Vulnerable Populations Essay.
Locate one of the following services in your local community or state: inclement weather program, mental health services, respite for full time caregivers, support for undocumented workers, support for victims of sex trafficking.Vulnerable Populations Essay.
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Present your opinion on whether this service is adequate to meet the needs of the population. Use data to support your opinion. Identify if further data is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the services.
What members of the inter- professional team are needed to care for this population?
Clearly present your perspective and well informed thoughts based on personal professional growth, new insights/ideas, ethical considerations, and citations from your text and other sources.
* I have do the assignment on new york state. 250 or a little above 250 words.
Vulnerable population is not limited to a specific disease, race, income, or gender. There are different situations that can cause an individual to be classified into this category. A Vulnerable population can also include the neighborhood where an individual resides because healthcare resources may be limited. The focus of this will include the understanding of how the different biases affect the delivery of healthcare to individuals. It will also include a self-reflection of the learning prior and post about the population. It will identify a character and describe how he or she may be identified in a vulnerable population. African American Vulnerable…show more content…
According to (www.blackdemographics.com),” 32% off African Americans do not obtain a high school diploma.” The unemployment rates are diverse when dealing with the African American population. According to Dodson (2009), “African Americans have an unemployment rate almost double that of the overall population.” African American women have a greater opportunity for employment through the federal, state, or local government than African American men. A high percentage of African Americans are primarily employed in a management, professional, and related occupations. The poverty levels of African American have increased since 2009. The head of households in an African American family is usually run by women. The majority of American families are single women raising children as a single parent. In certain situations, this can lead to the women to relying on public assistance for support. Some African American women live in section eight housing in which the government pays the majority of the rent. She may also receive food stamps or a government assistance check. Health care is necessary for single African American women. Medicaid is one of the commonly used government benefits.
Despite efforts and goals in the United States to reduce or eliminate disparities in healthcare by 2010, significant disparities, including risk factors, access to healthcare, morbidity, and mortality, continue in vulnerable populations. For example, studies find that Americans living in poverty are much more likely to be in fair or poor health and have disabling conditions, and are less likely to have used many types of healthcare.Vulnerable Populations Essay.
Vulnerable populations include the economically disadvantaged, racial and ethnic minorities, the uninsured, low-income children, the elderly, the homeless, those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and those with other chronic health conditions, including severe mental illness.2 It may also include rural residents, who often encounter barriers to accessing healthcare services.3 The vulnerability of these individuals is enhanced by race, ethnicity, age, sex, and factors such as income, insurance coverage (or lack thereof), and absence of a usual source of care.1,4-8 Their health and healthcare problems intersect with social factors, including housing, poverty, and inadequate education.2
Health Domains of Vulnerable Populations
The health domains of vulnerable populations can be divided into 3 categories: physical, psychological, and social.4 Those with physical needs include high-risk mothers and infants, the chronically ill and disabled, and persons living with HIV/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.4 Chronic medical conditions include respiratory diseases, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and heart disease. Eighty-seven percent of those 65 years and older have 1 or more chronic conditions, and 67% of this population have 2 or more chronic illnesses.9
In the psychological domain, vulnerable populations include those with chronic mental conditions, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, major depression, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, as well as those with a history of alcohol and/or substance abuse and those who are suicidal or prone to homelessness.4
In the social realm, vulnerable populations include those living in abusive families, the homeless, immigrants, and refugees.4
The needs of these populations are serious, debilitating, and vital, with poor health in 1 dimension likely compounded by poor health in others. Those with multiple problems also face more significant comorbidities and cumulative risks of their illness than those experiencing a single illness.4
Overall, nonwhite women 45 to 64 years of age who are unemployed and uninsured with lower incomes and education levels tend to report the poorest health status.2
The Need to Focus on Vulnerable Populations
Although the needs of medically vulnerable populations are serious, are often debilitating or life-threatening, and require extensive and intensive medical and nonmedical services, these needs tend to be underestimated.4
Current financing and service delivery arrangements are not meeting the needs of these vulnerable populations. For example, the number of uninsured patients younger than 65 years of age grew by nearly 6 million between 2000 and 2004, with the greatest growth in those who are poor (46%) or near-poor (22%).10 In this population, approximately 35% to 45% have at least 1 chronic medical condition. More than half (58%) of those with a chronic illness without insurance report that they did not buy a prescription drug in 2003 because of cost compared with 39% of those with publicly funded insurance and 34% of those with private insurance.11
The numbers of these vulnerable populations are increasing, not only as the ranks of the uninsured grow, but as the population ages. For instance, the number of individuals with chronic medical conditions has risen from 125 million in 2000 to 133 million in 2005. This number continues to increase as the baby boom generation ages. By 2010, 141 million Americans are expected to have 1 or more chronic conditions, with an overall increase to 171 million people (37%) by 2030 (Figure 1).12
Chronic illnesses are significantly more prevalent among low-income and other disadvantaged populations. Additionally, the impact of these illnesses is more severe among the unemployed, uninsured, and less educated. For example, patients with a chronic illness who have less than a high school education are 3 times more likely to report being in poor health than those with the same illness who hold a college degree.2
Given the increasing number of vulnerable populations with 1 or more chronic health conditions, policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned about how to deal with the demands this population places on systems of care.4,9
Homeless population
It is safe to say that the homeless population as a social group is vulnerable since the homeless are usually at an augmented risk for unfavorable health-related effects. Comprehending the nature of homelessness and its actual affiliation between resource accessibility, relative possibilities, and health status is vital for nurses to detect and treat health-related predicaments in this vulnerable population. According to the Stewart McKinney Act, 42 U.S.C. § 11301, ET seq. (1994), a person is deemed homeless when one lacks a fixed, regular, and sufficient night-time dwelling; and has a main night time residency that is: a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter intended to offer temporary living housings. And or an establishment that offers a provisional residence for characters meant to be institutionalized, or a public or private place not intended for, or customarily utilized as, a normal sleeping accommodation for human beings.
Demographically, two drifts are largely accountable for the increase in homelessness over the past 20-25 years: a mounting scarcity of inexpensive rental accommodation and a concurrent augment in poverty. Individuals living in poverty are mainly at risk of becoming homeless, and demographic crowds who are more probable to experience poverty are more probable to experience homelessness. Age wise, Children under the age of 18 accounted for 39% of the homeless population in 2003. About 42% of these children were under the age of five (National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty, 2004). The study also established that unaccompanied minors encompassed 5% of the urban homeless population (2004). Conversely, in other cities and particularly in rural areas, the numbers of children experiencing homelessness are much higher. According to the National Law Centre on Homelessness and Poverty, in 2004, 25% of homeless were ages 25 to 34; the same study found percentages of homeless persons aged 55 to 64 at 6%.(2004).
Sex wise, the majority of studies demonstrate that single destitute adults are more probable to be male than female. A survey done by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 2005, established that single men encompassed 51% of the homeless population and single women comprised 17% (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). Family wise, the quantity of homeless families with children has augmented considerably over the past decade. Families with children are amongst the fastest mounting subdivisions of the homeless population. In a survey of 25 American cities, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (2005) established that families with children encompassed 33% of the homeless population, an explicit augment from preceding years (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005). These percentages are probable to be higher in rural areas. Research designates that families, single mothers, and children constitute the prevalent group of people who are homeless in rural areas (Vissing, 1996). As the quantity of families experiencing homelessness increases and the number of inexpensive housing entities contracts, families are exposed to much longer dwells in the shelter system. For example, in the mid-1990s in New York, families resided in a shelter an average of five months prior to moving on to permanent housing. At present, the average stay is seven months, and some reviews state that the average is nearer to a year (U. S. Conference of Mayors, 2005 and Santos, 2002).
Unemployment wise, deteriorating wages have placed housing impractical for many workers. Every state has more than the lowest amount wage necessary to pay for a one- or two-bedroom apartment at reasonable Market rental fee, (National Low Income Housing Coalition, 2001). Actually, in the average state a minimum-wage employee would have to work 89 hours a week to pay for a two-bedroom apartment at 30% of his or her wages, which is the centralized meaning of inexpensive housing (National Low Income Housing Coalition 2001). Therefore, insufficient proceeds leave many people on the streets. The U.S. Conference of Mayors’ survey (2005) of 24 American cities established that 13% of the urban homeless populace were employed (U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2005), although recent surveys by the U.S. Conference of Mayors have accounted as high as 25%. In a number of cities not reviewed by the U.S. Conference of Mayors percentage is even higher (National Coalition for the Homeless, 1997).Vulnerable Populations Essay.
Personal awareness prior to the demographics
Most of the homeless people are dirty, full of diseases and thieves. They drink a lot, sleep rough outside at some point. The view, in that most people end up being homeless simply because they drink too much. Most homeless people use hard drugs, and the thought that they are a bunch of immoral and lazy individuals.
The effect of research on personal attitudes
Positive approaches are essential to offer suitable care for poor people. They can as well operate as significant initial steps in nurturing future careers in the care of homeless and other underserved populations. A preceding study acknowledged that medical students who own positive outlooks toward homeless patients are more probable to volunteer in a shelter-based clinic. Even though it is imperative to appreciate how attitudes associate with volunteerism, it is also significant to know whether and how these attitudes can be changed. Conversely, we are ignorant of any interference targeted toward physicians in training that has recognized an enhancement in attitudes toward homeless people. Homeless people frequently account for over one-quarter of inpatients in Veterans Affairs and public hospitals. As the quantity of homeless people in the United States increases, it has become pertinent for physicians to be well informed about homelessness and to have positive approaches toward caring for homeless patients. Conversely, despite the unique features of this growing population, physicians rarely receive formal training in this area.
How knowledge might affect health care delivery
Efficient healthcare is reliant on comprehending vulnerable persons and populations with deference to biases and prejudices of healthcare providers, (Chesney, 2008). Anybody can be vulnerable at dissimilar times in his or her life under explicit circumstances. According to de Chesney (2008), “Vulnerable populaces are those at danger for poor bodily, emotional, or social health. Anybody can be susceptible at any given point in time as a result of life circumstances or reaction to illness or events” (p. 3). In order to provide good healthcare, healthcare providers require being aware of their own susceptibility.Vulnerable Populations Essay.
Self-reflection
The views I perceived of the homeless before the research and after are distinctively different. The information gathered has given me a different look towards the homeless and personally reflecting that vulnerability is not definite but relative. Homelessness can happen to anyone and so we should treat the homeless, as we would like to be treated while we were homeless. This kind of Self-awareness is essential for the proficient nurse with the conventional outlook that self-awareness will lead to better competence.Vulnerable Populations Essay.