Building a Health History- Communicating Effectively to Gather Appropriate Health-Related Information

Building a Health History- Communicating Effectively to Gather Appropriate Health-Related Information

Health-Related Information

The case presented is of a 46-year-old African-American male. He presented to the emergency department with alcohol withdrawal seizures. He had a referral for a follow-up for hypertension but ran out of Novarsc prescribed for him during his admission to the emergency department. He lives in a homeless shelter and denies drinking. He requires smoking cigarettes to maintain calm.

The socioeconomic factors interplaying in the case presented include housing insecurity and low income. Housing insecurity remains an indicator of poor health outcomes. It predisposes individuals to environmental hazards and diseases (Kundu & Chakraborty, 2023). As evident in the case, the patient lives in a homeless shelter, demonstrating housing insecurity. Likewise, low-income status is a risk factor for early mortality and morbidity (Peters et al., 2019). Persons from impoverished households have poor access to basic commodities, such as medicines, and are highly predisposed to suffering. The patient’s lifestyle may also be predisposing him to illnesses. Smoking is a modifiable risk factor for chronic illnesses (Peters et al., 2019). As evident in the case, the patient requires a smoked cigarette to function. Spiritual factors, such as beliefs in natural healing, may also be a factor in the case. The patient is an African American. Hypertension is a potential cultural-related health concern among African Americans and is thought to be a result of adverse social determinants of health among these populations.

When engaging the patient, maintaining sensitivity when discussing sexuality and sexual-related topics is necessary. Harper et al. (2019) note that discussing sex-related topics may sometimes be uncomfortable for the African American culture. The patient, in this case, may be reactive when sex-related topics are introduced.

Using appropriate communication techniques may help create healthy relationships with the patients. The patient in the case is an African American. The communication techniques that can be used when engaging him include active listening, non-verbal cues, and using simple language. Active listening will implore the patient to share more (Larsen et al., 2020). It is thus important that the caregiver, in this case, listen attentively to the patient. Listening while summarizing what the patient is saying may help the patient and the caregiver get glued to the conversation. The use of non-verbal cues demonstrates attentiveness and helps in expressing empathy. Mitchell & Perry (2020) note that African Americans, Latinos, and other Caribbean cultures demonstrate expressive speech. Caregivers should be expressive when engaging patients from these cultures to foster a healthier patient-caregiver relationship.

The health history interview will focus on identifying patient factors predisposing him to illnesses and suffering. The targeted questions used in this respect include:

1. Have you ever been involved in any accidents, head injuries, or hospitalized for any other illnesses? This question is aimed at analyzing past medical history to help identify factors predisposing him to hypertension.
2. Is there anyone from your immediate family who has been diagnosed with a chronic illness? This question seeks to establish the family history of hypertension. Hypertension has a genetic predilection.
3. Have you ever been on any prescription medication for any conditions in the past? This may point to the presence of an underlying pathology that may predispose the patients to high blood pressure.
4. Are you married? This question may help ascertain the presence of a psychosocial support system for the patients.
5. What types of foods do you prefer? This question may help identify dietary factors that predispose the patient to hypertension.

A risk assessment tool that may be applied to the patient in this case is the QRISK tool. This risk assessment tool is used to calculate the likelihood of developing a coronary event in the next ten weeks. Higher scores reveal a higher likelihood of developing a coronary event such as myocardial infarction.

References

Harper, G., Motley, D., Timmons Tyler, A., Tyler, D., Catania, J., & Dolcini, M. (2019). “you’ve gotta be careful”: Familial messages regarding sexual behavior and sexual relationships among African American adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(7), 1146. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16071146

Kundu, J., & Chakraborty, R. (2023). Socioeconomic inequalities in burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases among older adults in India: Evidence from Longitudinal Ageing Study in India, 2017–18. PLOS ONE, 18(3). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0283385

Larsen, R., Mangrio, E., & Persson, K. (2020). Interpersonal Communication in Transcultural Nursing Care in India: A descriptive qualitative study. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 32(4), 310–317. https://doi.org/10.1177/1043659620920693

Mitchell, J. A., & Perry, R. (2020). Disparities in patient-centered communication for black and Latino men in the U.S.: Cross-sectional results from the 2010 Health and Retirement Study. PLOS ONE, 15(9). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0238356

Peters, R., Ee, N., Peters, J., Beckett, N., Booth, A., Rockwood, K., & Anstey, K. J. (2019). Common risk factors for major non-communicable disease, a systematic overview of reviews and commentary: The implied potential for targeted risk reduction. Therapeutic Advances in Chronic Disease, 10, 204062231988039. https://doi.org/10.1177/2040622319880392

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Hello. This is my first assignment in health assessment class. Please follow all rubric directions, as this instructor, as I heard, is strict in giving grades. I’ll post the case study ASAP

Effective communication is vital to constructing an accurate and detailed patient history. A patient’s health or illness is influenced by many factors, including age, gender, ethnicity, and environmental setting.

Building a Health History- Communicating Effectively to Gather Appropriate Health-Related Information

There may also be significant cultural factors. In May 2012, Alice Randall wrote an article for The New York Times on the cultural factors that encouraged Black women to maintain a weight above what is considered healthy. Randall explained from her observations and her personal experience, as a Black woman, that many African American communities and cultures consider women who are overweight to be more beautiful and desirable than women at a healthier weight. As she put it, “Many black women are fat because we want to be” (Randall, 2012).

Randall’s statements sparked a great deal of controversy and debate at the time; however, they emphasize an underlying reality in the healthcare field: Different populations, cultures, and groups have diverse beliefs and practices that impact their health. APRNs and other healthcare professionals should be aware of this reality and adapt their health assessment techniques and recommendations to accommodate diversity.

As an advanced practice nurse, you must build a patient health history that takes into account all of the factors that make a patient unique and tailor your communication techniques accordingly. Doing so will not only help you establish rapport with each patient, but it will also enable you to more effectively gather the information needed to assess a patient’s health risks.

For this first Assignment, you will take on the role of an APRN who is building a health history for a particular patient assigned by your Instructor. You will consider how social determinants of health and specific cultural considerations will influence your interview and communication techniques as you work in partnership with the patient to gather data for an accurate health history.