Texas, one of the largest and wealthiest American states, has been facing several issues regarding healthcare for at least a few decades. Some of the most prominent are rising maternal mortality rates, high rates of diabetes, and health disparities among adolescents. Those issues can, at least partially, be attributed to specific changes in the state’s healthcare services provision policies (for example, the closing of several women’s health clinics) – or a lack thereof (Ory et al., 2020). A study by Baeva et al. (2017) suggests that these issues are strongly associated with one another on the root cause level. These issues, if not addressed, threaten to increase in severity over time. Solving them requires improving the existing State healthcare policies by healthcare administrators and implementing new nursing practices considering the interconnectedness of the issues.
A steady increase in maternal mortality rate has been associated with a shift in the death causes in the past years. Though maternal deaths have traditionally been linked to heart diseases caused by obesity and diabetes, studies show that drug overdose has become the second leading cause of maternal death in Texas (Baeva et al., 2017). Raising awareness of prescription opioid overuse, providing families access to prenatal counseling, and risk assessment and management should be incorporated into nursing practices to reduce the factor of ignorance or negligence. Implementing regular and meticulous health screening and weight assessment for potential parents and providing adequate health services and counseling should be among the priorities for the state healthcare administration.
Low accessibility to healthcare and poor socio-economic conditions in the southern part of Texas are associated, in particular, with high levels of diabetes. With the regional levels of diabetes reaching 18.8%, which is significantly higher than nationwide (9.1%), and rising, this issue is increasingly alarming (Ory et al., 2020). This trend puts significant pressure on existing local nursing care facilities and consequently reduces the effectiveness of the care provided. Working on creating and improving the accessibility of affordable and quality healthcare services for South Texas should be the focus of the local healthcare authorities.
Destructive behavior among adolescents can be both a reason and a consequence of various health and socio-economic conditions that often lead to maternal mortality and diabetes. Texas school nurses listed mental health issues, drug use, and irresponsible sexual behavior as the most common severe issues among Texas alternative high schools (AHS) (Lind et al., 2020). A study by Lind et al. (2020) suggests that less than half of Texas students are engaged in regular health checks or receive counseling. School nurses are well-positioned to assess the psychological and physical condition of students. They can quickly notice and respond to signs of students’ health risk behavior by providing the necessary counseling and emotional support. Regular electronic health screening has been shown to raise students’ awareness of health risk behaviors and encourage them to correct theirs if needed, which makes it a potential option for healthcare administrators to implement.
The issues of destructive adolescent behavior, increasing levels of diabetes, and high maternal mortality rates in Texas are related. They present a wide range of unique challenges for nursing and healthcare administrations, such as addressing regional socio-economic disparities and counseling on relevant topics and healthcare in general. Some options, such as implementing electronic health screening, have been proposed to address these issues and have been shown to be effective. More modern and accessible healthcare initiatives, policies, and practices should be studied and implemented in the same way to resolve the hard-pressing health issues in Texas.
References
Baeva, S., Archer, N. P., Ruggiero, K., Hall, M., Stagg, J., Interis, E. C., Vega, R., Delgado, E., Hellerstedt, J., Hankins, G., & Hollier, L. M. (2017). Maternal mortality in Texas. American Journal of Perinatology, 34(06), 614–620. Web.
Ory, M. G., Lee, S., Towne, S. D., Flores, S., Gabriel, O., & Smith, M. L. (2020). Implementing a diabetes education program to reduce health disparities in south Texas: Application of the RE-AIM framework for planning and evaluation.International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 1–19. Web.
Lind, C. D., Richardson, L. P., McCarty, C. A., Stepanchak, M., & Katzman, K. (2020). 81. Does electronic health screening with feedback impact adolescents’ health beliefs and clinician interactions? [Abstract] Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(2), S42–S43. Web.