Illness and Disease across the Lifespan
I interviewed D.K., a 42-year-old White man who had been diagnosed with hypertension within the last month. During the interview, D.K. noted that he lives with his wife and two children: a son, who is 12, and a daughter, who is nine. D.K. runs a struggling tire shop and car garage business, which has put him under a lot of pressure and has negatively impacted his family’s well-being. He has been gaining some weight. Only his wife and one friend know about his current diagnosis. He has been put on Benazepril (Lotensin) at a dosage of 10 mg, taken orally once a day. He has been developing some coping skills, including exercising, eating healthily, and spending more time with his family. He has also committed to reducing his beer consumption behaviors. Accordingly, this paper analyzes and lists D.K.’s support needs, beginning with the highest priority, and provides examples of appropriate interventions for the professional caregiver. It also discusses how the objectives of Healthy People 2030 to increase wellness will be implemented and the nursing’s role as an advocate for D.K.’s acceptance of diagnosis and treatment. It then discusses the impact of the environment D.K. lives in on his health and other social determinants that impact care.
D.K.’s Support Needs Prioritized in Descending Order
List the support needs of your participant beginning with the highest priority and then in descending order.
Managing Blood Pressure
The highest priority needs that D.K. currently needs support with is to manage his blood pressure. Hypertension is D.K.’s main diagnosis. In this case, the support includes educating him on hypertension, how to manage his blood pressure, the diet and lifestyle changes he needs, and how to track and keep a journal of his blood pressure. As a priority support need, the care team assigned to D.K. needs to employ strategies that will encourage him to adhere to his medications. Evidently, the use of smartphone apps has been effective in promoting both self-management and adherence to medication in hypertensive patients (McBride et al., 2020).
Managing Stress
The second priority support needed for D.K. is helping him manage his current stress. Stress, especially from his family matters and his failing business, are the major contributing factors to D.K.’s hypertension. The support for his needs to manage stress will involve helping D.K. develop his coping skills to manage stress. His care team will guide him in establishing a work-life balance to help him reconnect well with his family and also engage in exercising. He will also be provided with materials and resources that provide guidance on stress management.
Modifying His Current Lifestyle
The third support needed is helping D.K. modify his lifestyle. The healthcare team managing D.K.’s hypertension will need to act collaboratively to help him adopt a healthier lifestyle. This will include creating a diet plan, supporting his ambitions for physical exercise, and working on losing and maintaining his weight. The care will also promote more family involvement as well as managing his daily care routines.
Appropriate Interventions of the Nurse as Professional Caregiver
Provide examples of appropriate interventions for the Professional Caregiver, for example, the nurse.
The appropriate nursing interventions for D.K. are health education, medication management, healthy lifestyle promotion, symptom monitoring and assessment, and mental health management. For health education as an intervention, the nurse will provide information resources to D.K. to help him understand hypertension, underlying risk factors, available treatment methods, and the importance of treating symptoms early. The nurse will also be required to educate D.K. on required lifestyle changes, the medications, how to take them, and the associated risks and side effects of the medications. Educational interventions are largely linked to improved medication adherence and better outcomes in patients with hypertension (Tan et al., 2019).
Medication management is also a nursing intervention that is appropriate for D.K. The nurse, as the professional caregiver, will collaborate with the pharmacists for medication prescription and administration. Implementing medication management as an appropriate nursing intervention will also involve monitoring D.K.’s response to the medications, including side effects and reactions. Additionally, the monitoring and assessing D.K.’s nursing intervention will involve regularly monitoring his current symptoms, blood pressure, and progress achieved throughout the medication period. The nurse implementing the intervention will also continue to evaluate how D.K. progresses with the treatment, lifestyle changes, and relationship with his family. Furthermore, as D.K.’s assessment showed that stress and family pressure are major issues contributing to his high blood pressure, mental health management is an appropriate nursing intervention to implement as a part of his care plan. The intervention will involve providing D.K. with sufficient emotional and social health support, as well as reinforcing his coping skills.
Implementing Healthy People 2030 Objectives to Increase Wellness
Discuss how to implement the objectives of Healthy People 2030 to increase wellness.
Reducing the proportion of adults living with hypertension is among the main goals of the Health People 2030 on hypertension (health.gov, 2023). The main objectives related to this goal are to increase the percentage of adults with access to evidence-based preventive health care and to increase the capacity to control high blood pressure in adults. These objectives will be considered for implementation when caring for D.K. For instance, the objective of improving access to evidence-based preventive healthcare will be implemented by providing support to D.K. to help him access the best available evidence-based healthcare services for hypertension. This will involve providing access to community and funding resources that will help him access the needed care, irrespective of his current financial situation. Additionally, both objectives of the Health People 2030 will also be implemented through the provision of patient education on hypertension prevention measures to ensure early screening and continuous monitoring of high blood pressure and avoid the risk of complications.
Nursing’s Role as an Advocate for D.K.’s Acceptance of Diagnosis and Treatment
Discuss nursing’s role as an advocate for participant acceptance of diagnosis and treatment.
The nurse leading the care team attending to D.K. has the responsibility to ensure that he understands and accepts his diagnosis and treatment. Therefore, the nurse will be required to educate D.K. on what it means to be diagnosed with hypertension and how that will impact his life. The nurse will ensure that D.K. understands the available medications and alternative therapies that can help improve his blood pressure outcomes. This includes providing him with information on the effectiveness of the available medications and non-pharmaceutical therapies, the risks and side effects of each type of therapy, and the associated costs of care. With this information, the nurse will also support D.K. in making informed decisions about his health and treatment plan.
The Impact of Environment on Health and the Impact of Social Determinants on Care
Discuss the impact of environment and social determinants on a patient’s health.
D.K.’s environment at home and at his workplace has a significant impact on his health. The interview identified stressors in both environments, especially at his workplace. His failing business and the conflict with his wife have contributed to his high-stress levels and the development of hypertensive symptoms. Noting that his business is going through a low phase, his socioeconomic status is a major source of stress as he is under pressure to provide for his family. His work schedule is also too fixed to afford him time to exercise. This has resulted in him gaining some weight. Increased body weight and obesity are the leading causes of hypertension and other comorbid chronic conditions that lead to poor health (Denova-Gutiérrez et al., 2020). Additionally, social determinants have the potential to impact the care delivered to D.K. as well as his adherence to the treatment plan. Social determinants such as low income and low social class may influence his ability to access healthcare.
Conclusion
In conclusion, managing D.K.’s hypertension and meeting the Health People 2030 objectives for hypertension will require the implementation of a holistic approach that helps manage his mental, physical, and emotional health. The implementation of the care plan will also need to consider social determinants and how they impact his health to best provide comprehensive care for hypertension.
References
Denova-Gutiérrez, E., Lopez-Gatell, H., Alomia-Zegarra, J. L., López-Ridaura, R., Zaragoza-Jimenez, C. A., Dyer-Leal, D. D., Cortés-Alcala, R., Villa-Reyes, T., Gutiérrez-Vargas, R., Rodríguez-González, K., Escondrillas-Maya, C., Barrientos-Gutiérrez, T., Rivera, J. A., & Barquera, S. (2020). The association of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension with severe coronavirus disease 2019 on admission among Mexican patients. Obesity, 28(10), 1826–1832. https://doi.org/10.1002/OBY.22946
health.gov. (2023). Reduce the proportion of adults with high blood pressure — HDS‑04. Healthy People 2030. https://health.gov/healthypeople/objectives-and-data/browse-objectives/heart-disease-and-stroke/reduce-proportion-adults-high-blood-pressure-hds-04
McBride, C. M., Morrissey, E. C., & Molloy, G. J. (2020). Patients’ experiences of using smartphone apps to support self-management and improve medication adherence in hypertension: Qualitative study. JMIR MHealth and UHealth, 8(10), e17470. https://doi.org/10.2196/17470
Tan, J. P., Cheng, K. K. F., & Siah, R. C. J. (2019). A systematic review and meta-analysis on the effectiveness of education on medication adherence for patients with hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes Journal of Advanced Nursing, 75(11), 2478–2494. https://doi.org/10.1111/JAN.14025
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Question 
In a Microsoft Word document of 4-5 pages formatted in APA style, describe the information collected about a person with a chronic illness. Please note that the title and reference pages should not be included in the total page count of your paper.
Using the information from the interview you conducted in Week 2:
Illness and Disease across the Lifespan
• List the support needs of your participant beginning with the highest priority and then in descending order.
Provide examples of appropriate interventions of the professional caregiver, for example, the nurse.
Discuss how to implement the objectives of Healthy People 2030 to increase wellness.
Discuss nursing’s role as an advocate for participant acceptance of diagnosis and treatment.
• Discuss the impact of the environment on a patient’s health.
• Include social determinants that impact care.
Support your responses with examples and information from library resources, textbooks,s and lectures.