The nursing profession requires a delicate balance of care and dedication. This career is more of a calling than most other jobs. However, there is a job that is slightly more challenging than that of a nurse. A home health nurse attends to patients who are based in a home setting. Many enter into this field because of the promise of flexibility and easy working hours. The main difference with this job is that it calls for a nurse to attend to patients with all sorts of ailments. Additionally, the nurse must attend to the patient one on one without any additional assistance from other medical personnel. The role of a home health nurse is carried out in the home and in the general community setting where the patient will be.
Community Setting
In the urban setting, the home health nurse can fit into many practice settings. In this particular community, the home health nurse takes care of patients in the setting of the home. The population that utilises these services the most include the elderly living alone, injured or unwell children, adults with chronic conditions and some categories of pregnant and nursing mothers. Other populations served include patients in assisted living conditions (Landers et al., 2016). Our aim is to provide individualized care in a safe and loving environment. The services offered will restore dignity to the patient while ensuring that their medical needs are catered for.
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A common community setting for the home health care nurse is in the care of a pregnant woman with a delicate pregnancy. A large number of private institutions that offer reproductive health services offer home health nursing services (Landers et al., 2016). A number of these facilities are available in New York. New and first time mothers may access this facilities by seeking for information from the attending physicians in their respective zip codes. The pregnant mother may then use this as a liason between the home based facility and the hospital or clinic available in their location. The arrangement in this practice setting can also be found in most major cities. The population served in this setting includes pregnant mothers, first time mothers and women dealing with a child with special needs. Women on bed rest due to threatened pregnancies need home nursing as well. The families of these women also benefit as they are able to get more information about the situation.
There are three health services that are provided by home health nurses in this situation. The first is preventative care. The home health nurse teaches the pregnant women on the things she can do to prevent harm to herself and the baby. The teachings include management of blood pressure, safe diet and exercise, as well as weight management. This service also teaches the new mother how to alleviate some symptoms of discomfort such as nausea and vomiting (Jarrín et al., 2017). The mothers who take up this service the most include those with a history of diabetes or hypertension. Others who develop pre-eclampsia may also participate. All women are made aware of the general risks associated with pregnancy.
The second service offered is delivery care. The nurse will regularly carry out fetal monitoring tests to determine the state of the baby. The results of this and the mothers' health will determine the type of delivery that will be recommended. The mother will be able to make prior arrangements on the choice of a birth facility and the type of birth preferred. The home health nurse will attend to the mother if she chooses to have a home delivery. She will also facilitate this process by arranging for all the necessary requirements (Landers et al., 2016). The third service is post delivery. The home health nurse teaches the new mother various feeding techniques such as breast feeding or bottle feeding. The mother will also be equipped on basic first aid techniques such as saving a chocking or drowning baby. Vaccination schedules are issued and any information on the topic is alao clarified. These services are often delivered twice a week, though the frequency depends on the patients needs.
Health Promotion Nursing Intervention
The home health nurse during and after pregnancy is a necessary and welcome partner in child bearing. In the past, people relied solely on antenatal care clinics for the intervention services. However, the home health nurse services have proven to have better outcomes. In the urban setting, most women lack the support of the community during pregnancy. Older women or friends who have gone through child birth and pregnancy may not be available to assist. In other cases, the woman may be experiencing a unique set of circumstances that the others did not face. The home health nurse fills this gap and helps the woman transition safely through each stage.
The interventions are more effective at this level because the woman can engage those around her. The inclusion of men in this journey enhances mental preparation of the entire journey ( Smith, Portela, Marston, 2017). The presence of traditional birth attendants may also be an advantage to the community. These people often assist community members to deliver at home or in other settings where a baby may be delivered outside a medical setting. The home health nurse can accommodate questions and queries from traditional birth attendants. Here the harmful cultural practices can be eliminated while up to date techniques are applied. Lastly, organizations such as medical insurance companies and state agencies on health can facilitate this services in order to make them more affordable for the patients.
Professional Nursing Organization
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality(AHRQ) supports the efforts if nurse in the role of home health nurse. The organization is vibrant in its delivery of services as it presents its findings to the public as soon as they are ascertained (Quality of Home Health Care, 2016). The home health nurse has in the past faced a challenge of support from professional bodies. Nurses who are recruited by home health organizations have a better way of working because they are able to follow their employer's guidelines. However, individually contracted nurses may not have the same privilege because they are bound by their agreement with the patient. The patient or close relative paying for the services may have unrealistic expectations (Jarrín, 2017). They may require more than they are paying for and this may create a conflict between the two sides. Additionally, the working conditions may not be as favorable as the conditions in a formal clinical setting.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is addressing the criteria to develop quality measures to address this issues. The agency is also researching the possibility of edeveloping a system where more medical insurance payers like Medicaid and others consider covering the cost of home based services.
Summary
The home health nurse plays a critical role in improving mother and child health outcomes. This role is vital in urban settings where the presence of family or community support may not be as easy to get. This nurses can avert problems by changing the lifestyles of expectant mothers. Young children can also benefit from the professional care and advice. The home based advice benefits the entire community because the male population are easier to reach at this level. The profesional input provided by the AHRQ also encourages the nurses to make the role more professional. In a nutshell, the home health nurse is a necessary support that can enhance maternal and newborn health.
References
Jarrín, O. F., Kang, Y., " Aiken, L. H. (2017). Pathway to better patient care and nurse workforce outcomes in home care. Nursing outlook , 65 (6), 671-678. Retrieved from https://www.nursingoutlook.org/article/S0029-6554(17)30088-X/fulltext
Landers, S., Madigan, E., Leff, B., Rosati, R. J., McCann, B. A., Hornbake, R., ... " Lee, T. (2016). The future of home health care: a strategic framework for optimizing value. Home health care management " practice , 28 (4), 262-278. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1084822316666368
Smith, H. J., Portela, A. G., " Marston, C. (2017). Improving implementation of health promotion interventions for maternal and newborn health.Retrieved from https://bmcpregnancychildbirth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12884-017-1450-1
Quality of Home Health Care. Content last reviewed March 2016. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. Retrieved from http://www.ahrq.gov/talkingquality/measures/setting/long-term-care/home-health/index.html
