Positive Social Change
Continuing education in the nursing field is beneficial for nurses desiring to foster social change. One of the major social issues in the healthcare sector is class and income which affect access to healthcare services. The high cost of care is complicating healthcare services by locking out the poor (Smith et al., 2021). Social change is required to reduce the high cost of care that creates a gap in the provision of care. Furthering nursing education will boost my effort to address the social issue. I will strive for evidence-based tools to enhance the provision of low-cost and quality care for patients. Healthcare provision through patient education is critical in reducing the occurrences of poor health outcomes (Smith et al., 2021). For instance, educating African Americans on the negative effects of smoking can reduce the cases of smoking. The provision of free screening for lung cancer can prevent severe outcomes when lung cancer is not addressed at the initial stages. The efforts are critical in addressing the class and income issue that lock out the poor in accessing quality and low-cost care.
One of the social constructs in nursing care is the promotion of healthcare in the public. The efforts necessary to promote care in the public involve public education on healthy lifestyles. For instance, the public needs to learn measures to overcome tobacco addiction. Engaging in healthy lifestyles will prevent drug and substance abuse addiction, obesity, and diabetes (Kennedy et al., 2019). The public can prevent different diseases when they know healthy choices. The promotion of healthcare in the public should be used as a preventative tool to reduce hospitalizations. Reducing the rate of hospitalization will eliminate congestion in healthcare facilities (Kennedy et al., 2019). The approach is critical in achieving quality care despite the challenges of high costs in the healthcare sector.
The second social construct is the privacy of the patient in the delivery of care. Patients expect that their information will not be shared by any third party. Confidentiality in nursing care affects the trust and confidence of a patient (Khanbodaghi et al., 2019). Due to the recent issues of cyber security involving data theft, it is vital to assure patients of the safety of their data. For instance, I will utilize advanced data tools to secure information. Data encryption is one of the technologies critical in safeguarding patient data (Khanbodaghi et al., 2019). I will ensure I guarantee patients the privacy of data before the start of the treatment. The assurance will Help the patients to gain confidence in the healthcare services.
I will plan to confront the current healthcare challenge through innovative and evidence-based measures. For instance, I will organize medical camps among the affected low-income groups. The medical camps will provide free services such as screening and public education. The patients who are diagnosed with different conditions such as diabetes, lung cancer, or obesity will be referred to the healthcare facilities in the county or state. The provision of public health education promotes quality outcomes since it alters behavior (Kennedy et al., 2019). For instance, smoking cessation leads to quality outcomes such as reducing the rate of lung cancer. I will confront the public health issue on a global scale by starting a nursing blog. The blog will advocate for the rights of low-income groups. The information will help raise funds for the low-income healthcare promotion activities.
References
Kennedy, M., Gonick, S., Meischke, H., Rios, J., & Errett, N. A. (2019). Building back better: Local health department engagement and integration of health promotion into Hurricane Harvey recovery planning and implementation. International journal of environmental research and public health, 16(3), 299.
Khanbodaghi, A., Natto, Z. S., Forero, M., & Loo, C. Y. (2019). Effectiveness of interprofessional oral health program for pediatric nurse practitioner students at Northeastern University, United States. BMC Oral Health, 19(1), 1-8.
Smith, J. A., Watkins, D. C., & Griffith, D. M. (2021). Reducing health inequities facing boys and young men of colour in the United States. Health Promotion International, 36(5), 1508-1515.
