Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations Depressive Orders

 Analysis of Position Papers for Vulnerable Populations

Depressive Orders

Depressive disorders have been implicated in significant morbidity and mortality globally. Major depressive disorder accounts for the majority of all depressive disorders. Other types of depression include bipolar disorder, persistent depressive disorder, situational depression, and psychotic depression. Essentially, these types vary in their symptom presentation and management strategies. Depressive disorders are the most attributing factors to suicides and suicidal tendencies. The prevalence of depressive disorders has seen an upward surge over the past decades. In the United States alone, over 21 million adults have had at least one episode of major depressive disorder. The incidence is triple in adults over 60 (Kessler et al., 2020). Whereas the female population has a higher prevalence of the disorder, higher morbidity and mortality are seen in the male population.

Significant advances have been made in the management of depressive disorders. Management strategies aim at reducing the morbidities and mortalities attributable to these disorders. Over 70 billion dollars is spent by the US government annually on managing depressive disorders. Accordingly, this accounts for the majority of all mental healthcare spending. The federal government has worked in concert with state governments to expand healthcare to all patients who may require it. Healthcare spending on depression disorders has focused on scientific research on innovative ways to treat these disorders. Healthcare advocacy and promotion to vulnerable communities have also increased significantly. Over 12,000 agencies have been established across the US that support mental healthcare awareness (Ettman et al., 2020). Expansion of mental healthcare management has seen a considerable reduction in morbidities and mortalities attributable to depression disorder.

Role of the Interprofessional Team

Nurses are components of healthcare providers. Their role is to provide care to those who need it. As a nurse practitioner, my role will be to promote mental health awareness as a tool to enhance care among the vulnerable population. Health promotion has seen considerable success in reducing morbidities and mortalities resulting from depressive disorders. For this reason, mental health awareness has remained an indispensable tool in the management of mental health disorders.

The effectiveness of all management strategies for depressive disorders is dependent on the collaboration between all healthcare providers. Healthcare teams involved in the management of depression include nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and clinical psychologists, among others. These disciplines work in concert to create pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic plans for these patients. The benefits of healthcare collaborations in depressive disorders management are evident in better clinical outcomes, better patient satisfaction, and enhanced efficiency of care provision processes. It is, therefore, the responsibility of all nurse practitioners and other medical disciplines to work in concert to enhance the efficiency of these teams.

Evaluating the Evidence and Positions of Others That Support a Team’s Approach

Significant strides have been made in care provision for patients with depressive disorders. Additional government spending coupled with enhanced clinical strategies to manage these disorders have been attributable to these improvements. However, these strategies have not been sufficient in managing these disorders. An upward trend is still seen in morbidities and mortalities attributable to these disorders. Vlasveld et al. (2018) argue that multidisciplinary collaboration in managing depressive disorders is key to enhancing the effectiveness of care processes and optimization of care. The authors narrate that interdisciplinary teams’ utility in healthcare has proved to be cost-effective and that its implementation may be pivotal in lowering the financial burden attributable to these disorders. Engaging in these teams may, therefore, be necessary. The benefits of the reduced burden of care are often felt by the individual patients as well as their societies. Nurses being components of healthcare teams, may play a role in reducing the care expenses for these persons by actively participating in their engagements and supporting the frameworks of its operationalizations.