Chronic Illness and Disability Integrated Nursing Concept

Question: Discuss about the Chronic Illness and Disability for Integrated Nursing Concept. Answer: Introduction: According to Chang and Johnson (2014, p.1), chronicity can be defined as an illness that lasts for a long duration, not showing any signs of resolving spontaneously or with the help of medications. This chronicity or chronic condition has become common for nurses of Australia, where they have to handle patients with co-morbid diseases along with a chronic illness. In medical terminology, usually, chronicity is related to illness rather than to diseases. Chronic illness gets more emphasis than the diseases in the nursing department. Along with providing care to the chronic illness, they have to treat the patient for depression, a very common co-morbid existence with illness. Chronicity is also related to a specific human condition where the health is affected by a disease or rather an illness that lasts for a longer time than usual with long lasting effects. However, in accordance with Hickman et al. (2010, p.63), along with illness or diseases, chronic depression is noticed by the nurses treating the patients. This has become one of the greatest challenging situations that nurses in Australia are facing while they provide treatment and care to the service users. From a nurses perspective, it can be seen that along with the illness, the co-morbid chronicity of other complex illness is often seen. Chronicity refers to such a disease or illness which persists in a patients body more than three months, according to the health studies of Australia. Chronicity usually, cannot be prevented by medicines or vaccinations. As suggested by Ski et al. (2012, p.2228), they do not disappear and keep on affecting the patients health from worse to worst. Often it is seen that patients develop multiple diseases from the chronicity of illness and it becomes a challenge for the nurses to take care of the service users. This has been noticed in older people who become difficult to handle and give care to the sufferers. It can be seen that diseases, no matter how acute they are, can be brought under control with the help of medications or vaccines. However, an illness like depression, which is growing as a co-morbid chronic illness along with diseases, is making the situations tough for the nurses. Nurses are failing to take proper care of the patients, especially the older people who are developing a complex illness out of the chronicity. Care need management should be adopted by the nurses and hospitals so that the health requirements of the patients can be met. Using the Chronic Care Model can help the hospitals in managing strategies for improving the situation. Emphasis can be given to the self-management, evidence-based practice and interdisciplinary care. If a case of numerous morbidity is registered it should get the immediate attention of the nurse so that all the existing illness can be identified in the time required medications can be provided to them. If multiple disabilities are seen, required care providers should be allotted to the patient. Since most of the patients are moving towards depression, the nurses find it difficult to treat it with the prescribed medications. In the words of Lubkin and Larsen (2006, p.22), the matter is gaining weight from the nurses perspective and hence required strategies should be applied. However, it is seen that in the recent years, patients are suffering from chronic illnesses which are developing a chronic co-morbid illness like depression making the job of the caregiver difficult. It should be handled with intense care and appropriate strategies. Those who are developing multiple illnesses, a different approach are required to handle them and give them the best treatment. The design of the health system in Australia needs to be changed for better support to the patients. Reports have been registered with the news that for some last years there has been a lot of changes in the practice of duties of nurses. The healthcare as a whole has received certain changes for the benefit. Nurses along with the medical sector have faced patients who were suffering from chronic illness and developed serious co-morbid illnesses too. With the changing trend, it became necessary to adopt strategic planning so that the required necessities of the patients can be met. There is seen that some of the patients do not get the required treatment on time. Moreover, the treatment that they receive, does not comply with the international standard. The most important change that is required to give proper health services to the patients is to improve the financing of the heath care organisations. Allocation of wealth must be done in an effective manner so that advancement can be made in the field of technology to identify the chronic illness and given the required treatment. With proper finance, more than one specialised nurse can be allocated to the critical patients so that the care is given according to the international standard. This would benefit the patient as well as the health care organisation. This initiative of facilitating more finance to the institutes would definitely help the organisations to gather good health standard. Another initiative that has been taken by the government of Australia in improving the health condition of the people living there is improving the condition of the primary health care organisations. Medicare centres along with primary health centres have been set up to combat the chronic illness that is affecting the health of the people (Aspin et al. 2010, p.386). The initiative has also been taken in connecting the services of the primary centres with hospitals and aged health services. Old people are ones who are suffering the most from the chronic diseases which are leading to other co-morbid illness which is causing great harm to their lives. The government of Australia had taken another initiative to rectify the problem of health being affected by chronic illness. The Australian national preventive health Agency targeted to prevent illness like obesity to stop the harm that the chronic diseases were doing to the lives of the people. There was prevention of the consumption of alcohol and tobacco so that the people can enjoy a good health being saved from chronic health diseases. The government has to invest more in the field of prevention so that people can be made aware of the adverse effect their irregular lifestyle (Hendersonb et al. 2014, p.337). An effective system should be applied from the governments part. The role of the Australian government is very important in making rules and regulations regarding the increasing number of people suffering from chronic diseases and also suffering from depression. There are certain changes that have been brought in the network of the health homes and the hospitals. According to the rules and regulations, none should be deprived of treatment irrespective of their colour and creed. The initiative of making people aware that a healthy lifestyle; e can let you live healthy is the best policy undertaken to explain the importance of good health. The Australian government should be efficient enough to apply all that they have thought (Harris and Zwar, 2007, p.104). Hence, the initiative should be taken to rectify the loopholes so that efficient health system can be built and meet the requirements of those suffering from chronic diseases. Allocation of nurses should be done in accordance with the requirement of the patient. This would help to improve the national health standard. Reference list Chang, E. and Johnson, A. eds., 2014.Chronic illness and disability: Principles for nursing practice. Elsevier Health Sciences. Lubkin, I.M. and Larsen, P.D., 2006.Chronic illness: Impact and interventions. Jones Bartlett Learning. Aspin, C., Jowsey, T., Glasgow, N., Dugdale, P., Nolte, E., O'Hallahan, J. and Leeder, S., 2010. Health policy responses to rising rates of multià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ morbid chronic illness in Australia and New Zealand.Australian and New Zealand journal of public health,34(4), pp.386-393. Harris, M.F. and Zwar, N.A., 2007. Care of patients with chronic disease: the challenge for general practice.Medical Journal of Australia,187(2), p.104. Henderson, J., Koehne, K., Verrall, C., Gebbie, K. and Fuller, J., 2014. How is primary health care conceptualised in nursing in Australia? A review of the literature.Health social care in the community,22(4), pp.337-351. Hickman, L.D., Rolley, J.X. and Davidson, P.M., 2010. Can principles of the Chronic Care Model be used to improve care of the older person in the acute care sector?.Collegian,17(2), pp.63-69. Ski, C.F., Page, K., Thompson, D.R., Cummins, R.A., Salzberg, M. and Worrallà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Carter, L., 2012. Clinical outcomes associated with screening and referral for depression in an acute cardiac ward.Journal of clinical nursing,21(15à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ 16), pp.2228-2234.