Population Heath Case Study

This is assignment is to review and reflect on your own personal values and beliefs which shapes how you interpret and analyze population health. The purpose of this paper is to reflect on how you see your role as a healthcare professional in advocating for, and influencing population health. Describe the connection of this role to public health and address your thoughts around the influence that health care providers may have or not, in promoting the health of the community. What role should heath care providers play, and what strategies may increase the influence of healthcare providers in improving population health? This assignment can be approached from a clinical, academic or public health focus.

Population health as a framework for examining health is not a new concept. Historically, epidemiologist have used this to formulate etiologies of disease by measuring variations within a population and the impact of environmental factors (Radzyminski, 2007). Governments have also applied this concept to the implementation of interventions geared at improving the health of nations (Radzyminski, 2007). Although the concept is not new, the term population health has only been recently defined and differentiated from the definitions of community health, public health, and population-focused care. This paper will discuss the current definition of population health, its impact on nursing practice, its relation to evidence-based practice, and the importance of interprofessional collaboration in the delivery of population health care.

Population health improves treatment outcomes among specific patient groups in the community. In the past, there has been a disconnect between technology and clinical practice. This circumstance has made it a challenge to coordinate medical services and resulted in suboptimal treatment outcomes. Population health management helps care provider organizations overcome this barriers by improving patient satisfaction and reducing medical costs.

A Population’s health outcome is usually determined more so by its social factors than its medical care. Health care provider determine the type of care in this community by firstly assessing the social determinant which range from the personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health status. In defining the type of healthcare for this community an HCP takes into consideration several factors including; the lack of availability of health services in the area, the high cost and lack of insurance coverage and language barriers, age and disease prevalence of the population to be served. To meet the needs of this community there are free, income based health clinics, public health department clinics and community

As nurses we know medical professionals more than ever are responsible for treating large diverse populations. Understanding cultural differences in various populations is crucial to produce positive outcomes. Nurses have a major role in health care promotion. Nurses should be treating the patient as a whole in mind, body, and spirit. This should be included in community treatment too. Individual, family, environment, and community assessments are necessary to provide the care and improve health care outcomes in the community as a whole. The World Health Organization’ s (WHO) definition of community is “a group of

Since 1980, the United States has taken on 10-year plans that outline certain key national health objectives set to be accomplished during a 10-year timeframe (Shi & Singh, 2015). These initiatives are founded on medical care with prevention services, health promotion, education, community health care, and increased access to integrated services. The initiative, Healthy People 2010: Healthy People in Healthy Communities, launched in 2000. The initiative emphasizes the role of community partners such as

In an effort to promote the health needs within a community, a successful community health nurse (CHN) must focus on the entire population. In order to accomplish this task, the CHN utilizes a scientific approach to determine the priority population focused health needs for the community. According to Nies & McEwen (2011), a population focus involving an assessment of the community is a primary tool utilized in order to develop planning, interventions, and evaluations for the community at large. The purpose of this paper is to determine a priority

In order to provide effective care to a community a nurse must understand the complex interacting factors within a community, such as social determinants of health, which affect the health of clients (Yiu, 2015). Community assessments are one important way nurses can promote effective community health strategies, encourage public participation and develop community action plans (Lotfi, 2014). There are four components that make up a community assessment; environmental scan, needs assessment, problem investigation and resource evaluation (Yiu, 2015). The main objectives of our Rock Bay community assessment was to identify factors that affect the health of the population and determine the availability of resources within the community. The

The public health profession has long recommended that local public health agencies periodically conduct community health assessments (CHA) and community health improvement plans (CHIP) to inform and guide their activities.5 A 1988 IOM report, The Future of Public Health, recommended that “every public health agency regularly and systematically collect, assemble, analyze and make available information on the health of the community, including statistics on health status, community health needs, and epidemiologic and other studies of health problems.”5 Community health improvement plan (CHIP) is defined as "a long-term, systematic effort to address health problems on the basis of the results of assessment activities and the community health improvement

Q1: Understanding the cases/differences: What was the average number of new HIV cases in Scott County in 2013? What was it in the first six months of 2015? What are the demographics of those diagnosed in 2015? (Describe them)

Lisa is 5’4’’ tall and weighs 140 pounds. She has not been hospitalized recently and she does not have any chronic medical conditions. She explains that she does not have any health conditions that keep her from participating in activities that she does enjoy. She explains that she does not practice preventative health measures. Lisa does not have a regular physician. Lisa rated her health as a 7.2 because she believes she eats healthy. However, she is concerned because she has not been to the doctor since her twins were born eight years ago. Lisa’s health history is “excellent” because she has not had any issues since the last time she went to the doctor which was eight years ago. She states that she does not get sick easily. She explains that medical bills are very expensive and she does not believe it is necessarily important. Lisa explains that

Over two thirds of my life have been spent living in a western suburb of a large metropolitan area which has access to extensive resources. I grew up in a rural area and thought it would be interesting to look at what resources they have and how their needs are defined in the community health needs assessment (CHNA). The two CHNAs chosen to review were Pekin Hospital and Morris Hospital and Healthcare Center (MHHC), both are nonprofit organizations. Pekin Hospital is a 107 bed medical center located in Pekin, Illinois. Their defined their area of service with the use of only a map and its total population of 135,394. Morris Hospital and Healthcare Center CHNA has a more extensive definition of its physical community which included 5 counties, 22 cities and a population of 112,742. Their medical facilities include a main hospital campus with a total capacity of only 89 beds, two other hospital campuses and nine health care centers.

A community health assessment is a fundamental instrument of public health practice. Its objective is to depict the health of the community, by presenting information on health standing, community health needs, resources, and epidemiologic and other studies of present local health problems. It seeks to recognize target populations that may be at augmented risk of poor health results and to increase a better understanding of their needs, as well as evaluates the larger community surroundings and how it relate to the health of people. It also identifies those areas where better information is desired, particularly information on health differences amid different subpopulations, quality of health care, and the incidence and severity of disabilities in the population. The Community Health Assessment is the foundation for all local public health development, giving the local health component the instance to recognize and network with key community leaders, businesses and concerned residents about health priorities and concerns. This information shapes the foundation of improving the health status of the community by way of a strategic plan (The Municipal Public Health Services Plan Community Health Assessment Guidance and Format, n.d.).

The population health factors is a subject of extensive discussion within American health care system, nonetheless, few comprehend the bearing to modern health care environment.

Community health assessment is a process of systematic identifying and examining health indicators in a defined population. The purpose of this community health assessment is to gather and analyze information about health status, factors that can have an influence on community members’ health, and needs of the population within the target community. The collected data allow comparing the health status and needs of the residents in the Newmarket Health Centre (NHC) and residents in surrounding neighbourhood with the local health care services and resources available for them, which will help to identify health inequities among community members (Goodman, 2014).The main goal of this community health assessment is the strategic development of solutions to the identified health needs in a community.