Question 1

How would a community health nurse define vulnerable populations?

Accepted Answer

Vulnerable populations are groups who have a heightened risk for adverse health outcomes. They may include various populations such as those with higher mortality rates, lower life expectancies, or chronic illnesses. However, presence of just one of these does not necessarily indicate that the population is vulnerable.

Question 2

When assessing vulnerable populations, a community health nurse uses a popular model that contains three related concepts. Which concepts would the nurse include? Select all that apply.

Accepted Answer

A popular conceptual framework of vulnerability contains three related concepts: resource availability, relative risk, and health status. Housing and education are not one of the three related concepts in this popular model.

Question 3

A community health nurse is applying the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations when evaluating a local community. Which would the nurse include as an enabling factor?

Accepted Answer

Enabling factors include personal and family resources, as well as community resources (e.g., income, insurance, social support, region, health services resources, public benefits, transportation, telephone, crime rates, social services resources). Acculturation, knowledge of disease, and marital status are examples of predisposing factors.

Question 4

A community health nurse is evaluating a population for socioeconomic resources. Which resource would the nurse address?

Accepted Answer

Socioeconomic resources include such things as human capital (e.g., jobs, income, housing, education), social connectedness or integration (e.g., social networks or ties, social support or the lack of it characterized by marginalization), and social status (e.g., position, power, role). Environmental resources deal mostly with access to health care and the quality of that care, including the adequacy of health care providers.

Question 5

When assessing a population's vulnerability, which would the community health nurse identify as a predisposing factor?

Accepted Answer

Predisposing factors include demographic variables (e.g., gender, age, marital status), social variables (e.g., education, employment, ethnicity, social networks), and health beliefs (e.g., values and attitudes toward health and health care services, knowledge of disease). Social structures (e.g., acculturation and immigration), sexual orientation, and childhood characteristics (e.g., mobility, living conditions, history of substance abuse, criminal behavior, victimization, or mental illness) are also considered as predisposing factors. Enabling factors include personal and family resources, as well as community resources (e.g., income, insurance, social support, region, health services resources, public benefits, transportation, telephone, crime rates, social services resources).

Question 6

When assessing a vulnerable population's relative risk, which would the community health nurse identify most likely as contributing to this risk?

Accepted Answer

Relative risk refers to exposure to risk factors identified by a substantial body of research as lifestyle, behaviors, and choices (e.g., diet, exercise, use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, sexual behaviors); use of health screening services (e.g., immunizations, health promotion, use of seat belts); and stressful events (e.g., crime, violence, abuse, firearm use). A well-balanced diet, up-to-date immunizations, and use of seat belts would reduce one's risk, whereas exposure to abuse may increase the risk. Enabling factors relate to the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations and not to the relative risk.

Question 7

When teaching the causes of vulnerability to a group of students, which information would the instructor integrate into the teaching plan?

Accepted Answer

Many of the factors and conditions contribute to vulnerability overlap, making it difficult to obtain accurate data and statistics for each group or category. Although there are some similarities and consistencies in terms of vulnerable populations, the factors vary. They also are interactive, making it difficult to determine which factor or cause is considered most important.

Question 8

Which statement about relative risk is most accurate?

Accepted Answer

Relative risk refers to exposure to risk factors identified from a substantial body of research. Lifestyle, behaviors, and choices are risk factors. Relative risk is not an absolute cause and effect that if a risk exists, the illness or adverse event will occur. Only factors that are identified by a substantial body of research are considered relative risk.

Question 9

A community health nurse is describing social capital and its impact on populations to a group of local community leaders. Which would the nurse suggest as a way to improve the social capital of the community?

Accepted Answer

Social capital consists of marital status, family structure, social ties and networks, and membership in voluntary organizations, such as a church or clubs. Thus, suggesting more community organizations would address social capital. Better job training, improved education, and expanded employment opportunities are examples of human capital, investments in individuals' capabilities and skills (e.g., education, job training) that comprise jobs, income, housing, and education.

Question 10

Which statement is true regarding social capital?

Accepted Answer

Social capital consists of marital status, family structure, social ties and networks, and memberships in voluntary organizations. Human capital is linked to investments in individuals' capabilities in skills (e.g., education, job training) and comprises jobs, income, housing, and education.

Question 11

When preparing to conduct research on a vulnerable population, which would the community health nurse attribute to the differential vulnerability hypothesis?

Accepted Answer

The differential vulnerability hypothesis states that everyone is subjected to stressful events but that these events hurt some people more than others, thus they are vulnerable populations. Although everyone experiences stresses, not everyone is vulnerable. Deficits or problems in social and human capital can increase the population's risk. Lower education and income are associated with a higher relative risk, but these alone do not describe the hypothesis.

Question 12

After teaching a group of students about factors associated with vulnerable populations, the instructor determines the need for additional teaching when the students identify which as a factor?

Accepted Answer

Factors associated with vulnerable populations include income and education, age and gender, race and ethnicity, homelessness, chronic illness and disability, and immigration among others. Chronic, not acute, illness is considered as a factor.

Question 13

A community health nurse is part of a group working with local and state legislators to expand health insurance coverage for those with inadequate or no insurance. Which outcome would the nurse hope to achieve if the group is successful?

Accepted Answer

Having inadequate or no health insurance leads to poor health outcomes due to lack of early screening and preventive measures, including regular physical examinations and immunizations, delays in getting treatment, and use of emergency rooms for worsening conditions with no continuity of care, all as efforts to save money. Expanding health insurance hopefully would promote increased use of early screenings, decreased emergency room visits, more continuity of care, and better health outcomes all around with less disparities.

Question 14

Which action would be most important for a community health nurse to take first when working with vulnerable populations?

Accepted Answer

When working with vulnerable populations, the first step is to open the door and interact with the clients, engaging them, and developing rapport. Once this is accomplished, the community health nurse can then help them in making choices, guide them to think through all the issues and consequences, and provide honest feedback.

Question 15

A community health nurse is working to empower clients of a vulnerable population. Which client behavior indicates that the nurse is achieving this goal?

Accepted Answer

Empowerment would be manifested by the clients engaging in collaboration with their health care providers, becoming more proactive than reactive, being better able to seek and use services, and being realistic about barriers with a view for ways to change things for the better.

Question 16

Which action would be least helpful to a novice community health nurse working with vulnerable populations who is feeling overwhelmed and somewhat guilty about his or her personal situation as compared to his or her clients?

Accepted Answer

Working with disadvantaged populations can be challenging and exhausting. Often a novice community health nurse may feel overwhelmed and suffer compassion fatigue and guilt about ones one life. To be effective, it is often helpful to donate money or items on a group level such as an agency clothing drive rather than an individual level and to work for substantial changes in community attitudes. In addition, the nurse needs to remain grounded in order to continue to have the necessary energy and compassion.

Question 17

A community health nurse working with a group of vulnerable clients is focusing on empowering them. Which action would be most effective?

Accepted Answer

Activities that are most effective in promoting empowerment include viewing the clients as active partners (shows mutual respect and helps build a trusting relationship), being flexible in dealing with the clients (demonstrates a client-centered approach), cutting through the bureaucratic red tape (demonstrates advocacy), and focusing on the clients' strengths rather than limitations (helps to build client capacity).

Question 18

A community health nurse is preparing a presentation for a group of local community nurses about measures to help decrease health disparities. Which suggestion would be the least effective?

Accepted Answer

To help decrease health disparities, political advocacy is necessary to influence health policy. In addition, working with schools to reduce the dropout rate helps to address the connection between education and outcomes. Organizing task forces, raising community awareness, and community input for need identification are all effective methods to address vulnerable populations and health disparities.

Question 19

After teaching a group of students about the socioeconomic gradient in health, the instructor determines that the students understand the concept when they state that the relationship between social class and health is:

Accepted Answer

The socioeconomic gradient refers to the inverse relationship between social class or income and health, such that the lower the social class or income, the higher the rates of disease. If it were a direct relationship, a change with one variable will likely show a corresponding change in the other. This type of relationship can also be referred to as a positive relationship because this corresponding change in the other variable is typically in the same direction. In an unequal relationship, distribution is not equal.

Question 20

Which statement is true regarding the socioeconomic gradient of health?

Accepted Answer

The socioeconomic gradient of health has been found in populations around the world, although not always unfailingly. The behavior of smoking is highest among those who have low income and low educational levels. Not all persons who have low socioeconomic status will develop particular health problems.

Quiz 23: Working With Vulnerable Populations