Hep C And Baby Boomers Peer Response

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Discussion:

Both the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that all “baby boomers” – people born from 1945 through 1965 – get a hepatitis C test.

Peer Post. I need Peer Response for this post:

#1

Hepatitis C is a virus that affects the liver, in overtime this can lead to serious Health problems including the need for a liver transplant. Some people who contracts the hepatitis C virus are able to clear it from their system, but other people can have serious complications. These complications include chronic liver disease, cirrhosis, liver cancer and even a failure where a transplant would be needed to save your life. Recommendations from the centers for disease control and prevent parentheses CDC and parentheses, are for people born from 1945 to 1965 to become tested for the hepatitis C virus. It is believed that some baby boomers that have become infected during a period of time where in infection control and universal precautions were not set in place yet within the healthcare field (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2016).
Symptoms of hepatitis C can include fever tiredness, upset stomach, nausea and vomiting, dark urine, Gray stool, joint pain, and yellow skin and eyes. Some people do not know they have been infected with hepatitis C, as it is also known as a silent virus. This is why it is extremely important for people especially born between 1945 and 1965 to be tested. Not only should baby boomers be tested, but also people who have received blood donations or organs before 1992, IV drug users, chronic liver disease and HIV or AIDS patients, exposure to hepatitis C or patient on hemodialysis (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). Over the last few years there have been many advances for the medical treatment of hepatitis C. Some of these medications will treat the disease completely. And if some people aren’t aware that they have the virus, this is all the more reason to get tested.
One of the important guidelines changes regarding the treatment of hepatitis C is that treatment should be recommended to all patients, not just patients with advanced disease (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases , 2017) (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016).

#2

Hepatitis is a viral illness. There are five different types: A-E. This discussion board will be focused on Hepatitis C (HCV). There are six different forms of Hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is primarily spread through IV blood and drug use. General Hepatitis symptoms include fatigue, decreased appetite, fever, nausea, RUQ pain, jaundice, liver enlargement, tenderness to the upper abdomen and itching. Hepatitis C can be confirmed through blood work. There will be antibodies to HCV noted with a second or third generation enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Youngkin, Davis, Schadewald & Juve, 2013).
Hepatitis C Guidelines
Baby Boomers are five times more likely to contract Hepatitis C. It is important for this group to get tested as they are likely to not know that they are infected. It is common for people to live for decades with Hepatitis C and not have symptoms. Getting tested and then treated is crucial because this virus can cause liver damage, cirrhosis, and liver cancer. Hepatitis C is the leading cause of liver cancer and liver transplants. The CDC recommends that all Baby Boomers, those born between 1945-1965, be tested for Hepatitis C and then treated if indicated (CDC, 2018).
Hepatitis C Risks
Like other illnesses, there are risk factors for Hepatitis C. Some of these include previous sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, Hepatitis B, more than one sexual partners, blood transfusion history, and IV drug use (Youngkin, Davis, Schadewald & Juve, 2013). It is now known that the most common contraction of Hepatitis C is through blood transfusions that were done in the 1970’s-1980’s. 8-10{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119} of those transfused contracted Hepatis C. Therefore, baby boomers are at an increased risk of Hepatitis C. It was not until the 1990’s that more effective screening was performed before blood transfusions. This lowered the contraction rate to 5{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}. After 1993, the contraction rate was further reduced to <1{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119}. Tattoos, piercings, needle sticks and acupuncture continue to be a risk factor to Hepatitis C (C. Everett Koop Institute, 2018).
Hepatitis C Ramifications When Not Treated
Individuals that are infected with Hepatitis C can have negative effects if not tested and treated. If not treated, Hepatitis C can cause liver damage, cirrhosis of the liver and liver cancer. Ultimately death can occur. Those infected may not know that they are infected, and they have a risk of infecting others (CDC, 2018).

Collecting Patient Sexual History Peer Response

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Sexuality affects individuals and society across a broad spectrum of activities through health, but also through factors at multiple levels, such as gender relations, reproduction, and economics. Physiologic, behavioral, and affective measurement of sexuality and sexual behavior is complicated by cultural values and norms but is essential to individual health (including happiness) as well as public health. Cultural or structural norms that stigmatize aspects of sexuality, such as sexual orientation, have adverse effects on individuals across their lifespan, with homophobia being a prominent example of such.

Discussion:

Discuss how one’s age, race, lifestyle, and demographics have an impact on your choice to complete a sexual history when working in the primary care setting with women across a lifespan.

Peer Post. I need Peer Response for this post:

#1

 

Every person we interact with in practice is unique and requires unique attention in order to properly be treated for their medical problems. Small details of their life affect what we prescribe and how successful it will be for that individual. Making sure we are able to initiate and complete a full sexual history is important in addressing sexual health concerns, as most people do not willingly bring up sexual health issues unless there is an obvious issue such as infection or pain. The World Health Organization defined sexual health as, “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and to its function and processes” (Ariin, 2015, p. 1).

In regards to my personal opinion on sexual history and health, I find it just as important as any other aspect of their life. While establishing a new patient, I try to ask every woman of childbearing age if they are sexually active in order to open up the conversation to potential questions or concerns they may have. As a majority of our job is education, this is the ideal time to talk about sexually transmitted infections/diseases (STI/STD’s) and help prevent significant comorbidities related to infections in adolescents and young women (Rosenthal et al., 1997). Sexually transmitted diseases cause a large amount of emotional distress and tend to be higher in certain populations such as low-income and undereducated.

Despite major public health efforts that address the varied diseased caused by sexually transmitted diseases, rates of infections are on the rise globally (Haghir et al., 2018).  Providers in the clinic should be focused on adolescents and young women who may partake in high-risk behaviors that are strongly associated with STD acquisition and spread. Educational pamphlets may be beneficial if time does not allow for in-depth conversations in the clinic.

#2

 

How age, race, lifestyle, and demographics impact the choice to complete a sexual history when working in the primary care.

Age

One’s age play an important role in determining the kind of care that an individual receives. Adolescents for example if given a choice to make their own choices in performing certain gynecological exams. The age at which the patient first started the examination also plays an important role. Young children may refuse examination compared to older adult. On the other hand, geriatric patients with advanced age impact examination especially if the patients have debilitating and chronic conditions. On the other hand adolescence find it difficult to disclose their sexuality.

 Race and Lifestyle

According to Prather et al, 2016, racial needs varies when it comes to the health assessment of a female patient. Some cultures consider their sexuality sacred and do not feel comfortable performing sexual assessment and examination. Primary care providers need to be aware of patient cultures and belief in order to provide adequate care in a non-judgmental manner. Different race and cultures view sexual history differently. Some races are unable to disclose their sexual history because of fear of getting shunned in the community or the family.

Demographics

Patient demographics is one factor that plays an important in the choice of examination to be done. Multiculturalism affects the kind of illnesses as well as mortality and morbidity and as a result it forces people to adapt different cultures impacting the examination to be performed.(Ferguson,& Chor,2018). Patients from certain regions do not accepts some examination and are less likely to allow healthcare professionals to perform certain tests based on nationality. The United States is one of the country that is more accepting different sexuality. Approaching human sexuality needs understanding

The type of technology used at my facility and positive outcomes?

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The facility that I work at uses MediTech as their main software. Compared to other hospitals our system is a little bit out dated. This because the software is based on a dos system that was created in 1970s or 80s. The program was recently upgraded this year, with the goal to help streamline charting. Since the update, I have noticed that it has been helpful in cutting down the time it takes to chart. But, I still find the program very cumbersome. This is because, every menu has a drop-down box that is very long. Unless you have memorized the codes, it can be very tedious to have to go through long lists to document drains and ports. But there are benefits to the new system. A major benefit to the new MediTech system, is that there is less redundancy in charting. If you have the same patient for several nights, then you do not have to keep documenting the same thing every night. For example, if my patient has not had a change in IV or skin condition, I do not have to go back and document it again.  Another benefit to the new system, is that charting is done according to exception. These new features help with time management and gives me more time to provide direct-patient care.

What can be done to make it more useful or to further improve patient care or outcomes?

A major issue in nursing is charting. Despite efforts, in creating a better MediTech

system, there are still complaints. Since I am new to nursing and not aware of other EMR software, my information is based from my more experienced colleagues. Those who used to chart the “old fashioned” way, which was paper charting miss it. This is because, they think it was more accurate and reliable to chart. However, those who are used to computers prefer EMR. The say that it is faster, and you do not have to struggle with deciphering doctor’s messy handwriting.  According to the information from a study that was completed in Japan by Kaneko et al. (2018), there has been a positive impact on patient care since Japan started using EMR in 2000. It was reported that there have been enhanced patient services, increased safety for medical treatments, and less burden on medical health professionals to create their own care plans.

Based on the research from Kaneko and lecture on informatics. I think EMR is very helpful in providing patient care. Especially when it comes to reducing medical errors. Where I work, there is a link on the MediTech screen that shows compatibility of drugs when hung via IV. Instead of having to call pharmacy for assistance with medications, I can quickly determine which antibiotics are compatible with each other. Another aspect that is helpful in providing care via EMR is the ability to quickly look up information on patients. I can easily answer questions about patient diagnosis and read through labs quickly and efficiently. It is also helpful to be able to isolate specific items like blood pressures to determine trends.

Nursing Teaching/Wk5/Discussion

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My mother was hospitalized for pneumonia. After ten days of hospitalization and complications of the pneumonia my mom came home on a prescription inhaler and home oxygen because her saturation while ambulating would not go above 80{0e601fc7fe3603dc36f9ca2f49ef4cd268b5950ef1bbcf1f795cc00e94cdd119} on room air. Also, an incentive spirometer was sent home with written instructions. The incentive spirometer was the most challenging for her to understand. She is 75 years old and has a high school diploma, but she is ready to learn because of her willingness to get better. I will be using nontraditional methods to teach my mother.

The learning objective is to understand the parts of the incentive spirometer and what the mean. There are printed materials to follow along. The formative assessment is an oral type of quiz I asked my mom to point to the parts of the incentive spirometer and tell me what they are and what do they mean. My mom then pointed and named the different parts of the spirometer and explained what it does. We did that several times, so I knew she had mastered the formative assessment.

The next learning objective is watching a video online demonstrating the use of the incentive spirometer. The summative assessment is how she demonstrated the proper use of the incentive spirometer after watching a video demonstration. The demonstration included proper position and holding the incentive spirometer correctly, sealing your lips around the mouth piece, and breathing in slowly to the correct goal number on the cylinder. My mom then held the incentive spirometer and demonstrated the proper use of the spirometer. The next time she had to use it, I was there and asked her to demonstrate again verbalizing the steps in order.

After my mom was finished, I then talked to her about the results of her demonstration. I told her that she knows and understands the proper use of her incentive spirometer by reading the printed materials, naming the parts of the spirometer and their functions. She did a successful demonstration in the correct order. Based on my evaluation my mom has successfully accomplished this demonstration.