Health care constitutes the most vital element of people’s lives’ social structure. It is necessary to allocate financial sources to the development of new treatment methods and medical technologies because, with the help of them, the quality of people’s lives will become higher. However, it is not possible to pay attention only to the existing illnesses. Preventive healthcare services deserve equal, if not higher, level of recognition. While curing diseases helps to cope with the current issues, their prevention is capable of saving costs and efforts spent on health issues in the future.
According to considerable research, health prevention helps to avoid the development of serious diseases and conditions (“Financing prevention,” 2014). Preventive healthcare measures help to diagnose illnesses at the initial stages when their treatment is not as expensive as at further stages. Also, with the help of prevention, it is possible to avoid the development of some health conditions. Unfortunately, because of insufficient financing, preventive health care is frequently neglected by people. According to statistics, US citizens use preventive services in about fifty percent of cases (“Preventive health care,” 2017).
One of the problems of such an attitude is cost-sharing, that stimulates people to resist the engagement in preventive healthcare measures. Meanwhile, specialists say that up to three-thirds of the country’s health costs are spent on the management of chronic diseases, the majority of which are preventable (“Preventive health care,” 2017). Timely preventive measures can help people to avoid the progress of the disease and lead a high-quality lifestyle. Therefore, since the major reason for insufficient engagement in preventive health care is the financial burden, it is necessary to dedicate costs not only to illness management but also to the ways of averting the development and progress of diseases.
The nursing profession presupposes taking many responsibilities, one of which is that of an advocate. The need for such a role appeared due to a variety of healthcare settings where patients may find themselves during the treatment process and the range of procedures that patients receive (Choi, 2015). The advocacy of patients is significant since nurses spend the most time with their customers and are fully aware of all the procedures received by them.
When assuming the role of an advocate, nurses take some risks. The major challenge is the possibility of losing one’s job when a nurse tends to agree with the patients’ decision rather than act in accordance with hospital policies (Choi, 2015). The second risk is closely associated with the first one, it is a problem of speaking up to protect the patients (Rainer, 2015). Nurses have an extremely high degree of moral responsibility, and people’s lives depend on their decisions. Therefore, it is crucial for nurses not to keep silent about any issues that may appear as a result of patients’ decisions (Rainer, 2015). It is necessary for nurses to keep a balance between what is the right thing to do and what their patients want for themselves. The more effective nurses are in decision-making, the better the patient outcomes they will reach.
Along with challenges, nursing advocacy of patients brings benefits both for nurses and patients. The major advantage is being able to find the best healthcare solutions for customers and reach the highest level of patient satisfaction. Also, nurses can improve their professional skills in the process of acting as patient advocates. They gain profound knowledge and invaluable experience when trying a variety of solutions and choosing the most appropriate one.
References
Choi, P. P. (2015). Patient advocacy: The role of the nurse. Nursing Standard, 29(41), 52-58.
Financing prevention: How states are balancing delivery system and public health roles. (2014).
Preventive health care. (2017). Web.
Rainer, J. (2015). Speaking up: Factors and issues in nurses advocating for patients when patients are in jeopardy. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 30(1), 53-62.