The Importance of Public Health Policy
The Importance of Public Health Policy
Spirituality encompasses the search for a purpose or meaning of life found beyond physical reality. Often, spirituality will include religious beliefs and values that an individual adheres. To add on, one way that this conception of spirituality would influence the way in which I care for patients is by understanding the patient’s spirituality to help them develop healthy coping mechanisms. According to a scholarly study, more than 80% of parents reported finding comfort and using religion as a coping mechanism to help overcome the loss of a child (Puchalski 2001). This is sometimes the sad reality that a nurse will have to face; hence, it becomes important for nurses to have a way or method to direct parents to handle grief. Moreover, I do believe in spiritual power and God’s existence. I use my beliefs with morals and manners to enhance nursing care I provide to my patients. Spiritual care improves people’s spiritual well-being and performance as well as the quality of their spiritual life. Spiritual care has positive effects on individuals’ stress responses, spiritual well-being such as the balance between physical, psychosocial, and spiritual aspects of self), sense of integrity and excellence, and interpersonal relationships (Zehtab & Adib-Hajbaghery, 2014).
One of the goals of Healthy People 2020 is to reduce health disparities among populations. Select one of the leading health indicators as identified by Healthy People 2020 and write a research paper of 750-1,000 words on the health disparities related to that condition. For the health indicator selected, the paper should include a discussion on the following:
Health Problem
Definition of the problem
Descriptive epidemiology (person, place, time)
Etiology (causes, risk factors)
Health Disparities
What disparities do we know exist for this disease?
Why do these disparities exist?
What explanations have been offered or supported?
What research questions have not been studied that may provide new, insightful information regarding this health problem?
impede disease prevention and health promotion for this health problem?
How would you educate/disseminate information about this health problem to the public? (target group, financial constraints)
How could one of a health administrator/manager’s general policies or policies specific to this health condition impact the health status of the target population?
You are required to use a minimum of three scholarly resources.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a grading rubric. Instructors will be using the rubric to grade the assignment; therefore, students should review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the assignment criteria and expectations for successful completion of the assignment.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. Refer to the directions in the Student Success Center. Only Word documents can be submitted to LopesWrite.
Topic 1 DQ 1
What would spirituality be according to your own worldview? How do you believe that your conception of spirituality would influence the way in which you care for patients?
In essence, spirituality is the quest for the meaning of life (Bogue and Hogan, 2020). This vague term takes on many meanings depending on who is asked. Worldviews have a large impact on what path spirituality takes for someone. Personally, my worldview aligns with realism and optimism. Realism in the fact that what I can perceive and what is tangible in this world is what creates the majority of my experience. My optimistic worldview allows me to rely on such ideas as faith in order to maintain a positive view of my future. These play into my spirituality by allowing me to stay grounded in the present and accepting that the future is still unknown but has so much potential to be better than what I can comprehend now. My worldview allows my spirituality to be fluid and less of a daily burden mentally. The combination of my worldview and spirituality allow me to be present for my patients in their times of need, maintain positivity, be open to external experiences and worldviews, all while maintaining a tangible awareness of the physical ailments they are experiencing. Faith without realism does not benefit the patient because even if a grim prognosis exists, realism allows us to deal with the now and continue to move forward. Even if moving forward towards a terminal diagnosis, solace can be found in working through the physical realm to eventually be at peace in faith; knowing all that can be done in the now has been addressed.
Reference
Bogue, D. W. and Hogan, M. (2020). Foundational Issues in Christian Spirituality and Ethics. Practicing dignity: An introduction to Christian values and decision making in health care. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/phi413v/practicing-dignity-an-introduction-to-christian-values-and-decision-making-in-health-care/v1.1/#/chapter/1
This paper is a policy that is proposed to address the issue of tobacco smoking among the children and teenagers. The policy proposes the modification of the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020. The act was proposed to address the issue of tobacco smoking among the American population. It however does not address the specific issues related to tobacco smoking among children and teenagers. Therefore, the paper presents the aims of the policy, background information, most important information, policy plans, and recommendations that are needed for its successful adoption.
Aim of the Policy
Tobacco smoking among children and teenagers is a critical public health concern in America. Data shows that a majority of children and teenagers smoke tobacco products such as e-cigarette. The use of tobacco products for a period of more than 20 days has been shown to predispose children and teenagers to nicotine dependence. Therefore, the aim of the policy brief is to propose interventions that should be adopted to reduce the rate and prevent tobacco smoking among the vulnerable, children and teenagers. The policy brief also seeks to reduce the unintended health effects of tobacco smoking among this population. Accordingly, worrying statistics released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that 5.6 million of today’s children and teenagers would experience premature death if the current rate of tobacco smoking among them were not addressed. The policy brief therefore aims at preventing the short and long-term effects of tobacco smoking among the population. It seeks to reduce the risk and prevent health problems such as diabetes, cancers, heart disease, and asthma among other health risks associated with tobacco use. The other aim of the policy brief is to increase the level of awareness among the public among the dangers of tobacco smoking and ways of quitting and preventing children and teenagers from being victims of the vice. The brief seeks to advocate the increased funding for public health awareness initiatives such as campaigns and health education to raise the level of awareness among the vulnerable populations, including teenagers and children. Children and teenagers are increasingly predisposed to tobacco smoking due to negative marketing of tobacco products. Consequently, the proposed policy brief seeks to prohibit advertising of tobacco products in media outlets such as radio, television and social media platforms.
Hook for the Audience
Do you know that your child is highly at a risk of tobacco smoking problem? You can be involved in advocating a policy initiative that protects your child and those affected by the problem.
Background Information
The statistics reveal worrying trends about smoking among the teenagers and children in the US. According to statistics by the CDC, 5.6 million of today’s youth and teenagers will die prematurely due to smoking-related illness if the current rate of smoking is maintained. The mortality rate will translate into one in every 13 Americans aged 17 years and below who are alive currently (American Lung Association, 2021). The CDC reports further that the flavorings utilized in the tobacco products are highly appealing to the youth, acting as the leading factor for their smoking. For example, 74% of the middle school students and 85% of the high school students reported in 2020 to have used flavored tobacco products. In 2020, 1 in every 20 middle school students (4.7%) reported using e-cigarette in the past 30 days, which represented a decline from 10.5% in 2019. In the same year, 1 in every 5 high school students (19.6%) reported using e-cigarette for the last 30 days representing a decrease from 27.5% seen in 2019. Despite the decline in rates, the current statistics of tobacco use among teenagers and adolescents is worrying (FDA, 2021). For example, 6.7% of middle school students and 23.6% of high school students reported current and continuing use of a tobacco product (CDC, 2021). Consequently, responsive interventions should be adopted to address the issue.
Smoking among teenagers and children is associated with a number of adverse health effects. One of the risks associated with smoking among the teenagers and children is nicotine dependence. The use of e-cigarette and other tobacco products for more than 20 days has been shown to increase the risk nicotine dependence among the teenagers and children (FDA, 2021). Exposure to tobacco among children and teenagers also affects their immune system. Accordingly, tobacco products such as nicotine alter the immune response of its users by inducing the production of cytokines and attenuation of interferon responses. The consequences of the above changes include increased predisposition to lower respiratory tract infections and impediment of the airway clearance (McGrath-Morrow et al., 2020). Nicotine smoking also predisposes children and teenagers to malignancies at their later stages of life. Children and teenagers are highly at a risk of developing lung and throat cancer alongside resistant to treatment and elevated progression of cancer. A high rate of nicotine exposure also increases the risk of development of other health problems such as cardiorespiratory arrest and seizures (Ranabhat et al., 2019). Due to the above effects of tobacco smoking, interventions that reduce and prevent tobacco smoking among children and teenagers should be adopted.
Most Important Data
The audience requires the most appealing data for them to support the policy initiative. As a result, selected, relevant data should be presented to influence them. One of the data that is the most important for the audience is trends in tobacco smoking among the children and teenagers over the past years. The trend in data will be presented using methods such as graphs to provide them with a better understanding of the severity of the issue and the need for responsive interventions. The data will be provided both for the US and state to increase the need for the policy initiative. The second data that is most important for the audience is the health effects of tobacco smoking among children and teenagers. The rates of different health problems due to tobacco smoking will be presented for the audience to understand the implications of the problem. The other most important data is mortality rate due to tobacco smoking. A comparison of mortality rates over time will be done to ensure that the audience understands the severity of the problem. The other data is the costs incurred in seeking treatment for health problems associated with tobacco smoking in the long-term. There exists extensive data on the costs incurred by patients, families, and the state in treating health problems associated with tobacco smoking. Providing data on the costs will increase the understanding of the audience on the need for responsive policy initiatives to address the issue. The last information that is most important for the audience is the proposed policy initiative to address the issue. The audience should be provided with the proposed solution, as a way of averting the above problems and promoting the health of the public. Through the above interventions, the proposed policy initiative will receive the desired support from the various stakeholders.
Policy Options
The proposed policy option entails the modification of the Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020. The Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020 was proposed to address the issue of increasing use of tobacco products in the US. It proposes a number of strategies that should be adopted to minimize and prevent incidences of tobacco use among this population. They include requiring the FDA to adopt regulations that need color graphics on cigarette packages showing the negative health effects of smoking, apply regulations on tobacco products, prohibiting flavors other than tobacco in the tobacco products, increasing user fees on tobacco products, and regulating products containing nicotine (Congress.gov, 2020). However, it can be noted that the act focused on interventions that were targeted at the general population. It fails to consider the fact that the health needs of the teenagers and youths on issues related to tobacco smoking differ significantly from those of the adults. Therefore, rather than focusing on the implementation of the generalized Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020, it would be effective if a policy that targets protection of the health needs of teenage and children tobacco smokers be embraced. The targeted policy will raise the need for the adoption of age-appropriate interventions for reducing and preventing tobacco smoking among teenagers and children (Congress.gov, 2020). Consequently, it is proposed that specific interventions should be embraced in the state to address the problem. They include the adoption of policies that prohibit online marketing of tobacco products, promote use of colored graphics on the cigarette packs showing negative health effects of smoking and increase financing for public health initiatives aiming at smoking among children and teenagers.
Recommendations
The successful implementation of the policy depends on a number of factors. Firstly, the legislators should play a proactive role in supporting its implementation. Legislators should ensure that the policy receives the desired support in the houses of senate and congress. The second recommendation for the success of the policy is the creation of public awareness. Interventions such as public campaigns and health education should be utilized to raise awareness among the public on the need for policy initiatives that address the issue of tobacco smoking among the children and youth. The other recommendation is the need for active involvement of stakeholders such as healthcare providers, public health officials, religious institutions, and the members of the public in the issue. Active stakeholder involvement is needed to ensure the relevance of the policy initiatives as well as enable the policy get the attention of the legislators in the state.
Conclusion
Tobacco smoking among teenagers and children is a serious public health issue. Healthcare providers have a role to play in advocating the adoption of responsive policies to address the issue. Active stakeholder involvement is also needed to ensure the relevance of the interventions. Therefore, modifying the existing act to be appropriate to the needs of the youths and younger generations is needed to solve the issue.
References
American Lung Association. (2021). Tobacco Use among Children and Teens. https://www.lung.org/quit-smoking/smoking-facts/tobacco-use-among-children
CDC. (2021, April 22). Youth and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/index.htm
Congress.gov. (2020, March 2). Actions – H.R.2339 – 116th Congress (2019-2020): Protecting American Lungs and Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2020 (2019/2020) [Legislation]. https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/house-bill/2339/actions
FDA. (2021). Get the Latest Facts on Teen Tobacco Use. FDA. https://www.fda.gov/tobacco-products/youth-and-tobacco/get-latest-facts-teen-tobacco-use
McGrath-Morrow, S. A., Gorzkowski, J., Groner, J. A., Rule, A. M., Wilson, K., Tanski, S. E., Collaco, J. M., & Klein, J. D. (2020). The Effects of Nicotine on Development. Pediatrics, 145(3). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1346