Assignment: Political and Sociocultural Influences
Assignment: Political and Sociocultural Influences
Week 1 discussion
Discussion: Political, Social, and Sociocultural Influences on Women’s Health
As an advanced practice nurse, you must remain current on health issues that commonly impact women such as birth control, abortion, family planning, the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Many of these women’s health issues are heavily influenced by political, social, and sociocultural factors. These influences might not only affect a woman’s ability or desire to receive care, but also a provider’s ability or willingness to offer care. How might political, social, and sociocultural factors influence your personal perceptions of these women’s health issues?
To prepare:
Review this week’s media presentation, as well as Chapter 1 of the Schuiling and Likis text.
Select and research one of the following women’s health issues: birth control, abortion, family planning, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in women, or another issue approved by the course Instructor.
Consider the impact of political, social, and sociocultural factors on the women’s health issue you selected.
Reflect on how the personal perceptions of providers might influence their ability or willingness to care for women in relation to this issue.
Week 2 discussion
Discussion: Guidelines on Screening Procedures
The goal of health promotion and education is to help prevent disease in patients. However, this is not always successful, and disease it not always preventable. With disease, early detection is ideal, often making screening procedures a routine part of clinical care. Unfortunately, many patients do not utilize these health services. This can be attributed to lack of awareness or access to care, financial concerns, or even levels of comfort with health care providers. In your role as the advanced practice nurse, you must be aware of potential obstacles for patients and implement strategies to ensure patients receive necessary screenings. Although a variety of screening procedures are recommended for women at various stages of life, not all screenings are appropriate for all patients. Understanding the strengths and limitations of each screening, as well as current guidelines for use is essential to effectively facilitate patient care. For this Discussion, the course Instructor will assign a specific topic for you to research.
To prepare:
Review this week’s media presentation, as well as Chapters 6 and 8 of the Tharpe et al. text and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services article in the Learning Resources.
Research guidelines on screening procedures for the topic assigned to you by the course Instructor (e.g., guidelines on screening for domestic violence, safety, nutrition, osteoporosis, heart disease, mental health, eating disorders, thyroid disease, pap smear, mammogram, cancer, and sexually transmitted infections). Note: The course Instructor will assign a topic to you by Day 1 of this week.
Reflect on strengths and limitations of the screening guidelines.
Consider how the guidelines might support your clinical decision making.
Week 3 discussion
Discussion: Contraception Treatments
Considering the potentially negative consequences of unintended pregnancy for a woman’s health and well-being, effective contraceptive treatments are an important part of gynecologic care. There are a variety of contraceptive treatment methods available for women, including hormonal, barrier, and fertility awareness options. Each method has its own strengths and limitations, and each patient often has individual factors that might also impact appropriateness of use. In your role as the advanced practice nurse, it is important to keep in mind that while you may make contraceptive recommendations to patients, contraceptive selection is a joint decision between the patient and the provider. For this Discussion, consider which contraceptive treatments would be most appropriate for the patients in the following three case studies:
Case Study 1:
A 23-year-old Caucasian female presents with concerns about mood swings around the time of her menses. She believes she has PMS and wants to know if there is medication to control it.
Case Study 2:
A 25-year-old Latina female presents with menstrual cramping that has been getting worse over time. She has never been pregnant and she has one male sex partner. Her gynecologic exam is normal.
Case Study 3:
A 33-year-old Caucasian female is being seen in clinic for contraception. She is using birth control pills, but forgets to take them because her work schedule changes every week. She has been married for 14 years and has two children. She is looking for an effective method that will be easy to remember. She has a history of chronic headaches and hypertension during pregnancy. She has never been treated for a sexually transmitted infection and is in a mutually monogamous relationship. Family history is significant for an aunt with breast cancer. She smokes half a pack of cigarettes per day. She is 5 ft. 8 in. and 215 lbs. Her vital signs are: BP 120/78, p 72, reg.
To prepare:
Review Chapter 12 of the Schuiling and Likis text and the Dragoman et al. article in this week’s Learning Resources
Select one of the three provided case studies. Reflect on the patient information.
Consider an appropriate contraception treatment for the patient case study you selected.
Think about how you might facilitate the selection of contraception treatments with patients who do not agree with your recommendations
