Mini-Ethnographic Research

Mental health in America is a stigmatized topic that affects nearly 20% of the population and around 1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental illness at some point in their life (World Health Organization, 2010). However, due to the stigma behind mental health, people often do not seek treatment. As for the homeless population, the rates are much higher, with 1 in 4 homeless individuals living with a severe mental illness (Jasinski, Wesely, Mustaine, & Wright, 2005). These people and this population struggles to receive adequate healthcare, but with the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) or better known as ObamaCare, there have been positive change made to help these individuals. However, the ACA is not perfect and there are

One of the most vulnerable populations frequently encountered by everyday individuals are the mentally ill. Mental illness is not a condition that manifests physically, but can cause a person to change their physical appearance due to specific behaviors. It is not uncommon for a large number of the homeless population to possess one kind of mental illness that contributed to their housing condition. This population may partake in at risk behavior, jeopardizing their long-term health, and reducing their life expectancy. The mentally ill are an underserved population that can be hard to reach, physically and mentally. Their illness comes with shame due to the stigma attached to the illness and due to the lack of education. Nurses are now trying

After doing much research, I have learned that to develop awareness and interventions to be able to help the homeless population, we must understand their mental health and behavioral needs. The information they all share in common are the factors why a specific type of population became homeless. The interrelation of homelessness and mental illness are informed by many factors such as; the lack of support, extreme poverty, substance abuse, lack of affordable health insurance, and lack of affordable housing. The homeless population shares different struggles when dealing with homelessness and mental illnesses because there are not enough resources for them to be able to come back to their normal self. When it comes to their struggles, they

The issue my team chose to research and tackle was homelessness in the Ozarks. Specifically, we wanted to look at the demographics of the issue and then ultimately we wanted to look into the effects the issue of homelessness is having on another serious issue, mental illness, and vice versa. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines homelessness as one having no home or permanent place of residence. It defines mental illness as any of a broad range of medical conditions that are marked primarily by sufficient disorganization of personality, mind, or emotions to impair normal psychological functioning and cause marked distress or disability and that are typically associated with a disruption in normal thinking, feeling, mood, behavior, interpersonal interactions, or daily functioning. Some of the examples of mental illnesses given by Merriam-Webster are major depression, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or panic disorder. The main aspects of the issue that will be covered are the current status of the issue, the causes, current organizations involved in finding solutions, and what more needs to be done.

I started the interview with straightforward questions. I asked her about her health and I asked her about her pain. She is currently taking a medication that is controlling her diabetes. Since she has been diagnosed with diabetes for more than ten years, I wanted to know more. I asked if she remembers why or how did she develop type 2 diabetes. During that time, Maria was under a lot of pressure. Her mother and her sister had recently died and her husband was making less than $70 per week. She was constantly worried that her life was falling apart. When I asked her about pain, my grandma told me she has chest pain. Due to her pain, she recently found out that she is diagnosed with

Homeless people with severe mental illnesses account for 20 to 25% of the homeless population. That is the third largest cause for homelessness in the United States. Many of this homeless population do not know, or have never dealt with living “normally.” They don’t know how to cope with managing their schedules, or even maintaining their hygiene. They also misinterpret guidance from their families, friends, and social workers, which can lead to lashing out. This causes them to have to live on the streets, surviving off of what they can find, or off of what money they can panhandle.

3. What particular skills, talents and personality traits do you possess that you think will be most beneficial to this project?

The person I had chosen to interview is a middle-aged, black, Jamaican woman; I will call Lorna. I had known Lorna for many years now. I had met her while I was working in the operating room as an OR nurse. Lorna came to us a couple of years later, hired for a position of the surgical technologist.

In the Home Health industry this can be tough when family is involved. Workers are often confronted in the patient’s home by family members who honestly want to know what is the current treatment for their loved ones and the prognosis. What do you share and what should you not share? What if it is a married couple and the nurse must explain to the spouse that we need HIPAA consents signed before we can give you details about you loved one. This is a common occurrence in dementia patients. What should be disclosed and what should not give the fact that a patient may not comprehend what is going on? Would disclosing everything be ethical, even to a spouse? In the

I interviewed a good friend of my best friends aunt. I was extremely comfortable asking the question that were noted in the assignment along with the additional follow up questions. I explained that if there was anything that I asked that she did not feel comfortable answering she could let me know. I also explained that she could give me as little or as much information she felt comfortable speaking about. My goal was to show the almost respect and empathy towards the individual I was interviewing because of the natural of the topic.

During the time that I spent in labor force I was able to work with numerous of people in various fields of work. When I first read this assignment, I knew exactly who I wanted to interview. Indeed, out of all the people I’ve worked alongside with, none made an impression on me quite as much as my former manager Maria from H&R Block. Her commitment, friendliness and work ethic were nothing short of extraordinary. She was the first and only thought that came into my mind when I thought of who to interview for this assignment.

The individuals I interviewed for this Project was Ashley Glants and Lisa Donovan. Ashley is a HR Recruiting Specialist while Lisa is a HR Generalist and the duties of these two positions is to provide administrative support to the HR department which consist of the day to day activities associate with Stockman Bank. THe type of jobs that I will be reviewing are mostly entry level positions like bank tellers, customer service representative, and loan assistant. The reason I am focusing on entry positions is because of their sheer numbers, because of this factor it allows the employee selection to become very refined, and almost automated.

The first group I interviewed were women at Greenhouse Church. I attended a Sunday, 9:00am church service two weeks in a row so that I could become more recognizable to those around me. After the service, there were a few women standing outside handing out pamphlets. I decided to interview these women because they seemed involved in their church community. I thought they would be great candidates for answering my core questions. However, they were the most difficult group to interview. I was not entirely familiar with the Greenhouse Church environment, therefore I was not sure how they would react. I spent about 10-12 minutes with each woman I

I am reaching out because I realize I left out important information when asking Demetria to set up these interviews. We have also been interviewing for interns recently, i.e. student trainees, and I had

Many people often have stereotypes or stigmas regarding mental illnesses. There is a general public stigma that is overall expressed by people who may not have full knowledge over the importance of mental health. When referring to the stigma, people will usually say that those with mental illnesses are irresponsible, should be cared for, or should be feared and kept out of the direct community. All of these stigmas having to do with mental illnesses are false. Many people with mental illnesses are able to hold stable jobs, graduate from high school and college, and even live as good neighbors in a community. By creating this stigma, people are adding to the everyday challenges that people with mental illnesses are going through. We should aim to educate and stop the prejudice that is brought about by those who are not fully aware of the importance of mental health.