Population
The population of America has been increasing each year, which poses excellent concerns regarding healthcare in the nation. The country’s immigration policy has resulted in more diverse cultures and communities trickling into the nation through legal and illegal activities. From a healthcare policy perspective, the increase in the number of people and cultures results in several issues that require critical assessment and remedy. According to Lichter and Johnson (2020), more immigrants have made the minority populations in the U.S. grow significantly above the rate of the Native Americans, which has resulted in diversity issues with their well-being. The case study selected Hispanic Americans, who are the minority population in the United States of America.
The Hispanic population is critical to American health and well-being. The selected group is discussed based on age, gender, spirituality, socioeconomic status, and healthcare needs. The Latino community mainly comprises people from Central America, Mexico, and Cuba. The group mainly speaks Spanish, even though most have learned and can write and speak fluent English.
The analysis of the chosen population reveals that Hispanics are increasingly growing in terms of age and gender. Lichter and Johnson (2020) indicate that about six out of ten Latinos in the country were aged below 35 years as of 2019. Moreover, the young Latino population currently stands at about 40 million, making it one of the fastest-growing populations in America. On the contrary, the adult Latino population stands at about 20 percent.
Latinos have a wide difference in socioeconomic performance across their birth country. According to Qian and Qian (2020), foreign-born Hispanic Americans tend to have low educational attainments compared to their native-born peers, particularly in terms of the rate of high school graduation, family income, and professional and economic index. Qian and Qian (2020) also noted that foreign-born Latinos have lower unemployment rates than their native-born counterparts.
Moreover, Hispanics’ nativity does not affect their level of poverty and economic attainments. Furthermore, the cultural groups also hover around some specific socioeconomic features, with the top ones being Cubans and South Americans. Those in the bottom levels mainly comprise Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, and those in Central America.
Hispanics also have the lowest rate of healthcare insurance coverage in the country. According to Keisler-Starkey and Bunch (2020), almost 25 percent of Latinos did not have insurance coverage by 2020. The ethnic groups also differ widely, with foreign-born Latinos more likely to not have health insurance, unlike their native-born peers.
Keisler-Starkey and Bunch (2020) indicate that about 58 percent of the Latinos born in Mexico and Central America do not have insurance coverage. Their lack of insurance is attributed to several factors, such as the types of jobs they have, most of which pay low salaries. Jobs with low salaries mainly have no insurance benefits or provide limited coverage because they cannot afford to cater to the costly premiums required to sustain the plans. Consequently, those who manage to have care plans mostly go for General insurance and Medicaid. The Latinos are also slow in taking the required vaccinations, which further affects their health in different age groups. Even though Hispanics have low socioeconomic status and lack coverage, they live longer compared to other populations in America.
The Latino community is facing the different challenges mentioned due to a lack of health literacy. Knowing what one should do is critical to the health status of individuals and society at large. Several opportunities exist for people to explore differently and understand their medical problems and how to solve them.
However, as indicated earlier, Latinos are slow to utilize the existing avenues for equipping themselves with such information. Their diverse education statuses may contribute to these variations in health literacy. Such problems can be addressed by using telehealth systems, which provide the needed information to the devices that consumers can access remotely.
Telehealth
Technology has played a crucial role in the innovative development of healthcare. Telehealth is one of the major areas that have been explored to help patients and clinicians cooperate without the limitations of distance and time. According to Appleman et al. (2022), telehealth can significantly influence the delivery of care. For instance, it can help people understand how technology can assist them in realizing new health practices and delivery methods to individuals and groups.
Moreover, it is also critical in helping to educate healthcare consumers about the various technologies they are supposed to use and the burden of infrastructure necessary for them to seamlessly navigate the system. This makes access to care easy for the users and designers, thus ensuring that the healthcare system is functioning for the good of the consumers and public health. Furthermore, the technology provides easy access to personal data and medical history, which makes it easy for doctors to understand the issues of the patients and their past medications. The data stored in the system can be accessed from any device, including mobile phones, through different apps developed for specific hospitals or health insurance providers.
The telehealth system is also crucial as it empowers medics to assess their client’s needs and deliver the necessary care. This makes it easier for nurses to practice their services from any setting using the most available systems, such as smartphones, webcams, phone calls, and VOIP. The clients only need to make a call or follow through with the prompts provided by the system to access the required information. Connolly et al. (2020) also indicate that telehealth can mainly be used to provide care for different medical needs, such as meditation, hypnosis, guidance on vitamin supplements, aromatherapy, and therapeutic touch, among others.
Mobile apps become handy because they provide easy access routes and methods that streamline communication between nurses doctors and their patients. The apps also provide 24 hours 7 days a week management of the condition of the patient, making it easier for them to also offer personalized care to the patients based on real-time developments. Thus, the patients whose data have been captured in the system can easily navigate the hospital portal and access any information relating to their medical records and needs.
Care Plan
A care plan is critical in events where a medic has identified an issue with the patients. This requires the definition of specific elements of care, which include assessing the participants, interventions, comparison, and outcomes (PICO). In this case, the participants are the Hispanic Americans, who have been described above, using a case study of a single patient.
The intervention developed in this case is to design a preventive intervention using telehealth. The case study also compares the health of Hispanics with that of most of the American population based on the health data available to the public. Moreover, the outcomes intended in this case are mainly comprised of the need to improve healthcare issues and potential risk factors.
This study considers a 70-year-old American Hispanic whose health status reveals he experiences heartburn every time he takes a meal. The patient revealed no other health issues except backaches and joint pains whenever he walks for 2 kilometers or more.
His medical history reveals he was poisoned and was treated successfully. Moreover, other records comprise taking OTC Pepcid three times per week. The patient’s nursing assessment revealed that crepitus noted bilateral elbow joints and GERD. The patient takes alcoholic beverages and smokes at least five cigarettes each day. The patient is a retiree and mostly spends his days on his ranch.
Consequently, in the case of the patient identified, remote health management is critical to provide high-quality healthcare services that meet the specific needs of the client.In particular, the health state of the patient can be monitored each time while the nurses address the needs of those in critical care in hospitals. Based on this case, Table 1 below can help in providing a centered care plan for the patient.
Client Care Plan
Diagnosis
- The patient shows he has issues with joints and bones. He also has issues with GERD.
Assessment
- The patient is restless after taking meals.
- The patient gets fatigued within a few minutes of exercise.
Planning
- Provide graphic information that is accessible through the system to educate the patient.
- Educate the patient on the major causes of bone and joint problems in old age.
- Encourage the patient to participate in activities that help reduce fatigue and make their bones stronger.
Intervention
- Continuously assess the condition of the patient.
- Continuous monitoring of the patient’s medical data and observing vital signs.
- Engage the patient through verbal communication.
Rationale
- Divert patient attention and help them focus on their health.
- Empower the patient to express his feelings and desires with the medical intervention.
Evaluation
- Monitoring the patient’s performance.
- Compile real-time reports regarding the patient’s recovery and response to the interventions offered.
References
Appleman, E. R., O’Connor, M. K., Rockefeller, W., Morin, P., & Moo, L. R. (2022). Using video telehealth to deliver patient-centered collaborative care: the G-IMPACT pilot. Clinical gerontologist, 45(4), 1010-1019. Web.
Connolly, S. L., Miller, C. J., Lindsay, J. A., & Bauer, M. S. (2020). A systematic review of providers’ attitudes toward telemental health via videoconferencing. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 27(2), e12311. Web.
Keisler-Starkey, K., & Bunch, L. N. (2020). Health insurance coverage in the United States: 2019. Washington, DC: US Census Bureau.
Lichter, D. T., & Johnson, K. M. (2020). A demographic lifeline? Immigration and Hispanic population growth in rural America. Population Research and Policy Review, 39(5), 785-803. Web.
Qian, Z., & Qian, Y. (2020). Generation, education, and intermarriage of Asian Americans. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 46(14), 2880-2895. Web.