Patients and health care

Patients and health care

1. Give examples of psychosocial factors that affect the health care professional and the effect those factors could have on patient education

• Physician-oriented atmosphere-Physicians are at the highest level, and they get high salaries as compared to the other staff. They have access to many facilities in the hospital such as parking space for their private cars, access to the Internet and library, among others. These privileges make nurses feel discriminated, and nurses feel like their issues are not addressed. It demotivates the nurses and in the long run, affects patient outcomes (Goetz, Berger, Gavartina, Zaroti, & Szecsenyi, 2015).

• Lack of motivation and rewarding system-Nurses should be kept motivated through internal and external rewards. It is a force that helps them achieve their goals and improve patient outcomes. Lack of motivation among nurses is lads to ineffective patient education.

2. Give examples of psychosocial factors that affect the patient and the effect those factors could have on patient education

• Ignoring patient rights-Nurses should educate their patients about their disease and the treatment process. Ignoring these rights is unethical behaviour that affects patient education.
• Inappropriate communication skills-Poor communication in a facility has an impact on its organizational culture and patient outcomes. There should be a broad level of communication between healthcare providers and patients (Goetz, Berger, Gavartina, Zaroti, & Szecsenyi, 2015). Collaborative communication between them improves patient health, quality of care and patient satisfaction. Friendly cooperation between the team is a pre-requisite for patient education.

3. Explain what is meant by personality styles and give examples of approaches that could be used to help the patient. Include self-perception as a factor.

Personality styles are enduring characteristics that influence our behaviour (Flynn & Smith, 2007). They may include traits such as friendliness, introversion, honesty, helpfulness, self-perception and conscientiousness, among others. They are determinants of patient satisfaction and potential determinant of preferences for decision-making. Nurses should use them to improve patient outcomes.

4. List the steps in adjustment to illness and how the patient copes with each step.

• Denial-This is the first stage of adjustment. It is caused by the changes that occur in the patient’s life, especially when the patient is suffering from a chronic condition. During this stage, since patients know the diagnosis, they should accept the disease and turn their attention towards healing (Sharpe & Curran, 2006).
• Fear-This is the second stage whereby the patient is uncertain of what is going to happen to them. During this stage, patients should get facts about the disease from a reliable source to calm their fears.
• Anger-This phase is typical for the patient and the family members. Patients feel frustrated since they can’t continue with their lives normally due to the illness. During this phase, the patient can ask themselves questions like why me?. Patients should seek advice from a neutral person during this phase.

• Grief/Depression-Patients grieve for the loss of their old lives since everything changes. Patients lose their friends, income, dreams are lost, and once-loved activities are gone. Patients should avoid stress and respond appropriately to self-pity during this stage.

• Acceptance-It’s the final stage, and the patient needs to learn how to adapt to the chronic illness. It takes several years to get to this stage. Patients know that they will never have their old life back at this stage, and they should be willing to build a new life.

5. Explain the health professional’s role in teaching the patient at different life stages

Healthcare professionals have a duty to create a conducive environment for learning and presenting the right information to the patient about the illness during the five stages. They should facilitate teaching and learning by determining what to teach the patients, who to teach and when to teach the patients. They should also recommend different therapies to the patients that can help them cope with the disease. They should explore emotional, physical and financial support systems, and identify potential obstacles and stressors. In the case of elderly patients, they should involve the principal caregivers, and do an assessment of coping mechanisms and provide anticipatory problem-solving skills.

6. Define the role of the family in patient education.

The family is the educators’ greatest ally in preparing the patient for discharge and becoming independent for self-care. It is one of the most significant determinants of failure or success of patient education. Family caregivers provide physical, social and emotional support to the patients and provide patients with information since some may have sensory deficits or cognitive limitations. Patient and family education serves as a foundation for assessing the family profile to determine the family members’ understanding of the actual or potential health problems, the resources available to them, their ways of functioning, and their educational backgrounds, lifestyles, and beliefs (“Best care at lower cost: The path to continuously learning health care in America)

7. How might the family influence the compliance of the patient and what measures can the health care professional use in communication with the family?

Family communication is the science and art of nursing. Patients’ family has a significant impact on patients’ compliance and patient outcomes. The patients’ family should be o the forefront to ensure that the patients’ quality of life improves after treatment by ensuring that the physician recommendations are followed. Nurses should stress the importance of following the prescribed treatment regardless of a family member’s experience or support. It is also important to sit down with family members and educate them on what the patient is going through and request them to help the patient (Caswell, Pollock, Harwood, & Porock, 2015).

References

Best care at lower cost: The path to continuously learning health care in America. (2014). Choice Reviews Online, 51(06), 51-3277-51-3277. doi:10.5860/choice.51-3277

Caswell, G., Pollock, K., Harwood, R., & Porock, D. (2015). Communication between family carers and health professionals about end-of-life care for older people in the acute hospital setting: A qualitative study. BMC Palliative Care, 14(1). doi:10.1186/s12904-015-0032-0

Flynn, K. E., & Smith, M. A. (2007). Personality and health care decision-making style. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 62(5), P261-P267. doi:10.1093/geronb/62.5.p261

Goetz, K., Berger, S., Gavartina, A., Zaroti, S., & Szecsenyi, J. (2015). How psychosocial factors affect the well-being of practice assistants at work in general medical care? – a questionnaire survey. BMC Family Practice, 16(1). doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0366-y

Sharpe, L., & Curran, L. (2006). Understanding the process of adjustment to illness. Social Science & Medicine, 62(5), 1153-1166. doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.07.010