The Influence of Advanced Practice Nurses on Disease and Injury Prevention

Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs) often play a crucial role as primary care providers, delivering preventative care services to the public. The APRN title is not limited to one role; it encompasses a range of professions such as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse midwives. Alongside diagnosing and treating illnesses, APRNs play a role in managing chronic diseases, and offering public health advice. Moreover, they engage in continuous learning to stay attuned with ongoing advancements in the medical field.

Critical Nature of Disease Prevention

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention affirm that the majority of Americans, about six in ten, are living with at least one chronic disease such as diabetes, cancer, or heart ailments. The major causes of death and disability in the United States are such chronic diseases, becoming the primary drivers of healthcare expenses. Yet, most of these conditions are preventable. Thus, by making healthier lifestyle choices, individuals can reduce their chances of contracting chronic diseases and also improve their overall quality of life.

The Power of Vaccination

Vaccines have successfully allayed the incidence of diseases that were once commonplace and fatal. Many illnesses in the United States are now preventable thanks to wide-scale vaccination, which has drastically reduced the death toll from common diseases like influenza. The effect of vaccines, however, diminishes over time, thereby necessitating regular booster shots for continued protection.

Advanced Practice Nurses: Champions of Disease Prevention

A critical part of holistic patient care is disease prevention, something that advanced practice nurses aptly provide, particularly to the underserved populations and those residing in rural areas. They craft holistic care plans for patients and their families, emphasizing disease prevention and drawing on their expertise and a wide range of resources available to them.

The Importance of Timely Vaccination

Nurse practitioners don’t just encourage and deliver vaccinations for children in time for the new academic year, they also encourage patients to keep up with their recommended vaccinations into adolescence and adulthood. Older adults require vaccines to help prevent pneumonia, while adolescents need the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.

Role of Advanced Practice Nurses in Injury Prevention

Apart from disease prevention, advanced practice nurses also play a crucial role in injury prevention. Unintentional injuries, mainly caused by motor vehicle accidents and falls, are the top cause of death for people under 45 in the United States. Nurse practitioners emphasize the significance of pain management that doesn’t solely rely on opioid treatment. Instead, they offer a variety of pain management options from other medications to rehabilitative and physical therapy.

Empowering Patients through Education

The process of empowering patients begins with education, which is frequently the responsibility of APRNs. Nurses inch closer to encouraging patients to take proactive care of their health by ensuring that they understand their conditions and are aware of ways to minimize or prevent complications arising from chronic illnesses.

A Rewarding Career in Nursing

A career in nursing offers a long, rewarding journey that involves bettering the lives of others in various ways, whether it be in direct care, policymaking, or education. With growing demand and the increasing need for nurse practitioners to counter the rise in chronic diseases and infectious diseases, nursing proves to be a consistently viable career choice.

Conclusion

A career in nursing doesn’t just offer gratifying experiences and consistent opportunities for progression and employment—it also places nurses in a unique position to make a real difference in their communities by treating and educating patients to help prevent disease and injury.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are some examples of alternative medicine?

Alternative medicine refers to treatments other than those considered by mainstream medicine to be useful for treating disease. These include traditional Chinese medicine as well homeopathy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, nutritional therapy and reiki.

Alternative medicine could also refer to any practice that has not been supported by scientific evidence but is used in clinical practice. These include yoga, meditation, aromatherapy, reflexology and flower essences.

Why is holistic medicine so much better?

Holistic health care treats the whole person instead of just specific symptoms. This involves looking at the person’s feelings, food, lifestyle, stress levels, etc.

Holistic medicine is holistic and considers all aspects a patient’s lives. It treats them all as one complete package. It may sound simple, but in practice, this approach is very difficult to achieve because most doctors focus solely on the physical side of patients.

Who uses holistic medicines?

Holistic medicine refers to health care treating the whole person rather than treating specific symptoms. It is concerned with both the physical and mental aspects of well-being.

Holistic medicine can include acupuncture, massage therapy and chiropractic treatment. It also includes nutritional counseling, yoga, and many other complementary therapies.

A holistic approach to medicine includes those with heart problems, cancer, diabetes, arthritis or depression.

Statistics

In the 17% in which they disagreed, a third reader agreed with one of the initial readers to set a rating. (en.wikipedia.org)
category.[111]Edzard Ernst characterized the evidence for many alternative techniques as weak, nonexistent, or negative and in 2011, published his estimate that about 7.4% were based on “sound evidence.” However, he believes that may be an overestimate. (en.wikipedia.org)
An assessment of conventional treatments found that 41.3% concluded positive or possibly positive effects, 20% concluded no effect, 8.1% concluded net harmful effects, and 21.3% concluded insufficient evidence. (en.wikipedia.org)
The concept of regression toward the mean implies that an extreme result is more likely to be followed by a less extreme result. (en.wikipedia.org)
The use of alternative medicine in the US has increased, with a 50 percent increase in expenditures and a 25 percent increase in the use of alternative therapies between 1990 and 1997 in America. (en.wikipedia.org)

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What are the 4 types of complementary or alternative medicine?

There are four major types of CAM: mind-body medicine (natural products), manipulative therapies (energy healing), and manipulative therapies (natural products). Mind-body medicine encompasses yoga, Tai Chi, Reiki and massage therapy. It also includes homeopathy, homeopathy, aromatherapy (reflexology), naturopathy biofeedback, Hypnosis, hypnosis, and chiropractic care. Natural products include herbs and vitamins, minerals as well as dietary supplements. Manipulative therapies include physical manipulation such as osteopathic and chiropractic care, acupuncture, therapeutic exercise, and bodywork. Prayer and visualization are some of the techniques used for energy healing.

CAM is an umbrella term for various health practices outside traditional Western medical models. These practices can be supported by scientific evidence, or they may involve surgery. They also vary in terms of the conditions they treat. Some CAM practitioners also perform diagnostic testing (e.g., blood tests) and prescribe medication. Some do both.

Each category has many subcategories in addition to the four main categories. In mind-body medicine there are relaxation techniques. Natural products include nutritional supplements as well botanical medicines, homeopathic treatments, essential oils and herbal preparations. Manual, movement, manipulation, electrotherapies and soft tissue mobilization are some of the manipulative therapies. There are spiritual healing modalities such as prayer and faith healing within energy healing.

Many CAM remedies treat symptoms, but don’t address the cause. Some chronic diseases might be relieved by CAM. If used appropriately, CAM can complement conventional treatment options.

There are many reasons people use CAM.

To improve their overall well being.
To manage a special condition.
To decrease pain or discomfort.
To prevent illness.
To promote wellness.
To address a person’s belief system.

Because it gives them more control than traditional medicine, some people choose CAM. Some may feel it has less side effects. Some people choose CAM to not take prescription drugs. Others prefer to avoid taking pharmaceuticals whenever possible. And still, others seek out CAM because they have had bad experiences with conventional medicine.

Some people who use CAM say they want to be sure about what they are doing before trying something new. Many CAM users are concerned about the safety and effectiveness. Others rely on friends and family for word of mouth.

Although CAM is often viewed negatively by society, most users report positive feelings toward CAM. People who use CAM are happier and healthier than those who don’t. This holds true regardless of gender, age, race, religion, income level, occupation, insurance status or any other factors.

Nearly all Americans use some kind of complementary and/or alternative medicine. 95% of adults have used CAM at some point in their lives. According to the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), approximately 40 million visits were made to CAM providers in 2010 alone.

According to the NCCIH estimate, 10% of the U.S. Population uses chiropractors.

The American Medical Association has reaffirmed its support to integrative medicine in 2013, It recognized that physicians should “integrate scientifically valid complementary and alternative medicine into clinical practice…to meet patients ‘ needs and expectations.”5

The Institute of Medicine published a groundbreaking report in 2007 entitled “Relaxing Contraints: Improving access to Complementary and Alternative Healthcare.” It concluded that there is no credible evidence that any particular CAM intervention is effective in treating or preventing cancer.

CAM is still gaining popularity despite this conclusion. The 2008 number of CAM practitioners increased 8 percent compared with 2007.

A recent survey found that almost half the respondents said they used CAM as part their primary healthcare plan.

CAM therapies include natural products as well mind-body practices, manipulative technologies, energy healing methods, exercise, diet supplements and other approaches.

Many CAM therapies can be used for pain relief, but many have other benefits such as improved mood, reduced stress and increased immunity.

For example, acupuncture can help relieve chronic back pain, reduce anxiety and depression, improve immune function, promote weight loss and improve menstrual symptoms.

Many CAM therapies are rooted in Ayurvedic and traditional Chinese medicine. They have been around for thousands of years.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), for example, was developed 5,000 years ago. It has been used in China since ancient times.

TCM has remained an important component in health care even though it was not until the middle of 1800s that Western science became popular.

TCM treatment is now used by over 70% of American citizens.

Yoga is another CAM therapy that is very popular. Yoga was founded in India approximately 5000 B.C. Yoga is now an accepted global practice.

Yoga has become increasingly popular with the general public because it offers physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits.

Yoga can relieve stress, improve flexibility, and increase strength.

Yoga has been shown to improve sleep33, even though there is not much scientific evidence. It may also be beneficial for insomnia sufferers.

Other CAM therapies such as aromatherapy, meditation, and homeopathy are also being accepted by mainstream medicine.

One of the most used types of CAM is herbal medicine.

Herbal medicines may include herbs and spices, flowers, seeds or fruits, bark, leaves or roots, as well stems.

They are often considered safer alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs and are widely used by consumers.

The U.S. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health estimates that about 90 million Americans use some form of complementary/alternative medicine.

The American Cancer Society reports that 45% (or more) of those diagnosed with cancer have used alternative medicines during their illness.

The National Institutes of Health estimates 60% of cancer patients use CAM. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports approximately 50% of all cancer survivors report using CAM.

According to a recent study 51% of cancer survivors used at least one type CAM.

However, only 8.8% of them discussed it with their physicians.

This is a serious problem with healthcare delivery because there is not enough communication between conventional medical practitioners and CAM users.

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