Introduction
Nowadays, there are a great number of people who suffer from various chronic illnesses, and it is extremely important for healthcare specialists to develop specific recommendations or plans of care that would take into consideration the particular needs of patient groups. The document which is called Healthy People 2020 presents goals and objectives which are extremely useful for healthcare specialists as they allow the latter to develop plans of care based on the impact that the particular medical condition has on the health of the entire nation.
Analysis
The area of chronic illness discussed in the given paper is related to health problems related to the kidneys. In particular, the group of people that is paid focused attention to includes patients of different age who suffer from chronic kidney disease or CKD. Chronic kidney disease is known as one of the medical conditions that have a severe impact on the quality of life of patients because the most common symptoms of the disease include elevated blood pressure, deficiency of blood, and azotemia, and these symptoms are inextricably connected with general weakness and inability to lead an active lifestyle (Jha et al., 2013). Speaking about chronic kidney disease, it is necessary to say that the health conditions of people suffering from this illness are likely to become worse over the course of time.
Thus, specialists in nephrology single out five stages of the disease, and the fifth or terminal stage is inextricably connected with increased morbidity, especially if patients do not receive the proper medical treatment. The necessity to reduce the number of cases of chronic kidney disease is listed among the primary objectives identified by the authors of Healthy People 2020. In reference to the most urgent problems associated with the disease, it is necessary to note that it is extremely expensive to implement all the measures to treat patients suffering from this disease (especially when there is a need for kidney transplantation), and this illness is interconnected with other conditions decreasing the quality of life of many people in the United States.
The particular group of patients was chosen because chronic kidney disease presents one of the common causes of death among adult Americans.
As for the morbidity of the disease, there are numerous cases of CKD among both children and adults. In reference to the situation with morbidity, it needs to be said that the illness often remains unnoticed in its early stage; when it comes to children, it becomes even more difficult to make a diagnosis because signs of the disease are less manifested (Chan, 2016). The asymptomatic nature of the illness during its early stages acts as an additional reason to encourage people in the United States and all over the world to learn more about possible signs of chronic kidney disease.
When it comes to comorbidity of the illness, it is possible to define a range of dangerous medical conditions that are associated with chronic kidney disease. For instance, people suffering from CKD are likely to have diabetes of different types, obesity, genetic disorders such as multicystic kidney disease and glucolipid lipidosis, or a history of recurring use of alcohol.
The goals and objectives identified in Healthy People 2020 document for patients suffering from chronic kidney disease are primarily connected with the necessity to design and implement the measures helping to improve the quality of life of those who are already diagnosed with the illness and prevent its further spread. More than that, a significant problem that exists in the field is related to the costs of treatment for patients with CKD.
Continuing on objectives presented in the section of the document, it is important to note that there are fourteen of them. According to the data presented in the document, about fifteen percent of the population in the United States had CKD eleven years ago, and the goal is to decrease this number by two percent (“Chronic kidney disease,” n.d.). Another objective that is extremely important is caused by the lack of resources helping to provide patients with proper medical evaluation. More than that, considering comorbidity of the disease, cardiovascular care in patients diagnosed with CKD also needs to be improved. Therefore, it is clear that there is a range of important problems that can have a negative impact on the quality of life of people with CKD.
Conclusion
As for the impact of the disease on the overall health of the nation, it needs to be acknowledged that CKD significantly reduces the quality of life of patients, considering the CKD mortality rates that are rather high, one can conclude that this disease poses a threat to the prosperity of the entire nation. According to the data presented in Healthy People 2020, more than twenty people among each thousand of patients with CKD die every year. In order to live longer, patients with CKD are supposed to undergo a range of procedures and pay focused attention to the development of associated diseases. Therefore, CKD has a strong impact on the health of the population in the United States and other countries.
References
Chan, J. C. (2016). Children with chronic kidney disease: A closer look at calcium, phosphate and vascular calcification. Journal of Clinical & Experimental Nephrology, 1(2), 10.
Chronic kidney disease. (n.d.)
Jha, V., Garcia-Garcia, G., Iseki, K., Li, Z., Naicker, S., Plattner, B.,… & Yang, C. W. (2013). Chronic kidney disease: Global dimension and perspectives. The Lancet, 382(9888), 260-272.