Children Of Chronicly Ill Parents Case Study

Discuss the psychological and social issues that are present and will possibly be more pronounced at this stressful time. How has the fact that this illness has been ongoing (chronic) impacted the family?

Living with a chronic condition not only effects the individual, but it effects the entire family. An adolescent living with a chronic health condition not only depends on their family for support, but also on support from their friends, classmates, and healthcare team (Rostami, Parsa-Yekta, Najafi Ghezeljeh, & Vanaki, 2014). Supporting an individual with a chronic disease leaves an emotional impact and can be financially straining as well. Families living with a sick child must find strategies to cope. Whether the coping strategies utilized are positive or negative, they leave a lasting effect on the entire family, as well as the child living with the condition (Woodson, Thakkar, Burbage, Kichler, & Nabors, 2015). Involvement of the parents in this situation is vital to the child’s future success in managing their illness (Landers, Friedrich, Jawad, & Miller, 2016). This paper will explore one family’s story of living with, and coping with, a child who has recently been diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D).

Although, I was an adult and college was supposed to be preparing me for the real world, it did not prepare me to take care of my own father, let alone anyone else. Above all, in the moment of that diagnosis, the duty of caring for another person became a part of my life. I had become responsible for someone else—responsible for my role model, for my father. What was once a “nerve-racking” responsibility evolved into a motivating

The final article I analyzed was titled “Aging Parents of Adults with Serious Mental Illness” and was written by Jennifer Van Pelt. This article sought to address the type of support parents caring for special needs adult children require as they age. It discussed how parents are the primary caregivers to children with a severe mental illness, or SMI, throughout the majority of the child’s life. The amount of care provided to adults with SMI by their aging parents is so substantial that if parental caregivers stopped providing care, public programs could never handle it. The author of this article wanted to put more focus on assisting the aging caregiver population, increase their emotional well-being, and lower their stress burden through the use of a social work home-based intervention program. In the pilot study, families received instruction on problem-solving techniques, education about the adult child’s particular mental illness, and sessions that included cognitive therapy, stress management, behavioral management, and future planning. This initial study yielded promising results, including greater life satisfaction and less emotional stress reported by aging parents. The author concludes the article by discussing the importance of planning for the future and how the adult child with SMI will be taken care of after the parents’ deaths.

5.Discuss the psychological and social issues that are present and will possibly be more pronounced at this stressful time. How has the fact that this illness has been ongoing (chronic) impacted the family?

This project is developed to educate patients with SCIs and caregivers living in the New York City (NYC) and Long Island areas of New York as they are the primary audiences. Data that will be collected are responses of face-to-face interview questions to patients that center on function in daily living. These questions will be evaluated to determine the appropriate resources gathered for them along with the agency based on the responses. The awareness of these resources can help people living with SCIs reduce developing conditions that affect their mental and social health, such as depression (World Health Organization, 2015).

A child is not their disease, neither is their family. However, it is often difficult for them to disconnect their self from the detrimental effects of it. In spite of the fact that the majority of the American population appears quite healthy, over 32 million children are currently suffering from a chronic illness. According to njhealth.org, chronic illness is “an illness that may last throughout a person’s life, although the frequency and severity of symptoms can change.” Nearly 43% of American children are currently afflicted with at least 1 of many chronic ailments ranging from diabetes to cancer. Many of these children may never return to their precedent state of well-being; physically, emotionally, socially, and psychologically. During such horrific times as these it is important to remember that the children are not the only ones suffering; their family is as well.

The way I approach families with ill children will vary depending on the illness, its severity, time since the diagnosis, and expected life span of the child. The family’s ability to adapt to health stressors will depend on their resources and perceptions as described in the double ABC-X model. A second characteristic of families coping with illness stressors I found to be unique was that a health decline in one partner in a marriage is related to a decrease in marital quality. As a HSP this will be imperative to keep in mind, as having a strong parental subsystem will rely on both parents maintaining a healthy relationship despite illness. Ensuring the couple maintains a healthy relationship will be crucial for the children’s perceptions while their parent is battling an

It is a unique share experience for all families and can have an effect on all aspects of the family functioning. The negative effects that they will encounter is the financial burden, physical and emotional demands and the significant complexities associated with raising a disabled person. The main serious barrier that families suffer from is the financial burden, associated with getting health, education, and social services; buying or renting equipment and devices; making accommodations to the home; transportation; and medications and special food. On the positive side it can broaden horizons, increase family members' awareness of their inner strength, enhance family cohesion, and encourage connections to community groups or religious institutions. (Medscape,

Moreover, the family understands the specifics about the individual's condition and their daily routines. This can help health care professionals to decide if the person is following the proper steps in their therapy. Once this takes place, is the point that health care professionals can make adjustments to reflect changing realities. Those patients, who have their families involved, will be able to receive better care by ensuring that nothing is overlooked. This is the point that physicians will have a more complete picture surrounding their underlying levels of health. (Saleeba, 2009)

Despite this, I have still felt the impact and burden that a sudden illness or injury places on a family. When I was in ninth grade, my father was in a severe accident work, turning a seemingly temporary condition into a permanent disability. Our family lost a primary source of income, and financial burdens rested on my mother’s shoulders. To help out with our expenses, my brother and I both got jobs at a local grocery store as soon as we turned 15. I took care of my expenses, and my mother handled the rest. Although I had to balance work, school, extracurriculars, and helping care for my dad, we found a rhythm and took this hardship in stride. Just three years later, my mother was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis after a frightening period of four weeks where doctors could not identify a source for her symptoms. Having two parents with chronic illnesses was and still is a great source of stress and tension in my life, but as I have experienced my family’s financial hardship, I have developed a passion for working with socioeconomically disadvantaged populations. I am better able to empathize with other individuals who are fighting health ailments on their own or caring for a family member. I can show compassion for my future patients as their physician, health educator, and

The burden and consequences of chronic disease have a range of impact on an individual’s quality of life, their family, and the community. A chronic disease that affects a person’s mobility such as a stroke may have difficulty performing basic tasks such as feeding or showering and may require assistance or care. The inability to perform certain tasks or control of their body could have an emotional and psychological impact on their well-being and lead to a mental health disorder, inadvertently affecting their

I enjoyed reading your post, Marcy. The example of your dad’s clinical situation of type 2 diabetes and the nurse practitioner’s identification of the need for a deliberate action was an excellent portrayal of applying Dorothea Orem’s nursing theory. I am glad the nurse practitioner saw the need for a new self-care intervention and that your dad was accepting of her education. The nurse practitioner performed a helping service when she recognized your dad’s free-will and how to reach him using practical knowledge. This was an excellent explain of a concrete situation described by Dorothea Orem (Alligood,

Recent studies have found that 15% of families receiving assistance from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (the federal cash assistance program for low-income families with children) have a child with an impairment, defined as an activity limitation, mobility limitation, or one of a set of specific conditions, and between 5 and 8% of these families had a child receiving Supplemental Security Income (USGAO, 2002; Loprest & Davidoff, 2004). Service providers’ efforts can paradoxically create more stress for these mothers (Beckman, 1994; Harris, 2005, Schwichtenberg, & Poehlmann, 2007). A study by Hodgkinson and Lester (2002) showed that mothers of chronically ill children reported strains related to: a) “feeling in the middle” when having to make decisions regarding the

All participants in The 90+ Study were mailed a questionnaire regarding demographics, past medical history, and medication use. Participants were asked to identify an informant, a person who would be able to provide researchers with information about their functional abilities via mail and telephone. A questionnaire was mailed to the informant asking about the participant’s functional abilities. In 57.8 % of the cases, the informant was a son/daughter or son/daughter-in-law. Other informants included siblings, neighbors or paid caregivers (18.5%), spouses (10.2%) or some other (13.5%). This questionnaire included the Katz index of ADLs25, which is one of the most widely used scale for measuring disability with well established reliability26 and