Using Yoga To Navigate A Global Pandemic

HIV/AIDS is one of the health problems that are of concern to public health globally. HIV/AIDs is associated with significant burden to the patients, their significant others and the population as a whole. The effect of HIV/AIDS can be seen from the high cost associated with its treatment as well as loss of productivity in the affected populations. HIV/AIDs also has significant effects on the overall socioeconomic development in a state. Therefore, this paper compares the policy approaches adopted to address HIV/AIDs in the USA and Canada.

Global Healthcare Issue	HIV/AIDS
Description	HIV/AIDS is one of the health problems that are affecting a significant proportion of population globally. The treatment of HIV/AIDs has been improving over the past years with better outcomes due to technological advancements and new interventions for the disease. HIV/AIDS is a problem experienced in both the US and Canada. Statistics shows that about 1.2 million people in America have HIV/AIDS. The prevalence is reported to be high in specific groups such as ethnic minorities when compared to the native populations (hiv.gov, 2021). In Canada, the incidence rate of HIV/AIDS is reported to be 6 per every 100000 people. The estimated number of people living with HIV is 62050 (Haddad et al., 2019). The burden of HIV/AIDs is significantly high in both governments. As a result, they have embraced policies that aim at improving the safety, quality, and access to care for people affected by HIV/AIDS.
Country	United States	Canada
Describe the policy in each country related to the identified healthcare issue	The US government has embraced a number of interventions to address the issue of HIV/AIDs. It adopted the National HIV/AIDS Strategy for use in implementing response and management of the epidemic. Through the strategy, the US government has increased its funding on programs that aim at addressing the disease. It has also increase its screening services to facilitate the early diagnosis and treatment of patients. The government has also increased the access to healthcare for patients with HIV/AIDs through programs such as Medicare and Medicaid (Panagiotoglou et al., 2018).	The government of Canada has also invested its resources in initiatives that aim at the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDs. The government through its initiatives supports programs that aim at creating awareness in the population about HIV/AIDs. The government also works closely with other agencies to empower the populations address the issue of HIV/AIDs (Bourgeois et al., 2017).
What are the strengths of this policy?	One of the strengths of the policy adopted by the US to address HIV/AIDs is its focus on disease prevention and early management. The policy also addresses barriers to healthcare for patients with HIV. It also promotes health promotion through early diagnosis and treatment (Beyrer, 2021).	The policy by the Canadian government is associated with the strength of promoting population empowerment. It also mobilizes the use of the locally available resources to address issues related to HIV/AIDs. There is also the increased focus on community participation in addressing the health issue (Haddad et al., 2018).
What are the weaknesses of this policy?	The policy strategy utilized in the US does not account for the actual unmet needs of the populations affected by HIV/AIDS. The policy also ignores the critical resources that are needed for the effective management of the epidemic. Lastly, the approach to funding the implementation of strategies is not provided. Therefore, it might be difficult to implement most of the strategies to address HIV/AIDS.	The policy of HIV/AIDS management in Canada has the weakness of providing a comprehensive analysis of the sustainability of HIV/AIDS prevention and management strategies. It also lacks an effective framework for continuous improvement of the policy provisions.
Explain how the social determinants of health may impact the specified global health issue. (Be specific and provide examples)	Social determinants of health may affect HIV/AIDS management and prevention in the US in a number of ways. Social determinants such as socioeconomic status affect access to high quality care among the affected populations. People with high socioeconomic status are likely to access the care that they need to affordability of care when compared to low socioeconomic status. Factors such as ethnicity also affect HIV/AIDS. For example, the prevalence of HIV/AIDS is higher in ethnic minority groups such as African Americans when compared to native Americans. Employment status also affects HIV/AIDs. In this case, lack of employment predisposes individuals to engaging in risky sexual behaviors such as prostitution, which predisposes them to HIV/AIDS (Jeffries & Henny, 2019).	Income level is one of the social determinants of health that relates to HIV/AIDS in Canada. People with high income experience enhanced health outcomes in relation to HIV/AIDS when compared to low income earners. The level of income influences access and affordability of high quality care. Level of education is the other determinant of health that relates to HIV/AIDS. Level of education influences awareness about the causes, risks, treatment, and prevention of HIV/AIDS. For example, educated populations that are well informed about HIV/AIDS are least likely to engage in practices that predispose them to the epidemic when compared to the illiterate persons. The influence can also be seen from the utilization of preventive and health promotion services for people living with HIV/AIDS (Gormley et al., 2020).
How has each country’ government addressed cost, quality, and access to the selected global health issue?	The US government has addressed issue of cost, quality and access to care for HIV/AIDS patients through programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. Patients also have access to free anti-retroviral medications. Testing and counseling for HIV/AIDs for the population are also free. The government also adopted the Affordable Care Act that increased the ability of the population, including those affected by HIV/AIDS to access the care that they need (Panagiotoglou et al., 2018).	The government of Canada through its provinces provides partial or full coverage for antiretroviral medications for its affected populations. Through it, the cost-burden of medications is reduced. The government through programs such as Trillum Drug Program also addresses issues of cost, access and quality by covering the costs of medications for the population. Screening services for patients with HIV/AIDs and the population are also free (Gormley et al., 2020).
How has the identified health policy impacted the health of the global population? (Be specific and provide examples)	The National HIV/AIDS strategy has increased access to high quality and affordable care for patients affected by HIV/AIDs. The policy has also increased the lifespan of the patients due to reduced complications and worsening of outcomes. The policy has also led to increased productivity among the affected populations due to reduced hospitalization, hospital visits, and costs of care.	The policy on increased funding for HIV/AIDS programs adopted by the Canadian government has enhanced access to care for the patients. It has also expanded access to preventive and screening services for the population. It has also addressed barriers to care such as cost that people living with HIV/AIDS experience.
Describe the potential impact of the identified health policy on the role of nurse in each country.	The impact of the policy on the role of the nurses is that nurses have to act as advocates for the people with HIV/AIDS. Nurses have to ensure equity in access to and use of HIV/AIDS-related care and services. They also have to educate the public about the benefits of HIV/AIDs screening, early treatment and prevention strategies (Mottiar & Lodge, 2018).	The impact of the policy adopted by the Canadian government on the role of nurses is that nurses have to advocate the adoption of better policies to address the needs of patients with HIV/AIDs. The majority of care services for HIV/AIDs in Canada are not universally covered in government programs for health. The implication is the high cost of care incurred by people with HIV/AIDs. Nurses therefore have the role of advocating the adoption of policies that address barriers to care for people with HIV/AIDS (Mottiar & Lodge, 2018).
Explain how global health issues impact local healthcare organizations and policies in both countries. (Be specific and provide examples)	HIV/AIDS affect local healthcare organizations and policies in America. HIV/AIDs cause significant burden to the affected populations in America. It also contributes to high expenditure by the state in addressing the needs of the affected populations. It also affects policies by increasing the need for policy provisions that expand access to care for the affected populations. For example, besides the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and Medicaid, the state has to adopt new policies or policy improvements to address the social determinants of health in populations affected by HIV/AIDS (hiv.gov, 2021).	HIV/AIDS also affects local healthcare organizations and policies in Canada. An increasing prevalence of HIV/AIDs results in increased care needs and workload in healthcare organizations. It also increases the burden of the disease to the patients and significant others due to issues such as costs and loss of productivity. As noted earlier, Canada does not have universal coverage programs for HIV/AIDs patients. As a result, it increases the need for the adoption of more inclusive policies for HIV/AIDs in the state (Bourgeois et al., 2017).
General Notes/Comments

Conclusion

In conclusion, HIV/AIDs is an issue of concern for both the US and Canada. The US and Canada have adopted policies aiming at improving quality, cost and access to care for HIV/AIDs. The policies have a number of strengths as well as weaknesses. Nurses have a unique responsibility of ensuring that the policies adopted address the barriers to care experienced by patients with HIV/AIDs. Therefore, they should advocate the prioritization of the care needs of people with HIV/AIDs in policy-related issues.

Part 2

An effective plan of social change to address HIV/AIDS locally and internationally is embracing multi-sectorial and stakeholder interventions for health. The interventions should adopt the global perspective because of their ability to promote inclusiveness in care as well as the realization of care needs of the diverse patient populations. I would therefore advocate the incorporation of global perspectives into my practice and role as a nurse through a number of ways. One of them is through creation of awareness. I will work with other nurses to create awareness among healthcare providers on the importance of global perspective. I will also link nurses with other nurses globally for them to share ideas on the ways in which enhanced health outcomes can be achieved in HIV/AIDS management. I will also champion the use of globally recognized, evidence-based interventions in addressing HIV/AIDS (Catton, 2020). Through the above interventions, I will be advocating the use of global perspective in my practice as a nurse leader.

The incorporation of the global perspective in addressing HIV/AIDS may impact my local practice and as a nurse leader. Firstly, global perspective builds the desired cultural competence in nurses and nurse leaders. It enables them to understand the unique approaches to care that can be used in their practice to improve outcomes of care. Global perspective also advances the knowledge, skills, and experience of nurses and nurse leaders. Nurses and nurse leaders learn about new aspects of practice that can be used to advance patient care. Global perspective also strengthens system understanding of the nurses and nurse leaders. Nurses understand the critical determinants of inter-professional and international relationships that should be incorporated into care for optimum outcomes (Yatsu & Saeki, 2021).

Incorporation of global perspective into my local practice as a nurse leader contributes to social change. Firstly, it increases the cultural competence that I need in working with patients and individuals from diverse backgrounds. The global lens also strengthens my understanding of the system and structural changes that are needed in nursing practice to address the needs of the diverse populations. For example, it increases my understanding of interventions such as research, innovation, and evidence-based practice in addressing global issues affecting health. Therefore, the understanding is a critical source of social change in my practice.

References

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