Assignment: Vulnerable Populations

Assignment: Vulnerable Populations

Assignment: Vulnerable Populations

Week 4 discussion Respond to one of the following questions: Review the Healthy People 2020 objectives for the older adult. Of the objectives listed for the older adult, which do you feel is most important? Be sure to include examples and references to support your response. There are several vulnerable populations that have a chronic illness (older; homeless; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender populations) that face challenges when it comes to care. Choose one vulnerable population and discuss what can be done to help alleviate these challenges. Citations should conform to APA guidelines. You may use this APA Citation Helper as a convenient reference for properly citing resources or connect to the APA Style website through the APA icon below.Recent studies have more closely examined the effects of being part of a vulnerable population. Greater societal income inequality impacts those at the lower end of the income curve by increasing mortality and heightening the importance of individual personal situations. Recommendations from an extensive WHO report on the social determinants of health may affect social policy and use of public resources in Europe. Clinicians are undereducated about the lives and concerns of vulnerable populations, including LGBTQI persons, immigrants, physicians, prisoners, and families of patients with diseases considered ‘incompatible with life’.

Greater understanding of the cause of the health effects of being socioeconomically disadvantaged or being a member of a vulnerable population may be the first steps toward specific policy recommendations. Professional medical organizations and advocacy groups should raise awareness, provide education, publish guidelines and define the goals for the medical care for certain vulnerable populations.Vulnerable populations are at risk for disparate healthcare access and outcomes because of economic, cultural, ethnic or health characteristics. Vulnerable populations include patients who are racial or ethnic minorities, children, elderly, socioeconomically disadvantaged, underinsured or those with certain medical conditions. Members of vulnerable populations often have health conditions that are exacerbated by unnecessarily inadequate healthcare.