Health assignment report: Primary health care

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT

The purpose of this report is to increase focus and action for safeguarding the well-being and mental health adolescents (12-24 years of age), especially adolescents suffering from depression. There are numerous factors upon which the social, emotional as well as mental well being of an adolescent depends such as the kind of lifestyle followed by the family in which they are brought up, education of parents, family’s socio-economic status, values etc. The role of a nurse in providing primary health care through, health promotion, education, advocacy, illness-prevention etc. has been emphasized in this report.

INTRODUCTION

According to the Young Australians: their health and well-being, 2011, problems such as psychological health disorders account for the greatest burden of disease among adolescents, diabetes, rising number of homeless adolescents, sexually transmissible infections, alcohol and drug-abuse etc. are also on a rise. Depression is a grave medical disease that involves the brain. Its symptoms include loss of interest or pleasure in activities one used to like, sorrow, trouble sleeping or oversleeping, alteration in weight, feelings of insignificance, thoughts of death or suicide, energy loss (NIH, 2012).

 According to The Ottawa Charter for health promotion that is built upon the Alma-Ata declaration properties to guarantee that equivalent resources and opportunities are accessible for everyone to attain good health by decreasing the disparities in the current health status (World Health Organization [WHO], 2008). In addition, the adolescent Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal people are less healthy, both mentally and physically, as compared with other young people. They have higher death rates, are least expected to be meeting lowest standards for writing, numeracy and reading and less likely to have qualifications which can provide good job, thus good income, therefore they are forced to live in over-crowded homes.(Young Australians: their health and well-being, 2011).

 DEFINITIONS

Adolescence

The developing stage commencing at puberty and going on until the individual is psychologically, emotionally and bodily mature and is prepared to take up mature errands and adult responsibilities thus becoming self reliant (Murray et al., 2009).

Alma-Ata Declaration (primary health care)

A social representation of health stating the essential resources for health including protection, peace, sustainable resources, earnings, education, social righteousness, equality and food (Keleher, 2007).

Determinants of Health

The situations/circumstances that are shaped by money, resources and power distribution, in the midst of which individuals are born, grow up, survive and work (WHO, 2008). Health equities rely upon these conditions (WHO, 2008).

Health Promotion

These are the measures taken to enable people to improve and control their well-being (Keleher, 2007).

The Ottawa Charter

A representation of promotion of health decisive on the following fields: Creating compassionate environments, developing individual skills, formulating public policies for health, reorienting health services and reinforcing community resources (Keleher, 2007).

Primary Health Care

It includes individual concern alongside health promotion, preventing sickness, treating and being concerned about the unwell, developing the society, advocacy and rehabilitation (Primary Health Care Reform in Australia, 2009), which is a prerequisite for maintaining healthy condition of society 

World Health Organization

The coordinating and directing authority of health situated within the United Nations which is accountable for primary global health problems (WHO, 2008).

BACKGROUND

According to Young Australians: their health and wellbeing 2011, 4^th edition, the following data has been compiled,

200713%

1. 2.      INJURY AND POISONING

Death rate among adolescent (16-14 years old) through poisoning or injury

2007

200725 per 1,000,000

1. 3.      COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

Incidence of sexually transmissible infections among adolescents  aged 12–24 years20081,045 per 1,000,000

1. 4.      VICTIMS OF VIOLENCE

Rate of adolescents who have been the victim of sexual or physical abuse (15-24 years)2008-20097%

1. 5.      EDUCATION

Proportion of adolescents in year 2007 and 2009 achieving  above or at the national minimum standards for numeracy and literacy2009Numeracy   95%

Writing        83-96%

Reading      90-96%

Adolescents tend to take extreme steps such as severely hurting themselves or even suicide when they are emotionally unwell. The ratio of suicide occurrence on the basis of gender as has been provided by Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), 2012, as follows,

 Various Government organizations as well as other research bodies are actively involved in the well-being of the Australian adolescents, such as, The Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System (VCAMS), The Australian Child and Adolescent Loss, Trauma and Grief Network, The Australian Infant, Child, Adolescent & Family Mental Health Association etc.

DISCUSSION

Adolescence is a stage of development starting from infancy to maturity where an adolescent establishes independence, a sense of identity, and develops individual principles (Ferguson, 2009). During this phase, parents become protective towards their child, which may be perceived as an act of domination by the adolescents and ultimately lead to a deficiency of trust which can be the root of disagreement and clashes (Murray et al., 2009). Factors including low academic performance can lead to depression or anxiousness in young people which leads to the increase in their vulnerability to peer smoking, dropping school, reduced employment opportunities and earnings which in turn leads to monetary stress (Fergusan, 2009). Adolescents have a substantial amount of influence on their attitudes, thinking and behaviour because of the influence of media (Scales et al., 2009). Majority of findings demonstrate non-significant relations among demographic factors (age and gender) with treatment result for depression treatment trials (Nilsen, 2012). Sessions of mainly cognitive behavioural therapy, problem-solving therapy and psychotherapy can treat depression. Access to non-pharmacologic treatments for depression could be enhanced by educating healthcare providers to express small psychotherapies (Nieuwsma, 2012). Though these issues may result in adverse consequences, they can be eliminated by rather conventional methods such as shared beliefs, memories, celebrations, spending time together, having genuine love, sharing, listening, talking openly, respecting differences, having trust and being resilient (Barnes et al., 2008). Parental behaviours that reinforce depressive behaviour, reciprocate aggression, and fall short to positively support constructive behaviour have each been connected with depression in adolescents (Shwartz, 2012). Treatment models for youth depression that emphasize interpersonal performance, mainly family relations, may be chiefly hopeful (Tompson, 2012). The families of adolescents suffering from a certain kind disorder tend to grow apart usually because of loss of understanding and gap in communication. Instead of developing a rather strong bond, in most cases, family members develop high level of frustration, irritability and finally separate from each other, either physically or emotionally. This leads to problems such as homelessness, substance abuse, depression, isolation etc. This problem, though difficult to abolish, is definitely not an impossible task. All it requires is a proactive approach from the families having troubled adolescents, the government and other kinds of programmes and initiatives of the society.

Solution can also be derived with the help of a registered nurse by keeping the person rather than the problem at the centre of inquiry, moving from illness-care to adaptation and recovery, creating change at three levels: the client, nursing and society and have proactive with clients, rather than reactive (McAllister, 2007).

Help is available from registered youth health nurses who are educated and trained for this role and work in school-based youth health settings and also in community health settings (e.g. community health centres).

 RECOMMENDATIONS

A culturally suitable and holistic approach must be adopted by nurses to health care of juvenile together with all the health determinants through partnership and association across every sector, community and organization so as to reinforce admittance to adolescent sociable services of health (NSW Youth Health Policy [YPH], 2010). The nurses working with the families require certain basic knowledge about their environment i.e. the family and family members along with primary health care ethics, family-centred practice, ecological scaffold and cultural sensitivity (Child and Youth Health Manual, 2007). Sustainable resources of education for deprived families and parents as well as adolescents who hope to use them as they occupy an enormous division in the ethical, emotional and cognitive growth of the youngster should be encouraged by the nurses (Murray et al., 2009).

Confidential primary prevention can be enabled by being funded by Medicare by enhanced access to primary health care for all young people (NSW YPH, 2010).

CONCLUSION

To conclude, providing young people and parents with better information and understanding about health, with particular awareness of health risk and protective factors (AIHW, 2007), increasing physical activity (CSIRO, 2007), protected childhood, good family environment, reliable peer group inculcation moral values, frequent family role modelling and effective help, if required such as of a registered nurse, counsellor or self analysis are prerequisites for the emotional and social well-being of Australian young adults. Some forms of psychotherapy along with antidepressant medications are helpful in treating depression, and the mixture of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy appears to be advanced to either monotherapy independently (Torpey, 2008).

If you want Health management Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.

Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.

To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com