Application of the Nursing Process to Deliver Culturally Competent Care – Immunization in Developing Countries

Introduction

Immunization in the developed countries has been recorded as a success. Diseases have been prevented through the administration of vaccines. For instance, in United States of America, diseases that were a threat in the early twentieth century have been eradicated through vaccines. An example is measles. However, in the developing countries, immunization is poorly performed yet, it is an important approach to perform control and prevention of diseases. For instance, in African countries, lack of follow up on immunization schedules and inadequate capital to facilitate the immunization process has led to health challenges. Therefore, the essay aims at discussing nursing measures that ensure the delivery of culturally competent care through creating solutions to immunization challenges in the developing countries.

Purpose

The main purpose to address immunization in developing countries is to create a universal healthy society. The fact that immunization in developing countries is not performed as per United Nation’s recommendations creates an attention of solving the challenges. According to ‘Immunization in Developing Countries: It’s Political and Organizational Determinants’ by Gauri and Khaleghian, several opportunities have been discussed that can be utilized to ensure greater emphasis is laid on current immunization situation evident in developing countries (Gauri & Khaleghian, 2002). The keen attention offered to immunization challenges in developing countries will facilitate the constant development of the countries because the nation’s healthy labor force will concentrate more on developmental projects rather than health projects. Therefore, the creation of a healthy culture leads to the economic, social and political development of society.

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Immunization is the most inexpensive way to improve a cultural group’s health and to lower the morbidity and mortality caused by diseases (Gauri & Khaleghian, 2001). This reason creates a practical foundation that encourages immunization in developing countries. Despite the definition of vaccination as a ‘pipe dream’ in the developing countries, much effort needs to be cultivated into the sector for the streamlining of immunization process. The impact of immunization on developing countries would, therefore, create a goodwill promise of a brighter future for people not immunized in the developing cultural society.

Improving of immunization in developing countries also has the purpose of creating a reliable and self-sufficient health sector in these countries. Setting up a reliable health sector is done by adjusting the outdated immunization practices and embracing the use of technology and education initiative in immunization (Cna-aiic.ca, 2015). This adjustment will ensure that the delivery of vaccines is smoothly performed thus achieving immunization goals. Technological applications of immunization, such as creating awareness, would ensure that people in the developing countries develop a positive attitude towards immunization. For instance, educating people in developing countries on the importance and procedure of delivering vaccines would attract the attention of people and they will be less ignorant and offer minimal resistance to immunization. Therefore, the changes in vaccine delivery techniques in developing countries would greatly help towards ensuring that immunization has been applied as a nursing process with an aim of delivering culturally competent care.

Ensuring that immunization is well practiced in the developing countries would also lead to an improvement in the countries’ economic status. Immunization was developed with an aim of preventing dangerous diseases that posed great challenges during treatment. This means that appropriate utilization of immunization would save the country costs incurred during treatment. Therefore, this capital would be diverted into development projects that would boost the country’s economy. In addition, developing countries will have a large healthy workforce at their exposure. This workforce will contribute towards increasing the country’s per capita income hence an improvement in the developing countries economy. Therefore, appropriate administration of immunization would create a sound economic environment in the developing countries.

Design

The design that a health practitioner can apply towards ensuring the application of immunization for culturally competent care in developing countries should involve first identification of challenges. The next step in the design is the identification of opportunities to improve immunization and finally, implementation of elemental practices to improve immunization(GAUVREAU, UNGAR, KÖHLER & ZLOTKIN, 2012). This design would help in establishing a firm immunization process in the developing countries that will serve the role of improvement of culturally competent health care.

Challenges

Developing countries have been facing challenges in immunization that results to poor delivery of vaccines.  The main challenge is the lack of a prepared channel to perform immunization. This challenge faces all developing countries whereby a platform to deliver vaccines lacks and if it is available, it is underutilized(Verma et al., 2011). For instance, people do not appreciate the need for immunization thus they do not follow the immunization schedules. In addition, health facilities in the developing countries are unprepared for the delivery of vaccines.  This challenge is brought about by the failure of prioritizing immunization in the health facilities. As a result, the unpleasant state of health centers has discouraged people from accessing immunization facilities. Therefore, developing countries have to improve the state of healthcenters to change the attitude of people in the countries.

Technology advancements in nursing have also been a challenge in developing countries. Technology simplifies the process of vaccine delivery. It creates economical and reliable methods of immunization that are cost effective and they take less time compared to the manual immunization methods(Gauri&Khaleghian, 2002). However, technology is a challenge to developing countries because it is expensive. The expensive nature of immunization technology has acted as a barrier towards immunization improvements in the developing countries. Therefore, the countries remain in the old immunization techniques that discourage people from appreciating immunization. This means that immunization has been underutilized in developing countries as a result of the negative attitude from people in these countries.

Opportunities

There are great chances for the improvement of immunization for culturally competent care in developing countries. According to the article by Gauri and Khaleghian(2002), the challenges that face immunization have reciprocated opportunities for improvement. These opportunities create hope in the developing countries whereby the improvement is seen as an achievable health care practice. The main opportunity is the availability of immunization stakeholders within the developing countries. There is a variety of immunization advocates in these countries who publicize the need for vaccination. In addition, vaccine manufacturers are available for the production of the vaccines. The promising aspect in manufacturers is that they have of late changed their method of operation from business oriented to society developmental approach. This creates an encouraging atmosphere whereby vaccines are cheap. In fact, most developing countries are offering immunization at a cheaper rate or even at no cost(GAUVREAU, UNGAR, KÖHLER & ZLOTKIN, 2012). This creates a high probability for the improvement of immunization in these countries. The structure of the countries’ populationis also an encouraging and promising opportunity for improvement of immunization in developing countries. Developing countries have a large youthful population which is easy to educate on the need of immunization.Therefore, immunization improvement in developing countries is a possible action that needs to be cultivated for its actualization.

Implementation of immunization improvement practices

The main way to improve delivery of vaccines for a culturally competent health care is to educate people in the developing countries. Low literacy levels are a great drawback of immunization because people who are illiterate find it a bother to listen or read immunization advertisements(Pathirana, Nkambule& Black, 2015). However, this challenge is solved by the availability of vernacular radio and television stations. These stations can be used to educate people on the need of immunization. This move will sensitize people to go and get the vaccines because they will start valuing the immunization process. In addition, the education to the people should involve enlightening them on how the immunization process is carried out. This ensures that even the immunization schedule is followed strictly. This will, therefore, create a great improvement impact because people will hunger for vaccines hence creating a culturally competent health care.

Immunization can be improved through the viewing of it as a shared responsibility. Immunization has been approached in a personal approach in the developing countries. This approach leads to ignorance from the people whereby their interest in immunization is greatly reduced. This ignorance is sorted out by changing the approach of immunization to a shared responsibility approach. For instance, in Canada, immunization has recorded to be a success because immunization is shared as a federal, provincial and territorial responsibility(Cna-aiic.ca, 2015). These administrative organs act accordingly towards planning and delivering the immunization program. Therefore, the shared responsibility develops a collective role towards improving immunization hence the success of delivery of vaccines in ensuring there is a culturally competent health care.

Handling of vaccines is an important task towards the improvement of vaccination. A better handling method of vaccines involves the technological use of vaccine storage and delivery(Gauri&Khaleghian, 2002). For instance, there are storage techniques that ensure that the vaccines are safely kept under the required temperature and conditions. In addition, the handling of the vaccines during transportation and delivery is an important aspect whereby that requires technology use. Therefore, the application of technology in immunization foresees the improvement of immunization in developing countries for competent health care.

Training of health personnel would also help greatly in the developing countries towards the improvement of immunization. Developing countries have few health personnel thus posing a challenge to the delivery of vaccines(Rcn.org.uk, 2015). Training of the health personnel would not only lead to increased number of nurses to perform immunization, but it would also lead to enlightening of the present health personnel on the current and efficient methods of vaccine delivery(Www2.health.vic.gov.au, 2015). Therefore, training of health personnel would contribute to the use of immunization as a nursing practice for the development of a culturally competent health care.

A shift of focus on people’s living structure is a beneficial approach that will lead to concentration on the immunization process. The developing countries should concentrate more on developing the underserved urban slums and squatter settlements. These settlements carry a large population of about thirty to fifty percent of urban populations. The population access low standards of health care services thereby carrying a large burden of disease mortalityand act as a source of infections to the surrounding rural areas. However, if the governments concentrate in improving the standards of these slum populations, administration of vaccines will be efficiently carried out thus the country’s immunization goals will be attained(Gauri&Khaleghian, 2002). As a result, immunization in the developing countries will be performed as a nursing measure for culturally competent health care.

Limitations

The use of immunization in developing countries for competent health care would face one main limitation. Lack of adequate resources will be a drawback to effective vaccine delivery. This includes capital and initial technical expertise. However, the limitation can be eliminated through donations from the international community such as from World Health Organization (WHO)(Pathirana, Nkambule& Black, 2015). Donations will also not completely solve this challenge because it will lead to over-reliance on donations. Therefore, developing countries should create techniques of developing their capital that in return will help in efficient immunization improvement hence a culturally competent health care.

Conclusion

In conclusion, immunization in developing countries has faced a great drawback due to lack of the required input. Developing countries are an appropriate cultural group that illustrates the slow development of immunization. Improvement of immunization technology and education of immunization stakeholders will play a great role towards improving the state of immunization in the countries. Therefore, immunization in the developing countries will be an effective nursing practice that will lead to a culturally competent health.

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