The Dangers of Teenage Smoking

Research Question 

What strategies can be implemented in the community to reduce the rates of teenage smoking? 

Study Type 

The best study to be undertaken is a randomized control trial. Teenagers involved in smoking will undergo several intervention approaches, where one of the interventions will be the control method (Wiehe, Garrison, Christakis, Ebel, & Rivara, 2005). The control will involve a placebo smoking, and a standard practice that will include rehabilitation. 

Study to Decrease Smoking among Teenagers 

The first step will be enrolling willing adolescents to participate in the study. They will submit a written consent for volunteering in the study. The study group will be divided into two groups; rehabilitation group and placebo. Placebo cigarettes will be aimed to assist teenagers in stopping smoking through control. The cigarettes with nicotine will be replaced with placebo cigarettes without nicotine effect. The volunteers will be taking three placebo cigarettes per day, and the rate will be reduced in a month (Simmons, Sutton, Meltzer, Unrod, Meade, & Brandon, 2018). The effects will then be measured, and the addiction reduction rate. In the rehabilitation center, teenagers will not receive a single cigarette, and the result will be measured over a month. The outcomes of the two controlled studies will be compared to determine which was effective in reducing smoking. The approach will then be implemented permanently in the community. 

References 

Simmons, V. N., Sutton, S. K., Meltzer, L. R., Unrod, M., Meade, C. D., & Brandon, T. H. (2018). Long-term outcomes from a self-help smoking cessation randomized controlled trial.  Psychology of Addictive Behaviors ,  32 (7), 710. 

Wiehe, S. E., Garrison, M. M., Christakis, D. A., Ebel, B. E., & Rivara, F. P. (2005). A systematic review of school-based smoking prevention trials with long-term follow-up.  Journal of Adolescent Health ,  36 (3), 162-169. 

Immunization Discussion 

Planning and implementing immunization programs would be successful through partnership of different groups. The health care organizations in the nation will be part of the program since they will be the outlet where the vaccines will be administered. These institutions will be both in rural and urban centers since the immunization will be at the national level. Private organizations will be enlisted in the program. They will be a source of funding since a significant amount of money will be required to make the program successful (Shaikh, 2018). Money will be needed for hiring the workforce who will be making the immunizations and also purchasing needed medication. Different media channels will be enlisted as part of the program. They will be used to create awareness about the immunization program among the refugees and immigrants. The target population will be educated about the need for the vaccines and encouraged to participate in the program. The non-government organization will be part of the plan (Traicoff, Pope, Bloland, Lal, Bahl, Stewart, & Shamalla, 2019). They will be used to visit the refugees and immigrant population, educate them about the different vaccines available, and the importance of getting them. Cooperation of the partners will make the immunization program a success. 

References  

Shaikh, B. T. (2018). Implementation of the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI): Understanding the Enablers and Barriers in a Health System. In  Immunization-Vaccine Adjuvant Delivery System and Strategies . IntechOpen. 

Traicoff, D., Pope, A., Bloland, P., Lal, D., Bahl, J., Stewart, S., ... & Shamalla, L. (2019). Developing standardized competencies to strengthen immunization systems and workforce.  Vaccine ,  37 (11), 1428-1435. 

Developing a Therapeutic Alliance Discussion 

As a school nurse, forming a therapeutic alliance is essential as it will make my students feel comfortable and free to express themselves. A good therapeutic alliance is made of three components that I will apply to make it successful; congruence, empathy, and unconditional positive regard (Spencer, Goode, Penix, Trusty, & Swift, 2019). Once a student enters my office, I will be welcoming, encouraging the student to feel free. I will then prompt the students to speak their minds and reassure them that what they will discuss will be confidential. I will be empathetic with the situation the student is experiencing and encourage or reassure them of things getting better. I will create an environment where the students feel free. It will be seen by the office arrangements, such as comfortable chairs which are facing each other. There will be no furniture between us, which creates a barrier and discourages the student from opening up (Huber, Born, Claaß, Ehrenthal, Nikendei, Schauenburg, & Dinger, 2019). I will listen actively, nodding, and maintain direct eye contact to show the student that I am interested in listening and assisting where possible. Asking questions where necessary will also encourage the students to keep on talking, and I will learn how to support them.    

References 

Huber, J., Born, A. K., Claaß, C., Ehrenthal, J. C., Nikendei, C., Schauenburg, H., & Dinger, U. (2019). Therapeutic agency, in‐session behavior, and patient-therapist interaction.  Journal of clinical psychology ,  75 (1), 66-78. 

Spencer, J., Goode, J., Penix, E. A., Trusty, W., & Swift, J. K. (2019). Developing a collaborative relationship with clients during the initial sessions of psychotherapy.  Psychotherapy ,  56 (1), 7.