Mental illness is a health issuewhoseattack is not on the body but the mind, in recent years mental illness has become an acceptable topic to discuss while in the past, having a mental illness meant suffering aloneand in silence. Thenumber of people screening with moderate to severe symptoms of depression and anxiety has continued to increase throughout 2020 and remains higher than rates prior to COVID-19 (Mental Health America , 2021).
People are suffering and they are finally speaking out about it and I will say that is a testament to how our Presidents have highlighted the importance of speaking out about your mental illness and getting the help that you need and providing that help. In 2013 President Obama announced that $50 million of the funding will support nearly 200 community health centers in expanding the availability of services to individuals living with mental illness and/or substance use disorders (Ingoglia, 2013).
The Biden administration followed that same initiative when he took office and allocated 2.5 Billion dollars in funding for the mental illness and addiction crisis the country now faces; $1.65 billion will go toward the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant, which gives the receiving states and territories money to improve already-existing treatment, and $825 million will be used by the states to deal specifically with mental health treatment services (Allen, 2021).
This nurse is an advocate for mental well-being, and believes that in order to heal the body you have to start with the mind. We learned early on in nursing school that the brain is the control station for every part of our body and in order for our different systems to complete their distinct tasks the brain must function properly.
Our thought processes affect how our brain works, neuroscience has begun to uncover some of the intricate and less obvious relations between the mind and the brain, as investigative approaches from biochemistry, psychology, and genetics converge on an understanding of the physiology of mental illness (S., 1992). As a psych nurse I believe that they did the same thing that I would have done because the issue is that there are not enough mental health providers and so you have people suffering that are unable to get the help they need because providers are booked to capacity.
The one thing that I would do differently is ensure that each state send yearly summaries of exactly how they are putting that money to use, and the effectiveness of the changes they made using that money. This is purely to hold each state accountable and ensure the money is being distributed to bringing a firm foundation for the treatment of mental illness.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References:
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NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas
RE: Discussion – Week 1
COVID-19
A novel coronavirus hit the U.S. in January 2020, and WHO declared coronavirus a pandemic (Sheposh, 2021). A new strain called Delta surfaced, and the death toll is once again increasing. When the pandemic began, there was a lot of confusion about how to handle the pandemic. Former President Trump first put the responsibility on states to deal with covid-19. As the case number increased, The White House created federal social distancing guidelines.
At the same time, the COVID task force was formed with people of The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). President Trump declared a national emergency and ordered expanded supplies and test kits to be distributed in the U.S. The president was eager to reopen the company and return to normalcy. He signed the bill to help people for relief and put an emphasis on developing covid vaccines. He also decided not to fund the WHO and criticized the covid task force for their recommendations (Hart, 2021).
President Biden put the primary responsibility on the federal government and called for states to put more strict mask mandates in place. He signed the bills for more stimulus checks and called for swift distributions on vaccines. He decided to rejoin the WHO and promised the funding. He also called for a controversial vaccine mandate for federal workers.
No one predicted that this pandemic could happen in their lifetime. However, I feel the government has done a great job against this pandemic. Covid-19 is still ongoing, and new strains are being discovered. However, things are settling down, and I feel that life is returning to normal. During this pandemic, the federal government set a goal to innoculate people as much as possible and set an agenda to do so.
I cannot entirely agree with the mandate of vaccines because I think that it is a violation of our rights. I’m afraid I also have to disagree with funding the WHO. I feel that Johns Hopkins University and CDC give us better statistics and accurate numbers, and also they function way better than WHO.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
In my opinion, the Federal Government of the United States, ably led by President Joe Biden, made the right decision by ensuring that the majority of its population receives the covid -19 vaccine, based on the CDC recommendations. The science behind this approach is based on the age long principle of Herd immunity.
Herd immunity(population immunity) , is the direct/indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when about 75 to 80% of a population is immunized either through vaccination as in the case of Covid -19 or by immunity developed through previous infection (WHO, 2021). As we may have known, vaccines stimulate specific antibodies in our bodies that help with fighting specific infections whenever we come in contact with them.
Usually, these vaccines are made to protect us against infections or organisms with very high pathogenicity or virulence, sufficient to overwhelm ones natural immunity upon first exposure , thus leading to very severe illness or even death. The fortified immune system is able to attack such organisms whenever that vaccinated individual becomes exposed to the organism.
However, for the unvaccinated individual, a highly virulent pathogen like the novel coronavirus is able to attack and cause severe debilitating illness or even death, because the natural immune system is too weak to fight back. As a consequence, vaccines have become inextricably connected to our survival as humans.
As regards human rights, I believe the President has a constitutional obligation to protect the lives and property of all inhabitants of the United States. This, he is doing, by taking relevant steps at encouraging people to take the vaccines.
Consequently, whatever he has to do to keep the people safe and in good health should not be regarded or seen as against peoples’ rights, as he can only be president over the living and not the dead. Interestingly too, our rights are not absolute under the law, if not, you could kill somebody and walk away without retribution.
In the aspect of the US withdrawal from the WHO, the United States remains the leader of all developed nations of the world, and arguably the largest financial contributor to the WHO. As such, it has a responsibility to keep all other nations safe from disease or infirmity even as it takes care of itself. The WHO serves as a reference point in the area of Healthcare for every nation of the world.
All countries make monthly contributions to this agency, for the purpose of having a collective and formidable front against diseases that affect humanity as well as drawing up universally acceptable management guidelines, which are usually sourced from medical experts all over the world. An epidemic, in any part of the world is not likely to completely isolate the US, so long as movement of humans continue to take place, just as was the case with covid -19. Even though Johns Hopkins has been doing a great job, its scope is largely limited to the US, while the WHO is global .
In conclusion, President Joe Biden, has so far shown impeccable leadership in his approach to managing the affairs of the US, especially rejoining the WHO and his strategies on vaccination.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
- Bernal, J. L., Andrews, N., Gower, C., Gallagher, E., Simmons, R., Thelwall, S., Stowe, J., Tessier, E., Groves, N., Dabrera, G., Myers, R., Campbell, C., Amirthalingam, G., Edmunds, M., Zambon, M., Brown, K., Hopkins, S., Chand, M., & Ramsay, M. (2021). Effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against the B.1.617.2 variant. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.05.22.21257658
- Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): Herd immunity, lockdowns and COVID-19. (n.d.). WHO | World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/news-room/q-a-detail/herd-immunity-lockdowns-and-covid-19
- Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). (2021, August 6). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/variants/delta-variant.html
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NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas
How Current and Previous Presidents Handled Mental Health Problems
Population health is crucial in determining a group of individual’s health status and health outcomes. Public health practitioners must improve population health to optimize the health of a large area (New York State Department of Health, n.d.). Presidents have reformed to expand population health and influence health outcomes through population-wide policies and interventions.
For example, President Joe Biden’s government works with nations to address mental health. The federal government plays a role in mental health to regulate systems, protect consumers’ rights, provide funding for services, and support research. Also, his government establishes and enforces minimum standards that states can expand on.
This differs from what happened during President Donald Trump’s era, when the government focused more on protecting individual rights in schools and workplaces (Beeber, 2019). Federal protection policies were set in privacy to prohibit abuse and fight discrimination to promote inclusivity. Currently, the government provides reasonable accommodation and supports people in need to deal with deeply rooted mental problems.
What should be done Differently
Governments should adopt mental health policies and integrate them into public health to reduce society’s burden. Government support hinders the development of factors that contribute to poverty and reduce the intrinsic value of physical fitness. Also, it is essential to consider stigma concerning mental health illnesses when developing policies.
This will help to do away with the stigma that results from lack of attention among ministers, which causes poor leadership and inadequacy of legislation in the health sector (Nochaiwong et al., 2021). Besides, stigma is detrimental not only to people with mental illnesses but also to society. The government should improve policy-making programs and focus more on interventions that will promote the prevalence of mental disorders.
Governments should ensure that all relevant agencies recognize the importance of mental health and are aware of the influence of their activities on mental health. Therefore, there should be proper coordination between the government and relevant agencies to reduce the burden of mental health problems across populations.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
- Beeber, L. S. (2019). Mental health issues and substance use in the United States: Pulling the power levers. Journal of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association, 25(1), 19-26. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1078390318811572
- New York State Department of Health. (n.d.). Making New York the healthiest state: Achieving the triple aim. https://www.health.ny.gov/events/population_health_summit/docs/what_is_population_health.pdf
- Nochaiwong, S., Ruengorn, C., Thavorn, K., Hutton, B., Awiphan, R., Phosuya, C., & Wongpakaran, T. (2021). Global prevalence of mental health issues among the general population during the coronavirus disease-2019 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-89700-8
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE
I agree with you that most people living the US and the world have had mental illness at one stage of their lives. It is absolutely true that most communities have neglected mental illness such as emotional distress, depression, and stress. Unexpected and sudden death is common among mental health patients. Persons with mental illness are known to have poor health status and considerable premature mortality.
I concur with my colleague that the previous presidents, George W Bush, Barrack Obama, and Donald Trump, have made fundamental reforms to reduce the number of mental health patients in America. Bush created a commission that come up with 19 impressive recommendations to reduce mental illness. His successor, Obama, signed ACA that added mental health patients to Medicaid. Lastly, Trump supported a group of health clinics for mentally ill patients with US$700 million.
Mental health disorders affect a person’s feeling, thinking, mood, or behavior, such as anxiety, depression, panic disorder, prevalence, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder (Valentine, & Shipherd, 2018). These conditions may either be chronic (long-lasting) or occasional, affecting the person’s ability to perform their daily activities. In 2019, nearly 21% of Americans had a mental illness. The number signifies that 1 in 5 Americans experienced mental health disorders in 2019 (Czeisler et al., 2020).
Mental health disorder does not discriminate, and it can affect all people regardless of their social status, income, geography, age, sexual orientation, ethnicity/race, or spirituality/religion. Unfortunately, people who are mentally ill do not want to talk about it. There is nothing to be ashamed of about this condition; it is a medical condition like diabetes, cancer, or cardiovascular diseases. Most mental disorders disorders are treatable.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
- Czeisler, M. É., Lane, R. I., Petrosky, E., Wiley, J. F., Christensen, A., Njai, R., … & Rajaratnam, S. M. (2020). Mental health, substance use, and suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic—United States, June 24–30, 2020. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(32), 1049. Doi: doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6932a1
- Valentine, S. E., & Shipherd, J. C. (2018). A systematic review of social stress and mental health among transgender and gender non-conforming people in the United States. Clinical Psychology Review, 66, 24-38. Doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2018.03.003
Consider a population health topic that rises to the presidential agenda level. Which social determinant most affects this health issue? How did two recent presidents handle the problem? What would you do differently?
Various health issues come to mind when deciding on a topic for discussion. I choose mental health, which has got the plan on the presidential level several times and continues to grow. The COVID-19 pandemic has increased mental health needs in the population. President Obama made progress in mental health by expanding health care coverage with the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
The ACA restricted insurance companies from discriminating care for pre-existing diagnoses and gave coverage for substance use and mental health-related services. President Obama extended services with a hundred million US dollars through the ACA by building behavioral health centers. Obama indicated the nation’s responsibility by helping those in uniform with mental health and their families requiring support, and he announced May 2016 as a Mental health awareness month (The White House, 2016).
President Trump had positive and negative progress in the field of mental health. He focused on ruining the ACA and lowering Medicaid; many low-income people who relied on substance abuse and mental health treatment coverage would not have coverage. President Trump executed the first American health care by signing an administrative order on October 5, 2020. It was positive due to improved access to mental health for people who suffered from mental health conditions aggravated by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
President Trump said that his government is committed to controlling the disaster of suicide, stopping the crisis of opioids, and enhancing behavioral and mental health (DeVylder, 2017). The COVID-19 pandemic also worsened behavioral and mental health because of anxiety and stress from social isolation, lost unemployment, and extended lockdown (Sim, 2012). It demonstrated the clear focus the Trump government executed.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE
I praise our presidents for creating recent modifications and concentrating on mental and behavioral health because it was overdue. I would execute additional mental and psychological training for health care staff because they need good mental health. I noticed people in need waiting for specialized facilities for their needs and spending hours and days waiting to see the doctor.
For example, most of these patients go to the emergency department, and options for specialized treatment are unavailable at some locations. With increasing need, providers cannot accept many patients, and these patients do not get help on time and raised trauma occurs because of the wrong approach in areas that cannot deliver specialized care. I will also raise the mental health research budget because of the need for effective treatments.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE
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NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE
Each year in the U.S., millions of people are affected by mental illness. The CDC reports that 50% of Americans will at one time in their life be diagnosed with a mental disorder (CDC, 2019). As nurses, we must understand the physical, social and financial impact mental health has on our nation. We must raise awareness, reduce the negative stigma, and advocate for better health care.
I focused my post on mental health care because it is my nursing specialty. After reviewing what the last three presidents have accomplished, I was surprised and pleased with president Bush’s and Obama’s attempts to address mental health; however, I was disappointed in President Trump’s apparent lack of support.
In 2002 President Bush created the New Freedom Commission Act, which would improve mental health services for children, adolescents, and adults by coordinating treatments and services to promote their successful integration into the community (President`s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, 2019). His support for mental health didn’t stop there. Throughout his presidency, he continued to make positive changes for those living with mental illness. In his final year as president, he signed an act establishing health insurance coverage for people with mental health disorders, seeing it as just as important as physical health (Hart, 2016).
Two years later, under the Obama administration, President Obama signed the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, much like Bush, demonstrating that mental health is as important as physical health. In 2016, the president proposed a budget that included a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care (Hart, 2016). As stated above, both Presidents acknowledged mental health and the importance of treating it as equal to physical health. Conversely, during his time in office, President Trump advocated for the reduction in Medicaid funding to each state, which directly impacted the mental health services to the aged and disabled who qualified under this program (The Trump Administration and Mental Health, 2018).
If I were to do anything different, I would have built on the legacy of Bush and Obama to increase awareness, policies, and funds to address mental health. Mental health issues are not going away, and decreasing funding for programs that meet the needs of the mentally ill is a step in the wrong direction.
The population health topic I am choosing is the opioid epidemic. I chose this because it affects such a large population in today’s world. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022), drug overdose deaths have increased by nearly 5% from 2018 to 2019 and quadrupled since 1999. Over 70% of the 70,630 deaths in 2019 involved an opioid. In 2020, 91,799 drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States. The number continues to rise, and drugs seem to be more accessible.
Regarding social determinants, people from low socio-economic classes have poorer health. They are more likely to use tobacco, drink alcohol at high risk, and use illicit drugs. Drug-dependent people are particularly likely to be unemployed and to experience marginalization, both of which can exacerbate their problems and prevent seeking or benefiting from treatment (Spooner,2017). Drug abuse is not shy when it comes to whom it affects. People in low socioeconomic classes happen to get slammed with drug abuse as we have not provided the right accessibility for them.
One of President Trump’s solutions was to build a wall. Theoretically, the wall would stop illegal drugs from coming in, and this wall was supposed to be built on the Mexican border. He also said he would enhance access to addiction services, end Medicaid policies that obstruct inpatient treatment, and expand incentives for state and local governments to use drug courts and mandated treatment to respond to the addiction crisis (Kaiser Family Foundation,2017). Although some think the wall may help, it is not the solution to the epidemic. In some cases, working from the outside inward works, but in this case, I think this epidemic needs to be approached from the inside out.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE
In this case, I would have started the solution on the inside. I would have targeted what we can control right now. Stopping Illegal drugs from coming in will help in the long run, but you must focus on what illegal drugs are happening in the US. Building a wall doesn’t stop the use, trading, selling, or buying we are currently dealing with. I would work to eliminate those issues, do more research on who this affects the most, and start there.
We know people from low socio-economic classes struggle the most, so I start there and work my way out. Maybe we start focusing on getting these people out of this low-income rut. We provide schooling, daycare, and opportunities some people will never receive. Even starting there seems small, but I would further it with Trump’s plan to enhance access to drug addiction services like counselors. I would hold more doctors accountable and pharmaceutical companies pushing these opioids for money.
According to the Democrat National Committee (2020), President Biden’s solution includes holding people accountable such as big pharmaceutical companies, executives, and others, responsible for their role in triggering the opioid crisis. Biden will create effective prevention, treatment, and recovery services available to all through a $125 billion federal investment. Most importantly, we will stop overprescribing pain medication to citizens. I think Biden’s solutions to this epidemic were much better; these solutions start inward and target the people in the US struggling. I believe the solutions listed will help the country see a decline in opioid deaths, but they won’t solve the issue altogether.
As much as I agree with this approach, I don’t think the primary producers of these drugs are being held accountable enough. I would figure out a way other than fines to serve these companies. Possibly suspending their production may be a helping solution. The problem is these companies are laced with money, so half the time, they don’t even blink at the request to hand over money due to fines. I wouldn’t change much to Biden’s policy otherwise. I think his approach gives people accessibility, and that’s truly what we need to end this epidemic.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2022). Death Rate Maps & Graphs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/deaths/index.html
Democrat National Committee. (2020). The Biden plan to end the opioid crisis. Joe Biden for President: Official Campaign Website. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://joebiden.com/opioidcrisis/
Kaiser Family Foundation. (2017, January 9). President-elect Donald Trump stands on six health care issues – election 2016: The issues. KFF. Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://www.kff.org/report-section/where-president-elect-donald-trump-stands-on-six-health-care-issues/#opioid
Spooner, C. (2017). SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF DRUG USE. National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre (NDARC). Retrieved August 30, 2022, from https://ndarc.med.unsw.edu.au/
NURS 6050 Discussion: Presidential Agendas
The identified healthcare issue that has often been a high-profile component of presidential agendas is opioid crisis. The opioid abuse and addiction has been a continuing challenge for many years. The most commonly misused and addictive opioids include heroin, prescription opioids, and synthetic opiods like Fentanyl. Opioid misuse and addiction has caused serious negative outcomes including deaths and disabilities (Park & Otte, 2019). Moreover, the problem does not only affect the health but also the social and economic wellbeing of Americans. This paper seeks to explore how Presidents Trump, Obama, and Bush administrations addressed this issue and what could be done differently to address the issue.
Presidential Agendas
President Trump
The initiative by Trump to address opioid abuse was to create awareness to the public regarding the dangers of opioid abuse through public education. He also intended to control the nature of drug importation in the US. As such, President Trump was committed to change immigration to ensure better control of drug importation in the US (White House, 2018). Therefore, he proposed policies to ensure deportation and prevention of illegal immigrants from entering the US. Trump believed that most of these illegal immigrants promoted illegal drug trafficking. He also opted to build wall on the border of US and Mexico, which is believed to be biggest supplier. Trump also provided financial resources to help in addressing continuing challenges of opioid crises (U.S. UNVIE, 2019).
President Obama
In effort to address opioid abuse, President Obama signed into law the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act to curb opioid epidemic. This legislation provided an all-round federal response to the prescription heroin and opioid epidemic that continues to damage many neighborhoods across the US (Murphy et al., 2018). This Act seeks not only to curb the misuse of opioids but also ensure access to proper treatment for the victims. The Act also entails effective surveillance plans by the Medicare prescription drug to ensure safe prescription.
President Bush
According to The White House (2002), President Bush aimed at fighting the drug menace by stopping drug use before it begins, healing America’s drug users, and disrupting the market. Therefore, his strategy was to use the security agencies to fight drug use and deal with drug dealers. Consequently, Bush directed coast guards to enhance boarder security to reduce drugs being imported into the country. He also urged the Homeland Security to enhance boarder management system. All these efforts were intended to limit drug supply, reduce demand, and ensure the affected get the best treatment. Bush also made a clarion call to Americans to avoid drug abuse and misuse and also urged parents to create awareness on their children on the essence of avoiding drugs.
What could be done Differently
The incidences of opioid misuse, abuse, and addictions continue to range American communities at an alarming rate. As such, the focus should be shifted on this issue beyond being considered only as an addiction to being a condition that warrants proper medical management and treatment. Moreover, since nurses are the healthcare providers who interact with patients and community members more than any other healthcare providers, it is necessary to equip nurses to proper education to lead the fight against opioids through nurse-led opioid education (Montgomery & McNamara, 2016). This initiative is critical in creating awareness to patients to make informed choices. The government should also establish many treatment facilities in the country, especially in areas that are most affected.
NURS 6050 Discussion Presidential Agendas SAMPLE References
Montgomery, R., & McNamara, S. A. (2016). Multimodal pain management for enhanced recovery: reinforcing the shift from traditional pathways through nurse-led interventions. AORN journal, 104(6), S9-S16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aorn.2016.10.012
Murphy, J., Goodman, D., Johnson, M. C., & Terplan, M. (2018). The comprehensive addiction and recovery act: opioid use disorder and midwifery practice. Obstetrics & Gynecology, 131(3), 542-544. doi: 10.1097/AOG.0000000000002493
Park, K., & Otte, A. (2019). Prevention of opioid abuse and treatment of opioid addiction: current status and future possibilities. Annual review of biomedical engineering, 21, 61-84. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-bioeng-060418-052155
The White House. (2002). The President’s National Drug Control Strategy. Retrieved 28 February 2021, from https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2002/02/20020212-2.html\
U.S. UNVIE. (2019). President Trump is Fighting to End the Opioid Crisis | USUNVIE. Retrieved 28 February 2021, from https://vienna.usmission.gov/president-donald-j-trump-is-fighting-to-end-the-opioid-crisis/
White House. (2018). President Donald J. Trump’s initiative to stop opioid abuse and reduce drug supply and demand.
