Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations
Depressive Orders
Depressive disorders have been implicated in significant morbidity and mortality globally. Major depressive disorder accounts for the majority of all depressive disorders. Other types of depression include bipolar disorder, persistent depressive disorder, situational depression, and psychotic depression. Essentially, these types vary in their symptom presentation and management strategies. Depressive disorders are the most attributing factors to suicides and suicidal tendencies. The prevalence of depressive disorders has seen an upward surge over the past decades. In the United States alone, over 21 million adults have had at least one episode of major depressive disorder. The incidence is triple in adults over 60 (Kessler et al., 2020). Whereas the female population has a higher prevalence of the disorder, higher morbidity and mortality are seen in the male population.
Significant advances have been made in the management of depressive disorders. Management strategies aim at reducing the morbidities and mortalities attributable to these disorders. Over 70 billion dollars is spent by the US government annually on managing depressive disorders. Accordingly, this accounts for the majority of all mental healthcare spending. The federal government has worked in concert with state governments to expand healthcare to all patients who may require it. Healthcare spending on depression disorders has focused on scientific research on innovative ways to treat these disorders. Healthcare advocacy and promotion to vulnerable communities have also increased significantly. Over 12,000 agencies have been established across the US that support mental healthcare awareness (Ettman et al., 2020). Expansion of mental healthcare management has seen a considerable reduction in morbidities and mortalities attributable to depression disorder.
Role of the Interprofessional Team
Nurses are components of healthcare providers. Their role is to provide care to those who need it. As a nurse practitioner, my role will be to promote mental health awareness as a tool to enhance care among the vulnerable population. Health promotion has seen considerable success in reducing morbidities and mortalities resulting from depressive disorders. For this reason, mental health awareness has remained an indispensable tool in the management of mental health disorders.
The effectiveness of all management strategies for depressive disorders is dependent on the collaboration between all healthcare providers. Healthcare teams involved in the management of depression include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and clinical psychologists, among others. These disciplines work in concert to create pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic plans for these patients. The benefits of healthcare collaborations in depressive disorders management are evident in better clinical outcomes, better patient satisfaction, and enhanced efficiency of care provision processes. It is, therefore, the responsibility of all nurse practitioners and other medical disciplines to work in concert to enhance the efficiency of these teams.
Evaluating the Evidence and Positions of Others That Support a Team’s Approach
Significant strides have been made in care provision for patients with depressive disorders. Additional government spending coupled with enhanced clinical strategies to manage these disorders have been attributable to these improvements. However, these strategies have not been sufficient in managing these disorders. An upward trend is still seen in morbidities and mortalities attributable to these disorders. Vlasveld et al. (2018) argue that multidisciplinary collaboration in managing depressive disorders is key to enhancing the effectiveness of care processes and optimization of care. The authors narrate that interdisciplinary teams’ utility in healthcare has proved to be cost-effective and that its implementation may be pivotal in lowering the financial burden attributable to these disorders. Engaging in these teams may, therefore, be necessary. The benefits of the reduced burden of care are often felt by the individual patients as well as their societies. Nurses being components of healthcare teams, may play a role in reducing the care expenses for these persons by actively participating in their engagements and supporting the frameworks of its operationalizations.
Evaluating the Evidence and Positions of Others That are Contrary to a Team’s Approach
Contrary opinions have also come up regarding the utilization of healthcare teams to manage depressive disorders. Hammarberg et al. (2019) argue that in as much as healthcare teams remain crucial in designing treatment plans for patients with depressive disorders, their involvement in these care interventions alone is not sufficient. The article’s authors narrate that role definition remains crucial in enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of care processes within care settings. Additionally, a clear role definition enables a broad and expansive care provision process that enables less experienced care providers to learn from the more experienced members of the healthcare teams. This vertical transfer of skills and expertise not only allows continuity of care but also improves the care outcomes for higher acuity patients.
These contrary opinions have been echoed by Van den Broeck et al. (2017). These authors poke holes in the overall effectiveness of the utility of healthcare teams in the management of depression. The article explains that implementing a collaborative care paradigm in healthcare settings remains difficult under the current predisposition. Several factors impede this rollout. Technological advances, deontological clarity, adapted nomenclature, and financial reimbursements are key to the effective implementation of the collaborative care paradigm. These factors have, however, not been met in many healthcare setting facilities. The authors conclude that in as much as the collaborative paradigm maintains effectiveness and has added value to the caregivers and the patients, its implementation may be difficult.
My Position
These contrary opinions significantly differ from my overall position on the collaborative paradigm. Whereas role definition remains key in care management, collaborative care remains effective in the care process. These contrary opinions are, however, valid. The arguments presented in these articles give insight into areas that could be improved to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the collaborative care paradigm.
Conclusion
Depression remains a healthcare concern in the US. However, several interventions have been made to curtail the morbidity and mortality arising from these disorders. Healthcare providers play a major role in this regard. The collaborative approach is key to ensuring care optimization. As evident in this paper, several authors have scrutinized this rollout. As discussed in the paper, positive and negative opinions have been published that scrutinize this approach.
References
Ettman, C., Abdalla, S., Cohen, G., Sampson, L., Vivier, P., & Galea, S. (2020). Prevalence of Depression Symptoms in US Adults Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic. JAMA Network Open, 3(9), e2019686. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.19686
Hammarberg, S., Hange, D., André, M., Udo, C., Svenningsson, I., & Björkelund, C. et al. (2019). Care managers can be useful for patients with depression, but their role must be clear: a qualitative study of GPs’ experiences. Scandinavian Journal of Primary Health Care, 37(3), 273-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/02813432.2019.1639897
Kessler, R., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Alonso, J., Chatterji, S., Lee, S., & Ormel, J. et al. (2020). The global burden of mental disorders: An update from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) Surveys. Epidemiologia E Psichiatria Sociale, 18(1), 23-33. https://doi.org/10.1017/s1121189x00001421
Van den Broeck, K., Ketterer, F., Remmen, R., Vanmeerbeek, M., Destoop, M., & Dom, G. (2017). Why Collaborative Care for Depressed Patients is so Difficult: A Belgian Qualitative Study. International Journal of Integrated Care, 17(2). https://doi.org/10.5334/ijic.2491
Vlasveld, M., Anema, J., Beekman, A., van Mechelen, W., Hoedeman, R., & van Marwijk, H. et al. (2018). Multidisciplinary Collaborative Care for Depressive Disorder in the Occupational Health Setting: design of a randomized controlled trial and cost-effectiveness study. BMC Health Services Research, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6963-8-99
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Question 
Assessment 1 Instructions: Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations
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Develop a 3-5 page position about a specific healthcare issue related to a target vulnerable population. Include an analysis of existing evidence and position papers to help support your position. Your analysis should also present and respond to one or more opposing viewpoints.
Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations
Introduction
Note: Each assessment in this course builds on the work you completed in the previous assessment. Therefore, you must complete the assessments in this course in the order in which they are presented.
Position papers are a method to evaluate the most current evidence and policies related to health care issues. They offer a way for researchers to explore the views of various organizations around a topic. This can help you to develop your own position and approach to care around a topic or issue.
This assessment will focus on analyzing position papers about an issue related to addiction, chronicity, emotional and mental health, genetics and genomics, or immunity. Many of these topics are quickly evolving as technology advances or as we attempt to push past stigmas. For example, technological advances and DNA sequencing provide comprehensive information to allow treatment to become more targeted and effective for the individual. However, as a result, nurses must be able to understand and teach patients about the impact of this information. With this great power comes concerns that patient conditions are protected in an ethical and compassionate manner.
Position papers are a way for individuals, groups, and organizations to express their views and intentions toward a specific issue. In health care, many position papers address specific policies, regulations, or other approaches to care. As a master’s-prepared nurse, you should feel empowered to express and advocate for your own views on policy and care matters. This is especially important when it comes to populations you or your organization cares for that are not receiving the quality, type, or amount of care that they require.