Heart Disease in low income geographical area - Research Paper Example

Heart Disease Bibb County is a small town located in the central region of Georgia. The city located within Bibb County is Macon, Georgia. A community diagnosis as defined by the WHO is “a quantitative and qualitative description of the health of citizens and the factors, which influence their health. It identifies problems, proposes areas for improvement, and stimulates action” (World Health Organization, 2010). Bibb County’s population is 155,547 as reported in the 2010 U.S. Census. The African Americans make up 52.1% of the population while, the Caucasians make up 43.2% of the population in Bibb County. The remaining proportion of the population is shared between the Hispanics and Asians. The male population in the country is 46% of the total population, whereas that of females is 52.9%. 25.8% of the population in Bib County is under 18 and 12.7% are over 65 years old. The percentage of high school graduates is 81.2%. The median household income is $38,798 and 22.4% of Bibb County’s population is below poverty level (US Census, 2010). The county’s unemployment rate is at 9.4% according to the County’s Health Rankings (2011). The fieldwork carried out in Macon, Georgia, revealed that the prevalence of heart diseases and mitigating factors are significant in the low-income groups. A research carried out in order to test the hypothesis revealed the same results. The sample consisted of 20 families which were asked to reveal their medical history and socio economic background. The survey revealed that 9 participants belonged to the low income group, and either their mother or father has a heart problem or both; 5 revealed that they have no heart patients in their immediate family; and 6 revealed that they had other diseases. The entire sample consisted of low-income families. Nevertheless, those who revealed that they have heart patients in their family also revealed that the awareness was one of the reasons along with the availability of resources in order to buy health. On the contrary, those who informed they had no heart patient history in their family were those who belonged to the lower-income group and had poor life style, and are facing various mitigating health problems such as hypertension and diabetes that may lead to a heart trouble. Later secondary research was conducted where findings and conclusions reached by researchers in the past were considered. This research confirmed the results that most of the low-income groups are at stake mainly because either they have no facilities at their disposal, or they are not thoroughly aware of the factors that may lead to the problem along with recognizing the initial symptoms. On the other hand, secondary research revealed that there are various other factors too which lead to heart problems in low-income groups. Statistics and Partnerships Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in Georgia. Statistics in this respect reveal that many women are at a substantial risk of developing heart disease. Activities like smoking are common among 19% of women whereas, 27% face obesity problems, 27% have high blood pressure, 37% have high cholesterol levels, and 60% are not physically active (Bryan, 2007). Georgia’s death rate is 9% higher than the rate of U.S on average. During 2006 an estimated of 143,800 hospitalizations took place because of cardiovascular diseases, which amounted to almost $ 4.4 billion spent by people living in the state on heart related problems. Moreover, the heart diseases, as a cause of death, remained 16% higher than the overall deaths caused in the whole United States (Health State, 2008). Research revealed that the death rate for men were 1.4 times higher than of women in 2006. Furthermore, it revealed that it was 1.3 times higher for blacks than for whites; black males were more prone to premature deaths due to CVD and had a higher risk of having a heart disease. The statistics of 2006 noted incidents in which black people who were below the age of 65, died due to heart problems (Health State, 2008). Although, there are innumerable prevention programs, there are galloping graph depictions that reveal an increase in the rate of women developing heart trouble. However, one of the most authentic cardiovascular health surveillance was considered that highlighted the results. Cardiovascular Health Surveillance shoulders the responsibility of monitoring the health outcomes, behaviors, and health care settings. The main purpose of this organization is to collect data on the cardiovascular disease for the state of Georgia; along with developing strategies and tools to prevent heart disease. These particular tools are developed with a stringent focus upon physical activities, nutrition, and putting an end to the use of drugs and tobacco (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012). It is important to mention here that Cardiovascular Health Surveillance provide data to public health professionals. Cardiovascular disease category includes all diseases of the heart and blood vessels, comprising of ischemic heart disease, congestive heart failure, hypertension, stroke and atherosclerosis (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012). Cardiovascular Health Initiative (CVHI) has started to work meticulously in order to improve the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CVHI has entered into major partnerships with the Georgia Coverdell Acute Stroke Registry, the Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention Program, the American Heart Association and Health Districts. The Georgia CVHI invests $ 200,000 annually in order to support the policy and environmental change initiatives in partnership with the health districts. It functions across three domains namely, worksites, health care and community. Healthcare policies include policies such as prohibition of tobacco and healthy eating policies along with awareness about health activities (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012). The Bibb County Community Center is responsible to create awareness. One such way they adopted to create awareness was through churches that adopted wellness policies, strategic plan for members and a faith-based wellness center that was to be responsible for free health screenings, workout classes, education in general about chronic illnesses and many others (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012). Meals On Wheels is a local nonprofit organization that provides one meal daily to qualifying homebound patients. During my clinical rotation, I interviewed the meal organizers to inquire about if meals are prepared according to patients health problems. I was surprised to learn that the meals are not prepared with a patient’s medical diagnosis in mind. The meals are planned using the Food Pyramid and are a balanced diet. Most meals are normally low in fat, but may be high in carbohydrates. Meals on Wheels provide a valuable service to Bibb County. Bibb County’s healthcare policies include the training of EMS providers to save lives of stroke stricken patients. During the training, the support system provided knowledge about stroke (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012). Stroke related Deaths During 2008, stroke became the leading cause of death in Georgia. An estimated of 5% (3,775) of total deaths were due to stroke. In 2007, the death rate due to CVD in Georgia was 17% higher than the national rate. Ischemic Heart Disease In Georgia, 23% of deaths i.e. 15,669 deaths were caused by IHD. Nevertheless, in 2007 Georgia’s death rate was 20% lower than national rate due to IHD. Sex CVD death rates were higher in men than women in 2008. However, death rates due to stroke were similar among men and women in 2008. Race CVD death rates were higher among black than whites in 2008. Stroke rates were 1.4 times higher among blacks than whites in 2008. IHD death rates showed similar percentage among the blacks and the whites. Age Death rate for CVD increases with age, but 44% seemed to die due to CVD in 2008, 19% who were younger than 65. 22% of people dying in Georgia from stroke were younger than 65. Thus, the rates kept fluctuating although government and health professionals made significant efforts in this regard. This could be due to lack of research in significant areas such as education in general for the public, which could have brought general awareness about risk factors which cause heart diseases. It could be due to the fact that although, health professionals are well aware of the people and the risk factors, but their chosen tools to increase knowledge and prevent cardiovascular diseases are not appropriate. The Minnesota Intervention wheel puts forth certain suggestions in relation to the nursing actions that may be appropriate while dealing with a patient. They work collaboratively in order to prevent disability and other health issues. The wheel comprises of different categories that includes health policies as well as educating the nurses as well as the patients alike (The Georgia Department of Public Health, 2012, Wisconsin Department of Health Services, 2011). The statistics of 2012 reveal that although there is a high rate of awareness among people and the death rate have decreased; there is persistently prevailing rate of heart disease in Georgia. Perhaps, like highlighted above, it seems to be true here that the health professionals are not able to highlight the risk factors that are consistent in causing the heart disease. These risk factors include high blood pressure, diabetes, smoking, inactivity, and poor diet among the Georgians. Despite the fact that health professionals with the help of partnerships in varied health centers have established programs that will contribute to decreasing the risk factors, but they have lacked somewhere (American Heart Association, 2013). Considering the World Health Organization’s statistics and predictions, 75% of financial burden was caused by cardiovascular diseases in low and middle-income areas. Moreover, another report produced by World Economic Forum and the Harvard School of Public revealed that costs related to cardiovascular diseases would dramatically increases (Moolani, Bukhman, & Hotez, 2012). Although, there has been great efforts exerted by the partnerships and health professionals; they have not been able to highlight and discourage people of the risk factors. If I were to create a campaign, I would encourage people to recognize the risk factors and quit the usage, practices, and diets that may lead to cardiovascular diseases. I would also develop programs that would help the health professionals such as nurses to develop interpersonal skills and the power to convince the people. Small adverts such as the public service messages can play a vital role in bringing about a change in the life-style of the people. In order to create awareness, it is necessary to develop pamphlets that highlight need for first aid education for the community members and nurses, as well. This way people would be able to recognize symptoms of any serious illness and take patients to the hospital immediately in order to reduce the risk of death. Training nurses on a regular basis by holding training sessions throughout the year will help them recognize diseases that are less known and usually neglected by individuals; diseases that can eventually cause heart trouble. This would help health professionals to give better advice and treatment to their patients. Moreover, nurses must also be educated to carefully advise patients about their diet; nurses must also be given the authority to direct the dietician or those who prepare meals for patients. This will further help in curbing the increasing death rate in Georgia. I will suggest that the training of nurses requires scrutiny as well as assessment of their authority over hospital matters should be carried out. The reason for suggesting these is that once the doctor prescribes treatment to a patient, it is the nurse who takes care of the patient therefore, it is necessary to continuously train nurses for better patient care as well as increasing their knowledge of diseases that they have to deal with. If the above-mentioned methods are applied then there is a possibility that rates of CVD will become positive in the next 2 years’ time. Nurses could also work with community in a way that they can brief members of the family on how to deal with patients when they are discharged from the hospital. Reference List American Heart Association. (2013). Heart & stroke 2012 Statistical Update. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from my.americanheart: http://my.americanheart.org/professional/General/Heart-Stroke-2012-Statistical-Update_UCM_434526_Article.jsp Bryan, L. (2007, October 11). Program Fact Sheet: Strengthening the Heart of Georgia. Retrieved January 5, 2013, from womenheart: http://womenheart.org/programsEvents/upload/Georgia-program-factsheet.pdf Health State. (2008). 2006 Georgia Stroke and Heart Attack awareness Survey. Retrieved January 15, 2013, from health.state: http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/epi/cdiee/2008SHAAwarenessSurveyReport.pdf Moolani, Y., Bukhman, G., & Hotez, J. (2012). Neglected Tropical Diseases as Hidden Causes of Cardiovascular Disease. PLoS Negl Trop Dis , 6 (6). Public Health Nursing. (n.d.). Public Health Nursing. The Georgia Department of Public Health: Program & Data Summary. (2012, April). Cardiovascular Disease. Retrieved January 13, 2013, from health.state: http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/epi/cdiee/CVD_Program_and_Data_Summary-2012_Final.pdf World Health Organization (WHO) (2010). City Health Profiles: how to report on health in your city. ICP/HSIT/94/01 PB 02. Retrieved 4/10/2012 from www.euro.who.int/document/wa38094ci.pdf Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (2011, September 14). Public Health Nursing. Retrieved January 26, 2013, from dhs: http://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/phnc/InterventionWheel/index.htm US Census. (2010). Income. Retrieved April 2012 from http://www.census.gov/compendia/databooks/2010/www/income.html. Read More