Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare

Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue

The Quadruple Aim provides broad categories of goals to pursue to maintain and improve . Within each goal are many issues that, if addressed successfully, may have a positive impact on outcomes. For example, healthcare leaders are being tasked to shift from an emphasis on disease management often provided in an acute care setting to health promotion and disease prevention delivered in primary care settings. Efforts in this area can have significant positive impacts by reducing the need for primary healthcare and by reducing the stress on the healthcare system.

Changes in the industry only serve to stress what has always been true; namely, that the healthcare field has always faced significant challenges, and that goals to improve healthcare will always involve multiple stakeholders. This should not seem surprising given the circumstances. Indeed, when a growing

population needs care, there are factors involved such as the demands of providing that care and the rising costs associated with healthcare. Generally, it is not surprising that the field of healthcare is an industry facing multifaceted issues that evolve over time.

In this module’s Discussion, you reviewed some healthcare issues/stressors and selected one for further review. For this Assignment, you will consider in more detail the healthcare issue/stressor you selected. You will also review research that addresses the issue/stressor and write a white paper to your organization’s leadership that addresses the issue/stressor you selected.

Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare

Assignment: Analysis of a Per

Suicide among High School Students 13-18 Years Old in New Jersey

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S and accounts for more than 40,000 deaths every year. Cases of suicide among adolescents aged 13- 18 years in New Jersey have increased in the recent years with several patients being brought to the emergency department following attempted suicide (Shepard et al., 2016). Adolescents in the age bracket of 13-18 years are mostly high school students with the incidence being high in males than females. According to a report by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), the reasons behind suicide attempts are mostly mental health problems and substance abuse. The common forms of suicide are hanging, strangulation, use of firearms, falling, train transport, and poisoning (Sheftall et al., 2016). The DCF report further states that the suicide rates have decreased in older youths but have increased among the young adolescents aged 10 to 18 years.

Impact of Suicide among High School Students to Our Organization

Cases of suicide attempts in the emergency department have increased in the past five years, and the big concern is that 40% of patients that presented with suicide attempts in the year 2015-2018 were aged 12-18 years. Eight of the suicidal teenagers had a history of depression and reported that their lives had lost meaning. Suicide attempts in teenagers with a history of drug substance abuse were at 60% with a majority being addicts of cocaine and heroine. Moreover, seven patients that presented with suicidal ideations and attempts in 2018 reported having problems in school, such as poor grades and being bullied by their colleagues. The suicide cases have negatively impacted our organization since a lot of resources are directed towards the treatment of suicidal patients requiring intensive treatment and constant monitoring. The same resources could have been used in managing patients with health-related conditions. Furthermore, it has led to an increase in the population of patients in the psychiatric clinic with the population exceeding the recommended provider to patient ratio.

Impact of Suicide in other Organizations

There have been cases of adolescents committing suicide while in inpatient units, according to some articles I read on the subject of adolescent suicide. Suicide cases have had a negative impact on health facilities because health providers were required to report suicide cases to local authorities (Gould et al., 2018). The suicide cases harmed the organizations’ reputations because they were questioned about why patients committed suicide on their watch, and some of the patients’ parents sued some of them. Teen suicide deaths have been found to have a greater psychological impact on health professionals than sudden deaths. Furthermore, when teenagers commit suicide while under their care, health providers are shocked and frequently blamed and condemned.

Strategies by Other Organizations to Address Suicide among High School Students

Several organizations have taken several measures to address the issue of suicide among high school students to reduce the incidences to zero in the next five years. One measure is screening every adolescent in the outpatient clinic for symptoms of mental illnesses, and substance abuse. Patients suspected of substance abuse undergo a drug test and are referred for counseling. The measure has helped in early diagnosis and treatment of depression and substance-abuse related symptoms, which are the common risk factors of suicide among adolescents (Stone et al., 2017).  One measure that I found very applicable is the establishment of youth-friendly clinics where adolescents are treated and undergo counseling on how to solve everyday problems (Stone et al., 2017). The youth-friendly clinics offer integrated services, and the teenagers do not have to interact with other patients to access other services.

Mental health awareness and screening outreach programs are being conducted by health organizations, especially by facilities offering mental health services as the core business. The organizations conduct outreach programs in high schools and educate students on mental illnesses such as depression, their causes, and treatment (Gould et al., 2018). During the programs, counseling psychologists address students and counsel them on how to tackle life situations without inflicting self-harm. The students are taught how to recognize a colleague having psychological distress or in a crisis and how to help them get through the situation (Gould et al., 2018). Furthermore, the organizations have linked with school counselors who refer students with psychological issues to the health facilities for further assessment and treatment (Stone et al., 2017). They also have a helpline number given to students where they contact a counselor from the organization when they are experiencing problems at home or school who in return, offer counseling services.

Adoption Of Strategies To Reduce Suicide Among High School Students and Its Impact in Our Organization.

The strategies used by other organizations include screening adolescents for mental health illnesses in clinics, use of youth-friendly clinics, awareness, and screening outreach programs, and use of helpline numbers. Adoption of the above strategies may help in lowering the adolescent suicide rates in New Jersey and the cases of patients presenting in the emergency department with attempted suicide. If we adopt the use of youth-friendly clinics, it will promote integrated care and provision of counseling services to teenagers. Besides, the strategy will help in early detection and management of mental illnesses and lowering the risk of suicide. We can also conduct outreach programs in high schools within our state and offer mental health awareness to students and teach them how to solve life issues without resulting in self-harm or suicide. Nevertheless, the adoption of these strategies will require the organization to spend a lot of financial and human resources in establishing youth clinics, hiring health professionals, and in organizing outreach programs.

References

Gould, M., Lake, A., Kleinman, M., Galfalvy, H., Chowdhury, S., & Madnick, A. (2018). Exposure to suicide in high schools: Impact on serious suicidal ideation/behavior, depression, maladaptive coping strategies, and attitudes toward help-seeking. International journal of environmental research and public health, 15(3), 455.

Sheftall, A. H., Asti, L., Horowitz, L. M., Felts, A., Fontanella, C. A., Campo, J. V., & Bridge, J. A. (2016). Suicide in elementary school-aged children and early adolescents. Pediatrics, 138(4), e20160436.

Shepard, D. S., Gurewich, D., Lwin, A. K., Reed Jr, G. A., & Silverman, M. M. (2016). Suicide and suicidal attempts in the United States: costs and policy implications. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 46(3), 352-362.

Stone, D. M., Holland, K. M., Bartholow, B. N., Crosby, A. E., Davis, S. P., & Wilkins, N. (2017). Preventing suicide: A technical package of policies, programs, and practice.

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Current Healthcare Issues

“The American Organization of Nurse Executives has made a goal of increasing the proportion of nurses with a bachelor of science in nursing or higher degree to 80% by 2020,” write Gerardi, Farmer, and Hoffman (2018). Given this, hospitals across the country are taking on the responsibility of identifying and developing efficient strategies for training and assisting nurses to obtain a higher education in their workforce. In recent years, the hospital facility where I work has practiced hiring more educated nursing staff to attend to patients rather than those with only a high school diploma. Many of the bulletins include flyers encouraging those who are already employed to pursue a higher degree program.

The term “fast-track diploma” refers to a program that registered nurses who already possess an Associate’s degree can participate in to get a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. This course can be completed in a period of 15 months, and students have the choice of pursuing either an RN or BSN degree. It is vital that nurses have expertise on a variety of issues that are relevant to their patients outside of the realm of health care, particularly as the patient population continues to become more diverse. For example, to get a general awareness of different ethnicities, religious affiliations, and cultural backgrounds in relation to the many health care options available (Marzuki, Hassan, Wichaikhum, & Nantsupawat, 2012). Because of the rapid pace of change in our world, nurses need to be equipped with a greater breadth of knowledge, skills, and abilities in order to effectively address the issues that occur within their chosen profession.

Having incompetent nurses in the field can become detrimental to the healthcare facility as well as the patients who are being looked after (Marshall, E., & Broome, 2017). This is due to the poor quality of services given to patients, miscommunication, misguidance, and misunderstandings because the nurses aren’t caught up with the nursing world as it is today that a higher degree program can help them achieve. Having a demoted workforce and nurses not understanding the patient population as what it is today can prevent patients from receiving quality care, safety measures may be at stake, and untrained staff members means more likely mistakes could occur with medications, equipment operations, and so forth.

References

Gerardi, T., Farmer, P., & Hoffman, B. (2018). Moving closer to the 2020 BSN-prepared workforce goal. American Journal of Nursing, 118(2), 43–45.

Marshall, E., & Broome, M. (2017). Transformational leadership in nursing: From expert clinician to influential leader (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Marzuki, M. A., Hassan, H., Wichaikhum, O., & Nantsupawat, R. (2012). Continuing nursing education: best-practice initiative in nursing practice environment. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 60, 450-455.

Reflect on the feedback you received from your colleagues on your Discussion post for the national healthcare issue/stressor you selected.

This is the feedback I received from my colleague in my discussion!!!!

Heather Taylor

RE: Discussion – Week 1

Lenick,

You are spot on about the nursing shortages in the US. The consequences of having inadequate health care affect those providing care as well as those receiving it. Increased workload directly increases stress, errors and mortality rates for patients (Peate, 2020). Additional reasons for the nursing shortage include nurse burnout; career versus family with nurses leaving the workforce, unrealistic staffing ratios; continuously changing technology; and an increase in violence (HOUSH, 2019).

My previous employer provided scholarship programs for nurses who wanted to further their education. In exchange, the nurse signs a contract committing to working at the facility for at least five years. During that time, a portion of the staff members’ pay will be garnished in order to repay the scholarship. When signing a contract, many nurses are unaware of the fine print. They are not only locked into a job they may or may not be qualified for, but they are also subject to the same requirements as any other loan. The hospital promotes the opportunity as a scholarship, but it is actually a loan. Rather than alleviating our nursing shortage, it has exacerbated it due to unexpectedly aggressive repayment plans.

References:

HOUSH, R. (2019). Projected Nursing Shortage “Critical” by 2030. ASBN Update, 23(2), 6.

Peate, I. (2020). Overstretched and struggling. British Journal of Nursing, 29(3), 133. https://doi org.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/10.12968/bjon.2020.29.3.133

Suicide among High School Students 13-18 Years Old in New Jersey

Introduction

According to WHO, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the U.S and accounts for more than 40,000 deaths every year. Cases of suicide among adolescents aged 13- 18 years in New Jersey have increased in the recent years with several patients being brought to the emergency department following attempted suicide (Shepard et al., 2016). Adolescents in the age bracket of 13-18 years are mostly high school students with the incidence being high in males than females. According to a report by the New Jersey Department of Children and Families (DCF), the reasons behind suicide attempts are mostly mental health problems and substance abuse. The common forms of suicide are hanging, strangulation, use of firearms, falling, train transport, and poisoning (Sheftall et al., 2016). The DCF report further states that the suicide rates have decreased in older youths but have increased among the young adolescents aged 10 to 18 years.

Impact of Suicide among High School Students to Our Organization

Cases of suicide attempts in the emergency department have increased in the past five years, and the big concern is that 40% of patients that presented with suicide attempts in the year2015-2018 were aged 12-18 years. Eight of the suicidal teenagers had a history of depression and reported that their lives had lost meaning. Suicide attempts in teenagers with a history of drug substance abuse were at 60% with a majority being addicts of cocaine and heroine. Moreover, seven patients that presented with suicidal ideations and attempts in 2018 reported having problems in school, such as poor grades and being bullied by their colleagues. The suicide cases have negatively impacted our organization since a lot of resources are directed towards the treatment of suicidal patients requiring intensive treatment and constant monitoring. The same resources could have been used in managing patients with health-related conditions. Furthermore, it has led to an increase in the population of patients in the psychiatric clinic with the population exceeding the recommended provider to patient ratio.