The context and specifics of service delivery have been altered significantly in the healthcare industry over the past several years. With the increase in the pace and extent of globalization, the levels of diversity within the Canadian community have risen substantially, which has led to a notable change in healthcare practices (Robertson & Minkler, 1994; Tsai & Wilson, 2020). Though the recent change toward the focus on patient education and as a critical component of addressing major public health issues in Canada has been an undeniably positive improvement, further opportunities for increasing nurse-patient communication within diverse settings should be encouraged.
Over the past decade, the health practices observe din the Canadian public health context have been shifted toward an innovative approach. Specifically, the focus on a patient-oriented model has been prevalent (Parkes et al., 2020; Hancock, 1986). The specified approach has helped manage the need so diverse communities while ensuring that core public health issues are addressed (Epp, 1986; Canadian Public Health Association, 1996). However, the described strategy has not been particularly beneficial for diverse communities in the long term.
In turn, the effectiveness of the strategies that Canadian health management organizations and authorities have been promoting have produced outstanding results. Namely, the population health approach that has been encouraged as a crucial health management model within the Canadian community has been focusing on the active education of community members (Lalonde, 1981). As a result, the levels of health literacy have been rising within the Canadian community (Lalonde, 1981). The outlined change has understandably contributed to a rise in prevention and management rates for major health issues, ranging from the coronavirus to issues such as obesity and CVD (Mykhalovskiy et al., 2018). Therefore, the overall effects can be deemed as largely positive.
At the same time, he effects of the described health management strategies could be significantly more profound. Specifically, due to the growing increase in the Canadian population, the patient-nurse ratio has been dropping, implying that the quality of patient education may suffer (Law, 1980; Green et al., 1988; DHSS Research Group, 1980). For this reason, changes to the existing approach in promoting a patient-oriented healthcare service and the rise in patient literacy must be undertaken. Namely, the use of digital tools allowing for an increase in patient agency and independence in searching for the available a credible health information should be considered. The integration of innovative digital tools and techniques, as well as an increased range of resources, will encourage the target demographic to build health literacy independently, thus, acquiring ng the necessary skills for proper health management.
Therefore, the proposed change in the approach to implementing public health practices concerns primarily altering the extent to which nurses instruct and control patients. Specifically, opportunities for the latter to develop personal agency while gaining critical knowledge will have to be pursued (Pearson et al., 2022). The specified change will allow alleviating the pressure experienced by nurses due to the drop in nurse-patient ratio observed lately (Pearson et al., 2022). Additionally, the incorporation of innovative solutions is highly advised to ensure interactive patient education and, therefore, the rapid development of crucial skills in the target audience.
Despite the impressive advancement of patient education and the enhancement of health literacy within the Canadian social context, the increase in diversity-oriented nurse-patient communication must be seen as a target due to the need to support the changes regarding the patient-oriented healthcare model. The described change will require further patient engagement with the help of social media and the promotion of active participation in the health-related dialogue. The specified practices are expected to introduce additional opportunities for preventing major health issues and managing the current ones.
References
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Epp, J. (1986). Achieving health for all: A framework for health promotion. Ministry of Supply and Services Canada.
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Pearson, K., Ngo, S., Ekpo, E., Sarraju, A., Baird, G., Knowles, J., & Rodriguez, F. (2022). Online patient education materials related to lipoprotein (a): Readability assessment.Journal of Medical Internet Research, 24(1), 1-10.
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Tsai, J., & Wilson, M. (2020). COVID-19: a potential public health problem for homeless populations. The Lancet Public Health, 5(4), e186-e187.