NURS 6512 Diversity and Health Assessments Essay
NURS 6512 Diversity and Health Assessments Essay
Discussion: Diversity and Health Assessments
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Discussion: Diversity and Health Assessments
Culture and socioeconomic factors influence the health outcomes for patients. Therefore, understanding the specific needs of the patients helps in developing appropriate intervention measures that guarantee better outcomes (Hu et al., 2019). In this case, JC is an at-risk 86-year-old Asian male who is financially and physically dependent on the daughter. The patient presents with hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease, chronic prostatitis, and b12 deficiency.
Socioeconomic, Spiritual, Lifestyle, and Other Cultural Factors Associated with the Patient
The patient is lonely considering that she depends on her daughter who is a single mother and has no time or money for the father’s health needs. In addition, the patient does not get spiritual support. Considering his age and physical instability, he cannot attend religious activities (Lee, 2017). The patient feels that he is already a burden to his daughter and feels sorry about it as evident in his conversation during his visit to the clinic. The reduced mobility and lack of social and spiritual support expose the patient to a sedentary lifestyle. Also, poor dietary intake could impact his health outcomes. Furthermore, understanding the Asian culture is necessary to interact appropriately with the patient.
Issues That You Would Need to Be Sensitive to When Interacting with the Patient
In interacting with the patient, one must be sensitive to avoid the possibility of conflict arising (Ball et al., 2019). In this case, it will be necessary to ask the patient whether he will be comfortable using the prescribed medications over the traditional medications (Xin et al., 2020). Besides, it is important to understand the additional medications that the client could be taking to avoid adverse medication interactions. The patient is physically inactive and this means that he may not engage appropriately in the activities of daily living. Therefore, asking the patient about his ability to bathe and feed will be important.
The targeted questions to ask will include:
- Do you have health insurance?
- How often do you check your blood pressure?
- How many meals do you take in a day?
- Do you always take medications as prescribed?
- Do you think your daughters offer you enough support?
The assessment aims at identifying the underlying factors that could affect the patient’s illnesses. The human healing processes depend on other factors such as spiritual and socioeconomic needs. In this case, the patient is lonely and requires enough social support.
References
Ball, J., Dains, J., Flynn, J., Solomon, B., Stewart, R. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
Hu, Y., Jiao, M., & Li, F. (2019). Effectiveness of spiritual care training to enhance spiritual health and spiritual care competency among oncology nurses. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.2.16979/v2
Lee, R., Eun-Kyoung, O. (2017). Faith, spirituality, and values among Asian-American older adults: An exploratory factor analysis of the multidimensional measures of religion and spirituality. Mental Health, Religion & Culture, 19 (8), 920–931. doi:10.1080/13674676.2017.1290593
Xin, B., Mu, S., Tan, T., Yeung, A., Gu, D., Feng, Q. (2020). Belief in and use of traditional Chinese medicine in Shanghai older adults: A cross-sectional study. BMC Complement Medicine and Therapies 20 (128). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-020-02910-x. https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-020- 02910-x
May 2012, Alice Randall wrote an article for The New York Times on the cultural factors that encouraged black women to maintain a weight above what is considered healthy. Randall explained—from her observations and her personal experience as a black woman—that many African-American communities and cultures consider women who are overweight to be more beautiful and desirable than women at a healthier weight. As she put it, “Many black women are fat because we want to be” (Randall, 2012).
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Randall’s statements sparked a great deal of controversy and debate; however, they emphasize an underlying reality in the healthcare field: different populations, cultures, and groups have diverse beliefs and practices that impact their health. Nurses and healthcare
professionals should be aware of this reality and adapt their health assessment techniques and recommendations to accommodate diversity.
In this Discussion, you will consider different socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors that should be taken into considerations when building a health history for patients with diverse backgrounds. Your Instructor will assign a case study to you for this Discussion.
To prepare:
- Reflect on your experiences as a nurse and on the information provided in this week’s Learning Resources on diversity issues in health assessments.
- By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned a case study by your Instructor. Note: Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your case study assignment.
- Reflect on the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors related to the health of the patient assigned to you.
- Consider how you would build a health history for the patient. What questions would you ask, and how would you frame them to be sensitive to the patient’s background, lifestyle, and culture? Develop five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.
- Think about the challenges associated with communicating with patients from a variety of specific populations. What strategies can you as a nurse employ to be sensitive to different cultural factors while gathering the pertinent information?
By Day 3 of Week 2
Post an explanation of the specific socioeconomic, spiritual, lifestyle, and other cultural factors associated with the patient you were assigned. Explain the issues that you would need to be sensitive to when interacting with the patient, and why. Provide at least five targeted questions you would ask the patient to build his or her health history and to assess his or her health risks.
Note: For this Discussion, you are required to complete your initial post before you will be able to view and respond to your colleagues’ postings. Begin by clicking on the “Post to Discussion Question” link, and then select “Create Thread” to complete your initial post. Remember, once you click on Submit, you cannot delete or edit your own posts, and you cannot post anonymously. Please check your post carefully before clicking on Submit!
Read a selection of your colleagues’ responses.
By Day 6 of Week 2
Respond on or before Day 6 on 2 different days to at least two of your colleagues who were assigned a different patient than you. Critique your colleague’s targeted questions, and explain how the patient might interpret these questions. Explain whether any of the questions would apply to your patient, and why.
Submission and Grading Information
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 2 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 3 of Week 2 and Respond by Day 6 of Week 2
To Participate in this Discussion:
Week 2 Discussion