Discussion Question Using the Tool Kit in the learning materials, describe from the set of criteria you will use to guide and determine the prioritization process upon community health assessment anal

reply to DQ1:

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I am doing my community health project on hand washing. It is directed toward the 3-5 year old age group. I chose four criteria to base how I prioritize the need. The first priority is the need among vulnerable populations. Many of the children in the classroom that I chose do not come from the best homes. Dirty clothes, along with unwashed faces and hands are the norm when they arrive to school. The parents rely on the schools to teach the children more than just the educational part of their lives. Teaching them when to wash their hands is just as important as how.

Second, determining if the issue is the root cause of other problems. Lack of hand washing spreads germs like wildfire. Children are taught to sneeze or cough into their hands but if they do not wash them after, the germs are spread all over the classroom or brought home to other family members. With the current problem of spreading Covid-19 and now flu season is right around the corner, teaching proper hand hygiene is more important than ever.

Third, are existing intervention focused on the issue? How many times have you heard an adult say, “Go wash your hands!”? The child wanders off for 30 seconds and then returns with wet hands to show they “washed” them. If the child does not know how to do the task correctly, the hand washing does nothing to prevent the spread of germs. Rinsing hands under a faucet of cold water with no soap or scrubbing makes the act useless. The intervention needs to focus on getting children to do the deed with purpose and make it a habit after such things as using the bathroom or sneezing. The fourth criteria would be based on the ability to measure the impact of the issue. I am not sure exactly how to do this yet. A possibility would be to compare the number of sick children from each classroom and determine which groups are taught the hand washing techniques and which ones are allowed to do it however they want. Since children can pick up illnesses from almost anywhere due to day care or other family members picking something up outside the home, this could be tough to analyze accurately. The criteria list could change a little as the project progresses. More criteria could be added, or their order of importance may change, but currently this is how I see the criteria for prioritizing the community health project. 

                                            References

American Hospital Association. (2020). Step 5: Prioritize Community Health 

Issues: ACHI. Retrieved from https://www.healthycommunities.org/resources/toolkit/files/step5-select-priority  

reply to DQ2:

 Looking up diabetes in the tool kit, it states that the goal for 2020 is to reduce the disease burden of diabetes mellitus (DM) and improve the quality of life for all persons who have or are at risk for diabetes mellitus (HeathlyPeople.gov, n.d.). There are roughly 34.2 million people in the United States that suffer from diabetes and it is the seventh cause of death. Early prevention, detection, and treatment are key factors in the proper management of as well as the prevention of secondary complications related to this diagnosis. The numbers of diabetes continue to rise and the importance of education is critical, now more than ever. The rising obesity issue that plagues the United States has added to the rise in number, other risk factors include smoking, inactivity, poor diet, hypertension, and hypercholesteremia. Proper monitoring and education can prevent a potential diabetes diagnosis, and education on better management after diagnosis would offset the numerous complications that come from diabetes mellitus and the effect that it has on the body.

In thinking about my topic and choosing one that was important to me, prioritization of need was something to consider. As a home health nurse, working with a variety of patients within the community, and have often been witness to the complications of uncontrolled diabetes mellitus. Patients with diabetic ulcers and amputations that were potentially avoidable have been a large majority of the cliental. I considered the severity of the problem, the need among vulnerable citizens of my community, resources around the area I reside, and the fact that this is a trending issue within the community. As health care providers, the ability to heal and help is always first and forefront in our minds while providing care, but the reality is that we cannot fix everyone. Once the patient returns to their home environment, there is nothing that can be done. A large majority of those diagnosed fall within a vulnerable population with many of these also being in a minority group. African American adults are 60 percent more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes by a physician, and my community has a large African American community with many living at or below the poverty level  (Office of Minority Health, 2019). The utilization of home health and other community resources can make a difference in the education level and ability to control the disease.