Barriers to Health Equity

Barriers to Health Equity

STI instances highlight a concentrated risk among people aged 15 to 34, with a peak between 20 and 24. This demands specialized nursing interventions for prevention, education, and personalized tactics for various age groups.

Infection Rates Based on Age, Race, and Gender

Based on the age-based analysis, young adults aged 25-29 (1656 cases) and 30-34 (1598 cases) have the larger cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), highlighting vulnerability in persons in their late 20s and early 30s. Adolescents 15-19 (277 instances) and middle-aged adults 20-24 (1555 cases) are vulnerable to hazards. Conversely, the 65+ age group has fewer cases (101). In a race/ethnicity comparison, Hispanic/Latino individuals have the highest cases (3379), followed by White (2422) and the Black community (1198). There is diversification in Asian, multiracial, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander communities (CDC, 2021). Gender-wise, males (6678 cases) outnumber females (1962 cases), indicating a gender discrepancy in STI cases in California in 2021.

Evidence of Disparities

Racial/Ethnic and Gender Disparities

Hispanic/Latino was the group that reported the most cases (3,379), thus showing a higher positive difference. This implies that the Hispanic/Latino community is likely to be affected by sexually transmitted infections (STIs) more than other groups. The White and Black populations had quite a significant number of cases, 2422 and 1198, respectively. The inconsistencies suggest that the effect of STIs on these racial and ethnic groups might be different. Additionally, there is gender disparity, with males having a higher incidence of 6678 cases than females (1962 cases). Such a gender variation implies that men would be more exposed to STIs in California this year (Armenta et al., 2021).

Age Disparities

Age-specific studies showed that age groups aged 15-34 have higher transmission rates. This indicates a disparity in perceived susceptibility, whereby adolescents and young adults are at a higher risk compared to the older age groups (Cassidy et al., 2018).

Unknown Race/Ethnicity Category

The frequency index value of unknown in race/ethnicity (1196 cases) indicates a data gap, calling into question the continuousness. According to Delvin Nyasani et al. (2023), information violations can result in an underestimation of the differences, making it difficult to determine if these events are connected to the racial or ethnic groups that are stated as having a higher or lower rate of infections.

Barriers Contributing to Disparities in STD Rates

Cultural and linguistic obstacles may have an impact on sexual health practice awareness and understanding, as well as resource availability. Individuals with varied cultural and linguistic backgrounds may face barriers to accessing information and services. Secondly, stigma and discrimination also contribute to the disparities. The stigma associated with STDs, especially syphilis, can dissuade people from seeking testing and treatment. Fear of being judged or discriminated against may cause people to delay or avoid getting medical care, especially among underrepresented groups (Du et al., 2022). Thirdly, healthcare access gaps are also contributing factors. Socioeconomic factors such as income and insurance status can exacerbate gaps in healthcare access. Individuals with limited access to healthcare facilities and financial hurdles may be unable to seek timely and adequate STD testing and treatment.

Additionally, education gaps also play a major role. Differences in sexual health education and awareness may contribute to greater STD prevalence, particularly among young people. Inadequate knowledge of prevention strategies and safe practices may increase infection susceptibility. Lastly, structural inequities and systematic racism can both lead to differences in health outcomes. Limited access to quality healthcare, economic opportunity, and education may disproportionately affect specific racial and ethnic groups, influencing STD prevalence.

Comparison

According to the data, California accounts for over 34% of all reported cases in the US or 14,191 instances out of 41,349. This demonstrates that even though California has a high number of cases, the state’s share of illnesses in the US is lower than that of other states.

Two Person-Centered Actions for the Management of Marginalized Clients

Firstly, providing culturally appropriate education and counseling. The provision of culturally relevant education and counseling to minority clients, considering their heterogeneous origins and experiences, is necessary. Secondly, making resources and support networks accessible by guaranteeing that those excluded from services will have access to resources and support systems that enable them to properly plan their sexual health. This covers things like passing on details about local health centers, support groups, and online services. Notably, one can actively engage the clients into using existing options that are more accessible and thereby allow them to participate in their health.

Opportunities for Interprofessional Collaboration in Addressing STD Rates

Healthcare Providers and Community Organizations

Healthcare providers and community organizations are expected to work together to support the development of outreach initiatives that would involve community organizations as partners in the process, with the latter serving as a vital link between the public and healthcare services through outreach programs and education.

Education and Public Health Campaigns

The creation and execution of creative campaigns for safe social activities, regular testing, reduced stigma, and healthy education can be positively impacted by the collaboration of knowledgeable, professional health workers, educators, and public health workers.

Social Workers and Support Services

Social workers and support services working together would help to reduce the social determinants that affect STDs as the rates show significant inequality. This means handling personal, economic, and social issues like housing insecurities constraining a person from accessing health services (Du et al., 2022).

Technology and Telehealth Integration

Collaboration with healthcare technology experts to provide telehealth care, such as STD testing, counseling, and treatment, and make the services more accessible, especially for those who cannot reach the clinics due to the distance from their clinics.

Conclusion

The analysis stresses the crucial role nurses play in ensuring that syphilis interventions are made pertinent to the context. Appropriate education and tailored strategies for each age group form the basis for the comprehensive strategy in prevention and management

References

Armenta, R. F., Kellogg, D., Montoya, J. L., Romero, R., Armao, S., Calac, D., & Gaines, T. L. (2021). “There Is a Lot of Practice in Not Thinking about That”: Structural, Interpersonal, and Individual-Level Barriers to HIV/STI Prevention among Reservation Based American Indians. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3566. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073566

Cassidy, C., Bishop, A., Steenbeek, A., Langille, D., Martin-Misener, R., & Curran, J. (2018). Barriers and enablers to sexual health service use among university students: a qualitative descriptive study using the Theoretical Domains Framework and COM-B model. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3379-0

CDC. (2021). AtlasPlus – Charts. Cdc.gov. https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/nchhstpatlas/charts.html

Delvin Nyasani, Meshack Ondora Onyambu, Laura Lusike Lunani, Ombati, G., Elizabeth Mueni Mutisya, Gaundensia Nzembi Mutua, Price, M. A., & Justus Osano Osero. (2023). Sexually transmitted infection knowledge among men who have sex with men in Nairobi, Kenya. PLOS ONE, 18(9), e0281793–e0281793. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0281793

Du, M., Yan, W., Jing, W., Qin, C., Liu, Q., Liu, M., & Liu, J. (2022). Increasing incidence rates of sexually transmitted infections from 2010 to 2019: an analysis of temporal trends by geographical regions and age groups from the 2019 Global Burden of Disease Study. BMC Infectious Diseases, 22(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-022-07544-7

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General Instructions: Healthy People 2030 goals include reducing sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and their complications and improving access to quality STD care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.) estimates that there are more than 20 million new cases of STDs in the U.S. each year. STD rates are disproportionately higher among racial/ethnic minorities, youth, and LGBTQ+ populations, which cannot be fully explained by differences in individual risk behavior. Other factors, including discrimination, environmental injustice, wealth inequality, and healthcare access barriers may contribute to these disproportionate rates.

Barriers to Health Equity

View STD data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC,2021) by following these steps.

• Access the CDC Atlas PlusLinks to an external site.
• Select STD from the STEP 1 prompt: What data do you want to see?
• Select Charts from the STEP 2 prompt: How do you want to see them?
• Access STD chartsLinks to an external site..
• Navigate to the left-hand search box titled Select Data
  • Select STD from the indicator category.
  • Select the state in which you will practice from the geography category. (CALIFORNIA)

Include the following sections:

1. Application of Course Knowledge: Answer all questions/criteria with explanations and detail. Examine the CDC Atlas Plus website data presented in the charts and address the following:
   1. Explain what the data indicates about infection rates based on age, race, and gender.
   2. Identify evidence of disparities. Explain your rationale.
   3. Discuss biases or barriers that may contribute to disparities in STD rates in your state.
   4. Return to the left side of the screen and change the geography indicator category to the United States. Discuss how rates in your state compare to those of the U.S. as a nation.
   5. Describe two person-centered actions the nurse practitioner can use to promote STD self-care management for marginalized clients.
   6. Discuss opportunities for interprofessional collaboration to address disparities in STD rates.
2. Integration of Evidence: Integrate relevant scholarly sources as defined by program expectations:
   1. Cite a scholarly source in the initial post.
   2. Cite a scholarly source in one faculty response post.
   3. Cite a scholarly source in one peer post.
   4. Accurately analyze, synthesize, and/or apply principles from evidence with no more than one short quote (15 words or less) for the week.