On November 2013, a devastating crisis occurred in the Philippines as Typhoon Haiyan struck its eastern region (CNN, 2013). The super typhoon displaced over 650,000 individuals nationwide and killed over 10,000 people (World in Brief, 2013). There were over thousands injured and missing and dead bodies were being collected throughout the streets (CNN, 2013). To provide an even impeccable number of those affected, an estimated 9-13 million were affected including 44 provinces, 536 municipalities and 55 cities (CNN, 2013). A country already having limited resources and poor health services, the Philippines truly suffered from this disaster.

Located in Asia, the Philippines is comprised of over 7000 islands and is home to over 90 million people (World Health Organization [WHO], 2011). Due to its geographical region, the Philippines experiences an average of over 20 typhoons annually, in addition to earthquake and volcanic eruptions (WHO, 2011). In relation to healthcare, the Philippines has increasingly developed its healthcare resources and services for its inhabitants. The nation mandated that healthcare facilities have Emergency preparedness plans and crisis management due to its lack of preparedness and organization (WHO, 2011). Despite these recent developments, the Philippines is still barred by inequity and a lack of resources (WHO, 2011). Individuals are struck with social and financial barriers to meet their healthcare needs (WHO, 2011). Furthermore, health services have had a negative impact upon the vulnerable (children and elderly) and communicable diseases are still prominent and rising (WHO, 2011).

In an effort to respond to this crisis, nurses from the United States, Japan, and parts of the Philippines traveled to aid those in need (World in Brief, 2013). The United Kingdom also aided the Philippines in this disaster (CNN, 2013). Despite the assistance provided by several countries, the destruction of hospitals and medical centers made it difficult to treat those in nearby areas (World in Brief, 2013).

Being a healthcare provider during this event, I would have definitely considered the impact that this typhoon had on its individuals. The limited resources and lack of healthcare access make it even more difficult to provide care for those injured. During a disaster like this, I would prioritize my duties in saving those who have not been affected and tending to the individuals who have been injured. In relation to a future disaster, I do believe that the Philippines is more ready because fighting through one like this has made some implications for future disasters.

References

CNN. (2013). Philippines typhoon disaster: Caring for the living, tending to the dead. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/16/world/asia/typhoon-haiyan/

World Health Organization. (2011). The Philippines health system review. Health Systems in Transition, 1(2), 1-127. Retrieved from http://www.wpro.who.int/asia_pacific_observatory/Philippines_Health_System_Review.pdf

World in Brief (2013). Nurses give post-typhoon help to Philippines. Nursing Standard, 28(11), 12. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/ns2013.11.28.11.12.s13

Man tries to rebuild home destroyed by Typhoon

End of life (EOL) care is a sensitive topic that presents challenges to health care professionals, patients, and their families (Walczac et al., 2014). Diseases such as cancer are often lethal and patients are commonly given a set life expectancy (Walczac et al., 2014). In addition, reports state that a significant rise in deaths will occur over the next few decades (Sprinks, 2011). Thus, prompting an increasing need for healthcare professionals to be well prepared in providing care for these individuals. However, nurses and doctors are often challenged with discussing end of life with their patients (Walczack et al., 2014). Research states that healthcare professionals avoid discussing end of life with their patients due to fears of disappointment (Sprinks, 2011). Timely communication and patient readiness also present challenges to many healthcare professionals (Walczack et al., 2014). Nonetheless, understanding how to improve end of life care, communication, and skills is crucial to providing quality patient care.

Communicating with patients at the end of life can be made easier by initiating the process of Advanced Care Planning (ACP), which essentially involves discussing patient prognosis (Walczack et al., 2014). By initiating ACP, patient questions related to timing and progression of disease can be answered and an increasing balance in care can be provided (Walczack et al., 2014). Evidence also suggests that patients should be involved in their care as much as possible (Walczack et al., 2014). Further supporting this idea, reports state that patient needs at the end of life are often not met due to a lack of staff communication and patient involvement (Sprinks, 2011). Aside from communicating with patients, communicating with caregivers and family plays a crucial role in end of life care because they are often given the role of making health decisions for patients who are no longer fit to do so (Walczack et al., 2014). In a study implementing the use of a Question Prompt List (QPL), which contained a list of questions related to EOL that patients and families were encouraged to ask, results indicated that patients and caregivers asked twice as many questions and had fewer unmet information needs regarding future care (Walczack et al., 2014). Thus, patients can be expected to have fewer concerns and a potential decrease in anxiety related to end of life. End of life is something that everyone will have to experience one day or another. Regardless of how prepared an individual is, end of life is never easy. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog, I look forward to reading all of your responses and blogs as well!

References

Sprinks, J. (2011). Nurses lack confidence in providing end of life care. Nursing Older People, 23(2), 6-7. http://dx.doi.org/10.7748/nop2011.03.23.2.6.p5035

Walczak, A., Butow, P.N., Clayton, J.M., Tattersall, M.H., Davidson, P.M., Young, J., & Epstein, R.M. (2014). Discussing prognosis and end-of-life care in the final year of life: A randomized control trial of a nurse-led communication support program for patients and caregivers. BMJ Open, 4(6), e005745. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005745.

During this week’s blog, I decided to interview two of my close friends about their knowledge regarding drugs and over-the-counter medications. I was really excited about this mini experiment because we are exposed to drugs almost every day. We see drugs being sold in stores, drugs advertised in the media, and drugs taken by our own family and friends. There’s also controversy regarding drugs that affect many people’s decisions whether they should take certain drugs or not. Surprisingly, my friends knew a good amount of information about drugs.

When asked about taking any current medications, one of my friends stated that he only took Advil as needed if he had a headache. My second friend stated that he was not currently taking any medications. I then asked them about their knowledge regarding over-the-counter medications and they both stated that they knew that different drugs were the same but had different names. They both explained that they knew about the importance of understanding the active ingredient. Both of my friends also explained about drug overdoses and how one of their friends had died. It was sad to hear this, but a great way to understand their knowledge.

After discussing several medications with my friends, I educated my friends about understanding different drugs and how they can each take effect at different times. I also encouraged them to go online and find a trusted website to learn more about different drugs, especially the drugs that they plan to take. I found this to be a great experience because both of my friends and I learned something new about each other and about the importance of drugs. Happy posting!

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to be the number one cause of morbidity and mortality around the world (World Health Organization [WHO], 2015). It has been reported that over 17.5 million people died as result of CVD in 2012, which accounts to almost 1/3 (31%) of all deaths within that year (WHO, 2015). As a result, more emphasis has been placed on preventive strategies and health promotion. Thus screening for CVD risk has been recognized as a prime method for preventing morbidity and mortality (Surka et al., 2014). With the advancement of technology and its increasing use in health care, benefits have shown promise in preventing CVD (Surka et al., 2014). The article by Surka et al. (2014) discusses the use of a mobile CVD risk application tool and its benefits as a screening tool versus the paper-based screening assessment.

The basis of this study involved the creation of a CVD risk assessment application based on a paper-based screening tool (Surka et al., 2014). The paper-based screening tool assessed for six risk factors, which included age, sex, diabetes, smoking, systolic blood pressure, and body mass index (Surka et al., 2014). Twenty-four community health workers were chosen and trained to use the mobile application using mobile devices (smartphones) and 537 people were screened (Surka et al., 2014). Results indicated that training time for the mobile application-screening tool (3 hours) was about four times less than the paper-based screening training (12.3 hours) (Surka et al., 2014). The mean screening time for the mobile application (21 minutes) was about 1/3 less than the paper-based screening assessment (35.4 minutes) (Surka et al., 2014). Common themes that rose from this study indicated that the mobile application was easier to use, took less time to screen individuals, and resulted in fewer errors (Surka et al., 2014). Nonetheless, these results indicated that the mobile application was favored over the paper-based screening tool due to its ease of use, time efficiency, and avoidance of errors.

The growth of technology and increasing use in health care shows promise for future health considerations. I am excited for what the future holds and am willing to learn more about how technology can be used as an adjunct for patient care. Have a great weekend everyone!

References

Surka, S., Edirippulige, S., Steyn, K., Gaziano, T., Puoane, T., & Levitt, N. (2014). Evaluating      the use of mobile phone technology to enhance cardiovascular disease screening by community health workers. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 83(9), 648-654. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2014.06.008

World Health Organization. (2015). Cardiovascular diseases. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/

Below I have a list of the meals that I ate on Saturday, January 31st, 2015. I found this activity to be very exciting because I enjoy learning about health and fitness. I enjoy eating healthy not only because of its health-benefiting effects, but also because I feel better throughout the day. In addition, I also enjoy working out at the gym regularly and it has been a passion of mine since I was younger. The importance of this assignment focuses on cardiac patients and how they require a cardiac diet in order to live a healthy life. It is important for these individuals to eat meals that are low in fat (fat-free, 1-percent fat), low in cholesterol (less than 13g of saturated fat), low in sugar, low in sodium (less than 2400mg). Aside from these restrictions, it is also necessary to increase fiber, fruits, and vegetables. I have learned a lot from this assignment and I have even made some changes to my own diet. I have even found myself checking nutrition facts and comparing different items with each other. Remember, you only have ONE body!

Meals for Saturday, January 31st, 2015