Application: Access to Quality Health Care for Vulnerable Populations

Access to quality health care for disparate populations is a critical challenge for today’s health care organizations and for the health care system as a whole. In this Application Assignment, you will describe the advantages and challenges facing the health care system in providing equal access to quality health care.

To prepare for this Application Assignment, consider how health care is delivered to populations who are sometimes affected by theHealthy People assigned focus area you were previously assigned.

To complete this Application Assignment, write a 2- to 3-page paper (essay style) that addresses the following:

• What two obstacles confront vulnerable/underserved populations when they attempt to obtain quality health care Healthy People assigned focus area(e.g., a prevention program, screening program, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation)? Be specific.
• Name and describe two intervention programs that have addressed these obstacles (e.g., prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation). You can find examples of these on the internet or by searching the library databases (CINAHL). Try searching with your Healthy People area (i.e. obestiy; heart disease) as a key term as well as the word “intervention” or “program”). You may also try looking at professional organizations that address that health issue. For example, the American Diabetes Association sponsors a program called “Project Power” which addresses diabetes type 2 among African Americans—specifically for church settings.

In your paper, summarize the programs by including the following:

Your written assignments must follow APA guidelines (6th edition). Be sure to support your work with specific citations from this week’s Learning Resources and additional scholarly sources as appropriate. Refer to the Essential Guide to APA Style for Walden Students to ensure that your in-text citations and reference list are correct. Also, since this is one of your only applications, you may want to submit this to a Walden Writing Center tutor first as well as run it through Turnitin.com prior to submission.

Learning Resources


Required Resources

Media

• Video: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Behavioral and cultural issues in health care: Health care disparities. Baltimore, MD: Author.
  
  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 16 minutes.

  The scholars in this video explore various aspects of the health care workforce and their ability to provide quality care. Dr. Joseph Betancourt examines cultural perspectives in health care disparities, Dr. Angela Mickalide describes cultural competence, and Dr. Leonard Jack explores equal assess to quality health care for patients of diverse cultural backgrounds and situations.

  Note: As a reminder, additional Learning Resources for the week are listed below the Media Player. Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the web page to view the complete list of Required and Optional Resources.

  If you experience technical difficulties viewing the Course Media through the Media Player, please contact your Student Support Team at 1-800-WALDENU or [email protected]

Readings

• Course Text: Social and Behavioral Foundations of Public Health
• • Chapter 8, “Comparative Health Cultures” (pp. 154–161)
  • Organizational culture and the culture of public health are the focus of this chapter.
• Article: Andrulis, D., & Brach, C. (2007). Integrating literacy, culture, and language to improve health care quality for diverse populations.American Journal of Health Behavior, 31(Suppl. 1). Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

  The objective of this study was “to understand the interrelationship of literacy, culture, and language, and the importance of addressing their intersection.”

• Article: Betancourt, J. R., Green, A. R., Carrillo, J. E., & Park, E. R. (2005). Cultural competence and health care disparities: Key perspectives and trends. Health Affairs, 24(2). Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

  Cultural competence is one method for mitigating disparate health care for vulnerable populations. This article presents the trends in cultural competence in health care policies, practice, and education.

• Article: Kreuter, M. W., Lukwago, S. N., Bucholtz, D. C., Clark, E. M., & Sanders-Thompson, V. (2003). Achieving cultural appropriateness in health promotion programs: Targeted and tailored approaches. Health Education and Behavior, 30(2), 133–146. Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
  
  The focus of this article is the five strategies often used to target programs to culturally defined groups. Then it introduces another approach, cultural tailoring, that has the potential of enhancing the other strategies in developing intervention programs that are effective for cultural groups.
• Article: PATH. (n.d.). Using culture to change behavior. Retrieved March 12, 2010, fromhttp://www.path.org/publications/files/CP_kenya_chaps_fs.pdf

  The organization, PATH, collaborates with communities to reflect on a community’s cultural roots and completes community-driven projects that engage culture to promote health and are respectful of cultural complexity. This article explores some of their activities.

• Standards: The Office of Minority Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2007). National standards on culturally and linguistically appropriate services (CLAS) in health care. Retrieved from http://minorityhealth.hhs.gov/templates/browse.aspx?lvl=2&lvlID=15

  This page describes the 14 national standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate services for health care providers. Organizations are encouraged to integrate these standards to promote equal treatment between their health care professionals and all patient populations.

Optional Resources

Readings

Websites