The health problem to explore throughout my clinical practicum is hypertension management and prevention. Hypertension is a condition that is characterized by high blood pressure (Del Pinto & Ferri, 2019). The illness is one of the prevalent patient issues in healthcare considering the nature of implications and complications associated with the condition. Understanding the presentation and the risk factors of the condition is an important aspect that helps to promote overall public health. The health problem is relevant in my practice considering that I am a nurse who engages in the provision of quality care to elderly patients with a wide range of medical conditions. The target for this analysis is a community group, specifically a community that handles health issues associated with the elderly population over the age of 50 years. The objective is to ensure that this community gets a clear understanding of the health risk associated with hypertension and its impact on their wellbeing. Many of the elderly patients tend to have a history of being diagnosed with hypertension at some point in their lives, thus the need to capitalize on the implementation of strategies to provide quality care. Understanding the condition is an essential factor that helps ensure that the patients obtain the appropriate care for them to overcome the condition.
Evidence from Literature to Define and Guide Nursing Actions
Considering that hypertension is a serious health problem, the majority of researchers capitalize on engaging in studies to examine and define the necessary nursing actions that would be used to manage and prevent the condition. According to Bathgate and Fernandez-Mendoza (2018), lifestyle modification is a significant and evidence-based strategy that may help to control hypertension among elderly patients. Some of the key aspects mentioned in various literature regarding lifestyle modification include engaging in healthy diets, increased physical activities, stress reduction, and smoking cessation. Cifu and Davis (2017) affirm that hypertension is a lifestyle condition that can be controlled through the implementation of appropriate measures aiming at modification of a patient’s lifestyle. In my personal practice, the evidence from literature proves to be true considering that some of the patients who undertake lifestyle modification as part of the management and prevention of the condition experience positive outcomes.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
Proposed Strategies to Improve Patient Outcomes
The first significant aspect of effective management and prevention of the condition is to ensure that the patient has adequate knowledge regarding a wide range of factors concerning the condition. The nurses should be at the forefront to focus on improving patient outcomes through the provision of relevant information (Nerenberg et al., 2018). The primary proposed strategy to improve patient outcomes is to focus on the provision of patient-centered care. The objective of the strategy is to involve a patient in the efforts to manage and prevent the condition effectively. Through the approach, the nurses may understand the need for the provision of quality care, which is the basis for positive outcomes (Benetos, Petrovic, & Strandberg, 2019). The proposed strategy may have a significant role in increasing the awareness levels among the at-risk population and helps to ensure that the patients understand their role in fighting against the prevalence of the condition among the older people in a society.
The proposed strategy will focus on several health promotion aspects that the target population will need to consider. Firstly, it will involve encouraging healthy eating where the persons involved must eat a lot of vegetables and fruits. The expectation is that the patients would avoid gaining weight, which is one of the key risk factors for hypertension. Secondly, the strategy will involve ensuring that the patient remains physically active where they will need to engage in exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. Being physically active is important in preventing possible exposure to hypertension or any other related health condition. Thirdly, the strategy will focus on encouraging this target population against consuming too much salt (sodium) in their diets, alcohol, and tobacco. These are key risk factors for hypertension when dealing with persons over the age of 50 years.
Reflection on State Board Nursing Practice Standards
When focusing on the nursing practice standards defined within the industry, it is important to note that the enactment of the Nurse Practice Act helped to guide and define the practices. Under the Nurse Practice Act, there are state boards that focus on law enforcement strategies in the industry (Kitt et al., 2019). In Texas, the state board focuses on meeting their objective that involves protecting and promoting the overall wellbeing of the people in Texas. Nurses should focus on adhering to the rules defined by the state board regarding the recommended nursing practices. Dealing with hypertension management and prevention will require the nurses to understand the state board nursing practice standards that are unique in different states in the United States. However, it is important to note that nurses should focus on patient outcomes as the key element that guides the patients towards effective management and prevention of the illness.
References
Bathgate, C. J. & Fernandez-Mendoza, J. (2018). Insomnia, short sleep duration, and high blood pressure: recent evidence and future directions for the prevention and management of hypertension. Current hypertension reports , 20 (6), 52-62.
Benetos, A., Petrovic, M., & Strandberg, T. (2019). Hypertension management in older and frail older patients. Circulation Research , 124 (7), 1045-1060.
Cifu, A. S. & Davis, A. M. (2017). Prevention, detection, evaluation, and management of high blood pressure in adults. Jama , 318 (21), 2132-2134.
Del Pinto, R. & Ferri, C. (2019. Hypertension management at an older age: an update. High Blood Pressure & Cardiovascular Prevention , 26 (1), 27-36.
Kitt, J., Fox, R., Tucker, K. L., & McManus, R. J. (2019). New approaches in hypertension management: A review of current and developing technologies and their potential impact on hypertension care. Current hypertension reports , 21 (6), 44-52.
Nerenberg, K. A., Zarnke, K. B., Leung, A. A., Dasgupta, K., Butalia, S., McBrien, K., ... & Lamarre-Cliche, M. (2018). Hypertension Canada’s 2018 guidelines for diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults and children. Canadian Journal of Cardiology , 34 (5), 506-525.
