Holistic Health Assessment of the Older Adult
Case Study:
A 68-year-old single woman who lives alone. She lives in a 65 and older, low-income community. Her only source of income is social security. She has been married twice and divorced both times. She has three living children, and a son who died 12 years ago at the age of 32 from a drug overdose. Her 18-year-old grandson also died of a drug overdose on the same date as her son, but three years later (9 years ago). Her 3 remaining children (two sons and 1 daughter) are in good health and visit her regularly. Both of her parents have also passed, but both died in rather good health in their mid-90’s. Her mother was 92 years old and died in 2016 and her father was 98 years old and died in 2017. She has high blood pressure and high cholesterol, both of which are controlled with medications. She also suffers from depression from the loss of her son, grandson, and most recently, both parents. She currently sees a psychiatrist to be prescribed an antidepressant and occasionally takes a benzodiazepine (Xanax) for anxiety spells. She has not, however, undergone any formal therapy to deal with her losses. She sees her psychiatrist every three months for medication refills, but there is no therapy involved. Since the loss of her father in 2017 she began drinking heavily. Before the loss of her father, she enjoyed many activities including reading, cooking, playing the piano, visiting museums and art galleries, attending church on Sundays, and going to the gym with her friends. She no longer participates in any of these activities due to her heavy drinking. She reports feeling lonely and isolated as her friends no longer spend time with her because of her drinking. She also reports that it is not uncommon for her to have her first glass of wine at 9:00 in the morning and on most days will only have one meal because of her lack of desire to eat. She has, however, gained almost 30 pounds in the last 4 years. Her family has tried many times to talk with her about her alcohol intake and the impact it is having on her life, but she has always denied having a problem. After having several arguments with family members, she has recently admitted that she has a problem with alcohol and may be ready to accept help.
Assignment:
Write a 1500–2000-word essay addressing each of the following points/questions. Be sure to completely answer all the questions for each bullet point. Separate each section in your paper with a clear heading that allows your professor to know which bullet you are addressing in that section of your paper. Support your ideas with at least four (4) medical-related sources in your essay. Make sure to cite using the APA writing style for the essay. The cover page and reference page do not count towards the minimum word amount.
Part 1: Interpretation (Abnormality and Coping) from a nurse’s perspective
• Choose one abnormality (alcoholism) from the data gained in the case study and discuss possible reasons/causes for the abnormality.
• How does this abnormality impact the other areas of the patient’s life?
• Discuss the client’s stress and coping mechanisms.
o Are they healthy?
o What recommendations and improvements could be made that are individualized for this person?
Part 2: Teaching Plan: Create a teaching plan that addresses the client holistically by applying the case study data.
• Describe at least one client goal for each of the six listed categories (each category should have a goal) (physical, psychological, social, cultural, developmental, and spiritual).
• Discuss one strategy per goal you would use to teach your client about each individual goal
• Explain how you will evaluate if your teaching was effective
Holistic Health Assessment of the Older Adult
APA
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