NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Student Name

Capella University

NURS-FPX 6026 Biopsychosocial Concepts for Advanced Nursing Practice 2

Prof. Name

Date

Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

This assessment focuses on the health policy proposal for the vulnerable population with extensive tobacco use. Due to the long-term harms of tobacco use, there is a compelling need for health policy proposal on tobacco control so that vulnerable population attains healthier life with an increased life span. This health policy will ensure reduced tobacco consumption and improved quality of life in the population.

Policy and Guidelines Proposal to Improve Outcomes for Tobacco Use in Population

Tobacco use has become an emerging trend in the vulnerable population where adults and adolescents are equally affected. The health policy proposal suggested consists of an implementation of a tobacco cessation plan and curriculum-based tobacco control to prevent its use in adolescents and young adults. This health policy integrates various guidelines to follow so that desired outcomes can be attained. Following are the guidelines that revolve around the implementation of the suggested health policy proposal: 

• Developing the age-appropriate tobacco control curriculum for different age groups and educational levels including primary, middle, and high schools. Moreover, the curriculum-based content must be tailored to the cognitive abilities and developmental stages of the students (Owens et al., 2020). 
• Training of teachers is must to provide appropriate and adequate education to adolescents in educational institutions. For this purpose, health educators with a specialty in tobacco cessation may collaborate with educational professionals so that they can stay up-to-date with the latest research on tobacco use and its control (Lazaro et al., 2021).
• Implementation of tobacco taxes and pricing strategies to discourage the use of tobacco products and funding additionally to establish tobacco control programs. As the prices of tobacco products raise, the vulnerable population will reduce their use due to financial constraints (Gonzalez-Rozada & Montamat, 2019). 
• Promoting the establishment of evidence-based cessation plans and interventions by providing counseling sessions, support groups, medication support, psychological support, quitlines, motivational interviews, and technology-based tobacco cessation plans (Park et al., 2020). Furthermore, all these interventions must observe the provided clinical guidelines. 

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

This policy and guidelines will improve the outcomes and quality of care for tobacco users in the target population. But there can be several potential difficulties in implementing these guidelines such as inadequate resources, lack of staff to train educational professionals on tobacco use, and uncertainty of students to implement the policy and learning points of tobacco control programs and campaigns. These challenges can be met when the limited resources are appropriately utilized and allocated that can ensure maximal benefit with minimal resources. Moreover, nurses can perform educational tasks for teachers as they are competent in their field of health and can guide teachers effectively on tobacco control. Lastly, educational institutes can collaborate with the parents of the students to ensure that students adhere to the learning points of tobacco control sessions.

Need for the Proposed Policy

Considering the current outcomes of tobacco use, it becomes instrumental to advocate the policy proposal. As evident through research, consistent use of tobacco causes addiction and dependency on tobacco products due to the presence of nicotine in tobacco. Tobacco addiction impacts academic performance in adolescents as adolescents may encounter psychological issues of depression and relevant mental health issues.  Furthermore, tobacco use may lead adolescents to social isolation further damaging their psychological state of health (Robb et al., 2020). 

On the other hand, the use of tobacco products impacts adults in various aspects causing chronic health disorders such as lung cancer, heart disease, respiratory diseases, etc. Patients who are active tobacco users often present themselves at the hospital due to these health conditions which impact the effectiveness of quality of care.

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Tobacco use not only affects the active users but also affects individuals who are exposed to the secondhand smoke of tobacco cigarettes or other products impacting non-smokers’ lives adversely (DiGiacomo et al., 2018). These current outcomes and health implications of tobacco use emphasized the need for reforming a policy that has the potential to recover the target population from tobacco use and its deteriorating effects on health.

There exist some contrary viewpoints where the critics argue the efficacy of curriculum-based tobacco control as early education on tobacco control may have opposite results and they further get involved in tobacco use. Others have opposing views on promoting the tobacco cessation plan. Instead, they hold the idea that the underlying cause of tobacco use such as the presence of mental health issues or peer pressure should be targeted and prospective measures should be taken into account (Druss, 2020). Considering these conflicted ideas, there is a pressing need for policy development to address these current outcomes and contrary ideas.

Inter-professional Approach to Implementing the Proposed Policy

The integrated efforts of inter-professional teams in an inter-professional approach to implementing the proposed policy can significantly enhance the effectiveness of the care setting. This will result in high-quality outcomes as expected i.e. reduced use of tobacco among adults and adolescents. The inter-professional team can participate in implementing the proposed policy in a number of ways, for instance, collaborative efforts can be brought to assess the population who are addicted to tobacco use (Zhou & Abernathey, 2022). The school teachers can also coordinate with health specialists so they can stay up-to-date on the latest research on tobacco and provide education to their students. Pharmacists and physicians can collaborate in deciding medication therapy plans along with doses and frequency for individuals quitting tobacco use and requiring nicotine replacement therapy to manage cravings.

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Furthermore, nurses can provide patient-centered care to patients who suffer from tobacco-related diseases and help them engage with support groups to maintain consistency in the cessation journey. Social workers can run tobacco-free campaigns and ameliorate further awareness of tobacco use and its harms which can help implement a proposed policy of tobacco cessation plan and tobacco control (Wu, 2022). Hence, the inter-professional approach can play a vital role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of care settings to attain high-quality outcomes.

The knowledge gaps include uncertainty about the long-term efficacy of tobacco cessation plans. Moreover, tobacco products are emerging day by day as they are not limited to smoking cigarettes e.g. e-cigarettes requiring further need for research on the potential health impacts of these products and prospective interventions to promote tobacco control of these products (Bhatnagar et al., 2019). Besides, the extent to which this health policy will be implemented and enforced on the target population is another missing piece of information that requires the keen attention of researchers specialized in this health field. 

Conclusion

Consequently, tobacco use is a common health issue prevalent in vulnerable populations, with primary victims being adolescents and adults. To alleviate tobacco use in the target population, suggestion of health policy is helpful. The current outcomes of tobacco addiction among adolescents such as poor academic performance, the incidence of mental health issues, and the onset of chronic diseases in adults due to excessive consumption of tobacco impacting quality of care delivery advocate the need for a policy proposal. To implement the proposed policy, an inter-professional team approach can significantly increase the effectiveness of the care setting through shared-decision making, collaborative learning and teaching, and providing patient-centered care strategies.

References

Bhatnagar, A., Whitsel, L. P., Blaha, M. J., Huffman, M. D., Krishan-Sarin, S., Maa, J., Rigotti, N., Robertson, R. M., & Warner, J. J. (2019). New and emerging tobacco products and the nicotine endgame: The role of robust regulation and comprehensive tobacco control and prevention: A presidential advisory from the american heart association. Circulation, 139(19). https://doi.org/10.1161/cir.0000000000000669 

DiGiacomo, S., Jazayeri, M.-A., Barua, R., & Ambrose, J. (2018). Environmental tobacco smoke and cardiovascular disease. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(1), 96. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16010096 

Gonzalez-Rozada, M., & Montamat, G. (2019). How raising tobacco prices affects the decision to start and quit smoking: Evidence from Argentina. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(19), 3622. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16193622 

Lazaro, A., Ceballos, R., Fischer, M., Smuin, S., & Halpern-Felsher, B. (2021). A novel approach to training educators to conduct school-based adolescent e-cigarette education and prevention: Using the tobacco prevention toolkit. Addictive Behaviors, 118, 106858. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.106858 

Owens, D. K., Davidson, K. W., Krist, A. H., Barry, M. J., Cabana, M., Caughey, A. B., Curry, S. J., Donahue, K., Doubeni, C. A., Epling, J. W., Kubik, M., Ogedegbe, G., Pbert, L., Silverstein, M., Simon, M. A., Tseng, C.-W., & Wong, J. B. (2020). Primary care interventions for prevention and cessation of tobacco use in children and adolescents. JAMA, 323(16), 1590. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.4679 

NURS FPX 6026 Assessment 2 Biopsychosocial Population Health Policy Proposal

Park, E. R., Perez, G. K., Regan, S., Muzikansky, A., Levy, D. E., Temel, J. S., Rigotti, N. A., Pirl, W. F., Irwin, K. E., Partridge, A. H., Cooley, M. E., Friedman, E. R., Rabin, J., Ponzani, C., Hyland, K. A., Holland, S., Borderud, S., Sprunck, K., Kwon, D., & Peterson, L. (2020). Effect of sustained smoking cessation counseling and provision of medication vs shorter-term counseling and medication advice on smoking abstinence in patients recently diagnosed with cancer. JAMA, 324(14), 1406. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.14581 

Robb, C. E., de Jager, C. A., Ahmadi-Abhari, S., Giannakopoulou, P., Udeh-Momoh, C., McKeand, J., Price, G., Car, J., Majeed, A., Ward, H., & Middleton, L. (2020). Associations of social isolation with anxiety and depression during the early COVID-19 pandemic: A survey of older adults in london, UK. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11(591120). https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.591120 

Wu, Y. (2022). Tobacco control measures’ role in improving employees’ health under the impact of health education and media campaign. Frontiers in Public Health, 10. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.904894  

Zhou, F., & Abernathey, G. (2022). Semper Paratus: Exploring an interprofessional approach to tobacco cessation. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 62(5), 1456–1457. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.japh.2022.04.001