One of the most significant obligations of nurses today is to deliver high-quality nursing care to an aging, diverse population. Currently, nurses continue to practice utilizing conventional approaches like preventative care and holistic health in a continuously evolving culture. Still, they are also asked to show leadership in managing changes in patient demographics (Gu et al., 2020). The capacity of nurses to improve their practice and broaden their core knowledge to handle the issues associated with caring for older individuals and people from different cultural backgrounds will determine how well the healthcare delivery system functions in the future (How Demographics Affects Healthcare and Nursing, 2019). Without information about a population dynamics it is impossible to assess or provide for its health and medical treatment requirements.
Cultural Diversity
Diversity is an essential factor in patient demographic changes. The interaction of culture and health in today’s healthcare system is essential to providing high-quality patient care. According to Snyder et al. (2018), culture is the most important of the numerous elements that affect health attitudes and practices. Racial and ethnic minority patients may be more satisfied if the healthcare workforce is more diverse (Borkowski & Meese, 2020). Patients who report obtaining higher-quality care are more likely to be seen by medical professionals who share their racial or cultural origin.
Health Promotion
The number of resources needed for healthcare, the price of treatment supplied, and even the conditions specific to each demographic group are all impacted by changes in population size, age, race, and ethnicity. Salmond and Echevarria (2017) emphasize that nurses must learn to modify their practice to accommodate and promote healthy living. Moreover, demographic shifts require special treatment depending on the situation at that particular time. For instance, a population with many youths dying, leaving behind the elderly, would require special care and lifestyle to promote healthy living.
Communication Methods
In terms of communication methods, national origin, language, religion, sexual orientation, handicap, gender, age, socioeconomic position, and more are relevant considerations. Since nurses play a more crucial part in the delivery of healthcare, nursing practice, education, and viewpoints must change to reflect shifting demographics (Pérez-Stable & El-Toukhy, 2018). Communication methods imply that a given community has a unique way of receiving healthcare services. It, therefore, requires nurses to follow these cultures in administering their services which often proves challenging as they meet patients from different cultures and backgrounds.
References
Borkowski, N., & Meese, K. A. (2020). Organizational behavior in health care. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Gu, H., Lao, X., & Shen, T. (2020). Research progress on spatial demography.Spatial Synthesis, 125-145.
How Demographics Affect Healthcare and Nursing. (2019). CU Online.
Pérez-Stable, E. J., & El-Toukhy, S. (2018). Communicating with diverse patients: how patient and clinician factors affect disparities.Patient education and counseling, 101(12), 2186-2194.
Salmond, S. W., & Echevarria, M. (2017). Healthcare transformation and changing roles for nursing. Orthopedic nursing, 36(1), 12.
Snyder, C. R., Frogner, B. K., & Skillman, S. M. (2018). Facilitating racial and ethnic diversity in the health workforce. Journal of Allied Health, 47(1), 58-69.