Depression in later life is usually diagnosed on the basis of two clusters of symptoms: feelings and physical changes. In a 3-page paper, written in APA format using proper spelling/grammar, research the topic of depression in the elderly and address the following:

1. How would one know if an elderly relative had clinical depression or was sad because of specific life changes and losses?
2. What are the consequences of depression in the elderly?
3. Which behaviors would indicate a person going through depression needs therapy?
4. What kind of therapy would a professional recommend and why?

Be sure to include APA citations for any resources you used as references.

In a 3-page paper, written in APA format using proper spelling/grammar, research the topic of menopause and address the following:

1. Explain perimenopause, surgical menopause, stress menopause, and postmenopause.
2. Describe the signs of menopause.
3. Which other life changes (e.g., physical, psychosocial, and cognitive) may influence a women’s experience during menopause?
4. Which women are at the highest risk for osteoporosis?
5. Describe the traditional and alternative therapies for the conditions associated with menopause.
6. Suggest appropriate health, nutrition, and exercise guidelines for middle-aged and older adults.

Be sure to include APA citations for any resources you used as references.

Identify a specific public health issue that you believe needs to be highlighted more in health policy and based on your textbook readings discuss how social media can be used as a health promotion tool to improve public awareness on the selected healthcare issue (always start with a small introduction).

Do Not use the Topics given as Example.

Please be sure to adhere to the following when posting your weekly discussions:

1. Students are to write their name and the appropriate discussion number/discussion title in the title bar for each discussion. For example Discussion 1: Michael Smith or Discussion 3: Sheila Blaze This is important in identifying that students are submitting original posts as well as response posts as required. 

 As a reminder, all discussion posts must be minimum 250 words, references must be cited in APA format 6th Edition, and must include minimum of 2 scholarly resources published within the past 5-7 years. 

Textbook: Mason, D. J., Leavitt, J.K., Chaffee, M.W. (2016). Policy and Politics: In Nursing and Health Care. (7th• Ed) St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier, Saunders. ISBN-13: 9780323299886

instructions: All Initial discussion responses need to be answered with approximately 250-300 words and include at least one scholarly resource.

Objective: Distinguish between quantitative and qualitative research

Respond to the following questions based upon the type of health topic or practice problem presented in a quantitative or qualitative research article which is attached.[PDF] download

• Discuss the significance of research in managing this health topic or problem.
• Does the research article present a well-known health care issue, or present a new way to examine a known issue, or present an entirely new area of interest?
• Do the findings from the article contribute primarily to nursing theory, nursing practice, or general nursing knowledge? Defend and support your answer with material from the article.

Please be sure to validate your opinions and ideas with citations and references in APA format.

The post and responses are valued at 20 points. Please review post and response expectations. Please review the rubric to ensure that your response meets criteria.

Two paragraphs and two references no more than 5 years

Opioid and alcohol addiction impacts the nursing profession, quality of nursing care, and healthcare organizations. Nursing care is compromised as the complexity of a patient’s health increases with the use of alcohol and opioids. Addiction also commonly causes withdrawal symptoms, making it difficult to focus on non-pharmacological treatment options (Hagemeir, 2018). First responders become overwhelmed with opioid overdose related calls and it is common for cardiac or injury patient calls to be delayed.

       The American Association of Colleges of Nursing has taken the initiative to reach local levels through academics. Schools are being provided with webinars that discuss the CDC’s recommendations on opioid prescribing for chronic pain management, early interventions, treatments, and appropriate discontinuation of these medications (AACN, 2021).

       As mentioned by CCN (2021), relevant stakeholders related to opioid and alcohol addiction at a local level includes the patient, families, pharmacies, and health care professionals. Due to the increased need for healthcare resources through outpatient or ER visits and inpatient hospital admissions, less available appointments and longer ER wait times are the result (Hagemeier, 2018).

        The Florida Department of Health (2021), identifies an intervention that the pain management facility that I am currently employed at has adopted to address addiction concerns. In 2009, Legislation in Florida released the E-FORCSE initiative (Electronic-Florida Online Reporting of Controlled Substance Evaluation Program), to promote safer prescribing and to reduce addiction/abuse of prescribed opioid medications within the state. This prescription reporting platform has made a huge difference in patient outcomes and helps identify patients that attempt to “doctor shop” or receive multiple narcotic prescriptions in between monthly follow up visits and refills. The medication, amount, dosage, prescribing physician, pharmacy, and date of all opioid medications is recorded on a patient’s E-FORCSE and is updated the day of their monthly follow up to ensure accuracy. The E-FORCSE reporting system is used within all our clinics scattered throughout Florida and three Alabama locations.  The MME’s or Morphine Milligram Equivalent score related to a patients daily dose of opioid medication is also provided to ensure that the optimal range of 30 or less is maintained.  The MME per day metric is a tool used to identify those with higher risks of overdosing and to ensure that closer monitoring is implemented (Dowell, Haegerich, & Chou, 2016). From my personal perspective I feel that this intervention is effective in addressing the addiction practice problem; however, there are still some improvements that need to be made with E-FORCSE reporting. All prescribing pharmacies do not use the E-FORCSE reporting platform to record all filled medications, which could lead to overprescribing and ultimately death.

References:

American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) (2021). Opioid Epidemic Resources for Nurse Educators. https://www.aacnnursing.org/Policy-Advocacy/Opioids (Links to an external site.)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2016). CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain” United States, 2016. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/65/rr/rr6501e1.htm?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fmmwr%2Fvolumes%2F65%2Frr%2Frr6501e1er.htm (Links to an external site.)

Chamberlain College of Nursing (2021). Week 2: The Practice Problem: Stakeholder Roles. The Role of the Stakeholder in Addressing Local Practice Problems. https://chamberlain.instructure.com/courses/81888/pages/week-2-the-practice-problem-stakeholder-roles?module_item_id=11581120

Dowell, D., Haegerich, T., & Chou R. (2016). CDC Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain — United States-2016. Recommendations and  Reports;65 (1) :1–49. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.rr6501e1

Florida Department of Health (2021). E-FORCSE Home Page. http://www.floridahealth.gov/statistics-and-data/e-forcse/#:~:text=The%20Florida%20Prescription%20Drug%20Monitoring%20Program%2C%20known%20as,abuse%20and%20diversion%20within%20the%20state%20of%20Florida (Links to an external site.)

Hagemeier, N. (2018). Introduction to the Opioid Epidemic: The Economic Burden on the Healthcare System and Impact on Quality of Life. The American Journal of Managed Care.https://www.ajmc.com/view/intro-opioid-epidemic-economic-burden-on-healthcare-system-impact-quality-of-life (Links to an external site.)