Healthcare Issues in Numurkah Answers to Students-Assignmenthelp

Question: Write a Letter to the board of the Health Centre in Numburkah explaining the Issues Facing the Community as well as the Nurses working in the Area and Why the Fact Sheet is the most useful Strategy to Overcome these Issues. Answer: The Board, Numurkah Health Center Victoria, Australia 27th April, 2017 RE: ISSUES FACING THE NUMURKAH COMMUNITY The Australian Dietary Guidelines were revised by the National Health and Medical Research in 2013. The recommendations specified in the guidelines are in regard to the minimum amount deemed to be adequate in daily vegetable and fruit intake based on sex and age (See Table 1 in Appendix 1 for details). In a survey done in 2012-2013, the following information was revealed with regard to dietary intake of vegetable and fruits among the Indigenous communities (and which is applicable to the Numurkah community): 15percent of Indigenous communities in the 2-14years age bracket and 3 percent of those in the 15years and above age bracket reported to consume an adequate amount of vegetables and fruit. Of those aged 15 years and above, 42percent and 5percent consumed the recommended amount of vegetables respectively (which is 2 serves and 5-6 serves respectively). Indigenous children aged between 2 and 14 years consumed the recommended amount of fruit (78percent) while 16percent consumed the required amount of vegetables per day. Indigenous Australians aged 12 years and above and living in remote areas, reported to add salt to their food (49percent) in comparison to 39percent of those in non-remote areas. After age adjustment, Indigenous Australians aged 12 years and above had a 1.4 times likelihood over the non-Indigenous peers to report as consuming less than a single fruit in any given day (27percent and 19percent, respectively) They also had a 1.9 times likelihood of reporting as having less than 1 vegetable serving in any given day (9percent and 5percent, respectively) Salt causes a person's body to retain water hence consumption in excess causes the additional water in the body to increase the blood pressure. This can adversely affect the health for a person already diagnosed with high blood pressure. In addition, consumption of too much salt can hinder blood pressure medication from becoming effective. With regard to the inadequate amounts reported on consumption of fruit and vegetables, the 12 and above years age group among Indigenous communities is at risk of having poor health outcomes due to taking an unbalanced diet. Vegetables and fruit comprise what is considered a healthy diet. Reduced consumption of vegetables and fruit has been linked to negative health outcomes as well an increased risk of one acquiring non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In 2010, approximately 6.7 million deaths that occurred across the globe were linked to inadequate consumption of vegetables and fruit (Lim, Vos, Flaxman, et al., 2012). Current evidence shows that consumption of vegetables and fruit in a daily diet aids in reducing the risk of developing coronary heart disease (He, Nowson, Lucas et al., 2007; Hartley L, Igbinedion E, Holmes J et al., 2013), stroke (Hartley et al., 2013) and a number of specific cancers (World Cancer Research Fund, 2007; Boeing H, Bechthold A, Bub et al., 2012). There is also evidence albeit limited, that shows that when incorporated in a healthy diet that is low in sugar, fat, and sodium/salt, vegetables and fruits can aid in the prevention of unhealthy weight gain (Ledoux, Hingle, Baran owski, 2011; Alinia, Hels, Tetens, 2009; Giskes, Avendano, Brug et al., 2010 ). Recommendation behavioural interventions that will increase consumption of vegetables and fruit; price incentives including provision of subsidies that reduce the cost of vegetables and fruits; support and promotion of gardening in communities, at homes, and in schools(Evans, Christian, Cleghorn et al., 2012) and food and agricultural systems improvement systems (Thomson Ravia, 2011) Issue: Inadequate food In 201213 there was an approximate 9percent of Indigenous Australians in the 15 years and above age bracket that reported as going without food when their household was unable to purchase food. This percentage was significantly higher in comparison to non-Australian peers in the same age category which stood at 1percent. In the 12 months prior to the survey, Indigenous Australians in the 15 years and above age group had a 7 times likelihood to dwell in households that at one point run out of food and did not have the means to afford more (25percent of Indigenous Australians in comparison to only 3percent of non-Indigenous counterparts) Recommendation The need to create sustainable farming in Numurkah is more critical than ever before. Alternative farming methods such as greenhouse projects set up within communities can offer a solution to food un-sustainability. The board can collaborate with other stakeholders to initiate, implement, support, and monitor greenhouse projects for sustainable agriculture and food supply. Issue: Overweight and Obesity In 201213, an estimated 66% of Indigenous Australians in the 15 years and above age bracket had a BMI score that indicated as being obese or overweight (37 percent and 29percent respectively). After age adjustment, Indigenous adults had a 1.6 times likelihood of being obese in comparison to their non-Indigenous counterparts (See Figure1 Appendix 2). The highest rates of obesity were recorded among Indigenous Australians within the Inner regional areas (40percent) and were the least in areas that are very remote (32percent). The obesity rate recorded in the major cities and remote outer regional areas were similar (37percent and 38percent respectively). The highest rates of obesity were among Indigenous women at 40percent with the rates of overweight being lower at 34 percent while overweight rates among Indigenous men was at 31percent. The rates of obesity and overweight increased exponentially with age. Among Indigenous age group of 15 years and above, these rates increased to 80per cent among those aged 55 years and above. Among the 2-14 years age group of Indigenous children, approximately 30percent are obese or overweight in comparison to 25percent of their non-Indigenous counterparts. Recommendation Intervention programs at the healthcare and community social areas that focus on educating people on the adverse health effects of obesity Health education on eating a balanced diet should be incorporated into the local school curriculum. Nurses Issues The main issues that nurses working in remote and rural areas face include: prescription rights; recognition of role of nursing practitioners by GPs; formal recognition of role of remote and rural established nursing; issues with recruitment that aim at attracting healthcare professionals in the remote and rural areas; variation in culture between cities and rural Australia; isolation; service provision and purchasing as well as funding; standards of education; preparation of undergraduate nursing; strategies and issues of rural postgraduate education; education, clinical skills, and programs on advanced emergency; and attainment of continuous competency (Paliadelis, Parmenter, Parker,2012). Recommendation Nursing ought to be perceived as a bridging solution to the existing gap in human resource. There is also lot of promise in nursing practitioners in enhancing rural centers' capacities in management of chronic conditions for patients that are closer to home. Rural healthcare clinicians need to consider distance and simulation education in order to maintain their skills that are related to low volume, high risk interventions in medicine and in increasing rural staff retention. In addition, incentives that were previously offered to persons willing to work in rural areas should be re-introduced as this could aid in the offsetting of costs related to skills maintenance of rural clinicians while at the same time increasing the probability of recruitment. Further, telehealth should be considered in the provision of specialized care to rural populations as opposed to moving them to bigger centers for medical care. Finally, evidence based, robust, mechanism of moving patients to areas of sp ecialized care when the other options have proved impractical should be fostered so as to prevent the downward trend of poor health outcomes among rural populations (Sandler, 2016). Attached, kindly find a factsheet outlining the health risk of obesity and recommendations that underpin this report. Regards, your Name References 2012-13 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey and 2011-12 Australian Health Survey ABS (2013). Overweight and obesity. 4727.0.55.001 - Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: First Results, Australia, 2012-13. (Retrieved on 27th April 2017). https://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4727.0.55.001Chapter3102012-13 Alinia S, Hels O, Tetens I. (2009).The potential association between fruit intake and body weight--a review. Obesity Reviews 10(6):639-47. Boeing H, Bechthold A, Bub A, Ellinger S, Haller D, Kroke A et al.(2012).Critical review: vegetables and fruit in the prevention of chronic diseases. European Journal of Nutrition. 51(6):637-63. Evans CE, Christian MS, Cleghorn CL, Greenwood DC, Cade JE.(2012). Systematic review and meta-analysis of school-based interventions to improve daily fruit and vegetable intake in children aged 5 to 12 y. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. 96(4):889-901. Giskes K, Avendano M, Brug J, Kunst AE. A systematic review of studies on socioeconomic inequalities in dietary intakes associated with weight gain and overweight/obesity conducted among European adults. Obesity Reviews. 2010; 11(6):413-29. Hartley L, Igbinedion E, Holmes J, Flowers N, Thorogood M, Clarke A et al. Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables for the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2013; 6:CD00987 He FJ, Nowson CA, Lucas M, MacGregor GA. Increased consumption of fruit and vegetables is related to a reduced risk of coronary heart disease: meta-analysis of cohort studies. Journal of Human Hypertension. 2007; 21(9):717-28. Ledoux TA, Hingle MD, Baranowski T. Relationship of fruit and vegetable intake with adiposity: a systematic review. Obesity Reviews. 2011; 12(5):e143-50. Lim SS, Vos T, Flaxman AD, Danaei G, Shibuya K, Adair-Rohani HA et al. A comparative risk assessment of burden of disease and injury attributable to 67 risk factors and risk factor clusters in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012; 380(9859):2224-60. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Table: Calcualte your Body Mass Index Website. (Rettievd on 27th Apriil, 2017). https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/educational/lose_wt/BMI/bmi_tbl.htm Paliadelis PS, Parmenter G, Parker V, Giles M, Higgins I.(2012)The challenges confronting clinicians in rural acute care settings: a participatory research project.Rural and Remote Health(Internet) 12: 2017. Available:https://www.rrh.org.au/articles/subviewnew.asp?ArticleID=2017(Accessed 27 April 2017) Pi-Sunyer, X. (2009). The Medical Risks of Obesity.Postgraduate Medicine,121(6), 2133. https://doi.org/10.3810/pgm.2009.11.2074 Sandler, M. (2016) The Challenges of Working in Rural Health. (Retrieved on 27th April, 2017). https://www.arnbc.ca/blog/ruralchallenges/ Thomson CA, Ravia J. A systematic review of behavioral interventions to promote intake of fruit and vegetables. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 2011; 111(10):1523-35. World Cancer Research Fund, American Institute for Cancer Research. Food, Nutrition, and Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: A Global Perspective. 2007, AICR, Washington D.C