Disease Prevention and Management

This article discusses infectious and non-communicable diseases, urbanization and public health response to emergencies and injuries. It also highlights the challenges in combating non-communicable diseases and the importance of surveillance systems.

RUNNING HEAD: DISEASE PREVENTION AND MANAGEMENT 1
Disease prevention and management
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Discussion post on infectious diseases, on-communicable diseases in relation to
urban environments and public health response to emergencies and injuries.
During the course, there were different topics which I enjoyed very much. I learnt of the
differences between infectious and non-communicable diseases. I learnt that infectious diseases
are those that can be spread from one person for example through contact (Alexander TL & EV,
2013). On-communicable diseases on the other hand are those which cannot be transmitted from
one person to another. Some of the common infectious diseases that I learnt include HIV/AIDS
and airborne diseases such as Tuberculosis. The non-communicable diseases that I learnt include
diabetes and cancer.
Infectious diseases are very contagious. As a nurse, I have therefore learn that it is very
important or rather very vital to exercise caution when handling such patients. I have learnt that
patients with airborne infections such as tuberculosis should be isolated once discovered to
reduce the spread of such conditions (Ley, Hamdy, Mohan, & Hu, 2014). Unlike the non-
communicable diseases, I have realized that the success in management of infectious diseases
lies in vaccination such as influenza virus and minimal or no contact with anyone who is infected
with the same .Besides, patients and the healthy should exercise caution such as use of condoms
during sexual intercourse. In future, I will therefore ensure that I be cautious enough during
practice so that I limit the chances of contracting or transmitting the diseases from one patient to
another.
I have also learnt the relationship between urbanization and non-communicable diseases.
According to urbanization can be defined as dwelling or settlement within or along urban
centers’ have learnt that urbanization is one of the factors that heavily contribute to non-
communicable diseases. According to a study by Fortin et al., it was established that in India for
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example, the increased cases of cancer and respiratory diseases are due to air pollution within
city centers (Fortin et al., 2016). The increased number of vehicles in cities of India pollute the
air leading to this diseases. This particular topic has really extended my knowledge since
previously I believed that living within urban centers is advantageous. I have however come to
learn that despite urbanization bolsters the economic status of different countries, it is a threat to
public health.
During the course, I have learnt that it is becoming difficult to combat non-communicable
diseases due to the different challenges experienced. Ageing is one of the leading challenges and
it was defined as advancement in the number of years that weakens the immune system. Some of
the non-communicable diseases occur due to cumulative exposure to different risk factors such
as tobacco smoke (Piepoli et al., 2016). Since ageing is a natural process that cannot be
controlled, it becomes really difficult to reduce the prevalence of such diseases. In future, I will
therefore ensure that I educate people to minimize their exposure to different risk factors.
Another important challenge I learnt is inadequate statistics on the prevalence or the burden of
non-communicable diseases. Different countries lack a proper system that is responsible for
collecting data and carrying out surveillance on the magnitude and the risk factors of non-
communicable diseases and this has hampered the efforts of combating these diseases
(Vogelmeier et al., 2017). What I would do in future practice is to advocate for a very strong
surveillance system that will ensure identification of the risk factors to ensure that the burden of
non-communicable diseases in the country and globally decline to the recommended level by the
World Health Organization. Lack of political good will has also been linked to dwindling efforts
in curbing non-communicable diseases. Majority of the political system overlook public health
over other economic activities such that they allocate inadequate funds towards the same and this
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makes it quite difficult to reduce non-communicable diseases. Having understood this
challenges, I feel the course has equipped me with the necessary knowledge that I will use to
counter the effects of both non-communicable and infectious diseases.
In this course, I have learnt that emergencies and injuries are some of the leading causes
of mortality globally. A good example is the increased Cases of suicide among the indigenous
Australians. I have learnt that as a nurse, I should be prepared for any emergency which in most
cases needs critical thinking since it can happen at a time when the nurse is not prepared (Scott &
Browning, 2016). However, I have learnt that I should maintain hygiene and safety practices
during the emergency and injuries so that I reduce the chances of transmitting infectious diseases
such as HIV/AIDS.I have also learnt that I should always operate along the NMBA standards of
practice when handling either infectious or the non-communicable diseases. I would therefore
generally say that the whole course has been quite educative and am looking forward to future
practice since it has bolstered the knowledge that I already garnered from previous courses and
practical.
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References
Alexander TL, K., & EV, L. (2013). Non-Communicable Disease Prevention and Worksite
Health Promotion Programs: A Brief Review. Occupational Medicine & Health
Affairs, 01(07). doi:10.4172/2329-6879.1000141
Fortin, M., Chouinard, M., Dubois, M., Belanger, M., Almirall, J., Bouhali, T., &
Sasseville, M. (2016). Integration of chronic disease prevention and management
services into primary care: a pragmatic randomized controlled trial (PR1MaC).
CMAJ Open, 4(4), E588-E598. doi:10.9778/cmajo.20160031
Ley, S. H., Hamdy, O., Mohan, V., & Hu, F. B. (2014). Prevention and management of type
2 diabetes: dietary components and nutritional strategies. The Lancet, 383(9933),
1999-2007. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(14)60613-9
Piepoli, M. F., Hoes, A. W., Agewall, S., Albus, C., Brotons, C., Catapano, A. L., …
Verschuren, W. M. (2016). 2016 European Guidelines on cardiovascular disease
prevention in clinical practice. European Heart Journal, 37(29), 2315-2381.
doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehw106
Scott, K. A., & Browning, R. C. (2016). Occupational physical activity assessment for
chronic disease prevention and management: A review of methods for both
occupational health practitioners and researchers. Journal of Occupational and
Environmental Hygiene, 13(6), 451-463. doi:10.1080/15459624.2016.1143946
Vogelmeier, C. F., Criner, G. J., Martinez, F. J., Anzueto, A., Barnes, P. J., Bourbeau, J., …
Agustí, A. (2017). Global Strategy for the Diagnosis, Management, and Prevention of
Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease 2017 Report. GOLD Executive Summary.
American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 195(5), 557-582.
doi:10.1164/rccm.201701-0218pp
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