The Health Problem Part 2

Student Name:

Taneshia Davis

Assignment #1 Title:

Acquisition of Preventable Hospital Associated Infections, Blood, and Organ Screening Policy

Health Problem:

For an extended period, society believes that health care facilities are clean and safe since they are the places where the sick turn to for treatment from various disturbing health complications they develop. Unfortunately, this statement appears untrue following various infections that some patients contract while seeking health care services. Common infectious diseases that some patients contract following a visit to or stay in a hospital set up includes HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, among others. Preventable hospital-associated infections such as HIV/AIDS have a considerable impact on patients' general health and wellbeing. It significantly influences the public health and recovery processes, who may unknowingly suffer from a hospital-acquired disease (Vokes et al., 2018). That may fundamentally affect the healing process by exacerbating a patient’s health condition.

On the other hand, hospital-acquired ailments such as HIV/AIDS and much more have a significant bearing on health care experts, health care institutions in question, and the government. A rise in hospital-associated infections tends to dent the image of health care officials alongside hospitals in question. It puts to question the professionalism, ethics, and integrity of the medical professionals alongside the hospital they serve. That would eventually prove costly to the affected patients, the health care insurance agencies, and the government as a whole. Indeed, the problem of hospital-acquired ailments bears a significant impact on victims and all the primary stakeholders. Therefore, there is a need for enhanced concerted efforts to reduce this health care issue's prevalence rate.

The statistical records by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, estimate that around 1.7 million patients experience hospital-associated ailments in the US every year (Magill et al., 2018). Additionally, they approximately associate 99,000 fatalities every year in the US to the health care issue of hospital-acquired diseases (Magill et al., 2018). Following the outlined facts above, the US Federal Government, alongside medical experts, vouches for blood and organ screening to determine donor's health and safety before use to prevent high transmission, mortality, and fatality rates in line with healthy people 2020 mission and vision.

Consequently, there is a government policy in place or infection prevention and control policy to prevent hospital-acquired diseases from spreading (Vokes et al., 2018). A Blood donation alongside body tissue donations such as kidneys undergoes thorough screening to establish their safety before blood transfusion or organ transplant. The problem of hospital-acquired ailments financially and materially overburdens victims, the government, insurance agencies, and health care providers following increased demand for service provision. It significantly lowers human resource productivity, depletes resources, and slows general economic growth and development.

Healthy People 2020:

Hospital associated diseases such as HIV/AIDS has been a persistent public health issue of enormous concern to the nation and the world. Consequently, it attracted national and international public health officials' attention alongside other stakeholders, leading to its recognition and inclusion in the healthy people 2020 focus. In essence, it perfectly fits within the framework and goals of healthy people 2020. The purpose of healthy people 2020, similar to the American federal policy, is to prevent or lower the prevalence rate of hospital-acquired infections alongside fatalities (Parento, 2012). Precisely, healthy people 2020 recognizes hospital-associated diseases as excellent public health, social, and economic issues of great concern to society worth addressing with urgency to restore normalcy.

The health problem that influences social and economic order has considerable health determinants that exacerbate its transmission rate. Scientific studies consistently prove that nutrition, education level, poverty or low incomes, unemployment, and health care accessibility, among others, are its significant health determinants (Vokes et al., 2018). Indeed, poverty or low incomes among various population groups are a considerable health determinant that the community and healthy people 2020, in particular, consider. Sky-high poverty compels the affected populations to resort to all manner of activities and practices to earn livelihoods, including promiscuity or prostitution.

On the other hand, several other reputable organizations, or institutions, local, national, regional, and international, equally recognize the health problem and accord utmost seriousness. For instance, the CDC, alongside the World Health Organization, WHO, recognizes and accords it the due attention both locally and internationally (Jones et al., 2020). The WHO describes the health issue as an unfortunate health condition, which some patients encounter following the insensitivity to their plight by those entrusted to manage and treat them. Precisely, hospital-acquired diseases are preventable by health care experts being lawful, professional, ethical, and accountable. That may happen successfully through regular screening of blood and body tissue donations before use on needy patients.

Official Title and Citation of the Legislation:

As hinted above, hospital-associated diseases such as HIV/AIDS are a global health issue that poses severe social and economic challenges to victims, relatives, and the community. Consequently, there is an urgent need to institute appropriate management measures to arrest or reverse its adverse health and economic effects. There is a need for all stakeholders' collaboration, especially governments, in handling the problem in question. For instance, the US government has policies that help towards the prevention of this health care problem. For example, blood transfusion alongside body tissue or organ transplants needs thorough screening to determine their health and safety statuses to prevent or reduce disease transmission in hospitals. Similarly, a deferral policy concerning blood and body tissue donations equally works to advance the prevention and reduction of disease prevalence rates (US FDA, 2018). The policy has made a tremendous contribution in preventing the health care problem.

Status:

Usually, a policy undergoes five critical stages: agenda setting, formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. The federal health policy in question is at its evaluation stage. That is because it has passed all the previous four crucial steps, and now, its assessment is ongoing to determine the efficacy. Presently, the FDA's Federal Policy to curb the unprecedented spread of HIV/AIDS and other contagious diseases is in force. The mandatory subjection of blood and blood products through thorough screening before transfusion or transplant significantly reduces the disease's risk of transmission.

Similarly, there is an indefinite ban on blood donation for people living with HIV/AIDS and commercial sex workers (Magill et al., 2018). However, the endless deferral previously imposed on blood donation for men having sex with other men, MSM was adjusted to twelve months since the last MSM sexual contact. All these measures and much more aim at reducing the HIV/AIDS prevalence and transmission rates.

Analysis of the Public Policy Response:

The FDA policy of regulating blood donation and transfusion helps curb and reduce hospital-acquired diseases and the ensuing severe social and economic effects. The organization collaborates with primary stakeholders to ensure the enforcement of this policy (Parento, 2012). While operating in conjunction with other legislation and health care policies, the institution's policies consider unscreened blood transfusion alongside other body tissues as reckless, unprofessional, unethical, and criminal, hence, prevents disease spread in the hospitals.

Policy and Social Determinants of Health

As indicated above, the social determinants of health typically include education, nutrition, health care, unemployment, and income or poverty status (Vokes et al., 2018). Policies or legislation in place tends to influence the social determinants of health. For instance, the mandatory policy of blood and blood product screening before transfusion alongside the FDA deferrals contributes greatly to the disease's management in hospitals. The policy addresses and facilitates access to quality health care services in all health care institutions. In other words, it advances the need to access quality health care, a key social determinant of health needed to reduce or curb the unprecedented spread of hospital-acquired ailments.

Conclusion:

Health care policies and similar regulations should address various or specific issues affecting public health and wellbeing. For example, hospital-acquired infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis have been a tremendous challenge in society for a long period. In synergy with other health care policies in force, the FDA, through blood and blood-related product screening policy, has helped society avoid or curb the previously common spread of contagious infections such as HIV/AIDS in hospitals. Indeed, many health care institutions have today ensured compliance with this policy requirement for the benefit of all patients and the broader community.

Resources for Updates:

There are various policy resources that health care organizations can use to check for updates regarding the latest developments associated with this policy. Visiting the FDA website, where sufficient information concerning the same exists, may provide a reliable source of information, or update for a health care institution (FDA, 2018). Similarly, accessing and reading some periodic publications by this institution may equally act as reliable sources of updates.