Vulnerable Populations in Current Events Paper
NUR/440 Version 4
Health Assessment and Promotion for Vulnerable Population
University of Phoenix

Vulnerable Populations in Current Events Paper

Vulnerability is an important component that nurses need to be familiar with when they’re working with different types of clients from different cultures, values and beliefs. Our jobs as nurses are to be able to identify and enhance the strengths of the patients and community and to help them to choose the right intervention in order to keep a healthy life. Nurses must address issues of vulnerability, because those populations are the most likely to become sick all the time due to the different stressors in their life. Vulnerability can be minor or severe, and as nurses we need to identify and address those different stressors that can cause temporary or permanent damage to our patients. In this paper the author will talk about the article “Gang youth as a vulnerable population for nursing intervention,” which defines a vulnerable population, what barriers may prevent these groups from obtaining needed services, and what the author experiences with vulnerable groups in the author’s own life.
This article refers to our youth gang members from different poor communities, especially Chicago and Los Angeles, where we see a big number of youth involved in gangs. Usually, before these youths join the gang, are already exposed to this type of environment, and most of them come from socially and economically marginalized communities, where alcohol, sex, violence, and drugs are part of their everyday life (Sander, Schneiderman, Loken, Lankenau, & Jackson Bloom, 2009). Some of thes youths have some kind of mental health issues as well, because they’ve been exposed to gang violence. Thus, they are more likely to kill other gang members without any fear. In this article we see nurses working in collaboration with law enforcement, courts, prosecutors, and community-based organization programs to help these youths with their healthcare and social issues. They created a program called the Gang Reduction Interagency Partnership, where the role of the nurse is to work directly with the youth’s family and the youth from a holistic approach, in order to meet their needs (Sander, Schneiderman, Loken, Lankenau, & Jackson Bloom, 2009). Also, in the article it shows a case study, where the public health nurse, in collaboration with Culver City Police, offers health education classes to gang youth. These classes were divided in two sections. One section was regarding morbidity and mortality among youth, which included drunk driver, racing, distraction while driving, and suicide, which included a toll-free number for people with suicidal ideation. The second section was about health issues, like obesity, sexual health, mental health, and drug use. The nurse was able to use visual aids and class participation for this age group. Also, the nurse includes risk prevention, health promotion, and the importance of testicular exams in male patients & breast exams on female patients. Also, the nurse stresses being continuous in being screened for STI’s including HIV, HPV and hepatitis C & B. This part of the program was successful in the community. Unfortunately, the negative part was that no individual evaluations were done by CCPD to those enrolled in this program. All behavioral programs should work to achieve an individual evaluation for all the participants to identify several gang intervention and prevention strategies, and health prevention around gang youth. Nursing considers gang youth a vulnerable population, because they may need access to healthcare, and that they have special healthcare needs (Sander, Schneiderman, Loken, Lankenau, & Jackson Bloom, 2009). When the nurse works together with the police department and community-based gang reduction programs, it is the nurse’s way to offer nursing interventions to gang youth, and advocate for treating gang youth as a vulnerable population.
How to define a vulnerable population
Vulnerability means to be capable of being physically or emotionally attacked or damaged. A vulnerable population is defined in clinical research as people who are unable to be informed, give consent, or who are susceptible to force persuation. Vulnerable populations are the most likely to become sick all the time, because of the different stressors in their life. Vulnerability could be minor or severe. Nurses need to have the responsibility to identify and address those different stressors that can cause temporary or permanent damage to our patients and their community. For instance, in the article, the nurse identifies gang youth as a vulnerable population based on social, economic, and health needs. Barriers may prevent these groups from obtaining needed services.
In this case, relating to gang youth, it is the lack of knowledge and the social and economic situations of these youths’ experience in their every day life. Public health nurses work together with law enforcement and community groups to teach these youth and their families regarding health prevention and promotion, but still have a long way to go. Now with this economic situation that our country is going through, it is getting harder to finance different kinds of behavioral programs for our gang youth population. As a consequence of a lack of behavioral programs in some marginalized communities is that public health nurses are not able to do the follow-up with each gang youth, because of the limited access to them and their families. Health care practitioners and educators have difficulty contacting those at-risk youths and gang-involved youths through the school system, because these youths always miss school and most of the time, parents are not available, or simply they do not want to deal with the problem. Some parents are more worried about the medical bill than their son or daughter’s health condition. Nurses are trying to provide information about different resources, programs and options available for the parents and the youth.
What experiences have you had with vulnerable groups in your own life?
Working in the emergency room gave me the opportunity to work with a different variety of vulnerable populations. One of my experiences was when I had to take care of a seventeen-year-old girl who came to the emergency department complaining of vaginal discharge. When I interviewed the patient, I prefered to do without the presense of the mother. I asked her if she was sexually active. At first, she would not answer my questions, but later I told her that I was here to help her and whatever she would tell me it will be confidential. She started crying and she was able to be open to me and told about her abusing relationship with her seventeen-year-old gang member boyfriend. She also mentioned that she was not using any protection, because her boyfriend did not like it. I asked her if she told to her mother about her boyfriend situation. Her answer was that it would not make any difference, because her mother was already in abusive relationship as well. When she was stable, I brought her mother inside and the three of us talked about her situation. When I started talking with the mother, I noticed that she was not surprised about her daughter’s situation. I provided different information about sexual health, which included screening for STD’s, HIV, HIP, and hepatitis C & B. Also, I gave to both of them local and community resources for battered women and children, and teenagers in a abusive relationship.
In conclusion, everyday nurses see and deal with vulnerable persons, families and groups. Also, we see that the same condition that determines health could influence vulnerability. Nurses must address issues of vulnerability, because those populations are the most likely to become sick all the time due to the different stressors in their life. If nurses do not address those stressors can cause permanent damage in our patient’s life.