Healthcare Discussion

This discussion explores the social determinants of health and the chain of infection in healthcare. It discusses the impact of resources on health outcomes and how to break the chain of infection. It also provides recommendations for emergency preparedness in hospitals.

Running Head: HEALTHCARE DISCUSSION
Healthcare Discussion

HEALTHCARE DISCUSSION
Discussion1
According to World Health Organization (2019), the social health determinants are
the situations in which people are born nurtured, live, work & age; this condition in which a
person lives their life determines whether he/she will be in a good state of health or fitness.
The fact is tacit that resources are one of the prime factors that enhance the value of life and it
can also influence the health consequences of the populace or a specific group of people.
Resources such as obtainability of healthy food, safety, hygienic environment, and public
safety are some of the factors that influence the quality of life (World Health Organization,
2019).
Instances of social determinants comprise:
 Admittance to healthcare facilities
 Social norms attitudes such as racism
 The crime rate in the area
 Literacy
 Obtainability of means & technologies such as TV, cell phone, internet (Healthy People,
2019).
The health outcomes would not be favorable if optimal care is not provided to the
population. As deliberated earlier, a person’s health is determined by some of the social
factors such as hygiene and access to emergency health services. Therefore, unfavorable
health determinants would certainly affect a person’s health (Andrade, et. al., 2015).
Chain of infection is termed for a process where transmission of an infectious disease
occurs when the bacteria or virus (agent) leaves the host (body) through an exit threshold and
it is transported to an alternative host through some mode of contact which would infect the
host (Cole, 2012).
Links involved in chain infection are as follows:
 Agent: Microorganisms such as virus, bacteria, and fungi.
 Source: A body or a host which allows a microorganism to live and they might grow and
multiply in the body according to the living conditions.
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 Exit portal: It is a way through which microorganism exit through the body, examples are
blood, genitourinary tract etc.
 Mode of transport: The fact is tacit that the organisms require a mode of transport to get
transferred to another body.
 Entry portal: It is a path or a way through which microbes can enter into a host.
 Susceptible host: A favorable body or host to get transported (Cole, 2012).
Aforementioned are the links of the chain of infection, community nurses can break any one
of these links and stop the microbes to get transferred to another body (Cole, 2012).
For example, if a person is above 65 he could get affected by Pneumonia, so he/she
could be advised to get the flu shots. People could be educated to cover the coughs and
sneezes to prevent the germs from transferring to another body. Cleaning & sterilizing are
also some of the imperative factors that should be kept in mind.
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Discussion2
The organization must be prepared with a solid emergency plan for natural disasters.
As natural catastrophes are unpredictable and they can strike anytime. Hospitals should
especially be prepared because they have to take care of the patients who are already ill and
are admitted to their hospital.
Following are the immediate steps that should be taken by the organization when electrical
lines and internet servers are destroyed at the time of natural calamity.
 These days hospitals keep the data in backup storage, so the hospital would ensure that that
they each and every patient’s record are maintained manually.
 A mode of communication should be found, whether it may be a satellite phone.
 First aid posts should be increased.
 Emergency power units would be utilized to ensure that the treatment is continuously
provided to the patients.
 Disaster bed capacity would be increased.
 Extra transportation facility would be added
 Personnel meetings would be held to serve the patients more efficiently.
 Data would be stored manually and it would be ensured that no patients leave the premises
(Becker’s Hospital Review, 2019).
Electronic Medical/Health Record (EHR) is used for the advancement of quality and
safety of health care; it decreases the health errors & hostile events. Hospitals should quickly
access the backup that was created on the separate system at the time of EHR failure; this
would help the doctors and other clinical staff to maintain the record of the patients. Data for
the new admission should be stored manually and then the treatments that are provided to the
patients should be maintained constantly (Hsiao, et. al., 2015).
Recommendations
Hospitals should always keep a strong backup plan for natural hazards; they should
practice the backup plan once or twice a year. Backup should be created for the HER data in
two or three devices to ensure safety. Power backups should be strong enough that the
hospitals could bear the power losses even for a long period of time.
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References
Andrade, L. O. M., Pellegrini Filho, A., Solar, O., Rígoli, F., Salazar, L. M., Serrate, P. C.
F., ... & Atun, R. (2015). Social determinants of health, universal health coverage,
and sustainable development: case studies from Latin American countries. The
Lancet, 385(9975), 1343-1351.
Becker’s Hospital Review. (2019). Do you have a backup plan for HER failure?. Retrieved
from: https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/healthcare-information-technology/
do-you-have-a-backup-plan-for-ehr-failure.html/
Cole, M. (2012). Breaking the chain of infection. Nursing & Residential Care, 14(6), 288-
291.
Healthy People. (2019). Social Determinants of Health. Retrieved from:
https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-
health
Hsiao, C. J., Hing, E., & Ashman, J. (2014). Trends in Electronic Health Record System
Use Among Office-based Physicians, United States, 2007-2012. US Department of
Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National
Center for Health Statistics.
World Health Organization. (2019). Social determinants of health. Retrieved from:
https://www.who.int/social_determinants/en/
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