Population-Based Nursing Assignment Example
Q1.Information gathered on African Americans gathered from County health Ranking report and the U.S Census Bureau
The county health ranking report reveals that there exists a pattern of healthcare disparities, especially for some demographic groups such as African American females. Other demographic groups that experience unfair differences are people in the low-income cadres. The disparities exist in certain areas, such as access to care, employment opportunities, housing opportunities, and the quality of care (County Health Rankin, 2021). The Mississippi County health report shows that 28% of children in the county live in abject poverty, a figure that is much higher than the national average rate (American Progress, 2020). Disadvantaged communities such as African Americans use the ranking report to mobilize efforts locally and nationally to overcome these unfair patterns.
On its part, the U.S. Census Bureau rank counties based on health factors. The most important health factors used by the Census Bureau to rank the performance include smoking, obesity, physical fitness, the prevalence of STIs, and teen births, among others. Coincidentally, African American females are at the highest risk of the factors mentioned above. The U.S. Census Bureau also ranks counties using the strategy of clinical care, a system that relies on the reported level of clinical care.
Q2. Three of the Priority Health Areas for the County Area
The most critical priority health areas in my county area in Mississippi are alcohol and drug abuse, access to healthcare, employment opportunities and income. Concerning alcohol and drug abuse, Mississippi is one of the leading States in America with high rates of alcohol and drug abuse. This level of abuse affects the quality of health for many people in the State, particularly, African Americans. Many black females have taken to alcoholism and drug use as a way of coping with their hard economic situations (Wang et al., 2017).
In terms of access to quality health care, the County Health Report indicates that people in Mississippi, especially African Americans, cannot access quality health care due to lack of finances to pay for the care. Concerning education, employment, and income, Mississippi is one of the high-ranking states with unfair differences in terms of opportunities. African American females are at the bottom of the chain with the lowest education, employment, and income levels. These factors affect their chances of accessing quality healthcare.
Q.3 Sources of Community-Level Indicators
The Quad Council Coalition of Public Health Nursing Organizations (QCC) is one of the most active institutions in Mississippi that addresses unfair health differences in communities. The organization is a collection of many nursing organizations such as the Association of Community Health Nursing Educators, American Public Health Association Public Health Nursing Section (APHA PHN), and the Association of Public Health Nurses, among others (KrumHolz et al., 2018). The QCC is one of the organizations leading in community assessment initiatives to evaluate the critical health needs of communities. In Mississippi, the QCC actively participates in assessing the health needs of the most vulnerable demographic groups. In particular, the QCC spearheads efforts to address health disparities within the state. QCC educates African American women on ways to live healthy lives by avoiding the most prevalent health risks such as obesity, cancer, and alcohol and drug abuse.
Q4. Problem-Priority Criteria
The County Health Ranking report indicates that African American women record high mortality and morbidity rates. In Mississippi, a combination of sexually transmitted infections and chronic conditions are responsible for the high morbidity and mortality rates among African American women (Carthenon et al., 2018). Cancer and heart problems were the leading cause of deaths for African American women in this State. To address the above problems, the State of Mississippi has prioritized addressing the issues responsible for the prevalent health disparities.
For example, the State together with many partners in the health sector has embarked on a spirited campaign to tackle racial disparities, socioeconomic issues, and access to quality healthcare for African American women. The government prioritizes these issues because they are critical in creating effective interventions that can significantly reduce the risk factors associated with the above health conditions.
The Mississippi State Health Department and the U.S National government have initiated several projects aimed at lifting the lives of disadvantaged communities in the State. The state has come a long way in improving pay disparities between men and women, especially for disadvantaged groups. Noteworthy is that low pay and wages among African American women is one of the issues that prevent them from accessing quality healthcare (Noonan, 2016). Secondly, the State of Mississippi has prioritized the issue of education for African American women, with the goal being to reduce illiteracy levels.
The level of illiteracy in the State dictates the level of awareness on health. The more educated and aware African American women are, the higher their chances of changing their lifestyles. Lastly, the National government and local authorities have prioritized interventions for dealing with alcohol and drug abuse among African American women to reduce risk factors associated with this habit, such as irresponsible sex that exposes them STIs.
Q.5 Persons/Institutions that can mobilize change for African American Women
Considering the prevalence of unfair differences in healthcare access in Mississippi, it is difficult for any single person/group to solely influence change within the affected populations. However, the people that I would introduce the idea to are our church ministers. I believe that local community leadership offers the most effective forum for reaching the target group, namely African American women.
Further, I would target influential women in the community as most women look up to their successful counterparts for wisdom. Influential women can persuade young girls through education and mentorship to avoid risky behaviors such as irresponsible sex and alcohol and drug abuse. Leading women in local communities can also champion for change within their communities by mobilizing other women to join their efforts in sensitizing the community about healthy living.
The approach is to create meetings frequent meetings with women to educate them. The education given in such sessions touches on many issues such as the opportunities available for women, changing lifestyles, and generating ideas that help girls and women to become financially stable through legitimate work. Through these influential women leaders, the aim of the group is to partners with other organizations determined to address the unfair differences in Mississippi.
Priority areas of concern would be, addressing the socio-economic issues affecting African-American women in the State. Besides, the group will look at getting girls and women from Mississippi to take up education as a way of addressing the inequality gap. Most importantly, I would use these influential women leaders because they are in a good position to push the government to bridge the gap of inequality between African-American women and other demographic groups in the State.
References
- American Progress. (2021). Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity – Center for American Progress. Retrieved 29 March 2021, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/race/reports/2020/05/07/484742/health-disparities-race-ethnicity/
- Carnethon, M., Pu, J., Howard, G., Albert, M., Anderson, C., & Bertoni, A. et al. (2017). Cardiovascular Health in African Americans: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation, 136(21). https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000000534
- County Health Ranking. (2021). 2020 County Health Rankings Key Findings Report. Retrieved 29 March 2021, from https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/reports/2020-county-health-rankings-key-findings-report
- Noonan, A., Velasco-Mondragon, H., & Wagner, F. (2016). Improving the health of African Americans in the USA: an overdue opportunity for social justice. Public Health Reviews, 37(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-016-0025-4
- Krumholz, H., Normand, S., & Wang, Y. (2018). Geographical Health Priority Areas For Older Americans. Health Affairs, 37(1), 104-110. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.2017.0744
- Wang, S., Connel, C., & Crook, L. (2017). “We Need Help in the Delta”: Barriers to Health Promotion Among Older African American Men in the Mississippi Delta – Sherry C. Wang, LaShaundrea Crook, Carol Connell, Kathy Yadrick, 2017. Retrieved 29 March 2021, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1557988316684472