Nursing care and assessment case study – Determinants of Health
Determinants of Health
Introduction
There are many cases of health inequalities among people in different states in the world due to uneven distribution of the resources, which are required in order to acquire the standard health services and products necessary if we may say so. These resources are called the determinants of health and they range from social, personal, environmental, and economic factors. In Canada, we have such cases of disparities between neighborhoods- we have families with very improved healthy lives and on the other far end; we have families who cannot even be able to have access to the basic needs. This gap between the Canadians can only be reduced or even be totally depleted by dealing with the major social factors which affect health. In this paper, we are going to discuss Mrs. James family and the respective determinants of health (DOH) affecting Mrs. James’ health. Majorly, the social DOH affecting her health status are the social-economic factors, cultural factors, and biological and genetic factors. Nursing care and assessment case study.
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A Brief Description Of Mrs. James Family
From the reports, this family faces health problems, including Mrs. James frequently being attacked by unhealthy conditions. She is reported to have an ankle sore which seemed not to heal, but grew worse until it was attended. This is as a result of diabetes, which she keeps on controlling. Also, she is distressed by the death of her cat and that distress causes a lot of harm to her health. The following day, she wakes up seriously sick. She feels numb on her right arm and leg and finds it hard to stand. Finally, she is diagnosed with a stroke, which was affecting her right arm and leg. The stroke affects her so much that, she is unable to stand on her own and even finds it difficult to put anything in her mouth. That forces the nurses to use the feeding tube to avoid dangers of chocking. Mrs. James has a son, but he resides far from her. Nursing care and assessment case study. When she was in the hospital, she almost lost motivation of life, thinking that all her cats would have died due to her absence, but her son had taken care of them and this really contributed to her recovery. Moreover, the visit from Karen motivated her so much
Social Determinants Of Healthy Relevant To Mrs. James Family
- Cultural Factors
In Canada, there are many distinct cultures with different cultural values which affect people’s health status in different ways. Values such as marginalization, assessment of health services, and stigmatization activities among communities are said to be obstacles of their health status. In addition, there are cultures, which are against certain types of foods or recommend some, which affect their health. For instance, in most communities located in the desert areas, obesity is never seen as a health threat and instead people take it as a sign of good health. Consequently, there are societies which associate junk food with richness without considering its effects on their overall health status (Raphael, 2004). Nursing care and assessment case study.
- Social-Economic Factors
As mentioned above in the case of Mrs. James family in Canada, there are three main DOH associated with their family health and in this section, we will discuss the social-economic factors. Actually, in the present world, the social-economic factors are the most prominent determinants of people’s health status. The data available in different health-related organizations show that individuals who are socially and economically stable have access to good health. The determinants in this class of factors include; employment, personal health practices, quality of working conditions, physical environment, social connectedness, and level of education.
- Biological And Genetic Factors
The biological and genetic factors such as inherited conditions, HIV status, sex, gene composition of parents, age, and the existence of heart diseases in the family history affects people’s health status in different ways. For example, in terms of the age, old people’s health gets affected easily as compared to adolescents when exposed to the same conditions. This is biological since the aging contributes to cognitive and physical effects. Also, the genetically transferred conditions such as sickle cell anemia affects the health of an individual negatively (Raphael, 2004).
The Relevance Of The Above Discussed DOH To Mrs. James Family In Canada
Mrs. James family is seriously affected by the social-economic factors discussed above. When she had a wound, she would not easily acknowledge that she needed to visit a doctor. Due to her low-income status, the cashier tells her to use an alternative method- butter, which would not cost her much Nursing care and assessment case study. At the same time when she is seriously sick, she is reluctant to call an ambulance because of the associated costs. In addition, her low-income status is evident from the shoes she wore and her excitement about the free lunch at the Senior Centre nursing clinic (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2006).
Social Connectedness: Mrs. James to some extent is affected by the social connectedness factor. She lives alone despite having a son and grandchildren. This to some extent affects her health. When in the hospital, she almost loses motivation on improving her health, since there is no one to take care of her cats. What’s more, when she is critically sick, it almost gets hard to access medical services due to lack of a family member or a relative to take her to the hospital. Moreover, the physical environment in her home is not health conducive, as the surrounding bushes are associated unhealthy practices. Nursing care and assessment case study.
The Biological And Genetic Factors also do affect Mrs. James’ health. The diabetes she is suffering from is linked to the family history. Consequently, biologically, aged people are prone to diseases due to cognitive and physical effects of aging. Thus, Mrs. James’ wound takes time to heal mostly due to her age. Therefore, at her age, she requires a serious medical attention. Nursing care and assessment case study
Health Promotion Topics
Mrs. James is affected by different social-economic activities and as nurses, we have a duty to make sure that her health improves. We could advise her to stay with her son so that he can be looking after her, and get her to the hospital whenever she is sick. On the issue of using cigarettes, we could explain to her the various health dangers associated with smoking and walk with her on the journey to smoking recovery. Also, as a nurse, I would teach her about different health challenges that aged people are facing, and advise her on how to live in order to overcome those challenges. For instance, due to cognitive and physical effects that older people face, they are supposed to get medical attention immediately, they feel unwell.
Lack of basic education is also among the big problems that Mrs. James family is facing. Therefore, the nurses are required to prepare and try their best to make sure that they grasp the basic hygiene and health practices, which aged people, deserve. For instance, Mrs. James’ son can be made aware that aged persons are more susceptible to diseases and may not be able to fight them, thus require close and regular checks. In addition, that conditions such as diabetes attacks do happen anytime and therefore people, who are diabetic, require special attention and should never be left alone.
Conclusion
In a recap, it is evident from the above discussion above that our streets and neighborhoods in Canada are coupled with many health inequalities. Actually, the factors which are contributing to the situation are levels of education, employment, biological and genetic, physical environment, and others, which we can alleviate. Therefore, if we work together with the assistance of experts like nurses, we can make the world a better place Nursing care and assessment case study. For instance, if Brian had taken care of her mother right from the beginning with the assistance of the nurses, her mother would not have been affected by the stroke and other observable health conditions.
References
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Peressini, T. L., Hulchanski, J. D., McDonald, L., & Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. (2001). Estimating homelessness: Towards a methodology for counting the homeless in Canada : background report. Ottawa: The Division.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2006). Sexually transmitted infections in Canadian street youth in Canada: Findings from Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada Nursing care and assessment case study.
Public Health Agency of Canada. (2006). Street youth in Canada: Findings from Enhanced Surveillance of Canadian Street Youth, 1999-2003. Ottawa: Public Health Agency of Canada.
Raphael, D. (2004). Social determinants of health: Canadian perspectives. Toronto: Canadian Scholars’ Press.
World Health Organization. (2013). The economics of social determinants of health and health inequalities: A resource book.
WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health., & World Health Organization. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: Health equity through action on the social determinants of health : Commission on Social Determinants of Health final report. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization, Commission on Social Determinants of Health. Nursing care and assessment case study