Response to Anna Valdez

********* please respond to discussion questions below add citations and references 🙂 **************

Vulnerable populations are groups of people who require special attention related to well-being and safety, including persons who cannot advocate for their own needs such as children, prisoners, and the cognitively, emotionally, and physically impaired. Persons who fall into the vulnerable category often have SDOH that contribute to such vulnerability such as poverty, ethnic minorities, sexual preference, and insurance status (Falkner, 2018). One example of a vulnerable population is refugee and immigrant population. There are many factors that affect this group, including socioeconomic background, residential location, stigma, and margination. There are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States (U.S.) and most of them have no access to primary healthcare (Acosta and Aguilar-Gaxiola, 2014). Immigrants face unique barriers to care. Immigrant’s faces health issues due to immigration status, lack of insurance, and lack to access to preventive care. Also, language barriers contribute to health problems. Language barriers are a big issue for much of the immigrant population in seeking medical care and in understanding the instructions. Not having a usual source of health care, not having health insurance and being less able to afford the out-of-pocket costs of care are also barriers to health. Refugees and immigrants are in an unknown environment and culture that also makes them vulnerable. Immigration-related fears and anxieties affect their overall health. Being undocumented is a risk factor for mental illness. There is a lot of ethical issues with this population, one example is the documentation of immigration status in patient’s records. When working with this group nursing advocacy is essential. Nurses must take into consideration the characteristics of the specific group such as specific health needs, language barriers, cultural preferences, beliefs, and values. Provide them with adequate information, teaching, resources, and programs that can be helpful. Treating them with respect and compassion and understand their needs is also beneficial for this group.

References:

Grand Canyon University (Ed). (2018). Community & public health: The future of health care. Retrieved from https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs427vn/community-and-pub…

Acosta, D. A., & Aguilar-Gaxiola, S. (2014). Academic health centers and care of undocumented immigrants in the United States: Servant leaders or uncourageous followers? Academic Medicine, 89(4), 540-543.