Vulnerable Populations Essay

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Vulnerable Populations 1 HCA430: Special Populations Chronically Ill and Disabled Chiqita Solomon Instructor: Sandra Rebeor September 3, 2012 Vulnerable Populations 2 Reducing and eradicating inequalities in the United States is a ongoing goal for the discrepancies within healthcare. Substantial discrepancies, with risk factors, healthcare access, illness, and some cases death, remain latent in these at risk populations. “Vulnerable populations are groups that are not well integrated into the health care system because of ethnic, cultural, economic, geographic, or health characteristics. This isolation puts members of these groups at risk for not obtaining necessary medical care, and thus constitutes a potential threat to their health (urban.org)”. The chronically ill and disabled is a vulnerable population that I personally work with in my healthcare career. Throughout this paper I will why they’re a vulnerable populations and what can be done to assist these patients. “Chronic illnesses are significantly more prevalent among low-income and other disadvantaged populations. Additionally, the impact of these illnesses is more severe among the unemployed, uninsured, and less educated. For example, patients with a chronic illness who have less than a high school education are 3 times more likely to report being in poor health than those with the same illness who hold a college degree. Given the increasing number of vulnerable populations with 1 or more chronic health conditions, policymakers are becoming increasingly concerned about how to deal with the demands this population places on systems of care (ajmc.com)”. According to the World Health Organization, chronic diseases are diseases of extensive periods and usually slow development. “Chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes, are by

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