Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric     Epidemiology

Qiana’s post:

 

Social Capital can be described as the relationships we have with others, these can include family and friends. (Burkholder & Nash (2013). When an individual is dealing with abuse of any kind having a sound circle of supportive people can make a difference and help the person to cope better, In Human Capital it is described by education, employment status, and living conditions. (Burkholder & Nash, (2013). For this discussion I have chosen Social Capital, that an individual would rely on for emotional support and help the abused individual get through the difficult times. Regarding child abuse it can be reduced within Social Capital. These can be support socially, trust, efficacy collectively and social control. (Nawa, Isumi, & Fujiwara (2018). Child abuse victims may withdraw themselves from others these may include peers, family members and teachers. Abuse may go undetected and unreported in many cases. (Burkholder & Nash (2013). In my experience I know firsthand how abuse can affect one’s life and family. Once it happens there is a desire to keep it hidden as if there is a shame that is attached. I do agree that Social Capital in my case was a saving grace. Having family and friends to talk to for support is hugely important. Family and friends can be their emotionally, and financially if needed to help the person who may be struggling because of abuse. The person may be reluctant to talk at first but having someone in their life they are close to makes it a little easier. The scars of any abuse can last for many years and ongoing counseling whether it be professional, or family is needed. It is common for abused individuals avoid medical care because they fear legal intervention. (Burkholder & Nash (2013). Within Social Capital any family member, friend or person that is close to the abused reach out to receive medical services or counseling.

References:

1. Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B.  (2013). Special populations in health care[Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/
2. Community-level social capital, parental psychological distress, and child physical abuse: A multilevel mediation analysis. (Links to an external site.)

           Full Text Available

Academic Journal

Nawa, Nobutoshi; Isumi, Aya; Fujiwara, Takeo; Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric     Epidemiology: The International Journal for Research in Social and Genetic Epidemiology and Mental Health Services, Vol 53(11), Nov, 2018 pp. 1221-1229. Publisher: Springer; [Journal Article], Database: PsycINFO (Links to an external site.)

Nicole’s Post:

 

When considering the fact that abuse is an issue within our society and is more common than most know, knowing that the intensity can vary from person to person and case by case.  It is important to recognize that any amount of abuse can leave scars.  I feel that social capital has a greater influence and impact over developing resources and making them available to the individuals that are affected by abuse.  A few things we should take into account when deciding how to assist these victims is ““Low community-level social capital was positively associated with physical abuse (both beating and hitting) after adjustment for other individual covariates”(Nawa, N., Isumi, A., & Fujiwara, T. (2018))” and that.  “Abusers often alienate their victims by harassing, bullying, or physically abusing them when they attempt to build or maintain personal relationships.” (Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B.  (2013).  Taking these into account social capital can be considered family, friends or even those that see use regularly within the community.  Many times the abused can feel alone and can be withdrawn.  These are important signs for teachers of children to recognize and since they are mandated reporters to report to the appropriate authorities.  Family and friends can step in ad let am abused adult know they are there for them and offer to help.  These individuals who can witness and help are all part of the social capital and can be of great assistance to abused individuals.

Nicole

References;

Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B.  (2013). Special populations in health care [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/

Nawa, N., Isumi, A., & Fujiwara, T. (2018). Community-level social capital, parental psychological distress, and child physical abuse: a multilevel mediation analysis. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 53(11), 1221–1229. https://doi-org.proxy-library.ashford.edu/10.1007/s00127-018-1547-5

Alexandra’s Post:

 

Access to care is something that I think many Americans struggle with; despite the fact it is well documented that preventative medicine can save a large amount of money in the long run, and allow people to live longer, healthier lives, the accessibility just isn’t there.

The chronic disease I chose is Diabetes, more specifically prediabetes. Often, people who in prediabetes can do a few simple lifestyle changes and reverse the course for diabetes, but there must be resources available to them to educate the population on what actions are needed. Locally, my community does a fair amount to combat and prevent the incidence of diabetes. We have numerous “fun runs” and walks throughout the good weather months, and once a year the Critical Access hospital I work at has a health fair. There are a limited number of laboratory tests available to include Ha1c (to test the average blood sugar for the previous 3 months) for a discounted price for 2 weeks. The results are then given directly to the patient. This allows for patients who may not have insurance to check their blood sugars and see if they may be prediabetic. And while we are unable to interpret their results for them, a provider is on site at the end of the health fair to assist patients with what their results may indicate.

Nationally, as of April 2017, there were 1,379 organizations dedicated to educating people on diabetes prevention (Ackermann, 2017). In that same year a survey was conducted to determine where face to face classes were available in relation to the places with the most need, as “higher diabetes incidence and lower socioeconomic status are correlated,” (Jayapaul-Philip, Dai, Kirtland, Haslam, & Nhim, 2018, p. 2). That survey found that the CDC led classes were in 23% of US counties as of march of last year. When you combine that with the previous numbers, there is quite a lot of information and training available.

The problem with chronic illness, is that it takes discipline, environmental and social changes for the continuum of care to change. Many people don’t take diabetes seriously until they start losing feeling in their extremities and must lose a toe because they didn’t realize it was infected. For some, even the concept of shots isn’t enough to change their lifestyle. It is also a matter of fear of change. A complete lifestyle change for some cultures is necessary. And let’s be honest for a lot of us, our family life revolves around the dinner table. That is where we gather and spend time with one another. While people who participated in the classes lost an average of 5% body weight (Ackermann, 2017), it still only prevented about 20% from developing diabetes. So that makes all the money poured into this endeavor slightly cost prohibitive.

References
Ackermann, R. T. (2017). From Programs to Policy and Back Again: the push and pull of realizing type 2 diabetes prevention on a national scale. Diabetes Care, 1298-1301.
Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B. (2014). Special Populations in Health Care. Burlington: Ascend Learning Inc.
Jayapaul-Philip, B., Dai, S., Kirtland, K., Haslam, A., & Nhim, K. (2018). Availability of the National Diabetes Prevention Program in United States Counties, March 2017. Preventing Chronic Disease, 1-4.
Jenkins, K. (2017). Rape Myths and Domestic Abuse Myths as Hermeneutical Injustices. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 191-205.

Amanda’s post:

 

Will healthcare in America ever be right?  It is something we have struggled  with for decades. I am not sure if it will ever be right for all Americans. Many Americans struggle with access to healthcare. They are unable to make an appointment with a Physician or there appointment is months ahead. Most people need a referral in order to see a Physician and that is why our Emergency Rooms are so impacted. The ER fixes temporary pain, people need preventative  medicine, preventive medicine helps with the outcome of healthcare, it saves lives, and preventives illnesses from getting worse.

I choose diabetes for my chronic illness, From an early stage or people who are pre diabetic can easily get a hold of this chronic  illness before it gets worse, with diet and exercise it can be kept at bay. For some diabetics they need insulin and they are dependent on medication some more than others, there diabetes can be kept under control by eating right, watching there sugar intake and taking there medications as prescribed. In my community there are diabetic care centers and diabetic education centers that offer support and education on this chronic illness as well as how to effectively manage there diabetes. They offer help with understanding medications and how to check your blood sugar. My community also does diabetic runs, marathon’s for chronic diseases, all the money raised goes to these centers and helps bring awareness to the surrounding communities as well.

The two national resources that address diabetes are the National diabetes prevention program they offer tools and resources to those living with diabetes, they have lifestyle change programs as well as preventive care and handouts available to those who need more information.  The ADA (American diabetes Association) offers what clinics are available to you, lifestyle goals, and treatment plans, there is  so much education and resources offered on diabetes alone.

I believe the continuum  of care services are adequate for the population, there is so much information available to the public on diabetes, however I have personally seen patients come in who are non compliant due to the inability of not being able to pay for there medications as well lack of transportation to see there Physician or getting to a clinic, waiting months for an appointment. There are many obstacles that people face that is way it is important to give resources and education and what they can do on there part to help with diabetes. There are also those who are just out right non complaint, they have the resources but choose not to use them, creating a bigger issue for themselves. Educating the public on the risk factors associated with diabetes and preventive programs will help a great deal. All population groups can benefit from a continuum of care services.

Ressources:

Burkholder, D. M., & Nash, N. B.  (2013). Special populations in health care [Electronic version]. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/ (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.)

https://www.diabetes.org (Links to an external site.) https://www.cdc.gov › diabetes › prevention