Chronic Illness: A Theoretical Analysis

This essay explores and reflects on the lived experiences of an elderly patient living with the long-term condition (LTC) of psoriasis. A case study is used to illustrate some of the key features of LTCs and the impact they can have on a patient’s physical, psychological and social state. It is also going to be looking at the effect some of the key features can have on a patients support network or family. In addition it will examine the nurses role in the management of LTCs and the health and social policies that may have an impact on the care received by patient with LTCs.

Elliot Kukia of New York Times argues in his earlier article,”In My Chronic Illness, I Found a Deeper Meaning,” in this article it talks about his illness and how it will affect his life, but in given cases like this, he gives his opinion to show everyone what is to suffer from illness and what is not to suffer. He supports this argument first by describing what is the feeling of being on incapacity, and therefore he goes on to express the majority of plans he could’ve achieved and plans that can’t be done because of the disabilities that hold him back, in other words, he uses ethos and logos to slowly drag the reader to understand what he feels and he wants them to feel. Elliot’s purpose is to show the readers that suffering is not an ordinary

Humans have the obligation to provide and care for their loved ones, whether it is their child or parent. For this reason, having the ability to take away one’s own life because of health related issues should be carefully thought out by the family and affected person. As individuals grow older, the body naturally degenerates and its effects can be very painful for the person and their family members. There are many views regarding how a family and the affected person should go about the ultimate decision of taking one’s own life. John Hardwig believes that as we grow older there is a “duty to die” before one 's illnesses would cause death, in the absence of any terminal illness and sometimes when one would prefer to live. In his essay, “Is There a Duty to Die?” he explains why he thinks that there is a need to take away one’s life to benefit others. Felicia Ackerman disagrees completely in her essay, “For Now Have I My Death: The “Duty to Die” versus the Duty to Help the Ill Stay Alive.” She believes instead that there is a, “duty to aid” and the amount of aid ultimately depends on the family circumstance. Ackerman’s view is illustrated by Jerome Groopman, MD in The Anatomy of Hope where he talks about a man named George Griffin and his success in the fight of a very serious and rare stomach cancer through family support and hope. The decision to take away one’s own life may be very challenging and complex, but there is an absolute obligation for the family to be involved

To get back to your question, the primary barrier that hindered the patient from taking control of his health was his belief that he was “victimized” by an unavoidable disease. As cardiovascular disease (CVD) runs in the family, probably his previous experience shrouded the positive benefits of pursuing a healthy lifestyle. The patient’s own evaluation of this barrier, CVD as hereditary disease, prevented him from adopting a new behavior.The logic behind behavioral choices that are rooted in an integral social structure such as kinship, religion, or politics may seem irrational (Joseph, Burke, Tuason, Barker & Pasick, 2009). Consequently, an intervention to shift this perceived barrier should not be underestimated.

Elizabeth Kübler-Ross was a Swiss-born psychiatrist who spent two years of her professional career gathering information from terminally ill patients to create the premise for On Death and Dying. “It is not meant to be a textbook on how to manage dying patients, nor is it intended as a complete study of the psychology of dying.” (Kübler-Ross, 1969). This book was written as a call-to-action; to raise awareness of the voice of the dying. Not only is there stigma surrounding the topic, but also numerous misconceptions concerning the emotional journey of the terminally ill. The Kübler-Ross Model creates a framework for those interacting with dying persons, to help caretakers better understand the transitions that are taking place, resulting in higher-quality care. This model is comprised of five stages, which can be experienced in a variety of combinations. Prior to the first stage, the patient must be delivered the news of their illness or the severity of their illness, which usually results in shock. Denial is the first stage noted by Kübler-Ross. Denial and isolation are normal responses to overwhelming emotions and serve as a temporary response until the individual is ready to accept reality. Although this defense mechanism is normative, it is important to note that it isn’t necessarily healthy, and that some never move past this stage. As reality sets in, pain beings to emerge and manifests itself in the next stage: anger. Rationality takes a

This report has been written to demonstrate the understanding of the specific needs of Travellers and Gypsies (TG). Currently, approximately 300,000 TG reside in the UK, the number continue increasing as Travellers from other countries move to the UK, (Ryder et al 2012). The aim of this report is to” examine issues that affect TG including health,

Psychological Psychological health is when a person has a sense of fulfilment with life and perceives themselves as being happy (Shaw et al., 2005). If the patient is experiencing a decline in her cardiovascular health, this is shown to have a negative effect on her psychological and behavioural systems. This can then further cause her to think in a negative state of mind, and effect how she perceives herself in social situations (Gilbert, 2002).

The World Heath Organization defines health as being a state of wholeness in a person’s mental, physical, and social well being (Gurung, 2014). Different models of health are used worldwide to assist in achieving this state. Two widely used models of health in the United States include the biomedical model of health and the biopsychosocial model of health. They both strive to help individuals and communities achieve wholeness, while approaching this in different manners. Each model of health has strengths, drawbacks, and practical uses in the field of medicine.

The Biopsychosocial Model is an all-encompassing model aimed to improve the quality of care provided to patients with respect to the biological, psychological and social aspects of their illness. The Biopsychosocial Model of Health and Illness integrates biological factors, psychological factors and social factors into one model (Engel, G.L., 1977). In this essay, I will utilise this model to guide my research in relation to post-operative surgical pain and explore the benefits of its application in caring for the whole person.

In order to understand someone disease, someone has to try to eliminate their judgement and be willing to show their support even when that mess up. It’s shows people really care about the individual. Than once the individual feels the love and support their often on to the races. To eliminate stress and anxiety one must be willing to change once he is willing than he can turn his soul over to higher power then himself, and third get their life and priorities back

One the outside people can seem to be heathy, but we never know what may be going on with them internally. I spoke with a 45 year old man who is married with a full family of 7. He is a detective with the local police department. As he is a man of faith he works in his church. His friends and family can always depend on him. On a normal week, he can been seen going to work, the gym, church, cutting grass for family and friends, taking care of his widowed mother and playing with his 2 year old grandson. From the outside looking in, people would say he has a very blessed life. What many people do not know is that he is battling a very deadly disorder. He is in stage 3 renal failure, also known as CKD Chronic Kidney Disease. There is no cure for this disorder, all that can be done is to take measures to slow the progression.

According to The Public Health Agency of Canada (2013), mental illness is described as a modification in an individual’s mood, behaviour, and thinking process which is associated with significant distress and impaired mental function. This paper will aim to discuss the information taken from two home visits and using it to determine its effect on the family as a unit. My single concept that is relevant to the family’s experience is the family’s bond throughout the clients challenge with bipolar disorder (BPD). In this case, the chronic disease known as bipolar disorder (also known as manic-depression) are known as mood swings that can last up to days, weeks, or even months. They are generally caused by environmental pressures that surround the individual on a daily basis such as family, work, and social environmental pressures, stress, injury, and/or illness (PHAC, 2009). When a family member is effected by any chronic illness, there is a great impact on the other members of the family. Chronic illnesses can have an extremely stressful effect on individuals that are trying to adapt to these changes, which can also shape the families’ way of coping with the situation as well (Dobbie & Mellor, 2008).

Since my PICO is acute by nature, I believe that Mishel’s Uncertainty in Illness Theory is applicable. As I mentioned in my post from Week Three, there is a possibility that those patients are not following discharge instructions about the incisional care and when they were on their two weeks check up, the infection was discovered at that time. Hence, they did not recognized signs of infection while at home. Or, during their stay at the hospital the proper post- surgical care of incision was not implemented and infection process already started. According to this theory, “uncertainty results in the inability to obtain a clear conception of the situation, but a situation appraised as uncertain will mobilize individuals to use their resources

Boris has accepted his diagnosis and although it affects his daily life, he endeavours to behave in ways that promotes his health. Findings by Janowski, Kurpas, Kusz, Mroczek, and Jedynak (2013) showed that patients with high acceptance of illness display high risk-reduction behaviours to reduce the effect of the illness. Boris’s attitudes towards his medication treatment and it’s meaning to his life is synonymous with theses findings. Boris thinks his medication is a wonder-drug and sticking to his treatment plan is imperative to his well-being. Boris thinks it is foolish when people go off their medications without approval from a professional and has low tolerance for people who don’t have respect for the role of medication. As such Boris

Elizabeth Cohen, Senior Medical Correspondent for CNN on line, published the story of a young couple, Katie and Dalton, both of whom had previously been diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Cohen’s article, “What a real ‘Fault in our Stars’ couple taught us about love and medicine’ does not just cover the story of this couple. She summarizes their “touching and tragic tale” and the criticism they received from the public because of their personal and medical choices. The brief paragraph portrays the magic of their .six year marriage and their deaths, which happened within 5 days of each other. This story springboarded the three subsections of the article that followed. They were entitled: “You get to make a choice that might hasten your death,”