According to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, "there are over 200,000 hospitalizations from influenza on average every year. An average of 36,000 Americans die annually due to influenza and its complications – most are people 65 years of age and over. Additionally, there are over 40,000 cases of invasive pneumococcal disease in the U.S. and approximately one-third of these cases occur in people 65 and older. Over half of the more than 5,000 annual deaths from invasive pneumococcal disease occur in persons 65 years of age and older" ("Immunizations", 2014). The best way to prevent acquiring influenza and pneumococcal disease and to decrease its spread is to obtain their vaccines. Unfortunately, the CDC estimates only 63.4% of adults age 65 and older receive the influenza vaccine ("Flu Vaccination," 2016) and 61.3% of Americans age 65 years and older receive the pneumococcal vaccine (Williams et al., 2016). So how can we increase the number of Americans who receive the influenza and pneumococcal vaccine and save lives? …show more content…
Nurses have the knowledge and training needed for educating their patients on the importance of receiving the influenza and pneumococcal vaccines. More specifically, home health nurses are able to make contact with patients who are homebound and unable to obtain these vaccines at their PCP office, pharmacy, or local clinic, which is why home health nurses are the key to improving immunization interventions, particularly among the
VanderBent, S. D. (2009, September). Home Care and Pandemic Flu. In Ontario Home Care Association Bringing Health Care Home. Retrieved March 10, 2014, from https://www.homecareontario.ca/public/docs/publications/position%20papers/2009/Home-Care-and-Pandemic-Flu.pdf
Often in practice, we as nurses deal with a variety of diseases and treatments and often have to react to the illness that the patient presents with upon our interaction. While this is an essential piece of our practice, we also have a duty to our patients to be proactive in preventing specific health-related consequences based on their risk factors and to promote their health and well being. Health promotion as it relates to nursing is about us empowering our patients to increase their control over their lives and well beings and includes: focusing on their health not just illness, empowering our patients, recognizing that health involves many dimensions and is also effected by factors outside of their control (Whitehead et al. 2008)..
Vaccine safety is one of the most controversial topics in today’s public discourse. Everyone has heard of them, but few know why they are so encouraged. A vaccine contains a weak or dead version of a microbe. This creates a small scale invasion of the immune system, which activates cells to destroy the microbe. Once these cells have been made they are always there to provide protection. This protection is immunity, for those cells are then able to recognize any live version of the same microbe and attack it immediately. This can save lives but also be dangerous, vaccines carry many other components which can cause side effects. These could be simple adverse effects such as a small cold or, in the rare case,
The Influenza virus is a unique respiratory viral disease that can have serious economic and social disruption to society. The virus is airborne transmitted through droplets release by coughing or sneezing from an infected person or by touching infected surfaces. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may even result in death. People with the virus usually experience fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain and cough, which can lead to more severe respiratory illness such as pneumonia. People most susceptible to the flu virus are elderly individuals and young children as well as anyone whose health or immune system has been compromise. The most effective way to counteract the influenza virus is to get the flu vaccine which is available by shots or nasal spray before the flu season as well as practicing safe hygiene. (CDC, 2013)
Counter to what people may think, which is that school nurses are there to send students home when sick, their job is actually to do everything they can to treat, prevent, and monitor to make sure that students can continue to learn without the barriers that poor health can cause.
From watching the documentary and listening to Brad Brigg discussion on Vaccination in Arkansas, as a future pharmacist, I have a role in playing in my community. I can recommend vaccinations to patients who come to my pharmacist who are either immunocompromised or might have people living with them who are. Also, getting more educated about vaccinations will make me more equipped to create awarenessness about the importance of vaccinations and be able to answer any questions my patients might have so they would be able to make informed decisions about vaccinations to protect themselves and the members of their families. I learnt that other health care professionals also have a r...
Although people should have the freedom to choose to be vaccinated, the public needs to be educated about the personal, economical, and social benefits of receiving the influenza vaccine. In addition, people who are at a high risk of contracting influenza as well as health care providers should be encouraged to receive an influenza vaccine in order to decrease the major health burden associated with the disease. Influenza, commonly known as the flu, is a viral infection of the respiratory system and it is characterized by abrupt onset of fever, sore throat, and nonproductive cough. Influenza is spread from person to person by inhalation of the droplets produced when a person infected with influenza coughs or sneezes. In addition, it can also be spread by contact with infected objects such as utensils.
Primary care physicians are trained in a number of diagnostic techniques such as interviewing the patients to get information on symptoms, examining the medical history of the patient so as to obtain more information, conducting a physical examination on the patient and most importantly, carrying out a medical examination. This might include blood and urine tests (Dahrouge, Muldoon, Ward, Hogg, Russell, & Taylor-Sussex, 2014). The physician then makes a differential diagnosis which is used to prescribe medicine for the patient. On the other hand, family nurse practitioners take part in preventive care which may involve screening patients, conducting health-risk assessment, facilitating immunization, providing counseling meant to improve the health of patients. Most importantly though, family nurse practitioners are directly involved in managing chronic infections, giving ways to improve the care provided by the primary care physicians. This is often because of their experience and in-depth research they are exposed
Influenza is very contagious and spreads rapidly from person to person. Influenza causes worldwide yearly epidemics. According to World Health organization Influenza affects 5-15% world’s population and resulting in 500,000 deaths yearly. Ottenberg stated that, in United States, an average of 200,000 were hospitalized and 36,000 died each year from influenza complications. Influenza is the sixth leading cause of death among US adults and is related to 1 in 20 death in persons older than 65 years. Disease control and prevention estimates indicate that infections like H1N1 which is one of the types of influenza, have resulted in an estimated 42 to 86 million cases and 8520 to 17620 deaths. As I mentioned earlier that infections like influenza are very contagious, they can spread easily from hcw to Patient and back to hcw. The most efficient and effective method of preventing influenza infection is vaccination(The best way to prevent influenza is with annual vaccination).(Sullivan,2010) (Gregory,Tosh &Jacobson, 2005). Motivated by a desire to actively avoid illness Influenza may increase the risk for death in people with existing heart, lung, or circulation disorders. In fact, the higher than average number of winter deaths in people with heart disease may be due only to the occurrence of influenza during those months.Vaccination provides immunity to fight against infection.To increase resistance to harm by modifying the environment to minimize preventable illness (NEED TO CHANGE WORDING)
Illnesses have long haunted the human race. As long as these illnesses have existed, humans have developed ways to cure themselves, beginning with simple herbs and proceeding as far as vaccines and complex medicines. One cure that long eluded scientists was that of the influenza virus. Now, the influenza vaccine, or flu shot, saves thousands of lives a year and helps prevent serious complications resulting from influenza infection.
Nurses around the world collaborate with various providers and partners to address multiple challenges in the community. With emphasize on health promotion and disease prevention, nurses have an important role in delivering nursing services in the community and in the home. Challenges that impact the overall health of the community can arise from unequal access to health care or lack of insurance causing individuals do not receive healthcare. However, all nurses can help improve health outcomes and help to prevent and manage diseases. With the help of community health nurses, public health nurses, and home health nurses, the ability to provide safe and effective care for all sectors of health is possible.
Healthcare is viewed in an unrealistic way by most individuals. Many people view a physician as the only means to find a solution to their problem. Nurses are still seen by some as simply “the person who does what the doctor says.” This is frustrating in today’s time when nurses are required to spend years on their education to help care for their patients. In many situations nurses are the only advocate that some patients’ have.
The community- level practice focus is to change the norm, attitudes, practice behavior and increase the knowledge of the entire community regarding the importance of immunization and the consequences of not being immunized (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). PHN primary goal is to prevent illness or a disease from occurring. Administering vaccines are a primary intervention that the PHN provides. The local public health nurses provided information packages to the public schools, senior citizen centers, daycare centers and other local businesses on the need for flu vaccines and where to go for free or affordable flu vaccines. In the packet was a contact card for the community to give back to the PHNs. This was a way for the PHNs to track the number of people who responded to the outreached message. Once a year...
Health promotion is a vital component to the healthy of a society, is a key component of Healthy People 2020, and is a major role of the nurse. Health promotion is achieved through education and preventive strategies. Vaccination is a health promotion activity in that its purpose is to prevent disease (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). Through vaccination, it is possible to significantly reduce the incidents of many diseases. Diseases that can be prevented through use of vaccinations are are referred to as vaccine preventable diseases. Some of the commonly vaccinated infections include polio, measles, Haemophilus Influenzae type b, pertussis, pneumococcal, rubella, varicella, hepatitis B, diphtheria, tetanus, and mumps (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2013).
This, in turn, will deteriorate the prevalence of preventable diseases and hence decrease the likelihood that medically incompatible individuals will contract them (Kim, T. H., Johnstone, J., & Loeb, M., 2011). According to the World Health Organization, “The decline of disease incidence is greater than the proportion of individuals immunized because vaccination reduces the spread of an infectious agent by reducing the amount and duration of pathogen shedding by vaccinees, retarding transmission” (Andre, 2008). This enables a significant percentage of individuals who oppose vaccines to reconcile with those who do not, as this eliminates the concern regarding adverse reactions. According to an article titled “Vaccine herd effect,” herd immunity has pervaded many communities to help minimize the spread of disease. For example, in the 1990s, a vaccine was introduced that targeted a strain of disease known as streptococcus pneumoniae, which can potentially cause pneumonia. The CDC discovered a fifty percent reduction in pneumonia cases among the elderly despite the vaccine being offered primarily to children (Kim, T. H., Johnstone, J., & Loeb, M., 2011). This scenario is indubitably a prime exemplar for herd immunity, and it is the greatest reason that mandatory inoculation is