Reflection Journal: Vulnerability Factors
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Reflection Journal: Vulnerability Factors
Individuals who live in an abusive relationship, homeless, are new immigrants, severely mentally ill, poor, and have substance abuse are all considered vulnerable populations. According to Bliss & While (2014), nurses are responsible for establishing interventions to help break vulnerability cycles within the community and aiding to eliminate health disparities that these individuals face. In establishing the probability of something happening to an individual, the public health nurse utilizes the term ‘risk.’ The epidemiological term is used together with the agent, environment, and triangle of the host in contrast to the one being experienced with the given population.
Vulnerable populations present a unique perspective for the public health nurses who care for these individuals. These unique perspectives given when caring for these individuals are addressing the risk factors that contribute to vulnerability within the society (Fitzgerald et al., 2016). When offering to care to these individuals, the nurses are also responsible for addressing the cause or the risk factors. The nurse’s care services are not just medical care but also address the risk factors in society. Therefore, the nurses are also required to educate the people on how to reduce their vulnerability levels by offering ways through which they can address these risk factors. Additionally, public health nurses must also serve as advocates for these individuals (Roberts & Kreeger, 2019). These individuals are minorities in society. The nurses are responsible for acting as their ‘voices’ to the public domain to receive services and funds.
Social factors contributing to society’s vulnerability include poverty, politics, cultural beliefs, gender, and equity (Armenakis et al., 2017). As a professional public health nurse, it is my responsibility to ensure that the community’s vulnerability cycles are broken. I can achieve this goal by educating the people on how to shun away from their cultural beliefs that may contribute to high levels of vulnerability within society. Some of the fatalistic attitudes and cultural views on natural disasters, such as floods, are God doings, and nobody can do anything to stop them (Armenakis et al., 2017). Educating the people that these calamities can be prevented and offering prevention methods can help reduce the risk of vulnerability within the community.
Other factors that contribute to vulnerability, such as gender, can also be addressed through social education. The majority of the communities that are considered to be vulnerable believe that all the decision-making powers reside with the male figures within the family or community. Educating the people on the need for equity within the society and families can help reduce vulnerability (Armenakis et al., 2017). Therefore, as a professional nurse, I can reduce the community’s levels of vulnerability by educating the people on how to prevent the factors that contribute to vulnerability.
Some of the public policies that affect vulnerable populations are health care policies and housing policies. The health care delivery policies require that all care services recipients have to pay for the services they receive. Moreover, these individuals need to be insured for them to benefit from health care services. On the other hand, housing policies require residents in a given state to pay housing taxes to the respective authorities. These policies negatively impact vulnerable populations. The majority of these individuals are poor or belong to the low-income class. They cannot afford these bills that are brought about by these policies. Thus, such systems should be revised to accommodate vulnerable populations.
References
Armenakis, C., Du, E. X., Natesan, S., Persad, R. A., & Zhang, Y. (2017). Flood Risk Assessment in Urban Areas Based on Spatial Analytics and Social Factors. Geosciences (2076-3263), 7(4).
Bliss, J., & While, A. E. (2014). Meeting the needs of vulnerable patients: the need for team working across general practice and community nursing services. London Journal of Primary Care, 6(6), 149-153.
Fitzgerald, E. M., Myers, J. G., & Clark, P. (2016). Nurses need not be guilty bystanders: Caring for vulnerable immigrant populations. OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing, 22(1).
Roberts, B., & Kreeger, L. (2019). Attending to Vulnerable Populations Through Nurse Advocacy on Boards and in Public Service. Creative Nursing, 25(2), 82-86.