The communicable disease selected for this report is tuberculosis (TB), which is an infectious disease that results from the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). According to Fogel (2015), tuberculosis remains as one of the most contagious infectious diseases affecting the lungs and may have serious implications if not treated effectively. In the 20 th century, TB was listed as among the top leading causes of death, as it affected a significant number of people resulting in a high mortality rate. However, advancements in the health care field have helped towards the development of medication that has helped in limiting exposure for patients. The medicines, which are antibiotics, have played a critical role in ensuring that indeed patients can dealing with the underlying effects associated with this particular health condition. The focus of this report is to embark on an in-depth analysis the contagious disease, tuberculosis, from multiple perspectives in a bid to achieving overall effectiveness in dealing with the health condition.
Description of the Communicable Disease
The leading cause of tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB), which is a small bacterium that affects the normal functionality of the lungs. When compared to some of the other bacteria, MTB is seen as a slow bacteria considering that it is divided after a period of between 16 and 20 hours. The mode of transmission of this bacterium is solely through the air resulting from a situation where a person that is affected by the condition sneezes, coughs, spits, or laughs. One of the key aspects to note about TB is that it is a highly contagious disease considering that one is much more likely to find him or herself exposed to the bacterium when dealing with a person that is affected by the condition.
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The most interesting fact to note about TB, as a communicable disease, is that it does not present any notable signs or symptoms; thus making it hard for health practitioners in trying to diagnose the condition. However, a continued lack of treatment for the disease may have severe outcomes including chest and spinal pain, cough, or fever depending on the extent to which the patient has been affected by the condition (Fogel, 2015). Some of the notable complications that can be associated with tuberculosis include meningitis resulting from a situation where the condition affects the functioning of the brain. Tuberculosis is seen as a serious health condition that must be handled effectively in a bid to building overall effectiveness towards protecting as many people as possible. In some cases, patients with TB have experienced a significant impairment with regard to the heart’s ability to pump blood.
Regarding the possible treatments for the condition, the main form of treatment for the disease is the intake of antibiotics, which help towards limiting the spread of the bacterial infection. If a patient is diagnosed with tuberculosis, he or she is prescribed specific antibiotics, which would depend on the severity of the condition with the sole focus being towards reducing the threat of further spread. The medicines are usually taken for an extended period considering that TB is a condition that may affect the overall functionality of the lungs. Patients are expected to go for regular medical check-ups and screening for the spread of the condition to determine whether indeed they require further medication to help in treating this particular health condition.
Demographic of Interest
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 9 million people are diagnosed with tuberculosis on an annual basis with nearly 3 million of these patients not recognized by health care systems (World Health Organization, 2015). That acts as a critical challenge for health care systems around the world considering that it creates a situation it becomes somewhat challenging or difficult to deal with the condition effectively. WHO has been on the forefront towards implementing specific approaches aimed at ensuring that more people understand the importance of having to embark on screening for tuberculosis to help avert further spread of the health condition within different populations (World Health Organization, 2015). Among women, TB is noted as being among the top 3 causes of death for women between the ages of 15 and 44 years. Women are more prone towards exposure to tuberculosis; thus, defining the need for having to adopt effective health measures focusing on the women population.
Determinants of Health
Tuberculosis occurs as a health condition that can be attributed to several notable health determinants each of which is seen as being essential towards defining the extent to which populations find themselves exposed to the condition. The first determinant associated with TB is poverty. According to the WHO, poverty creates a situation where people tend to live in poorly ventilated areas for both homes and workplace environments (World Health Organization, 2015). The outcome of this is that the persons find themselves at a higher risk of exposure to TB if one of the individuals is diagnosed with the condition. Dealing with poverty may be seen as one of the key factors that would help improve overall effectiveness towards minimizing risks of exposure for a significant number of people.
Another key health determinant associated with tuberculosis contributing to a high rate of exposure for the majority of the people is education on the condition. Majority of the people lack that expected level of understanding on what would be expected to protect themselves from risks of infection. Salgame, Geadas, Collins, Jones-López, & Ellner (2015) argue that majority of the people lack the expected levels of understanding on tuberculosis as one of the notable health issues of significant consideration. The challenge can be seen from the perspective that the majority of these persons tend to experience a considerable problem when in environments that are likely to expose them to TB. According to the WHO, lack of education within different populations focusing on tuberculosis as one of the important health conditions that they ought to consider creates a situation where the majority of the people find themselves at high risk of exposure (World Health Organization, 2015).
The crucial third health determinant for tuberculosis reflects on a significant lack of comprehension on the importance of having to go for regular medical check-ups as a way of reducing risks of exposure to this particular condition. The determinant creates a situation where people find themselves facing severe effects associated with tuberculosis occurring at an advanced stage. Early diagnosis is vital towards ensuring that indeed patients would be able to minimize the risk of spread of this particular health issue while creating a high possibility of effectiveness in the treatment options taken. Additionally, early diagnosis also helps in minimizing overall risks that can be attributed to the severity of this particular health issue among individual patients.
The crucial last health determinant that can be associated with tuberculosis is climate change, as the condition can be attributed to several key environmental factors including humidity among other factors. Health professionals argue that climate change has been noted as one of the critical contributors of TB in the world today considering that a significant number of persons affected face environmental risks. Increased challenges associated with climate change have contributed to a substantial increase in the overall number of patients affected by tuberculosis worldwide (Salgame, Geadas, Collins, Jones-López, & Ellner, 2015). The idea of having to deal with the overall effects associated with climate change has been seen as one of the key ways through which to help deal with the rising number of cases related to tuberculosis. The overall inability to deal with climate change exposes more people to high risks of the disease taking into account that people find themselves exposed to a wide array of environmental factors.
Epidemiologic Triangle
The evaluation of the epidemiologic triangle reflects on three key aspects of consideration in defining the risk factors associated with a specific health condition, which are agent, host, and environment. The agent focusing on the health risk of tuberculosis reflects more on the pathogen, which is the MTB bacterium resulting in an overall shift in the functioning of the lungs. The agent creates a situation where it becomes hard or challenging for patients to maintain positive health outcomes considering that the patient finds him or herself in a situation where the risk of infection increases significantly. The consideration of the bacterium as the agent is essential, as it helps in ensuring that the health professionals involved are well positioned in dealing with the condition effectively.
On the other hand, the environment reflects on the ventilation within the specific environments or areas for the at-risk population, which creates a high risk of exposure to the agent that is likely to cause tuberculosis. The environment is an important factor to consider, as it seeks to create a new approach through which to determine the specific factors that are likely to contribute to the health issue. Lastly, the host reflects more on the genetic composition of the patients, which is important considering that tuberculosis is a hereditary condition. Additionally, the host may also reflect on other factors that include nutritional status, which serve as key avenues through which to maximize on the generalized expectations in dealing with the health condition in question (Salgame, Geadas, Collins, Jones-López, & Ellner, 2015). When using the epidemiologic triangle, it becomes much easier towards ensuring that indeed patients can understand the overall risks that they face with regard to this particular health issue.
Role of Community Health Nurse
The role of the community health nurse with regard to tuberculosis is that of patient education with the specific focus being towards educating members of the public on the risks that they face in relation to the health condition. Through patient education, the community health nurse finds him or herself in a better position through which to minimize the overall risks of exposure for the people while ensuring that people understand the nature of risks that they face with regard to the condition. Additionally, patient education also acts as a guarantee that more people would be able to improve on their respective environments, which serve as contributing factors for the overall risks of exposure to the condition.
National Agency
The National Tuberculosis Controllers Association (NTCA) is the national agency that deals with issues associated with tuberculosis, as well as, keeping track with changing data associated with the condition. The primary role of the agency is to undertake patient education countrywide with the expectation being towards ensuring that the people in the country have a clear understanding of the extent to which the condition may impact their health. Additionally, the agency also plays a key role in supporting research and development efforts focusing on tuberculosis with the sole expectation being towards ensuring that the advancements in the health care sector improve on generalized outcomes. The agency has been involved in efforts towards funding research and development with the sole expectation being towards creating a front through which the people would be able to protect themselves from risks of exposure.
Global Implication of the Disease
Tuberculosis has had several vital implications from a global perspective, which are essential to consider as part of improving overall efficiency in matching possible outcomes while focusing on the general impacts of the condition. The first implication associated with tuberculosis is that it has contributed to a significant increase in the costs of health care considering that governments are spending significantly as a result of this condition. The increased levels of spending within governments as a way of dealing with tuberculosis have had a significant impact on the general costs of health care services. Reducing the rate of exposure may have notable benefits towards lowering the costs of health care; thus, creating that basic avenue through which governments would be able to fund other areas in health care.
The second global implication associated with tuberculosis is the increasing number of deaths that can be attributed to the condition, which are rising at a significant rate; thus, creating a high need for change in approaches towards dealing with the condition. The mortality rate associated with tuberculosis has been on a steady rise within the last few years attributed to the fact that most people are not identified by the health systems (Fogel, 2015). The outcome of this is that the majority of the people find themselves in a position where they are much more likely to face risks of exposure for the condition. Dealing with some of the underlying factors contributing to this condition may serve as being effective towards reducing the overall number of persons affected by the condition; thus, reducing the mortality rate significantly.
Conclusion
In summary, the communicable disease selected for this report is tuberculosis (TB), which is an infectious disease that results from the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). MTB is seen as a slow bacteria considering that is divided after a period of between 16 and 20 hours. A continued lack of treatment for the condition may have severe outcomes including chest and spinal pain, cough, or fever depending on the extent to which the patient has been affected by the disease. Approximately 9 million people are diagnosed with tuberculosis on an annual basis with nearly 3 million of these patients not recognized by health care systems. Lack of education within different populations focusing on the disease as one of the important health conditions that they ought to consider creates a situation where the majority of the people find themselves at high risk of exposure. The role of the community health nurse with regard to tuberculosis is that of patient education.
References
Fogel, N. (2015). Tuberculosis: a disease without boundaries. Tuberculosis, 95 (5), 527-531.
Salgame, P., Geadas, C., Collins, L., Jones-López, E., & Ellner, J. J. (2015). Latent tuberculosis infection–revisiting and revising concepts. Tuberculosis , 95 (4), 373-384.
World Health Organization. (2015). Global tuberculosis report 2015 . World Health Organization.
