Healthcare professionals usually encounter challenges to address the health conditions facing female patients. In light of the changing nature of today’s society, chronic and acute illnesses among women have become more prevalent. The prevalence of such illnesses is attributable to the unique health issues and conditions that women experience in their day-to-day life. While some of these health conditions affect men too, they are more severe among women. Given the unique health conditions, women experience chronic and acute illnesses that affect their overall health and wellbeing. Some of the chronic and acute health conditions affecting women include urinary tract infections and osteoporosis. This paper examines the management of these two conditions through comparison of common and non-traditional treatment modalities.
Urinary Tract Infection and Osteoporosis

A urinary tract infection is defined as an infection involving organs that create urine and carry it out of the human body (Harvard Health Publishing, 2017). Some of these organs or structures include ureters, bladder, kidneys, and urethra. Urinary tract infections are classified into two i.e. lower tract infections and upper tract infections. Lower tract infections are infections of the bladder that are commonly known as cystitis whereas upper tract infections are infections involving kidneys and ureters. While urinary tract infections affect both men and women, they are more common in women because they have short urethras that enable relatively easy movement of bacteria into the bladder.

On the contrary, osteoporosis is a condition that weakens the bones and enhances the risk of unexpected and sudden fractures. Such fractures emerge because the condition results in increased loss of bone strength and mass. In most cases, this condition progresses without pain or any symptoms. As a result, this condition is considered a silent disease that contributes to mortality and morbidity across the globe. According to Carbone et al. (2015), osteoporosis is a major public health issue, especially for women. Currently, the prevalence rates of osteoporosis among women in the United States is estimated at 10%. Postmenopausal women account for a significant percentage of women suffering from osteoporosis at 9.65% (Tian, 2017). It is estimated that 12.3 million people aged 50 years or more in the United States will suffer from osteoporosis by 2020 (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2018).

It is estimated that the prevalence of urinary tract infections has increased by 70% over the past two decades. This prevalence has occurred across all age groups and racial/ethnic groups, especially in women (Carbone et al., 2015). Currently, at least one-third of adult women are reported to have experienced at least one episode of symptomatic lower tract infection at least once. In addition, between 10%-13% of women in the United States experience a urinary tract infection each year with a lifetime risk of 50% (Eells et al., 2014). As a result, urinary tract infections among women in the United States contribute to more than 6 million outpatient visits and 479,000 hospitalizations each year.

Treatment of these two conditions is critical because of their contributions to morbidity and mortality in the United States and around the world. Urinary tract infections among women not only affect their quality of life, but are linked with societal costs of treatment that exceed $2.46 billion each year (Eells et al., 2014). In addition, recurrent urinary tract infections have become a major problem in clinical practice. On the other hand, osteoporosis is a major contributor of common metabolic diseases and the major cause of mortality and morbidity in the elderly population.

Health Promotion and Screening

Public health professionals recognize the significance of treatment of urinary tract infection and osteoporosis among women. Consequently, the public health sector has adopted various initiatives to help prevent the prevalence of these conditions as well as treatment and management. Health promotion initiatives have involved health education initiatives that seek to educate women on the major risk factors for the condition, its associated complications, and prevention measures. Public health education initiatives toward prevention of osteoporosis include promoting suitable health behaviors and lifestyles among women. These initiatives educate the public on risk factors like age, smoking, body mass index, menopause age, duration of menopause, and educational level (Tian et al., 2017). Women are also educated on lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption and smoking. Health promotion measures also include screening for the condition since early detection plays a major role in effective prevention and management. The screening is carried out through a bone measurement test known as central or peripheral DXA (dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry), which measure bone mineral density (BMD) (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, 2018).

For urinary tract infection, health promotion...…antibiotics while non-traditional treatment options include complementary and alternative medicine. Traditional and non-traditional treatment options for this condition are similar in the sense that they involve the use of some form of medication. While traditional treatment mostly entails use of antibiotics, complementary and alternative medicine include use of homeopathic products (Baars et al., 2019). In addition traditional and non-traditional treatment options focus on enhancing the health of the patient. However, these conditions differ with respect to drug resistance as there is evidence of increased resistance to antibiotics by the primary cause of uncomplicated urinary tract infections in women. On the contrary, homeopathic products in non-traditional treatment options face minimal resistance from this causative agent. Secondly, traditional treatment options focus on fighting the primary causative agent of UTIs while non-traditional methods provide additional benefits. Non-traditional methods like rhythmic lifestyle, mediation programs, mindfulness, and sauna visits help support general physiological recovery, which enhances overall recovery and helps to avoid recurrent UTIs (Baars et al., 2019).

For osteoporosis, traditional treatment (drug therapies) and non-traditional treatment (complementary and alternative medicine) focuses on reducing bone fracture and enhancing bone strength. However, these approaches differ in the sense that traditional treatment options use medication while nontraditional options promote management of the condition without using medication. Secondly, clinical and evidence-based practice exist to support the effectiveness of traditional options while there is no clinically significant evidence on the effectiveness of non-traditional treatment options for osteoporosis.

Collaboration with other Clinicians

Given the complexities associated with the two conditions, collaboration between members of the healthcare team is essential for best practice. Collaboration would entail identifying specific tasks and responsibilities to support patient care measures, establishing effective communication mechanisms, delegating roles, and demonstrating shared responsibility.

In conclusion, urinary tract infections and osteoporosis are some of the major health issues affecting women in the modern healthcare setting. These conditions are among the major causes of morbidity and mortality in women in the United States and globally. Given their prevalence and associated complications, their prevention, treatment and management has become critical in the modern healthcare setting. These measures play an important role toward health promotion. Traditional and non-traditional treatment options have been developed and are utilized in the management of urinary tract infections and osteoporosis to help improve patient outcomes and overall wellbeing.

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