G Health Part 4

Module 1 SLP

Infant Mortality Rate

The mortality rate of the infant refers to them under one old children’s death for every one thousand live births in a particular year. The rate is estimated to be about two hundred in every one thousand in less developed countries. In contrast, it is estimated to be below ten in every one thousand in industrialized countries. The infant mortality rate does not reflect only the magnitude of the health problems responsible for children's deaths, including malnutrition, respiratory infections, diarrhea, perinatal conditions, and other infectious illnesses.

Life Expectancy at Birth Indicator

Life expectancy at birth is the number of years that a newborn would live if the patterns of mortality in force at a birth time throughout the infant's life do not change. To be precise, it all involves looking at the number of individuals who have different ages who die in the specified year and providing the population's mortality characteristics overview of that period (Landfeldt et al.,2020). For example, it is possible to calculate life expectancy at a certain age at birth. For example, life expectancy can be obtained at age X by dividing the total number of years of individual life past the exact age X by the survivors’ number at age X exactly. At birth, life expectancy refers to the total years lived by an individual past zero age and is divided by the newborns’ number in every 100,000 births.

Maternity Mortality Ratio Indicator

The Maternal mortality ratio is very high and beyond the unaccepted level; approximately eight hundred and thirty women die every day due to complications associated with childbirth or pregnancy. Mortality can occur during childbirth or before delivery due to severe bleeding, complications in birth, infections, dangerous abortions, and gestational hypertension. Some 303,000 women's deaths in 2015 were approximated after or during childbirth and pregnancy. These deaths virtually occur in countries with a low-income level rating, and most of them are possibly avoidable.

Children Below Five Years Mortality Rate

This indicates the dying chances of a newborn prior to five years of life. The leading death causes for children below five years of age are complications resulting from pneumonia, delivery, and delivery complications, premature birth, malaria, and diarrhea (Imdad et al.,2022). Almost half of the children below five years' death result from undernutrition.

Life Expectancy Adjusted to Health

Health adjusted or healthy life expectancy, or health-adjusted life, summarizes health loss and mortality results in a unit measure of the health of a population. It is utilized to compare countries' health status or measure changes in health over time. Such comparisons guide the policies that account for the morbidity changes and decrease in mortality.

Year Adjusted for Disability

This refers to a measure utilized in health economics. This measure represents a disease burden and is expressed as the lost number of years because of premature death, lack of health, and disability. A year adjusted for disability can be viewed as a year of life having a health loss. The population’s year adjusted for disability can be taken as a difference measure between the ideal situation where every individual enjoys health until old age and the current population’s health state.

Question 2

Several indicators describe the status of health of developing countries. However, if I chose one of these indicators, my selection would be mortality as a status health indicator for developing countries. This is because it is categorized into specific disease-related or health-associated mortality for subgroups of sex and age. Another reason for choosing this indicator is that countries with higher life expectancy indicate how firm and well the health status is in preventive care and the offered services.

References

Imdad, A., Mayo-Wilson, E., Haykal, M. R., Regan, A., Sidhu, J., Smith, A., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2022). Vitamin A supplementation prevents morbidity and mortality in children from six months to five years of age. Cochrane database of systematic reviews, (3).

Landfeldt, E., Thompson, R., Sejersen, T., McMillan, H. J., Kirschner, J., & Lochmüller, H. (2020). Life expectancy at birth in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: a systematic review and meta-analysis. European journal of epidemiology, 35(7), 643-653.

Module 2 SLP

Overview of the selected population

The selected population for this discussion is the elderly individuals. They include individuals above the age of 65 years. Individuals are living globally. Today, the majority of people can manage to live beyond the age of sixty. Every nation in the world is witnessing an increase in the population density and percentage of older people. As life expectancy and the number and percentage of older people increase in the majority of developed and many developing countries, a critical question is whether this population aging will be supplemented by sustained or enhanced health, an improvement in quality of life, and adequate social and economic capital.

As people age their immune system deteriorates and they become vulnerable to a number of issues. The elderly individuals are prone to many diseases and they require a lot of care. This implies that nations will have to spend more on healthcare of these people. For example 15% of the population in the United States is made up of elderly people. They account for the largest number of people receiving hospital admissions, implying that the government incurs a huge budget so as to provide the necessary care.

A description of the disease

The disease selected in module one is Influenza. Influenza is a virus that affects the breathing system, including the nose, lungs, as well as throat. Influenza is typically known as the flu, although it is different from viruses that causes gastrointestinal side effects. The majority of people recover completely from the flu on their own (Hien, 2021). However, influenza and the complications it can cause can occasionally be fatal. Young kids below the age of 5, and especially those below the age of 6 months, as well as people older than the age of 65 are at a higher risk of suffering flu-related complications.

According to the findings of the research that was conducted by Lisa Clayville in 2011, more than twenty percent of the people in the United States was affected with the influenza virus. Comparatively, only 9 percent of the globe's 7 billion people were infected with the disease. Although older adults only constitute 15% of the overall population in the US, they account for 90% of influenza-related fatalities and 66% of influenza-linked hospitalizations (Hien, 2021). It is practically always classified among the top ten most prevalent causes of death for people aged 65 and older.

The standard treatment for influenza is rest and plenty fluids. Treatment also involves methods for preventing the spread of the influenza virus, like washing hands properly, keeping shared surfaces cleaned, as well as coughing or sneezing into one's sleeve. Medication for particular symptoms can be beneficial. For cough, cough antiandrogens can be utilized. “Flu signs, like pains and fever, may be treated with acetylsalicylic acid* (ASA), ibuprofen, and acetaminophen” (Hien, 2021). Antiviral medicines are occasionally used to treat influenza. If taken within two days after the start of signs, these medicine can help lessen the effects and minimize the severity of the flu.

A description of potentially relevant cultural factors related to the health issue or disease.

There are several factors that are related to influenza. One of the factors relates to the traditions and customs of people. Some traditions discourage individuals from seeking treatments when they are sick. Such traditions contribute to the prevalence and mortality rates of the Flu. When individuals do not seek treatments they increase the chances of the disease spreading to others hence making it hard to control the Flu (Walcott, 2019). Additionally some religions instil individual’s faith and hope that whenever they fall sick they will heal automatically through hope and faith. Such cultural factors affect how the Flu is spread, managed and treated.

Cultural factors such as language, diet, expectations regarding health care, and the role of traditional healing.

Individuals' attitudes about medical coverage and how to handle and cope with disease are influenced by cultural traditions. Influenza is influenced by a variety of cultural practices, including the belief in traditional treatment, folk medicines, traditional meals, waste cleaning or "washout," and maintaining "good blood." Using a combination of liquids, teas, or particular foods, the cultural tradition known as "washout" removes toxins and impurities from the human body.

Some culture also rejects communication signs that are meant to educate people on how to prevent the spread of Influenza. Some visuals used for public education may also use a language that cannot be understood by majority of the community members (Walcott, 2019). The expectation of most people is that they will be involved in creating public awareness and that the elderly individuals will also be involved.

Environmental and social aspects

Environmental aspects have been linked to the spreading and persistence of influenza viruses, but no study has previously investigated the influence of these parameters in influenza infection morbidity. The periodicity of influenza is largely determined by “temperature and humidity, with cool-dry conditions” favouring IAV survival and transmission in temperate settings at high latitudes and high relative humidity favouring breakouts in tropical and subtropical regions. Influenza prevalence and dissemination may be influenced by social determinants of health, such as health equity, vaccine adoption, and age-related disease.

Reference

Hien H Nguyen, M. D. (2021, November 5). Influenza. Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology. Retrieved July 7, 2022, from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/219557-overview

Walcott, D. S. (2019). Cultural Health Beliefs and Influenza Vaccination Among Caribbean-Born Students.

MODULE 3 SLP

Gaps in the system

Pneumonia among children is contributed by the presence of several gaps within the structure of health system. Resource-limited settings, insufficient resources, government engagement and interest in general health, and lack of information resulting in patients arriving to hospitals with terminal diseases all contribute to increased disease incidence and load on healthcare settings globally. The quality of patient treatment and the appropriate work environment for nurses, psychologists, and other healthcare practitioners may be adversely affected by a shortage of resources in healthcare settings. Employees and patients alike will be satisfied if more healthcare system resources are accessible and resources are effectively used. Communication of knowledge on underlying social, economic, and environmental variables influencing health as well as individual factors and risk behaviors and usage of the health care system are all part of health education (Scannapieco et al, 2022).

Recommended strategy

The most appropriate recommendation in managing the prevailing threat in the spread of pneumonia among children can be managed through well-designed and developed mass immunization program. The process of administering vaccines to a large number of individuals in a short period of time at one or more places is known as mass vaccination. Mass vaccination programs that do their job well use standards of quality and planning that optimize the return on investment while also providing the most possible benefit to each person. In the event of an epidemic, these programs may be utilized to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, or they can be embraced as a long-term method of delivering healthcare. For example, necessary quality standards include adequate facilities and supplies as well as education and screening methods for potential vaccines in order to identify any contraindications to immunization, protection against anaphylaxis and syncope as well as record-keeping and safety monitoring, as well as a quality-improvement program. Early planning that builds on existing capabilities is essential for successful mass vaccination initiatives. Prioritizing which vaccines to use in mass vaccination campaigns is becoming more difficult as the number of vaccines on the market grows. This necessitates weighing the effectiveness, safety, and cost-benefit of each vaccine. Although mass immunization campaigns are designed to improve the health of the population as a whole, such campaigns must be tailored to each individual because of their own medical conditions. The ethical conduct of mass immunization programs necessitates weighing the benefits against the risks and ensuring that healthcare providers and vaccine recipients receive comprehensive training (Solikhah et al, 2021).

Financing options

The recommended strategy can be financed through the use of a common fund. This refers to a form of collective investment in which countries can make contributions to the spearheading organization in the program. The money is then spent in funding the program and the activities involved in the process. Another option that can be used is donation from interested stakeholders and donor organizations. Donations can be attracted through effective marketing strategies which create awareness on the services and products offered to the communities. The goals of the program should be well-promoted to appeal to international donors in making them make contributions to the organization.