Rural Populations

Rural Populations

          Rural Populations    The nurse must be aware of the unique healthcare needs of a population to deliver holistic care. These needs determine the population’s vulnerability to the current and emerging diseases. Vulnerability refers to the lack of protection from a threat. The vulnerable person is more likely to succumb to the threat or risk in comparison to the general population. In public health, vulnerability refers to an individual or group that is likely to develop a health problem due to various risk factors (Lundy & Janes, 2014). These factors can be physical, biological, genetic, social, economic or lifestyle factors. Examples of vulnerable populations include the elderly and uninsured. The elderly are a vulnerable population because they have declined physiological functions, which predispose them to various health problems. Similarly, the uninsured are a vulnerable population because they face significant challenges accessing essential preventive and treatment health services. Rural populations refer to people who live outside urbanized areas or urban clusters. The United States Census Bureau defines an urbanized area as an area occupied by at least 50,000 people. On the other hand, an urban cluster is an area occupied by at least 2,500 people but less than 50, 000 people (Ratcliffe, Burd, Holder, & Fields, 2016). Examples of rural populations include Native Americans and White farmers. Native Americans are a rural population because they often live in small-town areas and in or around remote tribal homelands. White farmers are a rural population because they live in sparsely populated vast land areas.   

            I do not think the nurse can realistically address all the different issues that face patients today. The modern patient has diverse and complex healthcare needs. Some of the factors that have contributed to the complex needs include aging and increase in chronic illnesses. The nurse would need to dedicate considerable time to each patient to respond to his or her needs completely. However, the nursing shortage has put considerable strain on the current workforce (Cowen & Moorhead, 2014). Therefore, today’s nurse must attend several patients in a day. This increased responsibility means that the nurse has little time to attend to each patient fully. I would integrate this assessment into care setting by focusing on the recommended nurse to patient ratio for a care setting. Adjusting the nurse to patient ratio depending on the setting supports the nurses’ ability to respond to the different issues facing patients (Elliott, Aitken & Chaboyer, 2011). For example, the recommended ratio for a surgical care unit is 1:5. This ratio means that each nurse should attend a maximum of five patients per shift. The prompt identification of an influx of patients in a care unit will support the maintenance of the recommend nurse to patient ratio. 

            A task force focused on particular health issues in a rural area should engage several key informants. These are the rural health department, rural healthcare providers, informal caregivers, families, community leaders, community-based organizations and leaders (Maurer & Smith, 2013). These informants have crucial information regarding the crucial health issues, available resources, social support systems and the expectations of individuals and the community. I would implement several steps to ensure that I collaborate effectively with the informants to address the community’s problems. First, I would set up regular meetings to discuss the health issues of interest and the appropriate courses of action. Secondly, I would include the selected representatives in the implementation of the developed interventions. These steps will ensure inclusiveness and support for the planned actions. I would expect several unique challenges in implementing a healthcare task force in a rural community. First, cultural barriers might hinder the consultation and decision making processes. An insufficient knowledge of the unique values, beliefs and practices of a rural community turns one into an outsider. The fear and distrust of the outsider can hinder collaboration. Secondly, the community might not have sufficient resources to support the task force and planned actions. Accessing the required funding, personnel, equipment and facilities may be a challenge in the sparsely populate and remote area. 

            The stereotypes about homeless people are many. According to Reynalds (2018), people label the homeless as lazy, drug addicts, mentally ill and criminals. These stereotypes are often untrue. First, most homeless people are normal and decent persons who are facing difficult financial problems. Many homeless people are unemployed or underemployed. The lack of sufficient income means that the homeless have no money to pay for housing and other basic needs. Consequently, they have to move to homeless shelters or the streets. Domestic violence can also lead to homelessness. Secondly, not all homeless persons are drug addicts. It is true that a considerable number of the homeless struggle with drug addictions. Drugs provide an escape from the stress and frustration of being homeless. Thirdly, about a quarter of the homeless people have various kinds of mental illnesses including clinical depression, schizophrenia and PTSD. These illnesses may lead to homelessness. However, mental illnesses may develop following homelessness. Finally, some homeless people commit crimes. Most of these crimes are non-violent. However, the crimes committed by homeless people are significantly small in comparison to those committed by the general population.