NUR 4681 – Deliverable 7 – Global Health Care Action Plan
“Pay it Forward, Not Pass it On.”
Influenza is a common communicable disease but is a serious global health threat that impacts all countries. In this interconnected world, the next influenza pandemic is a matter of when not if, and a severe pandemic is believed by many experts to be potentially the most devastating global health event with far-reaching consequences. Most people recover from fever and other symptoms within a week without requiring medical attention, but influenza can cause severe illness or death, especially in people at high risk.
Severe health problems, long-term disabilities, and untimely deaths are expensive for the affected individuals and their families, who must pay the direct costs of medical care as well as bear the direct and indirect costs of caregiving. Health problems are also costly for the communities and nations that lose the economic and other contributions the affected individuals would have made through work productivity, tax revenue, and service if they had lived longer, healthier lives (UN, 2020).
Prevention science is one main objective of my action plan. Prevention is better than a cure, which expresses one of the foundational principles of global health. It is usually cheaper to spend relatively small amounts of money on interventions that keep people healthy across the lifespan than it is to spend relatively large amounts of money helping people recover from serious health problems. In the general population worldwide, immunization against influenza is considered the most important public health intervention to control seasonal, epidemic, and pandemic influenza. Education and understanding of the chain of infection are vital to prevent the spread of communicable diseases (WHO, 2018).
Influenza vaccination is effective and can prevent many illnesses, deaths, and losses in productivity. Expanding influenza vaccine use among healthcare providers and the vulnerable population is a high priority. Achieving and sustaining high influenza vaccination coverage among healthcare personnel is intended to help protect one another and their patients and reduce disease burden and healthcare costs (Paget, 2019).
People at greater risk of severe disease or complications when infected are pregnant women, the elderly, and individuals with chronic medical conditions. Adults aged 65 years and older include a large and diverse group of people worldwide. This vulnerable population will be the target audience for my campaign. The prevalence of chronic diseases changes as age increases beyond 65 years, as does frailty and functional status. By evaluating age-related differences, we hope to better inform surveillance of influenza rates and prevention and treatment efforts for adults aged 65 years and older.
Social determinants such as physical environment play a major role in the elderly and influenza. Safe water and clean air, safe houses, communities, and roads all contribute to good health. In temperate climates, seasonal epidemics occur mainly during winter, while in tropical regions, influenza may occur throughout the year, causing outbreaks more irregularly (WHO, 2018).
Healthcare personnel can acquire influenza and transmit it to patients and other personnel. Many healthcare providers are in frequent contact with patients with influenza or patients at high risk for complications of influenza, and their involvement in influenza transmission is a long-standing concern. Employers of health care providers should use evidence-based approaches to maximize vaccination rates. In general, multi-component interventions are the most effective, especially when influenza vaccination is perceived to be a facility leadership priority, and sufficient resources are made available to support the intervention.
The following strategies, such as education and campaigns, are recommended. Educational programs that emphasize the benefits of vaccination for patients and staff, especially at new staff orientation, where the programs will have a captive audience, would be implemented. We would also host organized campaigns to promote vaccination using a variety of media, including emails, newsletters, posters, and wearable stickers. Letters or other communication from senior leadership can also be utilized to encourage vaccination (WHO, 2019).
My influenza awareness campaign slogan would be “Pay it Forward, Not pass it on”. People 65 years and older bear the greatest burden of illness and disease; this places them as a high-risk and vulnerable population. The prevalence of chronic diseases changes as age increases beyond 65 years, as does frailty and functional status. Adults 65 years and older are at high risk of developing serious complications from chronic and communicable diseases compared with young, healthy adults. This risk is due in part to changes in immune defences with increasing age. (Jacobsen, 2019).
The vulnerable elderly have many health disparities, such as multiple unmet social needs, including food insecurity, inadequate transportation, and strained financial resources, which may be problematic in older adults, especially those living alone and who are isolating themselves in their homes. One of the human rights from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Governments have a responsibility for the health of their peoples which can be fulfilled only by the provision of adequate health and social measures”. The elderly may not be able to advocate for themselves, so others must help advocate for them. Governments, in particular, must take measures to help the most vulnerable in the population. We, as healthcare providers, should be “Paying it Forward” by protecting the health and well-being of the elderly from Influenza and “Not passing it on” (UN, 2020).
My evaluation strategy would involve a review of current year vaccination rates among different services/departments and types of health care personnel and patients for opportunities to increase vaccination. Identify strengths and opportunities for improvement and review various aspects of the flu vaccination program.
Upon completion of the campaign, we will continue to vaccinate as long as the flu is circulating in the community or until our flu vaccine expires or quantities are depleted. We would continue to monitor and communicate levels of seasonal influenza, maintain the campaign, and communicate to healthcare personnel that it is not too late to be vaccinated if the influenza virus is still prevalent in the community. We will meet with the planning committee to evaluate the campaign, identify challenges, and celebrate successes. We would then communicate the results of our seasonal influenza awareness and vaccination campaign (Paget, 2019).
A six-month planning guide for the seasonal influenza vaccination campaign will be used. It will contain helpful activities within a timeline to assist flu teams in planning, implementing and evaluating their facility’s campaign for vaccinating all healthcare personnel and patients over the age of 65. In April, we will evaluate and review the campaign. In May, we initiate the planning process. In June, we will plan the campaign. July and August will be used to promote the campaign. Finally, in September, we start the campaign with a kick-off event when sufficient vaccines are available.
References
Jacobsen, K. H. (2019). Introduction to global health. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Paget, John. (2019). Global mortality associated with seasonal influenza epidemics: New burden estimates and predictors from the Glamor Project. Retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31673337
World Health Organization. (2019). The determinants of health. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/hia/evidence/doh/en/ United Nations. (2020). Human rights. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/sections/issues- depth/human-rights/
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Question 
During a global health volunteer trip, you identified the need for a disease surveillance program targeting a preventable disease within a global population. You would like to create awareness about this need and propose a solution.
Select a preventable disease affecting a population and write a persuasive for the USAID.gov blog proposing a disease surveillance program.
NUR 4681 – Deliverable 7 – Global Health Care Action plan
Introduce the topic and include a thesis statement (1 paragraph)
Describe the preventable disease and population affected by the disease (1-2 paragraphs)
Propose methods for a disease surveillance program within the population (up to 1 page)
Suggest global health organizations that would be suited to launch the program (1-2 paragraphs)
Explain how the program would be communicated to healthcare providers and communities (1-2 paragraphs)
This should be in APA format. Information should be supported by evidence from professional sources published within the past five years.