Define and describe the primary goals of screening.

Case 2

Question for the case: Which are the recommendations according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for older adults regarding type, quantity and quality of exercise per week?

According to the CDC, adults older than 65 years of age should walk 30 minutes daily for 5 days of the week, or a combination of aerobic and strength exercises for 75 minutes any two days of the week.

Question 1. Define and describe the primary goals of screening.

Screening refers to the test done to detect potential health disorders and diseases in people without any symptoms of the conditions. The primary goal of screening is early detection and lifestyle change to reduce the risk of disease and detect the condition early enough to treat it most effectively (Ilardo & Speciale, 2020). However, screening tests are not considered diagnostic, but are used to identify a subset of the population who should have additional testing to determine the presence and absence of a medical condition.

Question 2. Discuss your thoughts on the relationship between economics and nutrition. How would you advise people of low socioeconomic status to eat healthy on a budget? How would you respond to patients whose financial restraints limit their access to food?

Economic factors typically play a crucial role in affecting individual nutrition status and health. Because economic decision factors like food prices and income may influence people’s food choices. Furthermore, food costs are a barrier for low-income families to healthier food choices (Cuevas García-Dorado et al., 2019). For people who have low socioeconomic status, I would encourage them to eat healthy on their budget by advising them to plan ahead so that they are able to think about their food needs, tastes, and budget. I would also advise them to shop with a list (Ilardo & Speciale, 2020). After planning their meal, they should create a shopping list with the ingredients that they would need for their meals. Also, the shopping lists would make their shopping more accessible and faster, thereby reducing the impulse of buying and taking home the only items they needed.

I would advise them to buy frozen and canned fruits and vegetables as they can be healthy alternatives to fresh produce. Also, I would advise them that when they are choosing the canned option to select those with water rather than in syrup. They should read the label for any added sugar and salt so that they may avoid them (Ilardo & Speciale, 2020). Besides, they should cut costs with coupons as they are a great way of saving on their grocery bill. I would advise them to buy store brands because they save 20 to 30 % on food bills (Cuevas García-Dorado et al., 2019). I would advise them to try growing a garden by growing their own fruit and vegetables, which is a great way to save money and have fresh produce at their fingertips.

For patients with financial restraints limiting their access to food, I would respond by working with feeding American, prevention, and Hearst magazine, which are committed to ending hunger. I would find mutual aid networks that are committed to taking direct action to care to combat issues such as food insecurity (Cuevas García-Dorado et al., 2019). I would also stock a community fridge that can donate food around the country. I would volunteer at a food bank so that I may fight food insecurity by managing the food bank through feeding the community.

Question 3. Identify potential barriers to patient teaching and how you would address these barriers.

Some of the potential barriers to patient teaching include language, literacy, physiological and cultural barriers. The inability of the patient to communicate with healthcare providers is an important barrier to health education as they cannot communicate effectively (Califf et al., 2021). Also, cultural difference is another barrier to effective patient education as they are unable to communicate in another language other than their native language. These potential barriers to patient teaching may be addressed by creating a solid connection to what is being taught through relevance to the patient (Dube, 2018). This connection creates relevance to the patient to ensure that they learn effectively.

References

Califf, R. M., Wong, C., Doraiswamy, P. M., Hong, D. S., Miller, D. P., & Mega, J. L. (2021). Importance of social determinants in screening for depression. Journal of general internal medicine, 1-8.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022, March 31). How much physical activity do older adults need? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/older_adults/index.htm

Cuevas García-Dorado, S., Cornselsen, L., Smith, R., & Walls, H. (2019). Economic globalization, nutrition and health: a review of quantitative evidence. Globalization and health, 15(1), 1-19.

Dube, S. R. (2018). Continuing conversations about adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening: A public health perspective. Child Abuse & Neglect, 85, 180-184.

Ilardo, M. L., & Speciale, A. (2020). The community pharmacist: perceived barriers and patient-centered care communication. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(2), 536.