HLT54115 Nursing
Question:
This includes housing, education, availability of food, finances, social support, healthcare support and systems and security. Research has illustrated that there is a clear link between SDoH and health inequalities. For example, poverty generally means that there is reduced ability to access healthcare services, low levels of education are related to reduced incomes and higher disease prevalence (Department of Health, 2013). As healthcare providers it is important that you avoid placing blame on individuals for their poor health status as many are unable to change the SDoH which affect their lives.
Indigenous Health Perspectives
There is a 17 year life-expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. As Marmont (2011) explains, this is primarily the result of two issues: social disadvantage and the relationship between Indigenous Australians and non-Indigenous Australians. In respect to social disadvantage this encompasses the following six domains:
- earlychild development;
- education and skills development
- employment and working conditions
- minimum income for healthy living
- sustainable communities
- a social-determinants approach to prevention.
In relation to the second issue, Indigenous Australians must be provided with the opportunity to create the living conditions that enables them to live autonomously within society. Irrespective of whether the Indigenous family is located in a rural or metropolitan area, without the six domains of health, poor health is an inevitable consequence. The challenge for health professionals is how to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous people, families and communities through the application of sound research and health information (Marmont, 2011).
Answer:
Social determinants are the social factors that impact and influence the life of individuals in various ways. Social determinants can affect the life of individuals, families and even communities. Some of the social determinant that impact physical health, as well as emotional well-being of the people are education, incomes, social support, housing, availability of food, health care support and also social security. Social determinants can significantly result in inequalities and disparities for the disadvantage groups of the society. Low income or poverty can impact the life of individual in various ways, like it reduces the access to health care, increases exposure to chronic diseases, forces people to live in unhealthy environment and housing facilities etc.
Social determinants are also the factors that affect the current state of health of the individuals. The impact of social determinants is high on the people living in the rural areas. They have to face the problem of unemployment, low income households, lack of transportation facilities and difficulty to access the health care services. People living in the rural areas also have the poor health infrastructure and facilities. These people have poor housing, lack of fresh food and water and higher exposure to the high risk occupations. Therefore, the health of these people is significantly affected by the social determinants. Due to these conditions the burden of diseases is also higher in people living in rural areas. Family income is the major determinant of health for people. The low income of the family impacts the education attainment, inability to spend money for health, inability to access appropriate food and water resources. Lack of income can increase poverty and also increases the burden of diseases. Melissa and her family may have to face serious financial impact. Studies of her children can be impacted, as her partner only has a small home based business. They will also require money to spend on Melissa’s treatment, and unpaid leaves will reduce their household income affecting various aspects of their life.
Family assessment is a very significant approach undertaken by the nurses and midwives in Australia. Nurses and midwives are considered to be the integral part of carrying out the family assessment and are in correct position to work with children, young people and families. The assessment is done to understand the interplay of the environment, community and family. All these aspects are very important to be understood for providing effective services to children and families. Family assessment is important to be carried out by nurses and midwives so that they can understand the problem of the family and family’s experiences related to illness. This is also important for the health care professionals to know the impact of illness on the family members and for identifying their needs.
This assessment model is very significant and appropriate for Melissa and her family because it will allow healthcare professionals to understand their problem, impact of Mellissa’s illness on their family, financial impact and other impacts on complete family members. Since, Melisa and her partner do not have any significant social or financial support (Smith & Ford, 2013). Therefore, this assessment will allow the healthcare professionals to apply the appropriate tool that can meet the requirements of the family. The strength based assessment will allow the family members to recognize their strength, develop strength and develop the strength base coping skills and resilience to face illness, challenging times and difficult periods. This family assessment also helps to promote togetherness, communication, support, affection, acceptance, resilience, commitment and sharing activities (Smith & Ford, 2013).
Module 2
Group B streptococcal (GBS) septicem is considered as a very serious bacterial infection for the new born babies. The new born can be infected with this bacterial infection, if the mother suffers from GDS infection during pregnancy. GBS infection is caused due to bacterium called as Streptococcus agalactiae that can be transferred from mother to child. The baby can be infected by it as the bacterium can pass through the birth canal (Berardi et al, 2013). The baby can become sick within the 6 days after birth, which is also called as the early onset of GBS. The child can also get infected after the birth by coming in contact with the infected people and the symptoms of this infection occurs when baby is 7 days or older. This is also called as the late onset of GBS disease. The late onset cause high fever as well as meningitis (Hanley, 2008).
The babies whose mothers suffer from group B streptococcus in her gastrointestinal, reproductive or urinary tract infection are more likely to suffer from this infection after birth. Some of the common symptoms of GBS infection in babies are irritability, refusing to breast feed, breathing difficulties, unstable body temperature and pale appearance (Ramjattan, 2014). Therefore, it can be said that Caper has been infected with the late onset GBS infection and due to breathing problems caused by infection; child is facing difficulty in breast feeding and having high temperature.
The ethical responsibility of the healthcare nurse is to provide quality care to the mother and her child regardless of their financial status and condition. It is the primary responsibility of the health care nurse to provide support and assistance to family and focusing practice on family centred approach. The ethical nursing practice requires the nursing professionals to treat the women, and families with dignity, respect and kindness. The healthcare nurse requires focusing on the health interventions that are best for promoting well-being of the child and her mother.
The ethical and legal aspect also includes receiving the consent of the mother and family before providing treatment to the child. The legal responsibility of the health care nurse also includes the family assessment and identifying their needs. Low income families can also be support with financial support schemes that can help in reducing their financial strain. Australian government has It is the duty of the health care nurse to ensure that decisions of the mother are respected and informed decisions are made about the care and treatment of the child.
Another aspect of nursing care is to provide health information to the women, so that she can have control over her health and can protect her baby from infections. The health care responsibilities requires to provide family centred intervention with informed decision making, providing health information to family members, and promoting health literacy in the prenatal as well as post natal period of the child bearing families. Health care nurse can also help Amelia to receive treatment for postnatal depression.
References:
Berardi, A., Rossi, C., Lugli, L., Creti, R., Reggiani, M. L. B., Lanari, M., … & Ciccia, M.
(2013). Group B streptococcus late-onset disease: 2003–2010. Pediatrics, 131(2), e361-e368.
Hanley, J. (2008). Neonatal infections: group B streptococcus. BMJ clinical evidence, 2008.
Ramjattan, K. C. (2014). Late-onset group B streptococcus disease in the late-preterm
neonate. Journal of Pediatric Health Care, 4(28), 361-365.
Smith, L. M., & Ford, K. (2013). Family strengths and the Australian Family Strengths
Nursing Assessment Guide.
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