Healthcare for Community Health Worker - myassignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about theHealthcare for Community Health Worker. Answer: As a Community Health Worker (CHW), one is responsible for working with adolescents for achieving better health and wellbeing of this population within the community. Community health workers are to work and function as a critical link between the primary healthcare system and the community. They are entrusted with the role of connecting individuals of the community to health services, and contributing to advancements in overall health status. CHWs are providers of health promotion and support suitable diagnosis for successfully guiding them to the needed care approach (1). A chief area of practice for CHW is adolescent health. Adolescence is the stage of life considered to be critical as this phase is characterized by rapid social, emotional and biological development. An individual in this phase of life develops the abilities needed for healthy, reproductive and satisfying life. For making a healthy and safe transition to adulthood, adolescents are to be provided access to health e ducation, including those on sexuality. In addition, they must also be subjected to quality healthcare services, including reproductive and sexual, in addition to a supportive environment in the home and across the community. The CHW is to recognize the needs of the adolescents in relation to their health education and become the support system of this section of the population. The workers are to recognize the vital needs of adolescents in relation to their knowledge of safe sexual practices and prevention of communicable diseases, and heathy lifestyle (2). It is necessary for all care professionals to adhere to the professional and ethical practice guidelines of Australia for delivering highest quality care. For community workers, this is more crucial since they are to work with the sections of the population who are most vulnerable. The professional standards are outlined in the Australian community workers code of ethics and the Australian community work practice guidelines. The Australian Community Workers Code of Ethics is responsible for setting the tenor for outstanding community work practice and is to be adhered to as a benchmark for community health practitioners (3). Ethical and legal issues are fundamental to justified practice and conduct in all areas of healthcare. While delivering care for individuals of the adolescent population, additional considerations are to be taken care of in daily practice due to the stage of development and legal status (4). The legal issue pertaining to the present case study revolves around the concern of informing the parents of Jasmine about the sexual relationship she is having with her boyfriend and the desire to go on oral contraceptive pills. The issue is critical since Jasmine is a minor with only 15 years age. Another legal issue is regarding maintenance of patient confidentiality. The community health worker at the present case needs to abide by the Duty of Care outlined as a part of the legal requirements for the profession. The discreet nature of the relationship existing between the adolescent and the health worker has given rise to the duty of care as a legal obligation. The underlying principle is that the health worker must be responsible for caring for the welfare of the young adult under all circumstances. The duty implies that the worker enures that the adolescent is more presented with harm by actions of the workers or failure to act in an appropriate manner. The worker is liable for neglecting patient condition that might lead to harm in future (5). As per the Privacy Act, health professionals are to abide by the law of maintaining the confidentiality of patients and the received information that comes in due course of the relationship established between the patient and care giver. The duty entitles them to protect the information disclosed directl y or indirectly in the context of the service provider and patient relationship (4). A growing amount of contemporary research acknowledges the impact of culture and religion on the sexual and reproductive behavior of an adolescent. It would be appropriate on a care workers part to take different approaches while caring for Jasmine depending on the cultural background she belongs to. Cultural issues are integrated into the care approach delivered to a patient depending on the values and beliefs of the patient (6). A dominant cultural background implies that the person coming from the Anglo- Australian background and living with parents in a metropolitan suburb would have knowledge and understanding of the health issues related to adolescent sexual relationships. It would be therefore easier to communicate with Jasmine if she had such a background and the required level of education to understand the concerns related to sexual health. A minority cultural background implies that an individual has traditional beliefs and values embedded into his cultural perspectives and opinions. In such a case, where Jasmine would have lived with an extended family with traditional beliefs about sexuality, it would be important to address the concerns related to non-English speaking and low level of knowledge about sexual health. It would be thus desirable to educate Jasmine as well as her family members with all relevant information while communication can be done with the help of an interpreter. The language barrier is to be eliminated for establishing an effective relationship with Jasmine. In case Jasmine was from another cultural background, initiatives would need to be taken in the first place to understand the traditions, values, and beliefs that people from this community imbibe. Acknowledging the social and cultural beliefs would ensure that the individual feels respected and valued. This is essential for addressing the needs of the patient (7). One health issue that would be relevant for the CHW to discuss with Jasmine is sexually transmitted diseases. The issue is relevant for Jasmine since she has had a sexual relationship with her boyfriend who had multiple sexual partners before entering into the relationship with Jasmine. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are medical complications caused due to sexual contact. The disease-causing organisms are transmitted from person to person through blood, semen and body fluids. The common STDs include Chlamydia, HIV/AIDS, syphilis, and Gonorrhea. The morbidity and mortality pertaining to STDs are high, leading to the social and economic burden on the community. The most prominent risk factor for acquiring STDs is having sexual relationships with more than one partner. The more the number of sexual partners is, the more the chances of acquiring STDs is (8). It is pivotal that CHW educates Jasmine about the health concern in a gradual manner. More than one visits would be desirable since it takes time for an adolescent to understand health information and the related implications. Firstly, a strong bond is to be created with Jasmine so that she does not deter from asking any questions arising in her mind related to the topic being taught. It is necessary to show empathy and respect towards Jasmine while educating her. Her dignity is to be respected since the matter under discussion is sensitive. It is natural for Jasmine to come up with different questions that would be personal. These might relate to prevention of STDs and open discussion with her boyfriend. She must be motivated and encouraged to engage in a proper discussion with her boyfriend to ensure that she is not at risk of nay form of harm that could have been prevented in the first place (9). References Baum F. The new public health. Oxford University Press; 2016. Denno DM, Hoopes AJ, Chandra-Mouli V. Effective strategies to provide adolescent sexual and reproductive health services and to increase demand and community support. Journal of Adolescent Health. 2015 Jan 31;56(1):S22-41. Code of ethics and Practice guidelines - Australian Community Workers Association | ACWA [Internet]. Acwa.org.au. 2017 [cited 13 October 2017]. Available from: https://www.acwa.org.au/resources/ethics-and-standards Abraham A, Hawkins K. Delivery of Adolescent Health Care. InTextbook of Clinical Pediatrics 2012 (pp. 3885-3889). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Working with Youth- A legal resource for community based health workers [Internet]. health.wa.gov.au. 2017 [cited 13 October 2017]. Available from: https://www.health.wa.gov.au/docreg/education/population/child_health/child_health_services/hp010283_working_with_youth_fnl_legal_resource.pdf Bonder B, Martin L. Culture in clinical care: Strategies for competence. Slack; 2013. Hllstrm M, Ranjbar V, Ascher H. Adolescent health care in a multi-cultural area: a qualitative study from adolescents perspective. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. 2017 Jan 2;22(1):107-21. DiClemente RJ, Hansen WB, Ponton LE, editors. Handbook of adolescent health risk behavior. Springer Science Business Media; 2013 Nov 21. Workowski KA, Bolan GA. Sexually transmitted diseases treatment guidelines (2015). Reproductive Endocrinology. 2015 Dec 1(24):51-6.