I declare that this assignment is my own work and has not been submitted in any form for another unit, degree or diploma at any university or other institutes of tertiary education. Information derived from the published or unpublished work of others has been acknowledged in the text and list of references is given. I warrant that any disks and/or computer files submitted as part of this assignment have been checked for viruses and reported clean. Student signature: Corinna Smithwick 28th August 2015
1. Describe the differences between acute and chronic conditions (200 words). Acute conditions often have a much quicker onset of symptoms and are therefore often resolved quickly, in the case of a broken arm; the onset was quick and even though a broken bone can take time to heal, the bone will heal, barring any infection or the patient reinjuring themselves. There are instances where an acute condition can become a chronic condition an example of this would be a skin tear on the foot of a diabetic patient.
Due to a patient’s co-morbidity of diabetes and the associated issues, healing time is lengthened, therefore it becomes a chronic condition that can involve treating a possible infection, and complex wound management, diabetic management, and review of nutrition etcetera. Whereas chronic conditions can take a quite a long time to build up, often going unnoticed for years, and take an even longer period of time to resolve, sometimes they will never be completely resolved but can be managed well. An instance of this would be when a patient has severe asthma, their condition can be well managed and they can improve, but it will never be resolved. (Tannehill-Jones, 2010)
2. Outline the nurse’s role in chronic condition self-management (200 words). A nurse’s role in chronic condition selfmanagement is to ensure the patient and/or their care giver understands the condition thoroughly. A nurse is expected to guide the patient through the process and aid in educating the patient, ensuring a bond of trust is created (Rita Funnell, 2005).
The nurse also needs to look at patient holistically, incorporating the patient’s cultural, social and medical history. Once the nurse has collected all the subjective and objective information, then a plan of care can be implemented (Rita Funnell, 2005) Realistic and achievable goals will need to be established, and prioritised, this will help to determine the nursing interventions that will be required to assist the patient to manage their chronic illness. The nurse will have to reassess these goals continuously, to ensure that any new problems are identified early and can be incorporated into the care planning for the patient. A review of the Care Planning for the patient needs to be evaluated to ensure that all nursing interventions are effective. (Rita Funnell, 2005)
3. What barriers do clients with a chronic condition face? (200 words). There are multiple barriers client’s face including; physical, psychological, cognitive, economic, and cultural/social demands that they will need to rationalise to be able to manage their chronic condition. Some Physical barriers patients may encounter are; mobility and difficulties related to activities of daily living (Rita Funnell, 2005) Psychological barriers; depression/major depression, emotional distress (Linda C. Baumann PhD and Thanh Tran Ngoc Dang MS, 2012) Cognitive barriers; grasping exactly how to manage their illness, patient education is key here, if they are unable to manage their illness then they will need outside support services to assist them. Understanding what medication they are taking and why and what it does to the body, memory issues including dementia and short term memory loss (STML) will also compromise a patient’s ability to manage their chronic condition.
Economic barriers; including cost of medications, transportation to appointments, and loss of income from sick days and Doctor appointments (Linda C. Baumann PhD and Thanh Tran Ngoc Dang MS, 2012) Cultural/Social Barriers; the role of caregiver is often taken on by the spouse or female member of the family, the lifestyle of the patient can become a barrier if their disease is lifestyle related, taking into consideration certain cultural issues related to male/female health professionals, for example some cultures will not accept a male administering care, they would require female. (Baumannn et al. 2012)
4. What services/facilities are available in the community to assist a client to manage their chronic condition? 200 words) There are many different services/facilities available in the community and rural areas depending on the type of condition that is being managed. These programs government and nongovernment alike will assist the client with managing their condition, by offering support services, products, information and education, advocating for their clients, referring them to other support services that can assist them, raising funds for research (DiabetesWA, 2015). The Asthma foundation provides one on one clinics to help patients manage their Asthma at no cost to them or their family (Foundation WA, 2015).
The National Stroke Foundation offers a program called “Enableme” it’s a service that has been organised for survivors of Stroke. This program encourages stroke survivors to manage their own condition, it empowers them, it offers access to information for treatment, rehabilitation, connecting with other stroke victims, and here they can become part of a wider community. Being able to connect with other stroke survivors they can share their stories, successes, failures and treatments through this peer project (Stroke, 2015)
