ESSAY: Illness & Disease Management

Using the information from the interview you conducted in Week 2, list in descending order the support needs of your participant. Also discuss how to implement objectives of Healthy People 2020 to increase wellness. Give examples of appropriate interventions of the professional caregiver, for example, the nurse.

Support your responses with examples.

ANSWER

Support Needs for Mrs. Jane

Breast cancer has a long-term impact on the lives of affected person as well as their families and friends. Having cancer affects an individual’s emotional, physical, social, and psychological health. For instance, the diagnosis has a huge psychological impact on most patients, caregivers, and families (Aoun, Deas, Howting & Lee, 2015). In addition, feelings of anxiety, fear, and depression are common and normal to this life-changing disease, where physical symptoms such as extreme tiredness, nausea, and pain are the primary causes of emotional distress. A person might also fear suffering, death, pain, or all the unforeseen agony that lie ahead. Besides, patients experience constant residual trauma and persistent health concerns for their future. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the support needs for Mrs. Jane based on the recently completed questionnaire. In addition, the paper will focus on available support groups, her acceptance of breast cancer diagnosis, coping skills as well as how to implement objectives of Healthy People 2020 to promote wellness.

Research indicates that a person suffering from any type of cancer need support in various areas including physical, psychological, financial, and social support (Aoun et al., 2015). They also require a conducive treatment and care environment, daily motivation and support, friendly relationships, access to information as well as being educated.

Support Needs of Mrs. Jane

While designing needs assessments, it is usually fundamental to understand the relationship between patient needs, as well as how such interdependence affect the quality of life and satisfaction. Needs assessments are important to guide physicians in care planning, which helps in promoting efficiency in care delivery in addition to creating good communication among the clinicians, patients, and physicians. The relationship helps to address critical psychosocial, social, and physical concerns.

However, many patients believe that anger, pain, grief, and suffering are inevitable with any type of cancer. Furthermore, some people believe that clinicians and other related caregivers hesitate to address such issues relating to emotional grievances, evidenced by lack of a meaningful dialog. As a result of insufficient understanding of patient’s needs, both unnecessary suffering and healthcare costs increase. Extensive evidence focus on the detrimental effect of inefficiently providing support and information needs to cancer patients. For example, if caregivers and clinicians are not aware that a patient feels unprepared for breast screening/mammogram, then satisfactory …

As a nurse practitioner providing care to a patient with high chances of developing a chronic illness, various responsibilities come into play. These include being an advocate, educator, and change agent.  Therefore, it is fundamental to recognize Mrs. Jane’s needs through careful assessments and analysis followed by a proper design and implementation of the care plan, which guarantees the best … 

Support Needs Mrs. Jane demonstrated a clear understanding of causes of breast cancer, although there were several areas where additional support was needed to improve her knowledge and coping skills. First, improved screening and treatment would advance early cancer detection and survival rates. However, racial disparities relating to breast cancer screening is paramount for African-American women in the United States. Therefore, they experience high mortality rate than any other minority group. These inequalities show that there are unmet…