Client Name
Capella University
NURS-FPX6618: Leadership in Care Coordination
Instructor’s Name
August 2024
Mobilizing Care for an Immigrant Population
Providing coordinated care to the entire population is healthcare organizations’ and care coordinators’ fundamental goal and mission (Khatri et al., 2023). For this purpose, a specific plan is needed to ensure that the undocumented immigrant or refugee population receives care and basic health facilities (Alarcon, 2022). The refugee population of Venezuela is facing a threat to their safety, health, and well-being.
As a director of care coordination in the UnitedHealth group, I am responsible for developing an effective care coordination project plan for the Venezuelan refugee population to proficiently address their health needs and provide them with safety and care. The project plan will focus on project management tools that will be best suitable to fulfill the health and care requirements of the refugee group along with the involvement of stakeholders and organizations in the effective implementation of that plan. This assessment will develop a policy document that identifies the characteristics of the Venezuelan refugees and the current policies to meet the needs of the immigrants or refugees.
Addressing the Healthcare Needs of the Venezuelan Refugee Population
The refugee group of Venezuela is facing crises that are harmful to their health, safety, and well-being as they are being displaced resulting in a humanitarian crisis for millions of people (Venezuelan Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis, 2024). These people are in serious need of coordinated care due to the lack of legal status, limited access to healthcare facilities, and many more. A few reasons listed below which highlight the need to confront the healthcare citation of the Venezuelan population;
Risk of Health and Vulnerability
The Venezuelan Population has high health risks and increased vulnerability due to the displacement of large groups of people and limited access to healthcare facilities. The people faced mental health disparities including anxiety, traumas, and insufficient food. Limited health access leads to untreated health conditions involving mental disorders, chronic diseases, and psychological problems.
Limited Access to Healthcare Facilities
The refugees of Venezuela face insufficient access to healthcare services due to differences in culture and language, limited legal health access, deportation crisis, and financial issues. The lack of legal health status deprived them of various health facilities.
Ethical Right of Equity and Justice
The careful consideration of the healthcare needs of the refugees is their ethical right and they should be treated equally with all justice in healthcare settings for accessing basic health needs (Onarheim et al., 2021). Providing health access to people in emergency or vulnerable situations is necessary without considering the legal status of the refugee.
Impact on the Health of the Public
The treatment of Diseases that are transferrable or communicable need to be treated timely with urgent care otherwise it will badly impact the population and will lead to high health disparities. For the safety of the nation or community, it is necessary to stop communicable diseases at the first step.
Criteria for the Selection of the Venezuelan Refugee Population
The refugee population of Venezuela is in great need of urgent healthcare services due to their refugee status and importantly because of the increase in the rate of health disparities occurring through the humanitarian crisis (Blukacz et al., 2022). These people are losing their homes, food, shelter, and basic healthcare needs which is devastating for healthcare organizations. The criteria for the selection of the Venezuelan refugee population are given below;
Largest Displacement Calamity
More than 7 million Venezuelan people are displaced which results in high rates of unmet healthcare needs resulting in an increasing rate of health disparities (Venezuelan Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis, 2024). These health disparities are affecting a big part of the world and to prevent this it is necessary to address the care coordination requirements of the refugees.
High Need for Healthcare Services
They have limited access to health facilities due to financial barriers, lack of legal status, and many other problems. There is an urgent need for a health safety plan for the refugees to prevent harmful events related to the health and safety of the people.
Public Implications
The impact of this huge calamity on the rest of the people will be devastating due to untreated communicable diseases, high rate of hospital emergencies, and readmissions which will eventually impact the healthcare organization’s financial situation.
Assessing the Healthcare Needs of Venezuela Refugees
The proper assessment of the healthcare needs of the population is necessary to provide health facilities that can save a population of 7 million (Chong et al., 2019). The right to health and safety can be considered effective both for refugees and undocumented immigrants as health-related harmful events have serious impacts on healthcare organizations. The assessment of the health needs of the refugees of Venezuela is given below;
Basic Access to Healthcare Services
The inability to access basic health needs leads to escalating chronic diseases and healthcare disparities. To prevent the increase in health issues it is important to consider and fulfill the health needs of the refugees.
Mental Health and Chronic Disease Management
The mental issues including stress and anxiety make the problems worse therefore treatment for the mental diseases is necessary. The refugees are more vulnerable to chronic diseases including diabetes, hypertension and so on which need to be treated effectively.
Maternal Healthcare Facilities
Pregnancy care should be given to the refugees along with the maintenance and monitoring of the child’s health requirements. They are the most vulnerable people in the refugees therefore specialized healthcare facilities should be provided to them.
Preventing Cultural and Language Indifferences
The displacement of the refugees creates cultural and language barriers for them which is the major issue in the provision of basic and most important healthcare services. Cultural competent facilities should be given to the refugees to prevent the increase in healthcare disparities.
Project Management Using SWOT Analysis
The assessment of the healthcare needs of the Venezuelan refugees is necessary along with the implementation of an effective strategy that will improve the coordinated care provided to the displaced people (Greene et al., 2024). The model chosen for the efficient intervention of the management plan is SWOT analysis. The key components of the SWOT analysis are given below;
Strengths
The support from Venezuelan communities and the strong community relations between the group of refugees will increase the validation of healthcare facilities for the refugees of Venezuela. Organizations and communities for refugees can effectively provide basic health services to patients.
Weaknesses
The fear of being displaced again from the current community and lack of legal status are the basic hindrances in the way of effective healthcare services. Moreover, the poor financial situation of the refugees along with cultural and language differences exacerbate the situation.
Opportunities
The technology intervention will be most effective for the displaced people due to the efficiency of the remote monitoring of the system. Moreover, the positive relations with the refugee communities and NGOs will also fulfill the health needs of the people to a large extent.
Threats
The major threat to the people is policy rules that may be less positive for the refugees and hurt the healthcare services available to the people (Asif & Kienzler, 2022). They may suffer from insufficient access to healthcare facilities. Moreover, communicable diseases will also be a threat to the refugees as they will not be treated timely and will create devastating situations.
Organizations and Stakeholders Participation
The coordination of the healthcare facilitators and providers along with the whole organization and stakeholders holds a major significance in resolving health problems for a large group of people (Silva et al., 2022). The active and effective participation of the stakeholders and different healthcare agencies in understanding the needs of the refugees and providing strategies that are best suitable to reduce the rate of health disparities is necessary. The coordination of the organizations at different levels including local, national, state, or other is given below;
Coordinated Care at the Local Level
Local healthcare agencies or communities can provide basic health care to patients including the analysis of chronic diseases and their management plans, vaccinations, and education regarding the prevention of health disparities (AbdulRaheem, 2023). The NGOs and local groups based on faith can fulfill the basic needs of the refugees through the provision of shelter, food, and medications. Health departments based in the cities can provide care to patients in emergencies and volunteers can remove the barriers created due to language and cultural differences.
Coordinated Care at the State Level
The healthcare departments of the state can provide effective healthcare services to the refugees by providing them with funding or identifying their needs in the policy-making process (Iqbal et al., 2021). Healthcare access in emergencies can be provided through the medical services of the US. The refugee settlement agencies of the state also have significant importance in providing basic health services to the people.
National Level Care Coordination
At the national level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and The U.S. Department of Human Health and Services act as a cornerstone in providing basic health facilities to the refugees and preventing healthcare disparities. American Red Cross and Doctors Without Birders are non-profit organizations that are actively participating in providing high-quality health care to refugees (Bagherani et al., 2022). All these organizations and stakeholders have the authority or right to consider the needs of the healthcare organizations and provide them with healthcare facilities that are necessary to prevent health disparities.
International Level Care Coordination
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and World Health Organization play a significant role in providing basic health and care to the refugees along with ensuring the availability of food and shelter (Nisbet et al., 2022). Non-Governmental Organizations including Save the Children are playing a significant role in providing healthcare services to the refugees and assuring the fulfillment of the right to health for all populations.
Characteristics of the Venezuelan Refugee Population
The important characteristics of the Venezuelan refugee population are characterized into different categories including demographic, cultural, social, and financial. these people are displaced from their hometowns due to severe economic and political crisis that results in the huge migration of the people. The basic characteristics of the Venezuelan people are given below;
Demographic Characteristics
The majority of the population is between the age group of 18 to 59 years consisting of the employed class of the community. Elderly adults and under-18 children are also found in notable amounts in Venezuela. The rate of women is unnoticeably high and the girls in this community often face violence and health issues related to reproduction. The refugees are settled in various neighboring countries including Chile, Brazil, and so on.
Cultural Characteristics
The basic language of the Venezuelan region is Spanish and they are Christians from the context of religion. They faced language barriers in countries where Spanish is not the most frequent language and in their religious beliefs and faiths, they only trust their own culture. All these barriers often create a hindrance in the way of providing healthcare services to the refugees due to their inability to trust the organization of another town.
Economic Characteristics
The economic crises are the reason for the displacement of the people of Venezuela which is the reason that the people who migrated from Venezuela don’t have enough financial resources or assets for their settlement in the neighboring countries. The unemployment situation in Venezuela is high along with low incomes. They lack support from welfare programs due to their legal status.
Social Characteristics
The major ratio of refugees is based on complete families including children and older adults which is the major factor that increases the vulnerability of diseases and decreases in healthcare facilities. Children need specialized healthcare facilities which is not possible due to their status and financial situation. The displacement causes mental distress including tension and anxiety in the refugees which also needs to be addressed effectively to prevent health disparities.
Organizational Current Policies of Healthcare for Immigrants and Refugees
It is necessary to provide healthcare facilities to people who don’t have citizenship or residential status to keep their health and safety standards maintained and provide them with effective healthcare resources. the key policies that can be implemented in an organization to ensure the health of the refugees is given below;
Right of Access to Emergency Health Need
Every refugee should be given the right to healthcare access in case of emergency with limited healthcare services to prevent health disparities and long-lasting harmful events (Khanom et al., 2021). This will help the healthcare providers in early recognizing and responding to the health issues and making the situation stabilize.
Charity Care Policy
The charity programs help refugees and undocumented immigrants get the treatment needed for their help without paying any fee. The refugees of Venezuela are not financially strong and this charity program will help them access basic or limited healthcare services.
Partnership with NGOs
The non-governmental organizations help provide healthcare resources to the patients belonging to the group of refugees for the prevention of harmful health events and can create policies that take care of the basic health requirements of the patients.
Cultural Consideration
Cultural consideration while providing healthcare facilities to the refugees is necessary as many people are strongly about their faiths and providing services against their religious beliefs or cultural preferences will create mistrust problems leading to ineffective treatment.
Compliance with Environmental Changes and Current Legislation
The care coordination policies need to be aligned with the legislation sof the state or local level to ensure the sustainability and effectiveness of the healthcare services provided to the refugees (Khatri et al., 2023). The policies also need to administer the environmental changes including the immigrants, refugees, and refugee funding to maintain a standard of providing basic healthcare services to the refugees and undocumented immigrants.
Analysis of Assumptions and Biases Related to Immigrants and Refugees
The basic and most important assumption is the consideration that the Valenzuela refugees are a unified group of people having the same healthcare needs however they are based on different ethnic groups, age factors, cultural beliefs, and healthcare requirements (Nehrenheim et al., 2022). Fulfilling the health needs of the refugee group will be cost-draining for the healthcare organizations due to which the authenticity of providing equal health and facilities to the refugees will not be validated.
Moreover, it is assumed that the refugees are unable to understand the structure and criteria of healthcare facilities in the host town due to which healthcare providers will try to diminish the decision-making authority of the refugees. It is also assumed that the refugees will only be provided healthcare in the case of emergencies which will neglect the fact that they need care in other health situations including mental health management.
Culture and Linguistic Differences
The cultural and linguistic differences create a great hindrance in the provision of healthcare facilities to the refugees of Valenzuela as they have different cultural beliefs based on which they can deny the treatments and care of the host country leading to health disparities. However, language barriers create hindrances in communicating effectively with care providers creating ambiguities regarding the treatment.
The U.S. Healthcare Policies
The two most effective healthcare policies of the US include EMTALA and ACA for the provision of healthcare to immigrants and refugees. The impact of these policies on the healthcare services provided to the refugees is given below;
Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA)
This policy ensures that healthcare must be provided to all patients regardless of considering their financial situation or any other factor including refugee status or undocumented immigrants (Brenner et al., 2021). This policy is effective in handling emergencies and preventing healthcare disparities by providing effective guidelines on the provision of healthcare services to refugees or immigrants. It removes the discrimination factor allowing the fair and ethical treatment of the people considering their life more important than any other healthcare status. However, more policies are needed that can deal with health situations rather than emergencies to prevent healthcare disparities.
Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The purpose of ACA is to provide health facilities to a larger group of people including people who are not financially strong and also ensure the standard of healthcare facilities provided to the patients (Moy et al., 2023). The basic goal of ACA is to provide health services to the majority of the group and reduce healthcare disparities. However, it does not provide any distinct measure for the refugees or undocumented immigrants for which an enhanced policy is needed.
NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 Conclusion
The people of Venezuela are facing humanitarian crises due to which they are displaced to the neighboring countries (Venezuelan Humanitarian and Refugee Crisis, 2024). Their financial situation is not sufficient enough to offer them effective healthcare services and they don’t have a legal status which also creates a hindrance in the process of needed healthcare. This situation highlights the need to provide high-quality care to refugees to prevent healthcare disparities and develop a plan that effectively monitors the health needs of the people. The collaboration of organizations and stakeholders is necessary in the provision of healthcare facilities to the refugees. The current policies and the US policies are also effectively taking measures to enhance the care coordination provided to refugees and undocumented immigrants.
NURS FPX 6618 Assessment 2 References
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