Healthcare in a Rural Community
Healthcare is one of the most basic needs in the lives of people from all walks of life. Certain areas may be disadvantaged for a variety of reasons, but this should not mean that healthcare is out of reach for them. The target demographic for this study is a rural community in a remote place far from the urban setup with a very heterogeneous population in terms of age, language exposure, and average household income.
Encouraging the Usage of Healthcare and Delivery Services
The following can be done to encourage the usage of healthcare and delivery services among such a green population:
Advertisements for Nearby Healthcare Facilities
First, adverts for nearby healthcare facilities will appear (Bauer, 2016). The advertisements will be aired both in the local radio stations and television channels. The advertisements will also cover the types of services provided and it will mostly be done in English language. This is because English is spoken by the vast majority of the population and the rest at least have knowledge of the language.
Brochures and Leaflets
Secondly, there will be brochures and leaflets concerning the healthcare facility that will be given in every household (Bauer, 2016). Since some of the aged in the community may not be interested in reading because of visual problems, the middle-aged who comprise about 58 percent of the population will come in handy as they will help to read out and translate the information in the brochures.
Signposts and Billboards
Thirdly, very big signposts and billboards will be erected in the streets and avenues of the area bearing the information of the healthcare facility (Bauer, 2016). The signage will be written in English to at least be understood by the largest population and for those populations that speak Spanish and Hmong will have the same billboards but in their native languages. This will ease the understanding of the intended information across the entire population.
Strategies for Working with the Community
Working with such a community will rather be tricky in the sense that the age-gap is well spread and the people may have a diverted attention to a given drug or are allegedly resistive to change from their normal ways of curing illnesses. The following are the strategies that will be preferred for that purpose.
Face-to-Face Interaction
There will be a face-to-face interaction of the nurses with the locals of Red Deer Valley (Holt, 2014). More often than not, the aged are usually very resistive to change as they believe to have used their old and traditional ways of doing things and it has worked for their entire lifetime. The aim of the face-to-face interaction will basically be to convince the aged (those above 65 years old) who are about 22 percent of the population that their ways are not barbaric but these are just better ways of dealing with health.
Reduced Cost and Improvisation
The provided services will be at a much-reduced cost and improvising of basic things will be necessary (Holt, 2014). Since the population has a relatively low income, then the expected budget put for healthcare must be significantly reduced. This therefore means that the healthcare should ensure the allocated budget for given diseases is within the financial reach of the community.
Preference for Herbal Drugs
The use of herbal drugs should be highly preferred (Källander, 2013). These herbal drugs are both modern and factory manufactured and also comprise of some elements of traditional drugs. This will ensure that the community does not view the medication as a complete change in the medication that they are used to but an incorporation of their traditional drugs and the modern ones. Their attitude towards the facility in the area will therefore be more welcoming than a resistive one.
Barriers to Overcome
It goes without saying that there are always unending barriers in such an action plan. These barriers may include the following:
Language Barrier
Language barrier may be of great concern in this case (Källander, 2013). Since the community speaks mostly English then Spanish and Hmong, then the Spanish and Hmong percentage of the population may be slow to accept the services provided since they may not have been well explained to them to their satisfaction.
Unresponsive and Hostile Individuals
Secondly, there is an issue of unresponsive and hostile individuals within the population (Tang, 2014). Some people are never hospitable and welcoming to strangers and since the nurses brought to the people of Red Deer Valley are very new to the area, they might receive cold or other hostile treatment from the population, thus hindering the delivery of services.
Recommendations
As the leader of the organization in-charge, I would recommend that the information conveyed to the population should be done in a daily manner to ensure almost everyone gets to know about the healthcare facility. This information should also be done electronically, face to face, and through paper. This is in an aim to ensure that everyone receives the information in one way or the other.
References
Bauer, M. (2016). Connection and Community: Diné College Emphasizes Real-World Experience in Public Health. Tribal College, 27(4), 40.
Holt, C. L., Clark, E. M., & Roth, D. L. (2014). Positive and negative religious beliefs explaining the religion–health connection among African Americans. The International journal for the psychology of religion, 24(4), 311-331.
Källander, K., Tibenderana, J. K., Akpogheneta, O. J., Strachan, D. L., Hill, Z., ten Asbroek, A. H., ... & Meek, S. R. (2013). Mobile health (mHealth) approaches and lessons for increased performance and retention of community health workers in low-and middle-income countries: a review. Journal of medical Internet research, 15(1).
Tang, T. S., Funnell, M., Sinco, B., Piatt, G., Palmisano, G., Spencer, M. S., ... & Heisler, M. (2014). Comparative effectiveness of peer leaders and community health workers in diabetes self-management support: results of a randomized controlled trial. Diabetes care, 37(6), 1525-1534.
