Serving vulnerable populations

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feasible using the appropriate level(s) of prevention. For example, when applying “levels of prevention” to a client with HIV/AIDS, a nurse might perform the following interventions:

• Educate students on the practice of sexual abstinence or “safer sex” by using barrier methods (primary prevention)

• Encourage testing and counseling for clients with known exposure or who are in high-risk groups; provide referrals for follow-up for clients who test positive for HIV (secondary prevention)

• Provide education on management of HIV infection, advocacy, case management, and other interventions for those who are HIV positive (tertiary prevention)

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TABLE 1.1

Examples of Levels of Prevention and Clients Served in the Community

Definition of Client Served ∗

Level of Prevention Primary (Health Promotion and Specific Prevention)

Secondary (Early Diagnosis and Treatment)

Tertiary (Limitation of Disability and Rehabilitation)

Individual Dietary teaching during pregnancy

Immunizations

HIV testing Screening for

cervical cancer

Teaching new clients with diabetes how to administer insulin

Exercise therapy after stroke

Skin care for incontinent patients

Family (two or more individuals bound by kinship, law, or living arrangement and with common emotional ties and obligations [see Chapter 20])

Education or counseling regarding smoking, dental care, or nutrition

Adequate housing

Dental examinations

Tuberculin testing for family at risk

Mental health counseling or referral for family in crisis (e.g., grieving or experiencing a divorce)

Dietary instructions and monitoring for family with overweight members

Group or aggregate (interacting people with a common purpose or purposes)

Birthing classes for pregnant teenage mothers

AIDS and other STI education for high school students

Vision screening of a first-grade class

Mammography van for screening of women in a low-income neighborhood

Hearing tests at a senior center

Group counseling for grade-school children with asthma

Swim therapy for physically disabled elders at a senior center

Alcoholics Anonymous and other self-help groups

Mental health services for military veterans

Community and populations (aggregate of people sharing space over time within a social system [s

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