Project Design and Evaluation
veronrcaxe.hwrne
IHP670Powerpoint7-121.pptxA Culturally Competent Healthcare Program
Veronica Horne
Southern New Hampshire University
IHP 670
May 8, 2022
Health Literacy
Health literacy according to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, USA is the degree to which people obtain, process and understand basic health information and services that are necessary to make appropriate health decisions.
Low or poor health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes and increased mortality (Jayasinghe et al., 2016).
Lack of health literacy can impact the patients and the program’s activity by leading to impaired fertility among children who are undergoing chemotherapy.
Health literacy among the targeted population (parents of children diagnosed with cancer and similar chronic conditions) will enhance the program’s effectiveness since they will be aware of the available options for preserving fertility as well as how the prescribed treatments can affect fertility.
Low health literacy results in lack of knowledge about medical conditions, a decreased understanding of medical information and lack of engagement with healthcare providers.
It also leads to poor use of preventative health services hence increased hospitalizations.
Children who are under certain chemotherapy and radiation treatments are at a higher risk of impaired fertility and without this knowledge it will be impossible for their parents to take necessary steps to protect them.
Health literacy will ensure that the target population understand all the options that the program offers for both boys and girls after and before puberty so that they take necessary step to preserve the fertility of the children.
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Health Literacy Cont.
One of the key elements of the program that ensures health literacy among the targeted population is the process of evaluation which helps to understand how best the goals of the program can be realized.
During evaluation, the program not only assesses children with medical conditions and treatments that affect fertility but also explains the existing options that can be used to preserve fertility.
This will offer an opportunity to gauge the knowledge of the targeted population on these options as well as their understanding of fertility preservation.
The evaluation process will help the program to identify its strengths and areas that still need improvement.
The focus group discussions will therefore provide an opportunity for the program to understand met and unmet needs regarding health literacy and hear feedback from the target population.
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Cultural Competence
Cultural competence refers to the ability to understand and interact effectively with people from other cultures.
It is important because it helps to build relationships so that people can coexist peacefully (Nair & Adetayo, 2019).
The program caters to the needs of both male and female patients hence gender equity and emphasizes the need for minority groups who have been disadvantaged by healthcare disparities to seek healthcare services.
The fertility preservation team has also been sufficiently trained to bridge the gap of competency as they serve the target population.
As a result, the program is sufficiently equipped to address both racial and economic disparities that may impact the healthcare needs of the target population.
The program recognizes the severity of cancer and related illnesses and the burden that minority groups have to incur to receive the best healthcare services.
Diversity training is a proven strategy that helps to realize cultural competence among staff members (Nair & Adetayo, 2019).
Healthcare professionals have been trained to deliver care for a culturally and linguistically diverse patients and thus they are equipped to deal with the patients (Kaihlanen, Hietapakka & Heponiemi, 2019).
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Social Justice Principles
Social justice entails the provision of equal healthcare services for all patients regardless of their personal characteristics (Habibzadeh, Jasemi & Hosseinzadegan, 2021).
It is important in the planning and implementation of healthcare programs because it helps to reduce healthcare inequalities through fair treatment regardless of the racial, ethnic, economic status or sexual orientation of an individual.
The two social justice principles that the program considers are equity and participation.
It considers the two principles because they are linked such that participation drives health equity.
The program recognizes that social justice is a continuous and long-term process that entails continued learning while practicing and thus as the team members interact with the patients, they will gain better insights by acquiring professional and individual values to guide their practice.
Equity entails the fair distribution of healthcare services regardless of age gender or ethnicity hence the program’s focus on fertility preservation for children.
Participation encourages the involvement of healthcare stakeholders especially patients in decisions that concern them hence the use of focus group discussions.
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Key Ethical Principles
The program satisfies all the four ethical principles namely beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice.
First, it satisfies beneficence since it aims to benefit patients through fertility preservation by preventing harm or conditions that may cause harm to them (Varkey, 2021).
It satisfies nonmaleficence since the team has been trained not to harm patients but to ensure their safety throughout the program.
The program respects the autonomy of patients and although it presents all the viable options to them, it allows them to make rational and moral choices regarding their health.
Lastly, it satisfies the principle of informed consent since it allows parents to make sound and moral decisions regarding the inclusion of their children into the fertility preservation program.
The principle of beneficence advocates for the promotion of the welfare of patients through the use of healthcare strategies that protect the patients from harm.
The team being physicians have been trained to weigh the benefits of any treatment strategies against its burdens and choose the best course of action for the patient.
Autonomy captures all the four principles and advocates for weighing needs against the competing moral principles which are sometimes overridden. For instance, the program targets children who do not have the capacity to make sound health decisions and thus their parents should make decisions on their behalf.
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References
Jayasinghe, U. W., Harris, M. F., Parker, S. M., Litt, J., van Driel, M., Mazza, D., ... & Taylor, R. (2016). The impact of health literacy and life style risk factors on health-related quality of life of Australian patients. Health and quality of life outcomes, 14(1), 1-13. https://hqlo.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12955-016-0471-1
Nair, L., & Adetayo, O. A. (2019). Cultural competence and ethnic diversity in healthcare. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open, 7(5). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6571328/
Kaihlanen, A. M., Hietapakka, L., & Heponiemi, T. (2019). Increasing cultural awareness: qualitative study of nurses’ perceptions about cultural competence training. BMC nursing, 18(1), 1-9. https://bmcnurs.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12912-019-0363-x
Habibzadeh, H., Jasemi, M., & Hosseinzadegan, F. (2021). Social justice in health system; a neglected component of academic nursing education: a qualitative study. BMC nursing, 20(1), 1-9.
Varkey, B. (2021). Principles of clinical ethics and their application to practice. Medical Principles and Practice, 30(1), 17-28.
