Assessment Description
The purpose of this assignment is to discover how social determinants affect the health of a particular population. The first step of this assignment is to choose a location and disease process from the following list:
- An emergency department in New Orleans; addiction, hypertension management
- A rural tribal clinic in northeast Arizona; addiction, diabetes management
- A children’s clinic in McAllen, TX; obesity, diabetes management
Write a 750-1,000 word paper in which you accomplish the following:
- Describe the setting of your facility.
- Describe the chosen population.
- Explain how social determinants affect the population’s health status.
- Analyze how this health status affects the demand for health care.
- Provide one or two ways this health issue can be addressed.
Incorporate two or three peer-reviewed scholarly resources in your paper.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is required.
This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Class Resources if you need assistance.
Essentials of Health Economics
Dewar, D. M. (2017). Essentials of health economics (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. ISBN-13: 9781284054620
Government and Policy for U.S. Health Leaders
Higbea, R., & Cline, G. (2021). Government and policy for U.S. health leaders (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones and Bartlett Learning. ISBN-13: 9781284207767 (Available as a custom eBook – includes only Chapter 6)
Expert Solution Preview
Introduction:
This assignment aims to explore the impact of social determinants on the health of a specific population affected by a particular disease process. The selected location and disease process options include an emergency department in New Orleans for addiction and hypertension management, a rural tribal clinic in northeast Arizona for addiction and diabetes management, and a children’s clinic in McAllen, TX for obesity and diabetes management. This paper will provide a comprehensive analysis of the chosen facility’s setting, the selected population, social determinants’ influence on the population’s health status, the impact of the health status on healthcare demand, and possible solutions to the health issue.
Answer:
In this paper, I will select the rural tribal clinic in northeast Arizona for addiction and diabetes management as the location and disease process for analysis. The facility is situated in the White Mountains in northeastern Arizona. The population is a mixture of Native American and non-Native American individuals, primarily from the White Mountain Apache Tribe, but also includes other Native American nations and ethnic groups. The clinic serves around 15,000 individuals, with the majority aged between 45 and 64 years.
Social determinants significantly impact the population’s health status, particularly the high prevalence of poverty, low educational achievement levels, and inadequate access to healthcare and healthy food choices. These factors contribute to several risk factors for chronic diseases, including addiction and diabetes. The clinic records a high number of diabetic cases due to unhealthy lifestyle practices, and lack of education on diabetes prevention, management, and the utilization of available healthcare services.
The high prevalence of addiction and diabetes in the population significantly impacts the demand for healthcare in the area. The clinic’s limited staffing and resources strain the facility’s ability to meet patient demands, ultimately leading to inadequate management and treatment of patients with addiction and diabetes. This results in a higher prevalence of severe health complications due to diabetes and addiction that could have been avoided with appropriate healthcare access and utilization.
Addressing the health issue could involve implementing community-based diabetes prevention programs, increasing public awareness, and expanding healthcare accessibility in the area. By educating individuals on diabetes prevention and management practices, there will be a decrease in the prevalence of diabetes, leading to reduced healthcare demands and more efficient healthcare utilization. Community-based programs and outreach initiatives would also lead to increased healthcare accessibility and utilization, resulting in more effective and efficient healthcare delivery to the population.
In conclusion, social determinants have a significant influence on the health status of individuals in the rural tribal clinic in northeast Arizona. It is necessary to identify and tackle these underlying factors to provide effective healthcare delivery to the population. By implementing public health interventions, healthcare accessibility and utilization would significantly increase, reducing the prevalence and impact of addiction and diabetes on the population.
