Date of Award
Fall 11-23-2020
Document Type
Scholarly Project
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Kathleen Farrell, DNSc, RN
Abstract
COVID-19 is a global health emergency that originated in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It was declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, and since then has affected more than 53,507,282 individuals and claimed the lives of more than 1,305,164 around the globe. It is a respiratory virus transmitted from person to person through airborne aerosols and droplets from infected individuals and direct contact with infected surfaces.
Numerous factors, such as socioeconomic status, population density, pre-existing health conditions, and lack of health insurance, have contributed to the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 among certain demographic groups. The COVID-19 impact ranges from family disruptions, school closures, business closures, economic impact, international travel, and trade disruptions. COVID-19 is still evolving as new evidence is being identified.
Preventive measures, such as using personal protective equipment (PPE), hand hygiene, social distancing, and avoiding large group gatherings, have been shown to help reduce the spread of COVID-19. With remdesivir being the only approved treatment of COVID-19, supportive treatments have been implemented to help the patient with moderate to severe symptoms while efforts for vaccine production and availability are still in progress.
A national and global approach to preventive measures is recommended with increased healthcare access, especially to high-risk populations, and expanded educational awareness for improved population health. Healthcare leaders, government, and private healthcare agencies, policymakers, and legislators are urged to adopt these recommendations to improve the COVID-19 pandemic response and be prepared for future health emergencies.
Recommended Citation
Nwauwa, J. (2020). COVID-19: Best Practices and the Way Forward. [Doctoral project, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences]. SOAR@USA: Student Scholarly Projects Collection.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Included in
Public Health and Community Nursing Commons, Public Health Education and Promotion Commons, Respiratory Tract Diseases Commons, Virus Diseases Commons
Comments
Scholarly project submitted to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Nursing Practice