APN advocacy reply

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Reply to professor question below:  I like this topic that you selected, especially in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. If you were to encounter some of the misinformation that is spreading through our communities from sources such as social media, what approach would you take to help share more accurate information?  Original post: Systems advocacy refers to undertaking various measures to influence and change systems such as the legislative policy and nursing practice aspects in a healthcare system. Usually, it provides an improvement to outcomes for individuals who have an impaired decision-making capacity. One of the healthcare issues in my community is the spread of infectious diseases in the community setting. To address the challenge, I will write a letter to our community’s public health administrator on how we can work together to provide solutions in curbing the spread of infectious diseases (especially with covid affecting us at the moment). Some of the strategies I will propose are; education awareness and prevention activities by resource provision. If not handled properly to reduce infection, infectious diseases may significantly affect the community. Therefore, to address the concern, I would advocate for education awareness campaigns to the community through seminars and workshops that teach people about infectious diseases and how to prevent them, such as through getting the necessary vaccination, proper personal hygiene, and keeping the environment clean (Peragallo & Gonzalez, 2007). Such entails grouping the infectious diseases into various categories depending on their transmission and educating the public on the necessary prevention measures. Another strategy I would recommend is requesting the public health department to work with the local health facilities and devise ways to improve the quality of healthcare provision in the community (Black et al., 2015). Some of the ways adaptable are undertaking medical camps organized by the public health office and collaboration with nurses. Provision of resources such as soap, insecticide spray, and mosquito nets to the population to prevent infections such as malaria and tick-borne diseases, to mention a few. I would also engage the large community population in cleaning the environment and draining stagnant water as some of the strategies proposed. In conclusion, systems advocacy is vital in recommending changes in the healthcare system that are beneficial to the community. Therefore, an APN should be at the forefront of systems advocacy.                                              References Peragallo, N., & Gonzalez, R. M. (2007). Nursing Research and the Prevention of Infectious Diseases Among Vulnerable Populations. Annual Review of Nursing Research, 25(1), 83–117. https://doi.org/10.1891/0739-6686.25.1.83. Walker, D. K., Barton-Burke, M., Saria, M. G., Gosselin, T., Ireland, A., Norton, V., & Newton, S. (2015). Everyday Advocates: Nursing Advocacy Is a Full-Time Job. AJN, American Journal of Nursing, 115(8), 66–70. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.naj.0000470409.04919.0f.