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Introduction
The term vulnerability presents an extensive area of application. From climatic and natural disasters to human psychology and criminal behavior multiple sections of studies are dealing with this approach in understanding the phenomenon of vulnerability. In nursing and healthcare literature this term was introduced in 1980s that gave a new direction of understanding the susceptibility of a population towards any specific disease. As seen for cardiovascular problems African Americans are highly vulnerable to the problem. Thus, theory of vulnerability helps in understanding the associated risks factor of an epidemic for a specific population. The essay aims to identify a potential intervention for the vulnerable population through reviewing the literature. According to the experts, designing interventions for the target population using the approach of vulnerability theory will facilitate in combating the core reason of defenselessness of that populace as well as in discovering the healthcare requirements to ensure the improved protection to the population (Mussi, Traldi & Talarico, 2012; Val and Nichiata, 2014).
Literature Review
The vulnerability is divided into three equally dependent magnitudes that are individual, programmatic and social. It is necessary to evaluate all these three facets of vulnerability to design an appropriate intervention plan for a population because any promotional plan can be made successful when started from the initial or individual level. According to Val and Nichiata (2014), the theory of vulnerability consists of a group of multiple milieus that are linked to each other providing higher exposure to the problem with weak protection. In this exploratory study, they investigated the present approach related to its programmatic facet in fighting against HIV infections (Val & Nichiata, 2014).
Another research was conducted to assess the vulnerability of nursing professionals to Tuberculosis due to patients’ care schedules and transmission risks. It concluded that it is required a proper investment by healthcare institutions for scheming preventive strategies and management policies for these vulnerable risks. Moreover, the successful execution of this plan can be determined only by the learning processes and acquiring knowledge by nurses (Mussi, Traldi & Talarico, 2012).
De Chesnay, (2005) divided vulnerability theory into two aspects, namely individual focus and aggregate focus or vulnerable populations. In his book, Chesnay discussed other ideas and concept regarding vulnerability. One of the concepts says that access to required resources will help in decreasing the vulnerability that indicates the requirement of proper and rich resources will reduce the risks in vulnerable populations, such as pregnant mothers’ group, mentally-disabled groups, economic weaker sections, minorities, and immigrants or refugees. These people are highly sensitive due to the low programmatic and social support (De Chesnay, 2005).
The need for an appropriate intervention plan must include, a fair and non-biased delivery of care, non-discriminated and universal access to quality care and resources to all and legislative, consistent and concrete policies addressing the vulnerable populations. According to a report, the African Americans are at higher risks of developing cardiovascular problems that may be due to multiple factors. Their low socioeconomic status, behavioral problems, living as a minority and low educational backgrounds, all these factors may collectively increase the risks to CVDs in this population. Nowadays, various government and non-government agencies came forward and identified the health care vulnerabilities in this population (De Chesnay, 2005).
Murray in her research focused on exploring the healthcare experiences of African Americans. The author concluded that to address the needs of a population trust is an essential step towards a healthy relationship between professionals and African American patients (Murray, 2015).
Conclusion
Thus, the essay concludes that to reach the set goal of reducing the vulnerability of a population it is imperative to recognize the teaching and learning status and requirement of the healthcare professionals and the target population at individual as well as group levels. Understanding the family history and needs of healthcare is the primary step in learning. It will further help in establishing policies at community and government levels where a network of stakeholders, federal agencies, healthcare professionals, and patients act mutually to deliver the expected results.
References
De Chesnay, M. (2005). Caring for the vulnerable: Perspectives in nursing theory, practice, and
research. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Murray, T. M. (2015, October). Trust in African Americans’ Healthcare Experiences. In Nursing
forum (Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 285-292).
Mussi, T. V. F., Traldi, M. C., & Talarico, J. N. D. S. (2012). Knowledge as a factor in
vulnerability to tuberculosis among nursing students and professionals. Revista da Escola
de Enfermagem da USP, 46(3), 696-703.
Val, L. F. D., & Nichiata, L. Y. I. (2014). Comprehensiveness and programmatic vulnerability to
stds/hiv/aids in primary care. Revista da Escola de Enfermagem da USP, 48(SPE), 145-
151.
