Men’s Heart Health Pamphlet: Statistics, Risk Factors, And Preventive Strategies

What is the topic of the pamphlet- Give a short overview of the issue/illness/health concern this pamphlet is highlighting? Using research evidence explain how serious an issue this is within the Australian community (e.g. It is a growing health concern that is impacting a large population group, or it may only affect a small population but it causes significant cost to the healthcare budget, or while rare it has a high mortality rate).

The pamphlet is about men’s heart health. It has highlighted about the incidence of heart disease among men in Australia. The pamphlet gives statistics on heart disease. It was found to be the leading cause of mortality among men in Australia. Heart disease is a serious issue within the Australian community as one in every twenty Australians were found to have heart disease in the year 2017-2018. The trend towards high risk in male is true as the survey shows that heart disease is more common among males (5.4%) compared to females (4.2%). The risk of heart disease was also found to be higher in men above 65 years compared to women (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2017).
Along with high risk to men, it contributes to significant cost to the health care system as it has increased hospitalization and other cost. The Australian health care system experiences enormous burden because of death, hospitalization and high incidence of CVD (Pen & Wang, 2018).  Heart Disease Incidence And Mortality Among Men In Australia Example Paper

Question 2: (limit-approx. 200 words)

What is the defined population group this pamphlet is focused upon- e.g. children with lymphoma, adults at risk of diabetes or whooping cough, etc. Indigenous children with hearing loss? Outline the prevalence of this defined population group in the Australian community using recent statistical evidence.

The target population group in the pamphlet is men with a diagnosis of heart disease. According to
Australian Government (2019), the proportion of males in Australia were 12. 4 million. An estimated 5, 80, 000 Australians aged 18 years and above were found to be at risk of coronary heart disease. Out of these, 2, 27, 000 people experiences angina and 4, 30, 000 reported heart attack. Based on data on age adjustment, around 3.8% of men compared to 1.9% of females were found to be at risk of heart disease. The risk of CVD increased with age and the prevalence rate was 14% among people above the age of 75 years (Australian Government, 2022).

The incidence of CVD was influenced by the presence of various risk factors too. Tobacco smoking is one of the leading causes of preventable disease. Daily smoking rate was found to be 8.5% in 2019.  Among females, the daily smoking rate was found to be 6.4% in the same year. High blood pressure is also a major risk factor of heart disease. 34% of adults in Australia were found to have high BP and men were more likely to have hypertension compared to women. The survey also indicated that the rate of hospitalization with C VD was 1.4 times higher in males compared to females (Australian Government, 2022).

Risk Factors For Heart Disease Among Men

Question 3: (limit-approx. 150 words)

Who is the proposed target audience this pamphlet is aimed at educating? Give details of whether this pamphlet is designed to educate health care professionals, carers, specific patient consumers, or the public. Describe how you were able to determine this.

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This pamphlet is designed for specific consumer group of males and it targets education health care professionals too. By reviewing the actions to be taken for good health, health care professionals can also get guidance on steps to implement to promote heart health of males. It aims to target those group who have not yet been diagnosed with heart disease and those who are at risk of CVD. Some the data that helped to identify the target population group were the ‘take action’ section and the ‘be heart aware’ section. The ‘be heart aware’ section mentions the need to check BMI, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure. In addition, the title of the pamphlet suggests that the information is for male group. It is designed for the public and health care professionals too. This is said because the pamphlet reported about three steps to save life of people experiencing cardiac arrest. This message indicates advice for any public or health professionals.

Question 4: (limit-approx. 150 words)

Discuss how the pamphlet reflects one or more of the primary healthcare strategies of health promotion, illness prevention and/or early intervention.

Primary Health care focus on addressing the health needs of person throughout the lifetime. The PHC approach includes health promotion, disease prevention, treatment and rehabilitative care. The PHC approach focuses on addressing the determinants of health and empowering individuals to take charge of their own health (World Health Organization, 2020). The pamphlet reflects the PHC strategy of illness prevention and health promotion as the pamphlet highlight the problem of heart disease among males and provides list of steps or preventive strategies to minimize the risk of heart disease. Health promotion is defined as the process of enabling people to increase control over health. It involves education and activities to prevent health. The preventive steps that have been given in the pamphlet are doing 40 push-ups, reducing weight, being mentally healthy and getting heart health check-up done for free. According to Heinicke and Halle (2020), lifestyle intervention such as smoking, daily physical activities and diet modification is effective in decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Question 5: (limit-approx. 200 words)

Consider how primary health care principles could be utilised by nurses in multiple clinical contexts (you could reflect on a prior or upcoming placement here).

Primary health is a new approach to care that focus on integrating at the community levels and influencing the factors that improved the health status of the population. The five principles of primary health care involve social equity, intersectoral coordination, people involvement, self-reliance and wider coverage. Community participation involves the engagement of the community in health decision making. It involves identifying the needs of the community and implementing health services. The nurses can use this principle to promote health of people vulnerable to chronic disease such as diabetes and hypertension. They can take part in awareness campaigns and maximize knowledge to identify risk factors and other measures to control the disease. The evidence by Heumann, Röhnsch and Hämel (2022) shows that primary health care nurses share understanding of the health problem and needs and develop resources to facilitate patient education. They also act as advocate for patients and support community networking. In addition, nurses can take part in intersectoral coordination by giving different sections the opportunity to meet the needs of peoples. For instance , in the context of heart health, community nurses can engage in coordination of activities to prevent heart disease. It may involve taking part in lifestyle programs (Sinervo et al., 2019).

Question 6: (limit-approx. 150 words)

Using your chosen pamphlet, consider the role of the nurse in primary health care broadly. Align and link your discussion about the nurses’ role in primary healthcare to the NMBA Standards for Practice (2016) to demonstrate your analysis.

The nurses play multiple roles in primary care. It involves playing a role in the expansion, connection and coordination of care. Through clinical expertise and other professional training, they can provide safe and effective care in disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation process. They display advocacy by empowering patients during care through education and development of self-management skills. They use communication skills to share appropriate health message and engage in interprofessional communication process (WHO, 2021). They can take part in person-centred care. Person-centred care involves planning care in a way that addresses the needs of patients. The NMBA registered nurse standard emphasizes that registered nurse should use variety of strategies and best available evidence to engage in person-centred care (NMBA, 2017). Similarly, nurses utilized holistic assessment skills in primary care to provide person-centric care.

Reference List:

Australian Bureau of Statistics (2017). Heart, stroke and vascular disease. Retrieved from: https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/health/health-conditions-and-risks/heart-stroke-and-vascular-disease/latest-release#:~:text=The%20prevalence%20of%20heart%20disease,not%20appear%20to%20be%20narrowing.

Australian Government (2019). The health of Australia’s males. Retrieved from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/men-women/male-health/contents/who-are-australias-males

Australian Government (2022). Heart, stroke and vascular disease—Australian facts.  Retrieved from: https://www.aihw.gov.au/getmedia/88095d15-88f7-4b64-a954-846d2f1cdd26/Heart-stroke-and-vascular-disease-Australian-facts.pdf.aspx?inline=true

Heinicke, V., & Halle, M. (2020). Lifestyle intervention in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Herz, 45(1), 30-38.

Heumann, M., Röhnsch, G., & Hämel, K. (2022). Primary healthcare nurses’ involvement in patient and community participation in the context of chronic diseases: An integrative review. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 78(1), 26-47.

NMBA (2017). Registered nurse standards for practice. Retrieved from: https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/codes-guidelines-statements/professional-standards/registered-nurse-standards-for-practice.aspx

Peng, Y., & Wang, Z. (2018). Cardiovascular health status among Australian adults. Clinical epidemiology, 10, 167.

Sinervo, T., Keskimäki, I., Niiranen, V., Laulainen, S., & Hietapakka, L. (2019). Intersectoral coordination and multiprofessional teams: merging primary care and social services. European Journal of Public Health, 29(Supplement_4), ckz185-316.  Heart Disease Incidence And Mortality Among Men In Australia Example Paper