Discussions
The article written by Scott (2013) reveals that the majority of the general public and even public health agencies do not understand that nurses are capable of improving public health in their areas significantly. The author claims that the National Health Service is going to develop a range of reforms that are expected to make use of nurses’ potential to contribute to the public’s well-being.
These interventions can be both simple and time-consuming, but their effects are worth trying. Politicians need to get involved in this process because they have the power to increase taxation needed to fund the National Health Service. These reforms seem to be rather beneficial for the community, but enough attention should also be paid by issues faced by nurses (overload, exhaustion, and stress, etc.), as they will present professionals from coping with their duties.
According to While (2014), nurses have the potential of improving public health, but the way they currently work does not provide them with an opportunity to take the leading role in the enhancement of the community’s well-being. The author believes that nurses should become more effective, as this fact cannot be denied, as they need to do their best to benefit their clients but also to promote public health.
In this way, it is vital to ensure that nurses are those individuals whose lifestyle allows them to be a role model for others even when they do not perform their duties. In this way, nurses’ characteristics are to be considered as well. It is significant to ensure that they can take care of those people who have different views on treatment options as well, such as their attitudes towards transplantation or blood transfusion. Nurses’ personal biases should not affect their practice at all. They need to share information with clients, allowing them to make the final decision.
The leading health indicators are considered when speaking about people’s health in general. To select them, a Federal Interagency Workgroup that consists of about 50 professionals was gathered. With the help of their knowledge and experience, these individuals managed to identify those indicators that were taken from the large sets, such as the National Prevention Strategy and prevention initiatives (Healthy People 2020, 2018).
In particular, attention was mainly paid to individual and societal determinants that affect people’s health (for instance, environmental quality or access to high-quality healthcare services). They were aligned with health disparities and life stages to identify the most common causes. All in all, professionals managed to select those leading health indicators that can be used for diverse populations to reveal similar influences and situations.
I believe that those leading health indicators that are used by Healthy People 2020 turn out to be enough to speak about the population’s well-being. In particular, my idea is based on the fact that these indicators include those points that are associated with health status, risk factors, coverage, and health systems. Moreover, each topic selected by the professionals includes a range of connected indicators.
For instance, infant deaths and preterm births are discussed in detail in the framework of maternal, infant, and child health. Nevertheless, I consider that it might be beneficial to align those leading health indicators that are identified by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in Healthy People 2020 (2018) with those that are selected by the WHO (2015) because both organizations focus on human health and its promotion.
References
Healthy People 2020. (2018). Leading health indicators development and selection process.
Scott, G. (2013). Nurses’ public health role is underestimated. Nursing Standard, 27(42), 1.
While, A. E. (2014). Guest editorial. Are nurses fit for their public health role? International Journal of Nursing Studies, 51(9), 1191-1194.
WHO. (2015). 100 core health indicators. Web.