How to write nursing essays on aims of Improving Healthcare Quality

How to write nursing essays on aims of Improving Healthcare Quality

Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how hospitals are meeting the needs of vulnerable populations within the communities they serve. Also, it will discuss factors to be considered by the nurses in acute care settings to meet the six institute of Medicine’s (IOM).

Strategies of how hospitals are meeting needs of vulnerable population

Due to disparities in the access to healthcare services, the American Hospital Association (AHA) task force suggested nine strategies, which enable communities and hospitals to guarantee the vulnerable population access to health care services.

The first strategy is to address the social determinants of health (Bhatt & Bathija, 2022). Regardless of the availability of quality care, social determinants may hinder individuals from accessing care. The task force identified the following as social health determinants; health behavior, the biology of individuals, education levels, economic stability, neighborhood, built environment, etc. (Bhatt & Bathija, 2022). These can be addressed by screening patients for health-linked social needs and discussing the impact of the identified challenges on their health. Additionally, health workers should align with stakeholders to make sure patients can access health care services easily, and the services provided align with patients’ needs.

Secondly, healthcare teams should adopt innovative virtual care strategies (Bhatt & Bathija, 2022). This is effective to a vulnerable population that can’t hire or retain health care workers. Telehealth is one of the virtual care strategies which expands patients’ access to health. With telehealth, there is immediate access to health care providers that otherwise would not be available in many vulnerable populations. Similarly, telehealth can allow health workers to monitor patients without physical presence.

The third strategy is to design a global budget payment plan for the vulnerable population. This strategy provides payment certainty for hospitals in vulnerable communities (Bhatt & Bathija, 2022). Likewise, its flexibility allows community strategists to meet the needs and create solutions for communities. Moreover, the task force recommended using an inpatient/outpatient transformation strategy. Before setting up a healthcare center, healthcare teams should assess the level of outpatient and inpatient services required in their communities (Bhatt & Bathija, 2022). The strategy reduces unnecessary health setups that aren’t beneficial to community members.

Factors that should be considered to meet the six Institute of Medicine’s (IOM)

The Institute of Medicine initiated “six patient-centeredness dimensions that stipulated care must be; respectful to patient’s values, preferences, and expressed needs; coordinated and integrated; provide information, communication, and education; ensure physical comfort; provide emotional support; involve family and friends” (Tzelepis et al., 2022). Nurses and other health care providers should operate in the following ways to meet this demand

Firstly, Nurses should respect patients’ preferences, needs, culture, and other values. Patients should express views and be part of decision-making as per their preferences (Tzelepis et al., 2022). Also, health care should be coordinated and integrated, including up-to-date patient data and timely transfer of information to departments and professionals (Tzelepis et al., 2022). The patient’s transition should be efficient. In addition, patients should receive clear, understandable, and accurate information according to their preferences and convenience.

Secondly, Nurses should give emotional and spiritual support when providing care (Tzelepis et al., 2022). It includes a concern to patient’s uncertainty, financial impact, fear, etc. Similarly, Nurses should address patients’ needs, for example, attending to physical symptoms and needs by giving appropriate pain relief (Tzelepis et al., 2022). Lastly, Nurses should involve family and friends in the care plan and decision-making process in response to their needs and preferences.

 References

Bhatt, J., & Bathija, P. (2022). Ensuring Access to Quality Health Care in Vulnerable Communities. Retrieved 18 February 2022, from. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6112847/

Tzelepis, F., Sanson-Fisher, R., Zucca, A., & Fradgley, E. (2022). Measuring the quality of patient-centered care: why patient-reported measures are critical to reliable assessment. Retrieved 18 February 2022, from.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4484696/#:~:text=The%20IOM%20endorsed%20six%20patient,and%20involve%20family%20and%20friends.

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