Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS - Essay Example

?Part II The Issue HIV/AIDS has spread across the world in recent decades and it is a source of constant concern for medicinal practitioners. By the end of the year 2000, more than 36 million people had HIV/AIDS and, amongst those, more than 1 million were infants or small children. 4 million children and around 21 million people across the world have died from this ghastly disease. A horrifying report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention stated that every minute at least 5 people (aged 15 years to 24 years) become infected with HIV. Another serious issue is that the majority of these HIV infected people are inhabitants of the developing world (CDC). This not only is a serious health threat but also a factor that hinders these countries’ economic development. This issue is not only a health related issue but also a socio-economic problem for these countries. In each of the countries where AIDS/HIV patients are growing in number, health care costs have increased and that has a direct impact on these countries’ economies. According to an estimate of the World Bank, the cost of health care will increase by around 40% in the next few years for all of these countries. In this paper, guidelines for controlling and monitoring such a medical and socio-economic issue will be discussed, along with an analysis of best practices and clinical pathways that must be used to manage this HIV/AIDS issue. Case management plan Case management in the nursing and health fields deals with special management training in order to coordinate with patients for the best available health services. Nursing case management basically is a training program based on the patient’s satisfaction about their health and special care. The basic approach of this training syllabus is based on five components as given below: 1- Consideration 2- Planning 3- Execution 4- Evaluation 5- Coordination All of these five basic factors involved in nursing case management focus on a single goal of maintaining health quality. The training involves a multi-faceted process dealing with the coordination of a wide group of people, such as patients, family members as well as the health care team. By coordinating this group of people, better health care can be achieved by helping to utilize the best possible resources that are availabile in the most appropriate management facilities. As per the Case Management Society of America, case management basically is a multitask process; it not only helps in improving health care facilities and providing a general and individual approach for a better quality of life, but it also works to reduce the cost of health care. It is a collaborative effort that includes planning, facilitation, selection of best options and optimum utilization of available resources. Data analysis and research about various diseases, treatment and special care related to some specific health issues is another important element involved in nursing case management. Below are the basic goals of nursing case management: An efficient and quick usage of appropriate resources according to requirements. Availability of useful information about various health issues and best health care facilities for patients and families. Achievement of desired outcome in health care section. Valuable activities for improving proficiency and performance. Practice team collaboration. Provide quality services to achieve best health care outcomes. In most cases it’s the responsibility of registered nurses to work as case managers. Nursing case management involves various factors and for the most part, medical staff and nurses are being trained in diverse work areas. Nursing case management may vary from patient to patient and, according to medical experts, nursing case management involves different techniques for different diseases. For general patients and in cases of self care (patients with specific diseases like diabetes, where patients can control their own symptoms), areas of attention for nurses are quite different. They tend to use their energy and services in evaluation and timely assessment of patients, while in cases of high risk patients, case management involves complete assessment and routine monitoring of patients; the determination of the right treatment and selection of the best clinical pathway in order to plan the availability of best health care for patients. Discharge planning is the most significant feature of nursing case management because it involves a patient’s health condition and patient compliance in order to get discharged from hospital; therefore, patient-nurse coordination is necessary for best discharge planning. . In this particular case the managers have to make sure that, firstly, the health condition of HIV patients is improved and, secondly, that any necessary precautionary policies for the future are identified and developed. Precautionary practices should include awareness programs and any precautionary measures to stop the spread of AIDS. If an effective case management plan is initiated, a $20 billion budget could be utilized for mitigation activities. The first step would be to collect data about the sex, race and locality suffering the most from this problem – nurses can help in carrying out this research. 13% of the budget mentioned here is dedicated for housing people with AIDS. Data collection is important so that these funds reach the actual sufferers (CMSA). To make sure that any benefits reach the right beneficiaries, it’s important that an effective case management is practiced. Awareness programs and rehabilitation programs can be introduced and run through effective case management. Some psychological studies prove that counseling helps HIV patients a lot. This is where nurses can help patients. Grob (2008) has mentioned that MRM nursing theory, which asks nurses to pay attention to how a patient behaves and what his or her psychological make up is, can help. An experienced nurse can help a lot in this regard. Experienced nurses, by observing a patient’s psychology, can guide them towards preventive measures and thus spread awareness. In case management of HIV/AIDS, dieticians can also play an important role. Sometimes diet control can help HIV patients. Pharmacists can offer guidance to HIV/AIDS patients as well. References CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/default.htm CMSA. ‘National case management week’. Retrieved from http://www.cmsa.org/Default.aspx?tabid=104 Grob, M. (2008). Finite Element Analysis of Bone Remodeling - Implementation of a Remodeling Algorithm in MATLAB and ANSYS. GRIN Verlag. Read More