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Mind Over Matter
Mind Over Matter Regarding Health
Wendy Thompson
July 10, 2018
Mind Over Matter
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Introduction
Mankind has survived for centuries due to his drive to or desire to survive. Many obstacles
have been overcome throughout the years based on this survival instinct. Over the last few
decades, human beings on a whole have become very lazy and desire instant gratification. As a
result, the incidence of heart problems, diabetes, hypertension and cancer has increased
significantly. One of the goals of Healthy People 2020 is to bring back alive the sense of wellbeing or the drive to survive (Healthypeople2020.org).
Healthy People 2020
One of the goals of Healthy People 2020 is to create a health-related quality of life and wellbeing. The four main objectives of this goal are to improve quality of life, abolish health care
inconsistencies, develop environments that foster good health, and establish healthy living across
all stages (Healthypeople2020.org). Removing health care disparities is one of the major
objectives so that everyone has equal access to all healthcare. Also, developing communitybased participation research where communities and universities join together to offer free or
reduced-cost screenings to the community is two of the ways of achieving this objective (Tally,
C.H., 2018).
Georgia’s Outreach for Healthy People 2020
The Department of Public Health (DPH) in Georgia has developed a taskforce to reach out to
the citizens of Georgia and communities to help reach this Health People 2020 objective. The
goals of this taskforce mirror the goals of Healthy People 2020. Two main objectives of this
taskforce include: preventing disease, injury and disability and also promote health and wellbeing. Two examples of how this taskforce is reaching out to the communities is establishing
Georgia Shape and Good to Great which encourages healthy lifestyle choices and exercise.
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Governor Nathan Deal is head of this taskforce with Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, commissioner of the
DPH help to establish the Shape program. This program is now over seen by interim
commissioner Patrick O’Neal. The DPH goals is focused on maternal/child health, chronic
disease prevention, health equity, and women, infant’s, and children’s programs. The DPH
believe that the sooner we can start developing young minds with proper nutrition, exercise and
education, the stronger and more successful the future of Georgia will be (O’Neal, P., 2018).
The Good to Great program has been developed around Jim Collins’ research and philosophy.
The vision is to help create a safe and healthy Georgia. Again, the objectives mirror the goals of
Healthy People 2020 in which preventing disease, injury, and disabilities, and promoting health
and well-being are the main objectives. A few of the goals to prevent disease, injury a disability
is to increase the fitness of high school students, decrease the preventable deaths of infants, and
decrease the annual hospitalizations of diabetic related incidences. For the promotion of health
and well-being, the goals are to recognize and create programs or services that foster healthcare
access and primary care access ( dph.gov).
Casey Cagle, lieutenant governor of Georgia, has help to establish a program Healthy Kids
Georgia. The motto or vision statement is Be fit, Be healthy, Be you. It was designed to combat
childhood obesity and to improve the overall sense of well-being with Georgia youth. Lt. Gov.
Cagle’s goal is to help the youth of Georgia adopt a healthy lifestyle that promotes wellness and
success (Cagle, C., 2017).
Georgia Legislation Supporting Health People 2020
Several of the house and senate bills on the table for 2018 in Georgia was to help improve
healthcare access for all citizens. One of the bills that was passed but extremely diluted was SB
351 which would have allowed advance practice registered nurses to practice independently in
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the rural communities of Georgia where access to health care is limited. Another bill on the table
which has yet to be passed is HB 669 which will allow the expansion of Medicaid or obtaining
federal financial assistance as needed. Another bill on the table that was passed was the SB 325
which would allow Georgia to become part of the State Compact. SB 300 is a bill still pending
that will allow eligible individuals to apply for assistance with health insurance premiums
(www.legis,ga.gov).
Burden and Cost of Healthcare
Every day in the emergency department, people come to have their injury or illness seen due
to lack of insurance coverage or lack of access to primary care. Most of these people do not have
the financial means to pay for health care. Most of their care is written off as charity cases.
Hospitals especially rural hospitals give away millions in charity. For the individuals who have
insurance, their balances are usually turned over to collection agencies which in turns affects
their abilities to obtain loans and sometimes even getting hired. The average work force who has
access to health-care coverage through their place of employment is forced to help cover charity
cases and then punished by being turned over to collection agencies or having their premiums or
healthcare cost increased. The hospitals in rural areas struggle to keep up with the demands to
meet the needs of the community (Morris, M., 2018).
Another example of the cost or burden healthcare is just the cost of diabetes alone. In
Georgia, the incidents of diabetes have increased by 43 percent. Diabetes is the leading cause of
preventable deaths in the nation. On average the cost of admissions related to diabetes is thirty
million dollars a year. A person with diabetes who is admitted with other diagnoses will cost
two-three times more than a person without diabetes (Smith, A., 2013).
Conclusion
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Healthy People 2020’s goal to create a healthier quality of life and sense of well-being will
help to create healthier future. As people become more fit and prevent diseases such as diabetes,
cancer and heart-related illness, a sense of well-being will develop in the community. Health
care cost will hopefully decrease. As nurses and nurse practitioners, it is our job to help Healthy
People 2020 obtain their goals and to help dispel the healthcare disparities. Our voices need to
be heard within the communities with education to empower the citizens to fight for a healthier
lifestyle and to sway our legislators to help remove disparities that prevent everyone from equal
access to healthcare.
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Mind Over Matter
References
Retrieved from: https://caseycagle.com/healthy-kids-georgia-shaping-success-by-exercising
Healthy-decision-making
Retrieved from: https://dph.georgia.gov/commissioners-message
Retrieved from: https://dph.georgia.gov/sites/dph.georgia.gov/files/FINAL%20GA%20DPH%
Stragetic%20Plan%202016-2019.pdf
Retrieved from: http://healthyfuturega.org/get-involved/learn/track-health-legislation/
Retrieved from: https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/health-relatedquality-of-life-well-being.
Retrieved from: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20172018/HB/669
Retrieved from: https://ltgov.georgia.gov/biography
Retrieved from: http://www.legis.ga.gov/Legislation/en-US/display/20172018/HB/669
Morris, Michaela. (July 2018). Balancing Act: Local hospitals juggle charity care, sustainability.
Retrieved from: http://www.djournal.com/news/local/balancing-act-local-hospitals-jugglecharity-care-sustainability/article_6acf7db9-16bc-51f4-b6e5-908d6299f616.html
Smith, Allison. (2013). Burden of diabetes. Georgia Department of Public Health.
Retrieved from:https://dph.georgia.gov/sites/dph.georgia.gov/files/Chronic%20Disease%
20University %20Presenation_Diabetes%20Burden_ASmith.pdf
Talley, C. H., & Williams, K. P. (2018). Preparing Future Healthcare Professionals for
Community Engagement: A Course-Based Research Experience. ABNF Journal, 29(2),
33-41.
Running head: HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE
Health-related quality of life
South University
Wendy Thompson
July 24, 2018
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HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE
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Latimer-Cheung, A. E., Pilutti, L. A., Hicks, A. L., Ginis, K. A. M., Fenuta, A. M.,
MacKibbon, K. A., & Motl, R. W. (2013). Effects of exercise training on fitness,
mobility, fatigue, and health-related quality of life among adults with multiple
sclerosis: a systematic review to inform guideline development. Archives of physical
medicine and rehabilitation, 94(9), 1800-1828.
The function of this analysis was to establish the connection between multiple
sclerosis (MS) and fitness. Particularly, the study was designed to look at how physical
activity effects some symptoms of MS like movement and tiredness or weakness in adults
which are significant parts of quality of life. The analysis used previous research on the topic
but limited the literature review to studies done in English. For the analysis, six electronic
databases were utilized to locate the resources employed to make conclusions.
Fitness markers used included physical ability and muscular strength. The analysis
revealed that health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is lower for people experiencing MS.
Generally, MS symptoms modify people ‘s lifestyles which result to lower wellbeing. In the
same way, lowering the impact of these symptoms can enrich wellbeing i.e. HRQOL.
The analysis determined that physical activity done moderately every day can
improve strength and reduce the impact of MS symptoms. For example, patients of MS who
take out 30- 60 minutes every day to do physical activity can enhance movement and lessen
fatigue. This goes a long way toward advancing the general state of health and better control
of the disease. One shortcoming of this analysis is that it only used studies done in English
which were biased. More evidence could have been obtained in other languages. Nonetheless,
the analysis is very helpful in revealing how the quality of life and health are related. It shows
that simple things like doing physical exercises can go a long way in lowering the impact of
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some symptoms and improve health. This article is just one in many that can be sued to
construct a new understanding of RRQOL with new definitions of wellness.
Markle‐Reid, M., Browne, G., & Gafni, A. (2013). Nurse‐led health promotion interventions
improve quality of life in frail older home care clients: lessons learned from three
randomized trials in Ontario, Canada. Journal of evaluation in clinical
practice, 19(1), 118-131.
The purpose of this analysis was to study the benefits of nurse-led health promotion
involvement. The analysis was comprised of 498 mature adults residing in a community in
Southern Ontario, Canada. The analysis was carried out over 6-12 months and incorporated
an assessment of common traits that lead to physical fatigue in older persons (65 years and
above).
Findings uncovered that when nurse’s direct community-based health promotion
courses there are improved results than when such endeavours are left to the usual home care
providers. Essentially, nurses have more knowledge about the health-related quality of life
qualities. They are in a better spot to lead health outcomes than general home care providers.
Thus, in order to advance health through HRQOL, programs need to be designed and led by
nurses.
This analysis is useful because it shows the importance of nursing as a profession
when it comes to enriching health outcomes. However, the analysis was only done in one
geographical region. This restricts its possibilities for generalization. Also, it was not clear
what lead to improved HRQOL when nurses were involved because there were several
elements. For example, the variance could have been influenced by the amount of care, or
degree of education. It is consequently challenging to identify the dynamics that can be used
to improve the operation of general home care providers.
Health-related Quality of Life
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Health-related Quality of Life
Wendy Thompson
July 29, 2018
Health-Related Quality of Life
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Qualitative Annotated Bibliography
Georgios, L., Ioannis, G., Olga, T., Dimitris, C., & Maria, K. (2017). Τhe Effect of a Traditional
Dance Program on Health-Related Quality of Life as Perceived by Primary School
Students. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 6(1), 96-103.
The article talks about physical exercise and the role that it plays when it comes to human
health and life quality. If a person is physically active, they become physically and psychologically
fit, and their quality of life improves. The article looks specifically at the dance and the benefits it
has or how it promotes the quality of life. Dance is seen as a form of exercise which is appropriate
for all the age groups, and it has a lot of benefits for both physical and mental health. Not only is
dance good for the physique but it leaves a person feeling relaxed and less stressed. A study was
conducted to determine how effective dance is. Questionnaires were used. A sample of 65 children
was taken all those attending a program that focused on traditional dance. In my assessment I
found this article to be quite relevant to the research topic that I am working on. People have a
different meaning of what quality of life means, however, the article makes it easy for everyone to
have a proper understanding of why physical exercise is essential. From the experiment, it was
found that dance is an excellent method of training that also helps to release tension. The students
had more knowledge and improved their quality of life.
Ray, T. K., Tat'Yana, A. K., & Pana-Cryan, R. (2017). Employment arrangement, job stress, and
health-related quality of life. Safety science, 100, 46-56.
The article on Employment arrangement, job stress, and health-related quality of life talk
about job stress and how it affects a person’s quality of life. With more companies coming up a
business is mostly under pressure and they have to measure up with their competition which in
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some cases it results in them having unstandardized working arrangements. The authors dig further
to look at the how the level of stress is different for different employment arrangement. For
instance, if an employee is working for more extended hours and has to meet lot deadlines, they
end up been stressed. Quality of work life module was used to conduct the study. This module
looked at the psychosocial working conditions concerning the quality of life. The study focused
on differences in job stress, health and also employment arrangements. In my opinion, the journal
is relevant to the research topic since it talks about the quality of life and how stress hinders one
from having one. The study showed that every job arrangement has different levels of job stress.
Employees who are more stressed because their work arrangement has a lot of unhealthy days and
their activity is less. In all the years that were considered stressed workers had sicker days.
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