, pp. 470-488.
Health is a condition of being free from injury or illness. It can also be said to be the physical and or mental state of a person. On the other hand, sociology is a social problem study. It can also be viewed as the functioning, structure, and development of the society of humans. Health and sociology are important elements in society and well being of humans in an environment. This is a write up on sociology and health with reference to the analysis of two hypotheses, and they include:
A childs birth weight is associated with the parents birth weight and socioeconomic class.
Excellent health comes with less stress; therefore, people who work more are not as healthy as people who do not.
A childs birth weight is associated with the parents birth weight and socioeconomic class
A childs birth weight is the weight that a child bears at birth. A child may bear a high or low weight at birth. There are several factors that influence the weight of a child at birth, for instance, the weight of the parents and socioeconomic class of the parents among others. However, this paper focuses on the influence of parents weight and socioeconomic class on the weight of a child at birth. There are different assumptions that are made on the weight of children at birth. These assumptions are basically based on races and socioeconomic classes, for instance, race and weight at birth.
It is believed that there are certain races that give birth to children with average weights while others give birth to children with low or high weights above the expected and recommended weight at birth medically. Race influences weight at birth due to differentials in consumption or eating habits. There are certain races that consume junk foods while others rely on food with either high protein or carbohydrate content.
Furthermore, there are certain races of people that are believed to have heavyweights, and always give birth to children with high birth weights. This is due to the physic of the respective race, for instance, Blacks. On the other hand, there are other races that are believed to give birth to low weighted children due to the physical nature of the respective race, for instance, Asians. Moreover, there are other races that are believed to give birth to children with average weight due to their physical appearance, for instance, the whites.
Race may influence the weight of children at birth because racially there are different cultural beliefs during pregnancy. Cultural beliefs are upheld and rarely ignored due to the consequences of doing so. Therefore, pregnant women are not likely to ignore cultural beliefs during pregnancies.
Upholding the beliefs may lead to the birth of a child with a weight associated with the respective race. This is because different races have different believes in what ought to be done by women while pregnant to ensure the healthy state of the unborn baby. Furthermore, different races have different beliefs on the foods to be taken by pregnant women. This influences the weight of children at birth. Therefore, since racial beliefs are respected by different races, a childs weight is most likely to be associated with the weight of his or her parents birth weights. This is because their grandparents are also adhered to by the racial beliefs about pregnant women and feeding habits hence born under similar consequences.
Moreover, a childs birth weight is also associated with parents birth weight due to the biological composition of the parents. A childs biological composition is influenced by the parents biological composition leading to similarities in genetic composition. Therefore, in case parents of a child were born with low weights especially mothers, then the child is most likely to have low birth weight and vice versa. However, it is believed that the weight of a girl child is closely associated with the mothers birth weight while a boy childbirth weight is closely associated with the birth weight of the father.
Secondly, socioeconomic class and a childs birth weight. There are different classes in the society considering the social and economic well being of people living in society. Socioeconomic classification is basically based on the income of respective families in the society and their ability to afford basic needs among other family needs, for instance, wealthy, poor, and middle-level classes. It is logical that children from wealthy families should be healthy because they have access to health services and social facilities that they require considering their family income level. On the other hand, it is logical that children from poor families may be unable to access quality health services and access quality social amenities of facilities.
A childs weight at birth is associated with the socioeconomic class of his or her parents due to several reasons, for instance, the ability to access quality health services. Pregnant women opt to access quality health services to ensure that unborn babies are safe and healthy before birth.
Quality health services to pregnant women also ensure that the children are healthy at birth. The weight of a child at birth is also a health concern that can also be influenced by the socioeconomic class of the parents of the respective child. Parents from a high social class have access to quality health services and diet. Medically, there are certain essential foodstuffs that are recommended for pregnant women to ensure that the child is healthy at birth. However, these foodstuffs may not be accessed by all families in the society or community due to high prices, especially low-income families.
Consumption of such foodstuff ensures that a mother gives birth to a healthy baby with the recommended weight medically at birth. Lack of such foodstuff may lead to birth of low weighted children or high weighted children. Furthermore, there are certain food stuffs that are not recommendable for women during pregnancy. These food stuffs may be avoided by pregnant women from high income earning families while those from low income earning families may not. This is because the low income families mainly consume what they can afford and readily available at their reach. Moreover, families with high income have high purchasing power hence able to satisfy their needs and wants adequately.
High income earning families are also able to afford consultative medical services. This enables the families to ensure that the weight of their child at birth is medically accepted and not a health threat to the newly born child. Such families may afford services of a doctor at their request leading to birth of children with controlled weights. On the other hand, families with low incomes may not be able to afford costs of consultative medical professionals.
Generally, weight of a child at birth is a health concern and opts to be monitored during the pregnancy period of the mother. Birth of a child with a weight that is medically recommended is only possible with constant consultation of medical services. These services are costly and can only be frequently accessed by high income earning families while low income earning families may rarely afford such services. Therefore, weight of a child is associated with the socioeconomic class of his or her parents because it determines access to health services, which determines weight of the respective child at birth being a health concern.
Excellent health comes with less stress; therefore, people who work more are not as healthy as people who do not
Stress is a threat to the well being of human because it affects health status. There are several causes of stress, for instance, work. Work is considered one of the main causes of stress. Work related stress has adverse effects on health of workers hence affecting quality of health of workers. Unemployed people are not exposed to high levels of stress as opposed to those people who work. Stress at the work place is basically caused by deadline and objective pressures at the work place.
There are work schedules that employees must adhere to at a work a place. Furthermore, there are other several conditions or terms that employees must follow. These rules are applicable to all employees. Moreover, there are organizational objectives that opt to be achieved within a specified period failure to which might lead to sacking or suspension of responsible employees or workers in case they are not realized.
This forces workers to work hard to ensure that an organization achieves its goals. Failure to achieve the organizational goals may threaten employment status of responsible employees. This causes tension at the work place because each employee is in need of his or her job due to financial needs. These terms of employment and achievement of organizational goals are the main factors that cause stress in a working environment because they greatly influence employment status of employees in respective organizations or companies.
Employees or workers are exposed to more stress than the unemployed or people who do not work. Stress triggers reaction of the pituitary adrenal glands hence affecting quality of health of human. Therefore, based on stress grounds people who do not work have excellent health compared to people who work due to level of stress they are exposed to. However, avoiding stress is not the key to excellent health.
There are other factors that also affect health of human beings, for instance, obesity. Obesity is a condition whereby a person has high fat deposits in the body. It is mainly caused by consumption of high quantities of proteins and junk foods and failure to adequately break them down. These fats are not adequately broken down due to lack of exercises.
Work causes stress and affects health of a person while obesity also hinders achievement of quality health by people. People who do not work are likely to be obese than those who work because work may serve as exercise to the body. Furthermore, health effects of obesity are higher than health effects of stress. Therefore, though people who work are exposed to stress than those who do not work, people who do not work are more likely to be obese. Moreover, obesity has more health effects compared to stress hence people who work are more likely to achieve excellent health compared to those who do not work. Though excellent health comes with less stress, people who do not work are not healthier than those who work.
The PIL under discussion is printed by Sports Medicine Australia and is targeted at teenage girls in Australia. The main objective of the leaflet is to provide teenage girls with information on how to deal with the challenges and changes of adolescence using physical exercise. There is little evidence of bias in the leaflet, and the authors have a disclaimer at the front page clearly stating that the leaflet is not meant to offer any advice regarding any particular matter of interest to the group.
The overall DISCERN score of the leaflet based on my evaluation was 45 thus, giving it an average score of 2.68, which means that the leaflet is partially successful in passing the information it is intended to pass but has some shortcomings. The leaflet has little focus on the information on physical exercise it intends to provide and instead ends up providing general information about adolescence.
Current areas where the PIL uses psychological theory
The leaflet makes relatively little use of psychological theory in its presentation of information, but there are instances in which the Health Belief Model (HBM) is used. The aspects of HBM mostly used are the appeal to health motivation and benefits of adopting a lifestyle of daily physical exercise. The benefits listed are maintaining healthy body weight, strengthening bones and muscles, improving cardiovascular health, and offering a chance for fun interaction with loved ones.
One of these benefits i.e. improving cardiovascular health can also be analyzed as having aspects of showing the severity and susceptibility to heart disease. Heart diseases are on the increase, and anyone who lives an unhealthy lifestyle is susceptible to cardiovascular diseases, which are serious and often fatal. It is noteworthy that these latter two aspects of HBM are implied rather than used explicitly.
There are also calls to action as the leaflet has clear suggestions to increase physical activity without necessarily taking up competitive sport. Some of the activities suggested are dancing, skateboarding, hiking, and bike riding; all relatively fun activities that do not require one to engage in competition.
PIL improvements
The first aspect about the leaflet I would change is to clearly show the detriments of living a life of physical inactivity. These detriments would logically be followed by the benefits of physical exercise, obstacles to exercising, and several suggestions on how to overcome these obstacles. In this case, obesity would be an example of a medical condition that I would put in the leaflet to show the adverse effects of not exercising. I would then indicate the benefits of exercising and maintaining a healthy BMI then offer suggestions on how to start exercising e.g. walking and taking the stairs. I would use statistics and scientific evidence from national medical bodies to support the information as well as give it credibility instead of just offering it as advice like the leaflet seems to do.
The leaflet is not oblivious of the social aspects of exercise but instead of using this to encourage physical exercise, the leaflet offers other intervention (contrary to the objectives of the leaflet). Using the principles of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), I would use the leaflet to provide knowledge on physical exercise to change teenage girls outlook towards physical exercise. This would in turn change their attitudes towards exercise thus, resulting in more teenage girls taking up exercise. An example of an approach I would use is to provide information on mundane activities, like walking, that count as exercise and try to foster a positive attitude towards them e.g. walking offers more social time with friends. This then would lead to the targeted audience of the information taking up and adhering to the healthy behavior suggested in the leaflet.
Overall appraisal of leaflet and changes
The changes made to the leaflet make it more focussed on the goal of providing information on physical exercise. This would make for a shorter leaflet that only concentrates on the provision of information on exercise and exclude information that is not relevant to the immediate objective. The reliance on statistics and scientific evidence to communicate information would make the leaflet more reliable as a source of health information and show the relevance of the information1. The leaflet would also have a more logical flow with problems, obstacles, and possible solutions all provided, making it easier to comprehend2.
The PIL without the changes suggested is not good as I feel it does not stay true to the objectives it purports3. It reads more like a self-help guide to teenage girls on how to cope with the changes of adolescence rather than a leaflet that provides and encourages teenagers to explore and take up physical exercise and the changes suggested would help refocus the PIL.
The lesson picked from this exercise of reviewing a PIL is that PILs need to be focused and relevant to their objectives to effectively communicate information4.
References
D. Fitzmaurice, and J. L. Adams. A systematic review of patient information leaflets for hypertension. Journal of human hypertension, vol. 14, 2000, pp. 259-262.
D. Dickinson, D. K. Raynor, and M. Duman, Patient Information Leaflets for Medicines: Using Consumer Testing to Determine the Most Effective Design. Patient Education and Counseling, vol. 43, 2001, pp. 147-159.
T. Kenny, R. G. Wilson, I. N. Purves, J. Clark, L. D. Newton, D. P. Newton, and D. V. Moseley. A PIL for every ill? Patient information leaflets (PILs): a review of past, present and future use. Family Practice, vol.15, 1998, pp. 471-479.
M. Dixon-Woods, Writing wrongs? An analysis of published discourses about the use of patient information leaflets. Social science & medicine, vol. 52, 2001, pp. 1417-1432.
I fully agree with the above statement because medical technology has enhanced the overall efficiency of healthcare delivery. As it stands now, greater quality and safety have been attained through medical technology. For example, there are myriads of health complications that used to be untreatable in the past but can now be handled with great ease due to the modern medical technology platform (Murphy, 2010). A crucial case in point is the management of cancer and other terminal illnesses. Early detection of dangerous infections can now be easily facilitated through contemporary technological platforms. Patients can now be screened more precisely than it used to be some decades ago.
Caring in practice used to be quite inefficient because due to less effective medical instruments. Even the medical practitioners are finding it quite easy to execute their services owing to the assistance of the latest technologies. We can concur that safety for both patients and nurses has been enhanced through modern medical technology (Murphy, 2011).
The impact of the internet
The internet has enhanced the flow of communication over the past few decades. People can share communication and knowledge rapidly. As a result of this expedited flow in communication, society is becoming more informed and knowledgeable (Keeling, Khan & Newholm, 2013). The internet has changed our lifestyles because we no longer need to meet physically to do business. Through the World Wide Web, individuals can make transactions.
Consequently, people are losing their physical experience because they are largely operating in a virtual world. As much as this may accelerate the pace of globalization, it has negatively affected society since the vibrant social life is no longer a place. In regards to healthcare delivery, the impact of the internet is still not vivid. However, the sharing of healthcare knowledge has increased (Nickitas & Kerfoot, 2010).
Also, it has reduced workload for practitioners who may require certain information. The internet has become an important reference point for both laymen and professional physicians. It is interesting to note that the physician-patient relationship has been improved because information can be shared quite easily.
Nursing informatics
Nursing informatics refers to the art and science of managing all facets of information and communication technology so that the delivery of healthcare services to the population can be enhanced. As such, nursing knowledge and information are integrated so that healthcare practitioners can be empowered while patients are given the best care services. In other words, nursing informatics employs the latest and most updated technological platforms to boost the working conditions of healthcare practitioners and also improve the standards of healthcare delivery to patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2009).
After reading the required chapters, my definition has indeed been modified. Initially, I thought that nursing informatics was merely the electronic storage of healthcare records. However, my definition has been broadened after reading the assigned chapters because I have understood that this is a wide area of practice that goes beyond the maintenance of electronic health records.
Nurse informaticians have several roles that are centered on the well being of both patients and healthcare practitioners. For instance, communication and information technologies are developed by the personnel drawn from nursing informatics. They also work as policy developers, implementation consultants, and software engineers in the healthcare sector. Some of the key areas of operations include information presentation, development of research methodologies in healthcare delivery, and concept representation.
References
Keeling, D., Khan, A., & Newholm, T. (2013). Internet forums and negotiation of healthcare knowledge cultures. The Journal of Services Marketing, 27(1), 59-75.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2009). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Murphy, J. (2010). The journey to meaningful use of electronic health records. Nursing Economics, 28(4), 283-286.
Murphy, J. (2011). The nursing informatics workforce: Who are they and what do they do? Nursing Economics, 29(3), 150-3.
Nickitas, D.M. & Kerfoot, K. (2010). Nursing informatics: Why nurse leaders need to stay informed. Nursing Economics, 28(3), 141-158.
Response for Student # 1-Sarah A
In the above post, the student seems to be bothered by the issue of care about the application of medical technology. It is imperative to mention that for patients who are satisfied, the level of care must be beyond their expectations. It does not mean that nursing care has now evolved into the full application of medical technology without considering the need for patients (McGonigle & Mastrian, 2009). Therefore, I do not agree with the argument posted in question one. Even in cases whereby nurses are supposed to answer questions from patients, medical technology still comes in handy in the delivery of the most accurate results that are also self-explanatory.
I agree with the post in the second question because the internet has impacted the healthcare sector and society both positively and negatively. It is still possible to visualize the benefits of sharing information through the internet and also assess the setbacks associated with this mode of information sharing. Some information available on the internet may not be correct (Keeling, Khan & Newholm, 2013).
In the last post, I agree with the definition of nursing informatics because it encompasses all the practices and competencies in the use of medical technology.
References
Keeling, D., Khan, A., & Newholm, T. (2013). Internet forums and negotiation of healthcare knowledge cultures. The Journal of Services Marketing, 27(1), 59-75.
McGonigle, D., & Mastrian, K. (2009). Nursing informatics and the foundation of knowledge (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.
Response for Student # 2-Maryann B
I do not agree with the post in the first question. As already discussed in the previous sections, it is not mandatory to include the word care when exploring the role of medical technology in the delivery of healthcare services. Needless to say, there is greater efficiency when medical technology is employed in offering healthcare services. When safety is given priority, it is tantamount to offering high-quality care to patients.
I do not fully agree with the second post since the availability of information through the internet has both negative and positive impacts. Although the internet platform has expedited the pace we receive and share vital data, lack of credibility in the information found on the internet is still a major concern (Keeling, Khan & Newholm, 2013).
In the last post, the full definition of nursing informatics is missing. However, there is a clear discussion about the concept although it is still a new terminology in some parts of the globe such as third world countries (Murphy, 2010).
References
Keeling, D., Khan, A., & Newholm, T. (2013). Internet forums and negotiation of healthcare knowledge cultures. The Journal of Services Marketing, 27(1), 59-75.
Murphy, J. (2010). The journey to meaningful use of electronic health records. Nursing Economics, 28(4), 283-286.
Pick One (1) Point Highlighted in the Video Persuaders. Pick the Point You Can Use as a Public Health Educator to Promote Healthy Lifestyles
According to the video Persuaders , you have to know the likes and dislikes of a given person to effectively persuade them to buy a certain commodity. A salesperson gets this information from the potential customer. They use the information to manipulate the customer. As a result, the customer buys an item they had not planned for.
Promoting a healthy lifestyle involves issues touching on diet and nutrition. However, information on a healthy diet is constantly changing with the findings generated in new studies. As a result of the changes, most people are unable to adhere to nutritional advice. Nonetheless, basic facts are touching on nutrition that the individual can access. The individual uses such facts to judge the findings generated in the studies. Despite this, the individual should access personalized advice on diet. In such cases, one should visit a dietician or a physician for advice. Just like the salesperson, the nutritionist uses information about the likes and dislikes of the individual to help them determine the type of foods needed for a healthy lifestyle.
Why is it Important for Public Health Practitioners to Understand Social Psychology and Anthropology Concepts?
Most psychological disciplines address the issue of an individuals personal experiences. Social psychology is concerned with the experiences of different people as they interact with one another in their natural environment. Epidemiologists and sociologists provide information highlighting the link between health outcomes and social factors, such as gender, social class, and ethnicity.
There are two factors important to health practitioners when it comes to society and health. The two are social capital and empowerment. Studies conducted in the field of empowerment show that an empowered person can effectively lead a healthy lifestyle. The ability of the individual to cope with stress is determined by their access to psychological, economical, and political resources. People living in developing nations have no access to such resources.
Stress negatively affects the quality of life in general. As a result, understanding the various concepts in the field of social psychology is very important. Public health practitioners should realize that some illnesses are caused by non-medical factors. Similarly, cultural anthropology is important for health practitioners. In some cases, the health of the individual is affected by such factors as attitudes, beliefs, gender roles, and healing practices.
Question G: Why is it Important to Develop Health Promotion Programs within the Context of an Ecological Model?
The environment has a significant impact on the health of the individual. For example, people who live near swamps are susceptible to such tropical diseases as malaria. Similarly, people living in congested conditions, such as those found in a slum setting, are susceptible to airborne diseases, including tuberculosis.
Ecological health promotion programs are developed by practitioners in the private and public sectors. For instance, many companies have put in place programs aimed at promoting the health of employees in the workplace and at home.
Some of the programs include, among others, encouraging the employees to embrace healthy diets and physical exercises. In the public sector, various campaigns are aimed at reducing the intake of cholesterol and promoting the funding of health promotion departments. Health practitioners should understand the objectives of individual and social-ecological health programs. The understanding will help them encourage people to maintain healthy environments.