Health history is a crucial part that helps in evaluating a patient’s health status. It is considered a critical stage
Health history is a crucial part that helps in evaluating a patient’s health status. It is considered a critical stage
please provide a positive feedback with 2 references Dear Colleague,
( Lorena )The appropriate communication style or technique is essential in building the best patient health history. Besides using therapeutic communication with our patients, providers need to communicate effectively, respectfully, and in a nonjudgmental manner especially in this scenario. Obesity is a sensitive subject, especially for the obese patient. Another technique that can be effective when communicating with the patient in this scenario might be for this patient to get educated on the health risks that are associated with obesity such as cancer. Obesity is related to the development of cancers such as breast, liver, prostate, and colorectal (Tzenios, 2023). Perhaps after learning that obesity can be detrimental to their health, the patient may be more inclined to speak about their weight. Patients younger than 60 years old are considered a lower risk for COVID-19 when compared to the older population, however, obesity is a risk factor for COVID-19, being admitted to the hospital and needing higher acuity care (Lighter et al., 2020).
It is also important to know if the patient is willing and ready to make changes to their lifestyle to help improve their health. It may be beneficial for the patient to be well informed on the health risks related to obesity even if they are not ready to change their lifestyle.
Some additional questions I might ask would be:
What do you eat and drink on a typical day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner?
How are you doing emotionally this month?
Can you tell me, in your opinion, what a healthy and balanced meal is?
By asking these open-ended questions, a provider is able to see the situation from the patient’s perspective and allows the patient to feel more at ease with the provider because it allows for a stronger bond between the two.
References
Lighter, J., Phillips, M. Hochman, S., Sterling, S., Johnson, D., Fritz F., Stachel, A. (2020). Obesity
in patients younger than 60 years is a risk factor for COVID-19 hospital admission.
Clinical Infectious Diseases, 71(15), p. 896-897, https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciaa415Links to an external site.
Tzenios, N. (2023). Obesity as a risk factor for different types of cancer. EPRA International
Journal of Research and Development, 8(2).
http://eprajournals.net/index.php/IJRD/article/vie…
( Esther )Hello professor and class,
Health history is a crucial part that helps in evaluating a patient’s health status. It is considered a critical stage that it is done to patients during the initial visit to healthcare. According to Slade & Sergent, (2022), health history provides an overall, comprehensive, and holistic picture of the patient, his/her social status, support system, and also daily life. The goal of building a health history is to obtain a good understanding of the patient and his/her health perception. Additionally, it helps in building rapport with the patient so as to gain trust. When building health history, NP requires to use good communication skills to help obtain adequate information. However, there are several factors that influence any interview session, interviewing techniques to be utilized and the approaches.
Interviewing Techniques
Building a health history of an 85 y/o white female living alone in declining health. The key aspects to be considered in this interview include age, race, sex, culture and her health perceptions. I would first introduce myself, ensure patient privacy and safety since interviews are best conducted in private without distractions. asking the patient’s name and how she would like to be addressed is also critical. Considering that she is from an elderly population, I would ask about her concerns and if she has any concerns and use simple language that she understands. According to Slade & Sergent, (2022), some patients may need to be interviewed with a family member or a friend while others may not require since they may not require. I would also use open ended questions and keep on empathizing the patient to help since it enhances their willingness to disclose information. In addition, asking non-judgmental questions and keep on adapting the interview based on the patient’s interests.
Risk Assessment Tool
There are various risk assessment tools that are recommended for elderly patients. The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) approach basically focuses on functional, cognitive, affective, social problems and also lifestyle habits. According to Seematter-Bagnoud & Bula, (2018), the CGA inclusion criteria based on 5 proposed domains: hearing and vision, physical ability, incontinence, cognition, and emotional situation. Considering that this patient has declining health, she should be assessed using the CGA approach. The Geriatric Depression Scale is also critical to assess if the patient is at risk for depression. It is estimated that about 10 to 20% of older adults worldwide live with depression (Branez-Condorena, et al, 2021). The 85-old white female living alone may experience depression due to isolation and loneliness. Elderly patients require caregivers or somebody to help them and to motivate them. Lastly, the Berg Balance Scale which is a screening tool to help predict the risk of falling. These tools may help obtain a good health history and also help in developing comprehensive interventions for this patient.
Five Targeted Questions
- How do you cope with stress?
- Have you experienced any falls for the past 3 months? If so how many times?
- Do you experience any barriers accessing healthcare?
- Have you had any weight changes recently? If so, how many pounds gained or lost in the past 6 months?
- Are you able to perform all your daily activities of living?
References
Brañez-Condorena, A., Soriano-Moreno, D. R., Navarro-Flores, A., Solis-Chimoy, B., Diaz-Barrera, M. E., & Taype-Rondan, A. (2021). Accuracy of the geriatric depression scale (gds)-4 and GDS-5 for the screening of depression among older adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLOS ONE, 16(7), e0253899. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0253899Links to an external site.
Seematter-Bagnoud, L., & Büla, C. (2018). Brief assessments and screening for geriatric conditions in older primary care patients: A pragmatic approach. Public Health Reviews, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-018-0086-7Links to an external site.
Slade, S., & Sergent, S. R. (2022). Interview techniques – StatPearls – NCBI bookshelf. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526083/Links to an external site.
Requirements: 1 page
Masters Nursing
Answer preview for the paper on ‘Health history is a crucial part that helps in evaluating a patient’s health status. It is considered a critical stage’
APA 381 words
Click the purchase button below to download full answer…….