Person-Centered Care Essay

Person-Centered Care Essay Name Institution Person-Centered Care Essay Currently, there is a need for person-centered care approach to people, especially the old age. The approach involves including the persons and their family members in deciding on their care needs. The person-centered care is different from other approaches as it put the patient at the center in the decision-making process. Therefore, in this work, I will discuss the views of the old age regarding their care needs and the possible plan that can be implemented to solve their problems. Introduction The quality of health care services given to patients and their families depend on the quality of care planning and assessment as well as the level of person-centered approaches used. A person-centered approach is used to talk to people in a manner that is deemed appropriate to them to understand the outcome of the person’s wishes in their daily lives. The approach assumes that the persons are experts of their lives which make health professionals to work alongside them by considering their preferences, wishes, and the desired outcomes to boost their wellbeing. The approach will be demonstrated by listening to the person about his health concerns and wellbeing. During the process, I will be in harmony with person to make him free to say his concerns. I will also show sympathetic understanding and provide a positive considering to his concerns. The process is effective in obtaining information from the person which will be used to design his treatment plan. The old people are less motivated in life and they are physically weak which calls for quality care. Therefore, person-centered care will be beneficial in improving the quality of their services (Edvardsson, Watt and Pearce, 2017). Also, the process will help in developing, planning, and monitoring their care to ensure that their needs are met immediately as they have been identified earlier. The approach will also improve their self-esteem and reduce pressure on social and health services as well as ensure that their wishes are respected. Critical Reflection of discussion with an Older Person The person interviewed was an old individual of 67 years living within the town with his family. The person lost his wife and two children in a car accident when he was 40 years old which stressed him and was later diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. The depression is further contributed by the experience of losing his best friends. He however described that he frequently falls which is contributed by physical exhaustion due to old age. He also spends most of his time alone and has dental and diabetics problems because of poor diet. From the discussion with the person, I realized the old people are depressed and experience chronic diseases such as diabetics. Despite the challenges about growing old, it also comes with certain benefits such as being satisfied with the kind of life they live. People do have goals in life such as getting married, owning cars, achieving given levels of education, and raising their children properly. However, the old people do not have any goal in life and they are satisfied with their situation whether they achieved the set targets or not. The person thinks of committing suicide as he believes he has achieved everything he needed in life. The suicidal thinking is also contributed by the painful moments he had in life and stress. However, he needs a person to take care of him to reduce the boredom he is experiencing. Therefore, he believes he has no goals and needs no support except to obtain the services of a caregiver which he believes is necessary for him. Critical Review of Current literature The key issues identified by the person include depression and diabetes which occurred due to isolation and loneliness which affected his wellbeing. Courtin, and Knapp (2017) supports that isolation and loneliness contributes to health and social problems where the persons affected need to be educated on how to avoid isolation and loneliness problems. Also, Valtorta et al (2017) shows a positive relationship between loneliness and coronary heart disease which is contributed by depression. Luckily, there are interventions that can be adopted to reduce the isolation among the old people. The idea is supported by Gardiner, Geldenhuys and Gott, (2018) which provides examples of interventions that can be used by the old age to prevent being isolated. Loneliness is seen to contribute to hypertension which is a condition motivated by stress. Leung et al. (2016) explains that the old people are likely to have high blood pressure but they are not aware of the condition which need frequent medical tests to be done on them to identify the problems earlier. Similarly, Kozar et al. (2015) describes that the frequency of falls among the old age are due to lack of quality care and the failure of health professionals to identify the problem which affects their health. The falls result in injuries and possibly death if they continue to occur which calls for quality care to control them. Blom et al. (2016) also supports that the old age have complex problems which needs an alternative and better treatment approach to be used by health professionals in solving their issues. However, Gustavson et al. (2016) evaluates the best the therapy which can be used to prevent suicidal ideation among the old age. The series of problems faced by the old age may lead to suicidal ideation, but this can be controlled better by problem solving therapy than supportive therapy as supported by the article. This further proves that person-centered approach is the best method to be used as it related to a problem solving therapy. Finally, Marwijk et al. (2015) proves that the old age are clinically depressed and suffers from depression syndromes than any other age group. The study shows that depression and its symptoms are common among the old people and this is a serious issue which needs immediate action for taken to eliminate its occurrence. Generally, all the articles prove that isolation and loneliness are common among the old age because they rarely interact with other people as they have lost most of their friends which they used to discuss their concerns. The social problem affects their health and wellbeing which calls for the government and authorized persons to address the issue. The same is seen in the person interviewed by is depressed and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the negative memories that he had after losing his wife and two children in the car accident. Also, the person seems to have lost appetite and hope in life which has made him diabetic and thinks of committing suicide respectively. Therefore, there is need a need to understand their concerns and come up with better health care approaches which will improve their wellbeing. Discussion The major problems faced by the old age are isolation and depression resulting from past experiences. Therefore, the best care plan for the group is to set up a program intended to improve their social life which reduces their levels of stress (Leung et al., 2016). The care plan can be implemented by involving the government and other well-wishers to fund the projects. There should be a place set up where they meet and interact and every one of them should be encouraged to visit the place almost daily. Friends and family members should also be encouraged to visit them frequently to make them feel that they are still valued by society (Valtorta et. al. 2016). Other professionals such as doctors and psychologists should be employed to frequently monitor their health and advise them on how they can cope up with their situation including depression which is common among them. Doctors should monitor how the patient is progressing with his treatment. Also, the services of psychologists should be employed to help in counseling the patient considering that he is thinking of committing suicide as a solution to the problems he is facing. However, the programs face challenges in their implementation because of inadequate financial support as most people do not have enough knowledge about the problems faced by the old age. Hence, people should be educated about the needs of the old age and the problems they are facing. A dietician should also be included to help in planning the right diet that will be given to the patient since he has lost his appetite and needs proper care. The education programs may be included in the school curriculum to create awareness among the young generation about the problems faced by the group. Similarly, the government may fund programs intended to create community awareness about the issue where some team will be sent to the villages to educate people about the issue, and those who attend should be encouraged to teach other people who did not get the opportunity to visit the programs. Another intervention is to obtain medical support from health centers to manage diabetes. The old age should be given free services from hospitals such as free medical tests to manage their blood sugar. Most old persons are forgetful. Therefore, they may unintentionally miss taking their prescribed medications. The assigned nurses who care for them should consider reminding them of their medication by calling them to confirm their progress and whether they are taking their medications as prescribed. Further, the severity of diabetes and depression may improve if a person does not follow the diet prescribed to them. Similarly, the client has lost appetite which affects the way he follows the doctors’ diet as prescribed (Courtin, and Knapp, 2017). Hence, this is a serious issue that should be considered by the nurses by ensuring that the patient follows his diet as prescribed. Moreover, the person may be given a caregiver considering his physical condition to encourage him to follow the medications and therapies suggested by the physician. Conclusion In summary, the old age is considered a vulnerable group in the society and they equally need attention just as other vulnerable groups. Although they do not have goals in life as young people, they need to be respected and valued as they once contribu...