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Running Head: APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS FOR HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020

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APPROPRIATE INTERVENTIONS FOR HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020

Appropriate Interventions for Healthy People 2020

Norys Gil

South University

List of Support Needs for the Participant

1. Assisting the patients to change the lifestyle is one of the primary support needs. According to the participant response, quitting smoking and maintaining a healthy weight are some of the significant challenges. Educating the patient about healthy dietary and the need for vigorous physical exercise will help the patient in maintaining the right body weight. Smoking habits are highly addictive, and quitting becomes challenging and requires significant effort from both the patient and the caregiver.

2. Psychological counseling. The patient has a great concern of wondering if she would leave long to see grandchildren. She also takes medication such as propranolol and diazepam for managing the stress. Counseling will help the patient mitigate the effects of anxiety and possible depression. It will also change the mindset of imminent death as a result of chronic kidney complications. Physical exercise is essential for mental health and manages stress levels.

3. Accurate tests and prescriptions of the medical plan to the patient are essential in chronic disease management. According to the participant, she would like to follow the prescribed medical plan to manage this complication.

4. They are assisting the patient in understanding the various prescribed medical plan. There is a need to educate the patient about how to administer medicines such as insulin.

Objectives Implementation of Healthy People 2020

Healthy people in 2020 policies and laws examined the various opportunities and approaches to achieve their primary goals. Different governments are using different strategies to promote the health wellness of society and public health. These initiatives serve as roadmaps for different countries and their objectives to health promotion (Pykett, 2019). They provide a way for the government and the community in general to understand the current and future health situation for effective planning and policymaking. For effective interventions for healthy nations, the government needs to engage public health stakeholders such as the healthcare providers, practitioners, and the community. This will helps in the identification of effective strategies for interventions and making healthy people 2020 ideas actionable.

Good health begins in our homes, workplaces, schools, and community in general. Social determinants of health directly impact all individuals. The healthy people 2020 determinants are divided into various categories, namely economic stability, education, healthcare, and the neighborhood, built environments as well as the community context (Pykett, 2019). The first step of implementing objectives of Health People 2020 is the identification of the national-wide health improvement priorities. For an effective healthy people program, different sectors need to collaborate to identify the unique needs of the community. One of the significant areas for healthy people 2020 is access to food and healthy eating patterns. To implement this objective, we must find out how access to food and healthy eating impacts the general public health.

Healthy eating habits like eating a balanced diet, controlling calories, limiting the intake of saturated and added sugar can significantly help in lowering the chances of getting chronic diseases. Creating awareness through the help of healthcare professionals such as nurses, physicians, and the media will have significant positive impacts on the general public health. Access to healthy food has a direct contribution to the health wellness of an individual throughout their lifetime. However, there some challenges to healthy food access in our community. The average distance from home to the nearest food store or a supermarket is one of the primary challenges in ensuring access to healthy foods in our society. Individuals without proper means of transport will, therefore, face a significant problem in accessing healthy foods (Wheeler, 2018). Since the affordability of healthy eating is also another significant challenge, the government needs to create favorable policies that ensure the low prices of healthy food for a healthier nation in 2020 and subsequent years.

The other objective of Healthy People 2020 is proper access to healthcare services. Access to timely healthcare is one of the essential elements of a healthy nation and helps individuals to achieve the best possible healthcare outcome. The majority of individuals in our society face various barriers to timely access to healthcare services. This results in excellent healthcare disparity as well as reduced healthcare outcomes. Some of these barriers include inadequate health insurance coverage, limited care resources, and poor transportation, among others (Pykett, 2019). To increase health wellness in 2020 and beyond, the government, through the health and treasury departments, will have to ensure equal distribution of resources and insurance coverage for the citizens. This will reduce the out of pocket healthcare expenses that make individuals delay or forego visiting doctors, dentists, and access to other essential medical plans hence negatively affecting public health. Ensuring adequate access to primary care will have a positive impact on public health and increased wellness. Professional caregivers such as nurses and other medical officers also have a crucial responsibility of ensuring they provide the patient with accurate diagnosis and best care to the patients.

Health literacy is a crucial issue in the healthcare department. For a healthier nation, a collaboration between the government and healthcare providers will increase the degree of the individual capacity to obtain and understand necessary health information that is crucial in deciding personal health and healthcare (Wagner & Howe, 2019). Literacy will increase the individual's capacity to take charge of their healthcare matters and that of their families. The individual with low health literacy will most of the time, not be able to understand simple drug prescriptions and other medical instruction form nurses and doctors. A collaboration of the healthcare providers and the government will ensure health literacy is made a priority to increase wellness and provide good public health in society.

Environmental conditions are another significant element that affects public health and wellness. Water contamination and extreme heats are some of the typical examples of how the environment may affect public health. According to the GHO, more than eleven percent of molarity cases in 2012 were associated with environmental causes ("GHO | By category | Deaths attributable to the environment - Data by country," 2020). We need to identify environmental exposures and how they impact people in different geographical locations. Poor quality of the water increases the risk of public health. A good example is groundwater, which is used for growing crops and becomes contaminated for human consumption and may spread waterborne diseases. On the other hand, older adults and children are more exposed to hot air temperatures and risks getting heat-related illnesses. There is a need for effective policies and measures for protecting the public from drinking contaminated water and being exposed to high air temperatures for a healthy nation in 2020 and the coming years.

Professional caregivers are one of the most crucial stakeholders in healthcare interventions. Home nurses provide both psychological and multidimensional interventions in the health sector. They develop the best plans for specific situations and the need of the patients for adequate care. One of the benefits is flexible intervention according to the needs of different patients. The other appropriate response of a caregiver is the provision of emotional support to the patient. They can also intervene in providing legal and financial support for the patients who may no longer be able to care for them. The professional caregiver can also manage the medical care plan, which may include keeping medical records and administering medications according to the prescriptions. All these interventions have a primary goal of ensuring the patient receives the best healthcare and love from the family and society.

References

GHO | By category | Deaths attributable to the environment - Data by country. (2020), from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.162

Pykett, J. (2019). Healthy Nations: Behavioural Approaches in Public Health Policy. In Behavioural Policies for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (pp. 53-72). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.

Wagner, T., & Howe, C. (2019). Addressing Systemic Health Literacy Issues and Patient Safety through a Grassroots Collaborative. Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet, 23(1), 62-69.

Wheeler, A. (2018). The Financial Impact of a Healthy Eating Intervention in a Government Worksite Cafeteria.