Vulnerability In Nursing

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Vulnerability is commonly defined as an individual being weak and susceptible to harm. The definition of vulnerability in nursing is slightly different. Vulnerability in nursing is focused on a population or group of people, not the individual person. These groups of people can have limited access to care and may have a higher risk of being ill or having certain health conditions. A population that is generally considered vulnerable are individuals with mental disabilities. The Medical Dictionary for the Health Professions and Nursing, defines mental disability as, “any clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome characterized by distressing syndromes, significant impairment of functioning, or significantly increased risk …show more content…

These four domains are; sociocultural, biological, behavioral, and environmental. With the population of individuals with mental disabilities the sociocultural domain is the one that has the utmost effect on their vulnerability. Within the sociocultural domain there are; economic status, education, cultural values and practices, social support and spiritual health, healthcare quality and access. Most of the individuals with mental disabilities have limited education because they did not have someone fighting for them to be integrated into public schools. Which ties into their economic status, many of the individuals are on some kind of benefit because they cannot get jobs. This is because of all the stereotypes that come along with being mentally disabled. While taking into account all of this, these individuals do not get out much which has a negative impact on their health because they become afraid of others and have a sedentary …show more content…

This domain is the one that can be manipulated and fixed in a person’s life. In the United States, most of our population is considered overweight and have a poor diet. Once you add a poor diet into a person’s life, everything begins to go downhill, especially the individual’s health. Consequently, many of these practices are all tied together. When a person is emotionally unstable, they often turn to food, drugs, alcohol, and sex because they think it will make them feel better. This negatively affects any persons’ health in a variety of ways. Mentally disabled individuals already have a difficult time integrating into social norms, so adding on unhealthy life practices could juristically impact their health. Heart disease, diabetes, depression, alcoholism, and promiscuity are just a few of those

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