Develop a 3-4 page preliminary care coordination plan for a selected health care problem. Include physical, psychosocial, and cultural considerations for this healthcare problem. Identify and list available community resources for a safe and effective continuum of care.
Preliminary Care Coordination Plan
Analysis of the Selected Concern: Mental Health
Mental health is increasingly becoming a topic for discussion in contemporary society. Many organizations and support groups have heightened their campaigns on mental health awareness solely to minimize suffering attributed to mental health illnesses. This notwithstanding, mental health illnesses remain an issue within society. The WHO (World Health Organization) defines mental health as a state of well-being in which a person realizes their abilities and can cope with presenting stressors in their lives (Galderisi et al., 2018). Mental health is one of the predictors of well-being and healthy living within society. A compromise in an individual’s mental well-being may result in mental illnesses.
Mental health illnesses encompass all disorders that affect the psychological functionalities of an individual. These disorders have been implicated in significant morbidity and mortality and are a leading cause of functional disability. In the United States alone, 21% of all adults have a form of mental illness. Even with high prevalence, mental health illnesses still receive disproportionate attention in the healthcare spectrum. This is probably due to the heavy burden of non-communicable diseases like heart disease and diabetes that kill thousands of Americans annually. Historic underappreciation of these disorders, coupled with cultural impediments to understanding and addressing mental health issues, has increased the prevalence of these disorders. Current efforts on these disorders are to increase community awareness of these disorders, encourage health-seeking behavior among communities to enhance the address of these disorders and treat these disorders to prevent their downward detrimental effects on the patients.
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The most commonly occurring mental health disorders include depressive disorders, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, anxiety disorders, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. These disorders vary in intensity and presentation. In addition, their prevalence varies across age groups, with some mental illnesses being prominent among the elderly while some appear in all ages. It is important to identify these disorders early and initiate therapy to prevent or slow the disease progressions and consequent suffering resulting from these disorders.
Best Practices for Health Improvement
Best practices in mental health are to create mental health awareness to enable early detection and treatment of these disorders, enhance access to mental health care, and utilize the collaborative approach in care processes (Priebe et al., 2018). Community awareness programs on mental health awareness are pivotal in the overall management of the disease. These programs can either utilize outreach programs to the communities or community educational programs. The sole purpose is to identify and engage with members of the community who are at increased risk of developing these disorders, as well as those with undiagnosed diseases. Prompt treatment with psychotherapeutic and pharmacotherapeutic modalities is warranted in case a positive diagnosis is made.
Enhancing access to mental health care is also crucial in mental health management. Enhancing access encompasses all strategies that ensure individuals suspected of having these disorders are diagnosed and treatment initiated (Mongelli et al., 2020). In this regard, healthcare facilities handling mental health patients must have the necessary diagnostic and treatment tools as well as qualified personnel relevant to mental healthcare. Psychologists, psychiatrists, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and social workers are all valuable in mental health management.
A collaborative approach to care provision is the gold standard in mental health care. A collaborative approach is a multidisciplinary approach that draws all healthcare professionals offering mental health care. These professionals include nurses, physicians, pharmacists, psychiatrists, and psychologists. The collaborative approach in mental health care remains effective due to its wider scope of coverage (Lake, 2017). However, the effectiveness of this approach depends on the ability of these team members to work in concert with one another in the design of therapeutic plans for mental health patients and to monitor these patients through their illness journey.
Specific Goals to Address Mental Health Problems
Current approaches in mental health care are targeted at reducing morbidity and mortality associated with these disorders, improving the quality of