Introduction
The ICAST is a not-for-profit organization based in Denver, Colorado. The organization currently champions a number of sustainable initiatives for low-income communities in the community it serves. One of these initiatives focuses on offering affordable healthcare services to senior residents of the community. However, the organization is unable to identify and leverage the appropriate federal, state, and county programs that provide such services to the target audiences. This literature review evaluates current literature covering these programs with an aim of establishing how the organization should go about this issue. The article review argues that ICAST should utilize the resources within the community it serves to identify and leverage public healthcare programs in the region. This literature review starts by assessing the methodologies used in the resource articles before comparing and contrasting the views of the articles.
Literature review
The methodology of the sources
The article by Grady that acknowledges the significant role that nurses play in advancing healthcare to aging populations evaluates the influence of nurses on this issue by considering three articles written by BAGNC scholars. The three articles focus their attention on the care issues that maintain dignity in the lives of old people. In relation to these articles, Grady establishes that nurses play critical roles in providing care to old people (Grady, 2011). On the other hand, the article by Goodwin and Tobler takes an overview of the policies that states have adopted in their effort of providing quality healthcare to their citizens. Some of the policies evaluated in this article include those concerned with increasing the number of health workers in the counties and support services for the senior and disabled people. The article establishes that law makers have adopted various strategies to help the poor and old people access healthcare (Goodwin, & Tobler, 2013).
The article by Swartz, on the other hand, takes a historical overview of the public policies that have been implemented in USA with an aim of enabling the poor and old people access healthcare services. Some of the policies highlighted in this article include community health centers (CHC) and state based insurance programs. The article establishes that these policies have increased the number of old and poor people accessing healthcare (Swartz, 2009). The article by Wolfe evaluates the influence of healthcare reforms by focusing its attention on the effects of income on health. The study’s sample for this article comes from kindergarten children that remain in the study until their eighth grade. With the help of these children, the article establishes that income influences the health of children (Wolfe, 2012). Upon establishing this fact, the article proceeds to evaluating the possible effects that healthcare reforms may have on poor people with the focus on ACA.
Blumberg’s article evaluates the effects of affordable care act by evaluating what it does to the old people. In doing this, Blumberg evaluates the condition of healthcare before the ACA. Upon evaluating this issue, Blumberg establishes that ACA has increased access to healthcare among the old people (Blumberg, 2012). Lastly, the U.S CDC has evaluated the utilization of healthcare services in USA by collecting data from designated health facilities and it has identified the various factors that affect healthcare programs.
Comparing and contrasting the sources
According to Goodwin and Tobler (2013), ICAST should work closely with community health centers, community health workers and rural health based organizations to identify and leverage public healthcare programs in the community it serves. The authors claim that CHC offer consistent primary health care to underserved communities thereby health workers working in these centers understand the communities they serve well than anybody else.
According to the U.S CDC, ICAST can leverage the public healthcare programs in the community by demonstrating that the number of senior residents in the community is increasing. This argument is based on the fact that health care utilization in any particular region is influenced by the population of the old and poor people living in that region. Accordingly, if ICAST can demonstrate that the number of senior residents in the community it serves is higher probably than it was five years ago, then it can influence the number of healthcare programs in the community. On the contrary, if ICAST would not be able to demonstrate this, then it might not influence the number of healthcare program for the senior residents in the region it serves (CDC, 2004). In contrast to this argument, Grady claims that nurses and nurse scientists can play a critical role on this issue. According to Grady (2011), these professionals play critical roles on this issue because they conduct evidence-based researches relating to illnesses in different care settings. Grady claims that given the current life expectancy in USA, nurses will continue to influence the quality of life for the aging population. Accordingly, nurses can be instrumental in ICAST’s program.
According to Swartz (2009), ICAST should work hand-in-hand with the community health centers (CHC) so that it can identify and leverage public healthcare programs in the region. Swartz claims that from the time war on poverty started, the federal government has throughout been funding these organizations to offer medical services to the disadvantaged people. In contrast to the nurses and other health professionals working from offices, Swartz claims that CHC provide better healthcare to old and poor people because they understand them better and they interact with them on daily basis. Based on this fact, nurses might not be instrumental in enabling ICAST to identify and leverage public health programs in the region the organization serves. With regard to Wolfe and Blumberg, ACA is the most significant aspect in identifying and leveraging public healthcare programs in the community it serves. This is in relation to the fact that the act establishes some fundamental aspects that should be considered in providing healthcare services to the old people (Wolfe, 2012). Accordingly, before initiating the program, ICAST should evaluate the ACA guidelines to establish the old people covered by the Medicare and those not covered by it. By so doing, the organization would overcome some of the challenges facing it (Blumberg, 2012).
Conclusion
Based on this literature review, ICAST should consider utilizing community health centers and health workers working in these centers in identifying and leveraging public healthcare programs in the community it serves. This literature review demonstrates that health workers serving in those centers understand their communities; thus, they can provide resourceful information about them. At the same time, ICAST should evaluate ACA so that it can conduct healthcare services within the law. Above all, ICAST should be able to demonstrate that the number of senior residents living in the community has increased to necessitate the expansion of the services in the region.
References
Blumberg, L. (2012). The Affordable Care Act: What does it do for low-income families? Fast focus, 15; 1-7.
CDC. (2004). Health care in America: trends in utilization. The U.S. department of health and human services.
Goodwin, K., & Tobler, L. (2013). Improving rural health: state policy options. National conference of state legislatures.
Grady, P. (2011).Advancing the health of our aging population: A lead role for nursing science. Nursing outlook, 59; 207-209.
Swartz, K. (2009). Health care for the poor: For whom, what care, and whose responsibility? Focus, 26(2); 69-74.
Wolfe, B. (2012).Poverty and poor health: Can health care reform narrow the rich-poor gap? Focus, 28(2); 25-30.