4HSK0070 PROMOTING HEALTH ANDPREVENTING ILL HEALTH
1. Introduction
Smoking has long been one of the most addictive habits retained by individuals living in society. Smoking is not only injurious to the individuals themselves, but also injurious for the ones who are nearby while the person is smoking. The increasing numbers of smokers in the UK have been constantly growing and this has led to serious health issues among individuals in all age groups. The increasing number of smokers in the country has become a reason of concern for society as well as for the health care institutions that respond to such health issues. Based on the statistics of the National Health Service, UK, around 78,000 people in the country die from smoking each year. Apart from that, many smokers live with smoking-related illnesses, which ultimately lead to their death. The most significant and disturbing facts related to smoking is that around 3,800 deaths each year are caused due to passive smoking which is another growing concern for society and the people living along with smokers. However, the government has taken several steps in order to make sure that smoking can be controlled and does not hurt the individuals who do not smoke. The National Health Service of the UK has established policies that have led to the ban of enclosed public smoking. Hence, the following study will focus on increasing number of smokers in the UK and evaluate a range of different case mixes. These case mixes would allow identifying how different nursing techniques and methods can be applied for the individuals who suffer from smoking-related issues.
2. Psychological factors
Anxiety and depression can be significant psychological factors that lead to the development of smoking as a habit among individuals. In many cases, individuals have expressed that they took to smoking due to anxiety and depression; hence, these two psychological factors can be directly linked to the increasing number of smokers (Zvolensky et al. 2018).
Excessive stress that results due to both professional and personal issues in an individual’s life leads to anxiety. Hence, the fear of an individual in terms of what might occur or happen is the prime cause of anxiety. Smoking tobacco releases nicotine in the bloodstream, which is a highly addictive substance, as it is an extremely sensitive nerve stimulant. The presence of nicotine leads to the release of a number of different neurotransmitters in the brain and one of which is dopamine (Zvolensky et al. 2019). Dopamine is also known as the feel-good hormone and is therefore, directly related to the emotional responses of an individual. The sense of relief and happiness that an individual feels is a result of dopamine being released in their brain. Therefore, people who are suffering from anxiety often take to smoking as it directly leads to the release of dopamine hence individuals suffering from anxiety often feel relieved after smoking cigarettes. However, such feelings among individuals increase their dependency upon cigarettes and they become chain-smokers. A similar pattern of adapting to smoking habits is also noticed among people suffering from depression as a similar mental response is noticed in their nature (Stubbs et al. 2018).
However, the side effects of nicotine are quite dangerous and in many aspects can be fatal for individuals, as it is known for increasing blood pressure and heart rate. As individuals suffering from anxiety and depression become increasingly dependent upon smoking habits, it becomes subsequently difficult for them to quit even after when they have recovered from their state of anxiety or depression. This is due to the addictive nature of nicotine. While, on the other hand, excessive smoking also damages the lungs, which also leads to respiratory diseases like asthma, lung cancer and others, which in many cases become the cause of an individual’s death (Mathew et al. 2017).
3. Socioeconomic factors
The social environment factors that surround an individual also have an impact on individual’s health especially if they are smokers. Health literacy is one of the most significant factors in the social environment of a smoker that tends to harm their well-being. Health literacy refers to the knowledge and ability of an individual to identify the good and bad things that can affect their health. Furthermore, health literacy is another aspect that influences the decision-making capabilities of an individual in terms of understanding healthcare related information and applying them for their well-being (Pratt et al. 2019). Therefore, individuals with poor health literacy do not understand how smoking affects their life and imposes a risk of death and several other respiratory diseases. However due to the addictive nature of nicotine and tobacco many smokers even after having a higher health literacy are unable to quit smoking. Apart from that, health literacy is also imported by the local health care facilities and other caregiving institutions where an individual lives. This government and non-government institutions are responsible for spreading awareness among individuals living in the society in terms of risks related to smoking habits and respiratory diseases. It is necessary for these institutions to make sure that they reach out to the smokers living in the society and create awareness among them so that they can quit smoking and lead a healthy lifestyle.
Green spaces are areas in the community and society where the amount of pollution is lower than usual. Air pollution is another significant factor that leads to respiratory diseases and in terms of smokers; the risks are higher (Alfira, 2018). It has been seen that green spaces in society can promote better health of an individual. However, the presence of smokers in green space can have detrimental impact on the quality of air and the surrounding. Smoking leads to the presence of toxic elements in the air, which not only harms the individuals, but also the people present in the green space. Therefore, smokers need to quit smoking before they enter neighbouring green spaces for their own well-being as well as to avoid health issues arising due to passive smoking (O’Loughlin et al 2017).
4. Demographics
Demographic factors like gender of an individual are another aspect that can reflect more upon the smoking patterns of individuals living in the UK. Even though the number of smokers in the country has significantly decreased over the years due to the growing awareness among the society, but there is still a significant proportion of individuals who smoke. 16.5% of men in the UK are smokers, whereas, 13% of the total population are women (statista.com, 2021). Therefore, the number of male smokers in the country is higher than that of women. Studies have shown that effects of smoking are different on men and women. It has been seen that the reward pathways of men are activated while this is not the case in women based on the reports of men and women who have been studied with help of neuroimaging. Men are more likely to smoke in order to reinforce the effects of nicotine, whereas, women are mostly found to smoke in order to regulate their mood and responses to nicotine (Wheldon et al. 2019). Hence, the urge to smoke among men is higher compared to that of women.
Learning disabilities and other demographic aspect present in the society that can affect and influence the health of an individual in the adulthood. Learning disabilities in younger ages can continue up to adulthood and in this cases it makes an individual less responsive mentally words different awareness campaigns held for discouraging smoking. Even, it has also been seen that children who are exposed to tobacco nicotine might develop learning disabilities, which affects their overall health and wellbeing. Smoking leads to release of several toxins in the air as well as in the household space if indoor smoking is prevalent. In such cases these toxins often affect the mental well-being of individuals especially children living in the house and cause learning disabilities and slow down of their mental growth (McMillan et al. 2018). These learning disabilities can prove to be very harmful for individuals in their adulthood as it not only prevent them from attending equal position in the society but also reduces their ability to perceive health related aspects that are beneficial for them
5. Community and culture
People belonging to the Black, Asian and ethnic minority groups living in the UK are classified and categorised as BAME. Based on the covid-19 cases in UK, it has been seen that people from the BAME backgrounds are more likely to contract to covid-19. Doctors have suggested that the virus has a disproportionate impact over the people belonging from the BAME background (bbc.com, 2020). Therefore, the risk of these individuals in terms of contracting to the disease and correspondingly death rate is higher in the UK. The risk further increases if the individuals are smokers and belong to the BAME background.
Individuals who smoke have a higher effect of covid-19 on the body because smoking decreases the capabilities of the lungs in terms of oxygen absorption. The covid-19 virus has a significant impact over the way lungs function in the body and it significantly decreases the oxygen absorption capabilities. Hence, critical cases of covid-19 require external oxygen support. This is why smokers have higher difficulty in terms of breathing if they are diagnosed with covid-19 (Chedid et al. 2020). Poor health literacy also affects the ability of an individual to understand government advertisement campaigns. Individuals with poor health literacy have been found to ignore the protocols given by the government in terms of maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. Therefore, they not only cause harm to themselves but if such individuals become the carrier of covid-19, the can also spread the disease to other healthy individuals in the society.
6. Role of Nurse
The role of a nurse is quite significant when it comes to advising patients on a healthy lifestyle. Patients often do not understand how small habits in their life can lead to severe and chronic health issues. However, the nurses in these cases are well aware of the habits of an individual and they can advise an individual to adopt a proper lifestyle. Especially in the case of a patient who has just recovered from covid-19, the nurses can advise the patient to avoid smoking and try to quit as soon as possible. The nurses are limited to giving advice and recommendations on healthy lifestyles, as they cannot forcefully ask an individual to quit a particular habit against their free will even if it is injurious (Nashwan et al. 2021). The decision-making regarding the adoption of a healthy lifestyle depends upon the individual and their understanding of the harmful effects of the bad habits present in life.
The recommendations and advice given by nurses can be linked to NMC, as they are responsible for regulating nursing and midwifery professions in the UK. The NMC certifies nurses based upon their skills qualification and education, hence, reflecting that a particular nurse has the right information, which they can impart to a particular patient. Therefore, NMC certified that nurses would most likely in any case provide positive suggestions to an individual in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle after recovering from covid-19 (Carvalho et al. 2021).
The RCM is responsible for supporting the nursing profession and in this regard, they do not have any direct link in terms of testifying such roles of a nurse. However, it is the role of a nurse to advise individuals regarding the positive side of adopting a healthy lifestyle especially if they are smokers and have recovered from covid-19.
Apps like Apple COVID-19, Healthlynked, HealthTap can be signposted to these individuals as these apps are designed for maintaining and tracking a healthy lifestyle for individuals who have recovered from covid-19 as well as the ones who are still healthy (health.com, 2021).
Health promotional activities like spreading awareness in society can be beneficial for other individuals who have not contracted the disease. The specific classes that might benefit from such health promotional activities are the elderly people beyond the age of 60 as well as the ones to have a history of respiratory diseases (Schwerdtle et al. 2020).
7. Conclusion
Based on the study above it has been seen that smokers living in the UK have been consistently diagnosed with various diseases over the years. Significant population of the country dies due to passive and direct smoking. Furthermore, social and demographic factors in the society also affect the health and well-being of smokers in the country. Additionally, it has also been seen that smokers who also the path of the BAME population in the UK have a higher chance of contracting to the disease. The study also reflects about the roles and responsibility of nurses towards advising individuals in terms of maintaining a healthy lifestyle after recovering from covid-19.
8. References
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