Vaccines are generally considered to be the most successful public health intervention ever devised, and yet there have been opponents of vaccines ever since there have been vaccines.  Many people often spread misinformation about the vaccine, such as the notion that vaccines weaken the immune system and that children can develop autism after getting vaccinated. What is your opinion on the subject? Please provide your input.

Double space, no less than 275 words. APA (6th)

This assignment is designed to assist you in developing a thoughtful process for advocating about an issue as a nurse, from identifying a problem that needs to be solved through articulating a process for doing so.

This assignment consists of answering each of the questions listed below from the “Political Analysis and Strategies” chapter of your course textbook. Write each question as a new topic area; then follow with a paragraph or two to answer the question. Be sure to use APA guidelines for writing style, spelling and grammar, and citation of sources, if any used. This project should be no longer than 4 pages.

Let us assume that you are a school nurse in a high school. At a recent school athletic event, a spectator suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands. A coach of the home team went into the high school to fetch the automatic emergency defibrillator (AED) only to find out that it was not readily available. In the meantime, an emergency squad arrived and resuscitated the spectator. On Monday morning, you learn of the absence of the AED only to find out that it had been locked in the custodian’s closet. Reflect on the following questions outlined in the “Political Analysis and Strategies” chapter:

• What is the issue?
• Is it my issue, and can I solve it?
• Is this the real issue or merely a symptom of a larger one?
• Does it need an immediate solution, or can it wait?
• Is it likely to go away by itself?
• Can I risk ignoring it?
• What are the possible solutions? Are there risks to these solutions?
• What steps would you need to take in order to solve the issue?
• Does anyone else at the school need to be involved in the solution?
• Where is the power leverage in the school to reach the preferred solution?

Reaching a solution requires the use of power vested in the nurse. Review Box 9-1 (Sources of Power) and determine which type(s) of power the school nurse has in this situation. State your reasons for your answer.

1 postsRe: Topic 3 DQ 2

Community health nurses must recognize any biases or stereotypes when working with different communities. A preconceived assumption of certain attributes, characteristics, and behaviors of members of a certain group is referred as a stereotype (Falkner, 2018). People construct stereotypes form direct personal experience or from other people like the media. For example, Asians are good in math or women are bad drivers. The personal feeling or attitude toward a person or group based on the stereotype is referred to as having a bias (Falkner, 2018). Healthcare workers implicit bias by unconsciously displaying attitude that directly affects patient care based on stereotypes (Falkner, 2018). For example, a homeless patient is presumed to be more medication-seeking compared to people with a job. Although healthcare workers may want to think they are not biased, the occurrences very common (Falkner, 2018).

Cultural competence is an imperative skill for nurses and other healthcare professionals. Cultural competency allows nurses to be effective in establishing rapport with patients with proper nursing assessments and implementing interventions designed to meet the patient’s needs (Flowers, 2004). There are models that nurses can assess to provide culturally competent care. For example, the Campinha Bacote Cultural Framework Model include: cultural awareness, knowledge, skill, encounters, and desire, the process of cultural awareness (Flower, 2004). Cultural awareness involves an in-depth exploration of one’s own cultural and professional background as learning about another person’s culture does not guarantee unbiased actions. Cultural knowledge involves the process of seeking information of different ethnic groups such as through journal articles or seminars. Cultural skill involves a nurse collecting relevant cultural data and accurately performing a culturally specific physical assessment such as space and communication. Cultural encounter involves the process of nurses directly engaging in cross-cultural interactions with patients from diverse backgrounds. And last, cultural desire involves the motivation of nurses to become culturally aware and seeking cultural encounters (Flowers, 2004).

Hawaii is a very culturally diverse state with a rich cultural history of immigrants. Being an immigrant myself, I love learning about other cultures, especially ethnic foods. It’s amazing but the foods are very similar to one another, yet the taste is very different. For example, one of our Filipino resident’s intake was decreasing. She typically consumed less than 25% of all meals. As soon as we changed her diet to what she was familiar with, her intake changed to almost 100% with all meals.

4 postsRe: Topic 3 DQ 1

A vulnerable population is a group of people who need special considerations in regard to their health and overall welfare (Falkner, 2018).Vulnerable populations are individuals who are not able to advocate for themselves due to physical, cognitive or mental disability, emotionally unstable people, children and incarcerated individuals.These populations usually have several social determinants of health(SDOH) that contribute to their vulnerability.These SDOH can include poverty, socioeconomic status, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation and no insurance or the underinsured.

 In the United States there are many vulnerable populations.One group that gets a significant amount of media coverage is the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/questioning (LGBTQ) population.The inequality and hardship this group often encounters within the medical community and the higher instance of medical conditions such as Hepatitis B, HIV and AIDS is what makes this population considered vulnerable (Falkner, 2018).In the US, it is estimated that 10 million adults identify as LGBTQ (American Nurses Association [ANA], 2018).Many individuals within the population have reported prejudice from medical providers, leading to reluctance to seek care or delay in treatment due to the bias experienced.The stigma in society, discrimination and failure to recognize the unique civil and human rights deters individual self-determination and access to care which causes negative health outcomes and overall increase in morbidity and mortality (ANA, 2018).All nurses, not just CHN need to understand their own preconceptions and bias when caring for this vulnerable population.Ethically, nurses have a responsibility to provide safe, competent care to all individuals regardless of age, sex, sexual preference, race, ethnicity or socioeconomic status.