NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

This paper is determined to analyze Obesity and its impacts as a pertinent national issue in the United States.  It will also explain how the health issue is being addressed in other organizations.  Obesity is a treatable health disease that is a worldwide concern, associated with excess fat in the body. It is genetically and environmentally caused. It is diagnosed by a healthcare provider and is classified as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or greater (Fryar et al, 2018).

Obesity is a serious healthcare problem associated with reduced quality of life and more impoverished mental health conditions. Similarly, it is also associated with an increase in the number of complications such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart diseases, stroke, and other types of cancers (Cipriani et al., 2016). Moreover, Obesity is a serious healthcare problem associated with reduced quality of life and more impoverished mental health conditions. Similarly, it is also associated with an increase in the number of deaths in the United States. (Chiao et al., 2015). Obesity is a nutritional disorder that is related to unhealthy eating.

There are different risk factors of Obesity, including overeating, overconsumption of junk foods, reduced physical activities, and genetic inheritance (Werneck et al., 2018). The main problem is the increasing cases of Obesity among the population. Among the most concerning chronic health conditions is Obesity. Irrespective of whether an adult or a child experiences the condition, Obesity has been connected to poor life quality and various numerous killer comorbid conditions such as some types of cancer, stroke, heart disease, and diabetes (Chiao et al., 2015). Even though the disease has devastating effects on the population, it remains a complex health concern caused by a combination of individual factors like genetics and behavior and various other causes like physical activity, environment, food, skills, and education. Multiple factors such as exposures, medication use, dietary pattern, and lack of physical activity have also been shown to contribute (Werneck et al., 2018). Even though various interventions have been used to prevent and manage Obesity, the condition seems to be increasing among the population.  (Fryar et al, 2018).

The Impact of Obesity on the Nursing Professionals.

Nursing professionals face different problems in the healthcare system. These problems may be associated with the work environment as well as the treatment issues. Obesity has both mental and physical health complications for people of all ages. The complications related to Obesity range from medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, some types of cancer, stroke, and heart disease. Also, Obesity is associated with reduced self-esteem, social isolation, as well as depression.

The dominance of Obesity was 42.4% in 2017-2018. Moreover, from 1999–2000 through 2017–2018, the bulk of Obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe Obesity risen from 4.7% to 9.2%. Its related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer that are leading causes of preventable, premature death. Similarly, the estimated annual medical cost of Obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 U.S. dollars; the medical cost for people who have Obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight. (NCHS 2017-2018). The working adults of non-Hispanic blacks (49.6%) had the highest age-adjusted higher number of Obesity. Similarly, working-age of Hispanic (44.8%) and non-Hispanic White adults (42.2%) (Fryar et al, 2018).

From a broad perspective, providing healthcare entails identifying the population’s health issues and creating workable intervention strategies. In order to enhance outcomes, healthcare providers are constantly learning, and policies are created to streamline the delivery of care. The primary responsibility of healthcare professionals is to increase patient safety while always aiming to improve quality. However, because so many healthcare stresses have an impact on care delivery and impede healthcare providers from achieving the specified goals, nothing goes as easily as it could. The implications of the nursing shortage as a relevant healthcare issue are evaluated at the organizational level in this article, which also provides an overview of the evidence-based solutions used by other companies.

The Lack of Nurses Issue

In actuality, healthcare professionals ought to be kept fresh. The ratio of healthcare professionals to patients should be controllable, such

that healthcare workers are not fatigued both physically and mentally. When the quantity of patients exceeds the ability of caregivers to provide adequate care, a nursing shortage results. Care providers are severely displeased with the situation and willing to depart because of it (Chang et al., 2017). As a result, there has been a 25% increase in nurse turnover in the company, and 10% of caregivers have completely left the field. This data demonstrates a lack of incentive to continue providing healthcare services, despite other organizational efforts to motivate personnel, such as the use of prizes.

By Day 7 of Week 2

Submission and Grading Information

Suicide among High School Students 13-18 Years Old in New Jersey

Introduction

According to WHO, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S and accounts for more than 40,000 deaths every year. Cases of suicide among adolescents aged 13- 18 years in New Jersey have increased in the recent years with several patients being brought to the emergency department following attempted suicide (Shepard et al., 2016). Adolescents in the age bracket of 13-18 years are mostly high school students with the incidence being high in males than females. According to a report by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), the reasons behind suicide attempts are mostly mental health problems and substance abuse. The common forms of suicide are hanging, strangulation, use of firearms, falling, train transport, and poisoning (Sheftall et al., 2016)- NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue. The DCF report further states that the suicide rates have decreased in older youths but have increased among the young adolescents aged 10 to 18 years.

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Impact of Suicide among High School Students to Our Organization

Cases of suicide attempts in the emergency department have increased in the past five years, and the big concern is that 40% of patients that presented with suicide attempts in the year2015-2018 were aged 12-18 years. Eight of the suicidal teenagers had a history of depression and reported that their lives had

lost meaning. Suicide attempts in teenagers with a history of drug substance abuse were at 60% with a majority being addicts of cocaine and heroine as implied in NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue. Moreover, seven patients that presented with suicidal ideations and attempts in 2018 reported having problems in school, such as poor grades and being bullied by their colleagues. The suicide cases have negatively impacted our organization since a lot of resources are directed towards the treatment of suicidal patients requiring intensive treatment and constant monitoring. The same resources could have been used in managing patients with health-related conditions. Furthermore, it has led to an increase in the population of patients in the psychiatric clinic with the population exceeding the recommended provider to patient ratio.

Impact of Suicide in other Organizations

According to some articles I reviewed on the issue of adolescent suicide, there have been cases of adolescents committing suicide when in inpatient units. The suicide cases have negatively affected the health facilities since the health providers had to report statements to the local authorities on the suicide cases (Gould et al., 2018). The suicide cases affected the image of the organizations since they were questioned why patients committed suicide on their watch, and the patient’s parents sued them. Teenage suicide deaths have been found to cause more psychological effect on health professionals than cases of sudden death.  Besides, the health providers experience feelings of shock and often get the blame and condemned when teenagers commit suicide under their care.

Strategies by Other Organizations to Address Suicide among High School Students

Several organizations have taken several measures to address the issue of suicide among high school students to reduce the incidences to zero in the next five years. One measure is screening every adolescent in the outpatient clinic for symptoms of mental illnesses, and substance abuse. Patients suspected of substance abuse undergo a drug test and are referred for counseling.In NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue, the measure has helped in early diagnosis and treatment of depression and substance-abuse related symptoms, which are the common risk factors of suicide among adolescents (Stone et al., 2017).  One measure that I found very applicable is the establishment of youth-friendly clinics where adolescents are treated and undergo counseling on how to solve everyday problems (Stone et al., 2017). The youth-friendly clinics offer integrated services, and the teenagers do not have to interact with other patients to access other services.

Mental health awareness and screening outreach programs are being conducted by health organizations, especially by facilities offering mental health services as the core business. The organizations conduct outreach programs in high schools and educate students on mental illnesses such as depression, their causes, and treatment (Gould et al., 2018). During the programs, counseling psychologists address students and counsel them on how to tackle life situations without inflicting self-harm. The students are taught how to recognize a colleague having psychological distress or in a crisis and how to help them get through the situation (Gould et al., 2018). Furthermore, the organizations have linked with the school counselors who refer students with psychological issues to the health facility for further assessment and treatment (Stone et al., 2017). They also have a helpline number given to students where they contact a counselor from the organization when they are experiencing problems at home or school who in return, offer counseling services.

Adoption Of Strategies To Reduce Suicide Among High School Students and Its Impact in Our Organization.

The strategies used by other organizations include screening adolescents for mental health illnesses in clinics, use of youth-friendly clinics, awareness, and screening outreach programs, and use of helpline numbers. Adoption of the above strategies may help in lowering the adolescent suicide rate in New Jersey and the cases of patients presenting in the emergency department with attempted suicide. If we adopt the use of youth-friendly clinics, it will promote integrated care and provision of counseling services to teenagers. Besides, the strategy will help in early detection and management of mental illnesses and lowering the risk of suicide. We can also conduct outreach programs in high schools within our state and offer mental health awareness to students and teach them how to solve life issues without resulting in self-harm or suicide. Nevertheless, adoption of these strategies will require the organization to spend a lot of financial and human resources in establishing youth clinics, hiring health professionals, and in organizing outreach programs.

NURS 6053 Week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue References

Gould, M., Lake, A., Kleinman, M., Galfalvy, H., Chowdhury, S., & Madnick, A. (2018). Exposure to suicide in high schools: Impact on serious suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, maladaptive coping strategies, and attitudes toward help-seeking. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(3), 455.

Sheftall, A. H., Asti, L., Horowitz, L. M., Felts, A., Fontanella, C. A., Campo, J. V., & Bridge, J. A. (2016). Suicide in elementary school-aged children and early adolescents. Pediatrics, 138(4), e20160436.

Shepard, D. S., Gurewich, D., Lwin, A. K., Reed Jr, G. A., & Silverman, M. M. (2016). Suicide and suicidal attempts in the United States: costs and policy implications. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 46(3), 352-362.

Stone, D. M., Holland, K. M., Bartholow, B. N., Crosby, A. E., Davis, S. P., & Wilkins, N. (2017). Preventing suicide: A technical package of policies, programs, and practice.