RUBRIC:
Peer interaction : 20
pts
20 pts
Exceptional
One post written in response to fellow learners’ post and is between 100-150 words. Response is substantive insightful and contain at least one reference.
Grammar, Syntax & APA formatting: Postings contain no grammatical or typographical errors. Citations in the post adhere to APA format as well as references noted at the end of the post (one to two errors). (Example: excluding double-spacing and indentation of the second and subsequent lines within the reference). No more than 25% of your paper should be direct quotes.
STUDDENT’S POST:
Pillars of Public Health
Public health promotes individual welfare in various environments. However, success therein depends on identifying critical components of promoting public health. Nash et al. identify four pillars on which population health rests. Integrating the four pillars into professional practice and education could improve outcomes on nationally developed health objectives. Consequently, some of the currently existing initiatives that target public health have characteristics of the four pillars in their frameworks. The inclusion of chronic care management, quality and safety, public health, and health policy issues in the Healthy People 2030 initiative highlights the four pillars’ role in public health.
The Healthy People initiative primarily focuses on guiding activities that promote health in society. Its objectives on chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes highlight low literacy levels among those with the most significant burden of chronic diseases (Jackson et al., 1160). Focusing on health literacy and extensive data on existing disparities, Healthy People 2030 includes the chronic care management and public health pillars in its framework. Addressing the discrepancy by providing necessary education could bring the country closer to facilitating a better quality of life for people living with chronic health conditions.
Collaboration and policies are critical aspects of the Healthy People framework. The initiative relies on multisectoral partnerships in developing policies capable of improving public health (Healthy People 2030 Framework). Pronk et al. highlight such collaborative efforts as essential since they highlight interrelatedness between health and factors outside health systems (245). The two concepts confirm the existence of quality and health policy pillars in the Healthy People initiative. Ultimately, Healthy People is one public health initiative in which the four pillars are constituted in its framework.
Healthcare Delivery Models
The patient-centered care model is widely acknowledged as preceding ideal care outcomes in different contexts. One of its core objectives is usually reaching treatment goals based on the patient’s perspectives (Hashim, 29). The model acknowledges individuality among the patients and encourages practitioners to tailor treatment plans unique to their patients. For instance, what one patient may consider culturally acceptable, another would find it inappropriate. Hence, the model is based on improving patient cooperation by ensuring commitment to the treatment plans available to them.
Notably, patient-centered care pays attention to the importance of one’s environment in the recovery process. Ortiz opines that patients want their care providers to recognize that the care environment should be respectful and sensitive to their cultural values (292). Healthcare providers may provide the required treatment plans, but they would only be effective if the patient follows them as advised. Thus, reducing the patient’s potential to be opposed to treatment because of their cultural beliefs should be a priority for caregivers. The patient-centered model emphasizes practices that reduce cases of such opposition.
Most importantly, views of the patient-centered care model directly address ethical principles in health practice. Notably, practitioners have a moral responsibility to respect patient autonomy and continually work to their client’s benefit. The patient-centered model makes implementing the ethical principles easier by making them part of primary practice. For instance, care providers would experience ease addressing ethical dilemmas by relying on patient interest and autonomy in determining the appropriate action. By focusing on patient interests in developing care plans, the patient-centered model is effective in aiding caregivers in meeting their ethical obligations.
Meeting Population Health Needs
Nurse leaders play an essential role in facilitating population health needs. Firstly, education and research are crucial factors a DNP-prepared nurse should consider addressing. Nursing practices have evolved as scholars identify more innovative solutions to diverse practice issues. However, such findings can only be impactful if caregivers learn them through continuous education. They may not all have the capacity to employ evidence-based practices in daily interactions with patients, but they would have adequate knowledge of measures to improve the quality of outcomes. Hence, DNP-prepared nurse leaders should encourage their teams to engage in continuous learning and even facilitate professional workshops to enhance the quality of services.
Secondly, DNP-prepared nurses have insight into policy-making processes and could participate in the process. Salvage and White observe that nurses serve as the interface between the health system and the community (148). Consequently, leaders in the profession should participate in policy-making based on their insight into critical community health issues. A DNP-prepared nurse should use observations in the healthcare practice and community trends to advise on ideal policy developments. Thus, they should address policy gaps in practice within their work contexts and strive to contribute to policy developments at the community level in the interest of improving public health.
Ultimately, DNP-prepared nurses possess leadership qualities that they could use to improve the quality of service through mentorships and respective collaborations. While encouraging teamwork, leaders should identify and support novice nurses in their environment, effectively reducing attrition in nursing practice. Not all DNP-prepared nurses may get leadership positions, but they can all practice their leadership qualities within their respective working contexts. Mentoring colleagues in practice would improve public health as it may imply the availability of more practitioners in the future because of the reduced attrition rates. Collectively, this may have a significant impact on the nursing profession.
References
“Healthy People 2030 Framework.” Healthy People 2030, health.gov/healthypeople/about/healthy-people-2030-framework. Accessed 6 January 2022.
Hashim, M. Jawad. “Patient-Centered Communication: Basic Skills.” American Family Physician, vol. 95, no. 1, 2017, pp. 29-34.
Jackson, Devlon N., Neha Trivedi, and Cynthia Baur. “Re-Prioritizing Digital Health and Health Literacy in Healthy People 2030 to Affect Health Equity.” Health Communication, vol. 36, no. 10, 2021), pp. 1155-1162.
Nash, B. David, et al. Population Health: Creating a culture of wellness. 3rd. ed., Jones & Bartlett Learning, 2021.
Ortiz, Mario R. “Patient-Centered Care: Nursing Knowledge and Policy.” Nursing Science Quarterly, vol. 31, no. 3, 2018, pp. 291-295.
Pronk, Nico, et al. “Practice Full Report: Promoting Health and Well-being in Healthy People 2030.” Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, vol. 27, no. 6, 2021, 242-248.
Salvage, Jane, and Jill White. “Nursing Leadership and Health Policy: Everybody’s Business.” International Nursing Review, vol. 66, no. 2, 2019, pp. 147-150.