Identifying vulnerable populations and assessing their needs is among the key tasks of healthcare specialists. In the given case, the nurse is to identify the specific challenges of elderly people in the American Indian reservation population in Arizona. The life of this group of population is associated with a high degree of vulnerability to health risks. The specific challenges of elderly people in rural areas include the limited access to medicinal drugs that are used to minimize negative symptoms of common infectious diseases. Elderly people usually have a lot of health concerns related to vital organs, and common cold and similar diseases are often associated with complications that have an impact on chronic diseases and, therefore, cause a significant decrease in immunity. When it comes to concerns, special attention is to be paid to the needs of physically disabled elderly people in rural areas. Elderly people with disabilities face numerous challenges in rural areas as access to assistive technology and healthcare education is limited (Phillips, Guo, & Kim, 2013).
The health problems of the reservation-based American Indian population are numerous, and these individuals are more vulnerable to many diseases than Americans of other ethnicities. The diseases that remain the leading causes of death of American Indians include heart diseases, colorectal cancer, and liver diseases. Also, the statistical data indicates that common issues of this population include high rates of infant death both due to health issues and accidents (“Profile: American Indian/Alaska native,” 2017). Common health problems of Native Americans are also attributed to the situation with insurance – the report states that more than twenty percent of Native Americans do not have health insurance coverage.
Based on what has been mentioned, gaps in service that likely exist include limited access of the population to assistive devices and necessary transportation. Apart from that, many researchers state that poor funding causes the inappropriate quality of services in emergency departments (Dovey, 2016).
References
Dovey, D. (2016). Healthcare on Native American reservations is ‘horrifying:’ In the US, who you are affects how you’re treated.
Phillips, L. R., Guo, G., & Kim, H. (2013). Elder mistreatment in US residential care facilities: The scope of the problem. Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, 25(1), 19-39.