MODULE 4 DQ2 BSN 410
D4Q2
The World Health Organization (WHO) is dedicated to achieving “better health for everyone, everywhere.” WHO’s brilliance is shared by 194 countries around the world. That’s a lot of people working together to make the world a better place.
Data on Italy provided by World Life Expectancy and Statista.
The average life expectancy in Italy is 83 years old, compared to 79 in the United States.
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death in Italy. This appears to be the leading cause in the majority of countries around the world. In Italy, the rate of heart disease is 42.2 cases per 100,000 people. The top five causes of death in Italy are stroke, lung cancer, breast cancer, and Alzheimer’s and dementia.
The rate of neonatal mortality is 1.7 deaths per 1,000 live births. This is a significant improvement over the 1971 rate of 20.2 deaths per 1,000 live births. This can be attributed to an increase in the availability of adequate prenatal and postnatal care.
The current maternal mortality rate is 4 deaths per 100,000 live births. Prior to the implementation of the universal health care plan in the late 1970s, maternal mortality was 2.5 times higher than it is now. Another factor influencing the low rate could be a decrease in births. In Italy, the birth rate has dropped dramatically over the last 50 years. As a result, annual population growth is -1.2%.
Morbidity- The following diseases are the most common in Italy, listed in descending order: hypertension, arthritis, allergic diseases, diabetes, chronic bronchitis or COPD, nervous disorders, heart diseases, and gastric diseases. The type of prevalence of these diseases’ lifestyle may play a significant role in this. In Italy, 25% of men and 17% of women smoke. This puts them at a higher risk for many of the common problems they face.
If you are given the opportunity to Help in one of these areas. I’m going to concentrate on cause-specific mortality. Italy appears to have good public health control over the mother and child healthcare areas. The figure is low in comparison to the United States, where the mortality rate is nearly double that of Italy. I’d like to start by looking at risk factors. Smoking and other risk factors for cardiac death should be avoided. Providing nursing education programs, as well as possibly a community-based program, to broaden understanding of the link between smoking and heart disease.
References:
“Topic: Diseases,” by John Elflein. Statistics from Statista, https://www.statista.com/topics/2070/diseases/.
“Life Expectancy Around the World.” World Life Expectancy, available at https://www.worldlifeexpectancy.com/.
MDGs (Millennium Development Goals).” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/millennium-development-goals-for-millennium-development-goals-for-millennium-development-goals-for-millenn (mdgs).
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As of 2022, the average life expectancy in South Africa is 62.8 years (Baffes, 2022). Females must be 67 years old, while males must be 64 years old (Baffes, 2022). In 2021, the covid-19 pandemic reduced growth by 1.47%. (Africa, 2022). However, for adults over the age of 60, a covid vaccine is now available, which will increase life expectancy. HIV/AIDS remains the leading cause of death in South Africa, with 13.6 million people receiving antiretroviral therapy, an increase of 800,000 since 2003. (Africa, 2022). As of 2015, the neonatal mortality rate was 11% per 1000, with no target goal met (Africa, 2022). The infant mortality rate is 23.6% per 1000 live births, with a target rate of 18 for 2015 that was not met (Africa, 2022). The maternal mortality rate is 141 per 100,000 live births, far exceeding the target of 38. (Africa, 2022). Education is critical in patient care in the United States, and we must Help other countries in overcoming these mortality rates. If I were to go on a mission trip to South Africa, I would concentrate on mothers and babies. I’d like to use my experience in labor and delivery and now in the neonatal ICU to help improve the outcomes of mothers and babies. Mothers require education and guidance to achieve positive outcomes. My goal would be to Help as many mothers and babies as possible while reducing infant mortality.
Reference:
S. S. Africa (n.d.). Data ecosystems are improving people’s lives. South African Statistics. Retrieved from http://www.statssa.gov.za/ on October 12, 2022.
T. Bell and N. P. O’Grady (2017). Infections caused by central lines should be avoided. Infectious Disease Clinics of North America, 31(3), pp. 551-559, doi:10.1016/j.idc.2017.05.007
WEEK 4 BSN 415 DQ
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With a significant nursing shortage, nurse managers frequently deal with the issue of staffing floors to care for our patients. Our nurse-patient ratios in ICUSD are supposed to be 1:4 and our CNT 1:8. Many of our nurses and CNTs were lost during COVID. Our nurse manager is now dealing with staffing issues on a daily basis. She decided to keep nurse to CNT ratios at 1:5 on most days. There are several RN jobs available, both day and night shifts, so only a few of these are covered. Because of the nursing shortage, our nurse manager has had to make some difficult decisions about staffing our unit. She recently decided to shift an RN from day to night shift for six weeks because our night shift is the most affected by the nurse shortage. This nurse was allowed to volunteer, but this decision also ensures that we work short on the day shift, and even shorter if someone calls out. Our nurse manager had a difficult decision to make, but she needed to cover both shifts. We have some contract and float nurses to help staff the various floors and units, but they are limited in number and only go to the floor with the greatest need. An incentive program is still in place to reward nurses and technicians who volunteer for extra shifts. Extra work incentives come at a cost; many nurses burn out, leading to even more nursing shortages as nursing staff leaves. “Demanding workloads and aspects of the work environment, such as poor staffing ratios, a lack of communication between physicians and nurses, and a lack of organizational leadership within nursing work environments, are known to be associated with nurse burnout.” (Shah and colleagues, 2021).
“The nursing shortage is one of many issues that require attention and require the participation of all health-care stakeholders.” Gab and Ageiz (2020). We can see the benefits and drawbacks of our nurse managers’ decision to increase staffing ratios and shift a day shift RN to night shift. Short-term. She must ensure that the care provided on the unit is of high quality, that patients and families are satisfied, that productivity goals are met, and that staff needs are met. This decision also causes nurses to be overworked and burnt out. “Burnout is still being reported by registered nurses across a wide range of practice settings across the country.” (Shah and colleagues, 2021). Nurses must have better working conditions, a better work-life balance, leadership support, and higher pay. Nurse values will aid in the prevention of burnout and the retention of nurses.
Reference
A. Gab Allah, H. Elshrief, and M. Ageiz (2020). Creating a strategy for managing nursing staff: A guide for nurse managers. 178-187 in Asian Nursing Research, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anr.2020.07.004 (accessed 10 October 2020).
M. Shah, MD, MSc, N. Gandrakota, MBBS, MPH, and J. P. Cimiotti, PhD, RN (2021). Nurse burnout prevalence and risk factors in the United States JAMA. Retrieved from https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2775923 on October 10, 2022.
