Discussion – Personal Reflection on Vulnerable Populations

Discussion – Personal Reflection on Vulnerable Populations

Poverty and Vulnerability

This course has changed my perception of poverty and vulnerability. Previously, I thought of poverty as a lack of money to buy things needed in life. Now, I see it as a multidimensional phenomenon with various deprivations. The concepts of “health poverty,” “educational poverty,” and “social poverty” borrowed from Stanhope and Lancaster have widened my vision regarding poverty, showing that it touches every aspect of an individual’s life (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2022).

My definition of vulnerability has also changed. To me, it was a state of being at risk due to impaired coping abilities. Now, I understand it to be this intricate nexus of individual and structural factors, both variable and permanent. Indeed, the course reveals a very complex relationship between vulnerability and poverty, with them often cyclically reinforcing each other.

Personal Insights from Interviews

The interviews I carried out with Dr. Jennifer D’Andrea and Winnie Cynthia were really very helpful in enlightening me on addiction and recovery. Treatment styles by Dr. D’Andrea, with views on relapse as a part of recovery, really opened my mind to other ways of thinking. Her emphasis on collaborative care was sensitive to the need for integrated health approaches in treating addiction.

Winnie’s personal account was so powerful. She described how addiction invaded all areas of her life: academics, relationships, and mental health—things that gave me a better understanding of substance use disorders. Her struggles with stigma and limited on-campus resources brought to light major barriers standing in the way of seeking help for too many. These interviews increased my empathy and further put into perspective some of the biases that I held about those suffering from substance-use disorder, which also further solidified the importance of seeing the whole person outside of his or her addiction.

Impact on Nursing Practice

These experiences will greatly influence my future nursing practice. I have learned that patients addicted to any substance deserve trauma-informed and non-judgmental care. I learned how important it is to create a safe space where patients feel comfortable opening up without any type of stigma or judgment. These interviews and course materials have further driven home the message of holistic care. As a nurse, I will have to consider not only the physical but also psychological, social, and environmental parameters that surround addiction and recovery from substance use. It is through this holistic approach that assessment and care planning will be informed for patients with addiction issues.

Literature Insights

The literature on vulnerable populations has deepened my understanding of the issues many individuals with addiction face. Flaubert et al. (2021) highlight that nurses must play a vital role in health evaluation and establishing physical treatments resulting from drug use. This makes it imperative for a nurse to be knowledgeable about the physiological effects of different substances. Further, Jenkins et al. (2022) bring out the issue of mental health screening and indications for referral in addiction care. This brings in what was so well put across by Dr. D’Andrea: encouraging integrated care means close collaborative work with mental health professionals. Ernstmeyer and Christman (2021) relate to the role of spirituality in healthcare, especially within addiction treatment. It emphasizes the importance of being sensitive to patients’ spiritual needs and beliefs, which may strongly influence their views on addiction and recovery.

Nursing Implications

From these experiences and readings, some significant nursing implications are: firstly, for a patient with a substance use disorder, the nurse needs to carry out a holistic assessment of health that addresses physical, psychological, social, and spiritual parameters. This multidimensional approach is important in the execution of proper care planning and treatment. Secondly, nurses are mainly in a vantage position when it comes to education and harm reduction. Nurses need to give patients adequate information on safer ways of using alcohol and drugs and strategies for harm minimization. Education can save lives and be an essential component of compassionate care.

Thirdly, nurses should actively work to reduce the stigma associated with addiction and mental health within facilities and in the larger community. Challenging stereotypes builds understanding that fosters an enabling environment for help-seeking. Fourth, treating a client with an addiction requires a multidisciplinary intervention by a nurse, a counselor, a social worker, and a physician. Nurses must be able to function within an interdisciplinary team by understanding the distinctive capabilities of each profession.

Additionally, cultural competence is critical in addiction care. Nurses need to provide care that respects how cultural factors might influence substance use and recovery through the tailoring of approaches to be able to answer diverse patient populations. Furthermore, nurses have a role in advocating for increased access to addiction treatment services and harm reduction policies. On-the-front-line experiences with patients place nurses in a unique role, allowing them to be viewed as voices in the shaping of healthcare policy and practice. Finally, since addiction treatment is becoming even more complicated and nimble, nurses must commit themselves to continual learning and accessing current evidence-based practices. This will allow for continuing education that enables the best care to be dispensed to the concerned population.

Consistently, this class and the associated interviews have been a lodestar in shifting my understanding of issues of vulnerability, poverty, and addiction. They reiterated to me the critical role a nurse can play in bringing empathetic, holistic care to individuals with substance use disorders. I am eager to carry these insights forward to provide improved and more compassionate care for this vulnerable population by working hard to see the person beyond their addiction.

References

Ernstmeyer, K., & Christman, E. (2021). Chapter 18 Spirituality. In Nursing: A Concept-Based Approach to Learning. Chippewa Valley Technical College. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK591821/

Flaubert, J. L., Menestrel, S. L., Williams, D. R., & Wakefield, M. K. (2021). Supporting the health and professional well-being of nurses. In www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573902/

Jenkins, E., Currie, L. M., Hirani, S., Garrod, E., Goodyear, T., McGuinness, L., David, A., & Bonnie, K. (2022). Enhancing nurses’ capacity to provide concurrent mental health and substance use disorder care: A quasi-experimental intervention study. Nurse Education Today, 117(117), 105483. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2022.105483

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2022). Public health nursing: Population-centered health care in the community (10th ed.). Elsevier.

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Instructions
Review the appropriate rubric to make sure you understand the criteria for earning your grade.
Review your Summary of Interviews paper.

Personal Reflection on Vulnerable Populations

Review the chapters in Public Health Nursing: Population-centered Health Care in the Community related to your specific vulnerable population.
Review the articles you found on OCLS(new tab) related to the population you focused on during this course.
Review your personal definitions of “poverty” and “vulnerability” established during Workshop One.
Prepare to discuss the following prompts:
Discuss how this course impacted your definitions of “poverty” and “vulnerability.”
Share the personal insights you gained through the interviews you conducted.
Discuss how these experiences will impact your nursing practice?
Share information from your readings related to the vulnerable populations that have impacted your thoughts about the life situation experienced by this population.
Discuss nursing implications related to the care of this vulnerable population.