As the head of the nursing department, my first step in addressing the available health disparities between the state and the county would be to conduct an extensive review of the available sources of data. In this step, I will critically analyze health records for the county assessment to have a better knowledge of the current scale and scope of health issues. Secondly, I would access the state’s health databases, reports, and statistical analysis, then compare this data with the county’s data to give me insights into how far behind the county is when compared to the state’s average. This comparison will also enable me to identify areas of concern. Thirdly, I would conduct interviews and surveys with major stakeholders, healthcare providers, and members of the community and then develop qualitative insight on matters regarding health issues within the county (Hennessey Lavery et al., 2005). Fourthly, I will then access electronic health records from the county’s healthcare institutions with the aim of gathering detailed information about the county’s patients, particularly their diagnoses, treatments, and health results. Firstly, I would then review the assessment of the community health to gain an in-depth understanding of the county’s health needs and trends. Lastly, I will consider environmental factors such as the safety of consumed water and meals, the level of pollution, and extreme and recurrent environmental conditions such as heatwaves that may be a great contributor to poor health within the county (Bui et al., 2019).
Holding the position of the nursing department, what I want to understand about my resident’s county is, firstly, the demographic characteristics, particularly race, sex, age, gender, geographic distribution, and socioeconomic status. Secondly, the county resident’s health behaviors, particularly their diet, alcohol level consumption, smoking habits, and exercise habit. Thirdly. Their ease of access to healthcare facilities and services, more specifically, how easy it is for them to access primary care providers, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinics. Fourthly, the county’s residents’ social determinants of health, such as their social support networks, housing conditions, education levels, the status of employment, and transportation options. Fifthly, cultural factors such as their practices, traditions, and beliefs, particularly the ones that have a direct effect on county residents’ health status (Kerkhoff et al., 2022). Lastly, health literacy within different communities in residence to evaluate the county’s residents’ ability to access, comprehend, and make use of health information and health services available.
The demographic information provided is composed of 35% of them being Hispanic, 60% of them being non-Hispanic whites, 3% being African Americans, and the remaining population being American Indians and Asians. The above population has a diverse composition. Given the high numbers of Hispanics within the population composition, it is safe to say that there is a high prevalence of type 2 diabetes compared to other populations, given that they have a higher genetic predisposition to the disease. As a result, measures need to be taken to address the health issue within the given demographic par, particularly among the Hispanic population. The first step will be conducting targeted educational outreach campaigns that will address the disease. Teaming up with different community organizations, the educational outreach program will enable the awareness of the risk factors of the disease as well as address the various social determinants of health. The effort will ensure a tailored intervention approach that will help decrease the health burden brought about by type 2 diabetes. Moreover, knowledge of the different disparities of type 2 diabetes across the different demographic compositions will help come up with a more tailored intervention that will be widely acceptable to each demographic community. Such intervention will need to take into consideration the ease of access to healthcare, the social determinants of health, and the cultural factors of each demographic group for it to be effective.
References
Bui, J., Wendt, M., & Bakos, A. (2019). Understanding and addressing health disparities and health needs of justice-involved populations. Public Health Reports, 134(1_suppl), 3S-7S.
Hennessey Lavery, S., Smith, M. L., Esparza, A. A., Hrushow, A., Moore, M., & Reed, D. F. (2005). The community action model: a community-driven model designed to address disparities in health. American Journal of Public Health, 95(4), 611–616.
Kerkhoff, A. D., Farrand, E., Marquez, C., Cattamanchi, A., & Handley, M. A. (2022). Addressing health disparities through implementation science—a need to integrate an equity lens from the outset. Implementation Science, 17(1), 1-4.
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