Medical and Social Needs: Homecare Clients - Essay Example

?Essay Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts (11 12, Outline Introduction 2. Basic physical and emotional needs of clients 3. Recognizing the role of HHA 4. Relating client and family rights to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs 5. Culture, lifestyle and life experiences 6. Common reactions to illness/disability 7. Description of basic body functions and changes that should be reported 8. Diseases and disorders common in the healthcare clients 9. Common emotional and spiritual needs 10. Conclusion Medical and social needs of Homecare Clients. 1. Introduction. Home health aide has a role of assisting the client and family in managing the condition of health at clients home. This essay will describe the needs of the clients, explain the role of home health aide and relate rights of client and family to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. It will also discuss culture, life style and experiences of clients while identifying common reaction to illness or disability. The essay will identify body functions, diseases and disorders and emotional or spiritual needs of patients. 2. Basic physical and emotional needs of clients. Home health aides help clients who have diverse needs so that they feel comfortable and get assistance. They include the elderly, infants, mentally ill, people with physical and developmental disabilities together with people with nutritional needs. Majority of the clients require physical assistance in form of service. They require to be bathed, dress and given a hand to conduct self grooming. The client needs to be assisted to wash their hands and perform hygienic tasks to control infections. They need someone to support them as they manage pain. The urinal system may be causing incontinence and they will need someone to help them (Harris, 2004, p. 5). Clients may have nutritional requirements. The home health aide will assist by making the right combination of food and serve them. Those with skin ailments or wounds require help to take care of the skin and the wounds. The home health aide may be required to change the dressing at the right time. The disabled and the elderly may have musculoskeletal system problem. They will need someone to assist them in mobility. The bedridden will require someone who understands the best position when turning them in bed or moving them to another location. The home health aide will give a hand in ambulation and motion. The client will be in need of a safe environment, the home health aide makes the environment safe for the client. They can clean and arrange their house (Eldelman and Madle 2010, p. 22). The home health aide is involved in organizing and arranging appointments for the client. Organizing entails arranging the means of transport and accompanying the client to their appointments. At times, the home health aide assists in doing shopping and cooking appropriate food for the client. They give the patient company. Additionally, they keep track of medication taken and appointments with the doctors. They facilitate them to participate in certain activities as well as exercise. Because they work closely with the doctors, the home health aides are required to report on the progress of their client. They can be shown to check respiration rate and temperature for the purpose of giving a report. They follow the directions of the physician to give the correct medication. According to Ahroni (1989, p. 77), the client needs to be assisted in lifting and coordinating activities. They need someone to give them company. They call in for help in case of emergencies. Clients in home health care need emotional support from the home health aide. This can be achieved if they talk to them, share stories, read books, and listen to them. Emotional support is needed by the client as they cope with their condition and situation. The family too needs emotional support. Families living with the mentally ill patients, disabled and terminally ill need encouragement. The new born can be delicate to handle and people may not be sure how to treat them. The caregivers for the infant may have physical and mental constrains. Emotional support also includes taking the client for recreational activities, walking and accompanying them when they ask. 3. Recognizing the role of HHA. Home health aides have the responsibility of ensuring that the client is safe and receives adequate care according to the agreement with home health agency and family. All the United States citizens wishing to get the home health aide care are entitled to family rights and privacy. The rights are entitled to the client and some by their family members. The client or family has the right to be involved when the treatment is being planned. They should be given adequate information on the available services and plans as well as how to get access or terminate the services. The criteria for eligibility should be clearly outlined. The patient should be made aware of their responsibilities. Services provided should be safe and appropriate. The services should also comply with medical information. Communication should be efficient to allow the patient know when there are changes in service, schedule and medication. The patient and their family require to be given respect and privacy by the home health aide. The medical information should be kept confidential. The client and their family should not be exploited, mistreated or made uncomfortable. The home health aide can develop a disciplined way of dealing with the patient. For instance, they should avoid yelling, smoking, or ignoring the patient. The patient should be informed about changes in payment when payment is adjusted. The information should be given in advance before changes are made. Another role of the home health aide is giving quality healthcare. They should respond to the patient’s queries appropriately and in time. Services should be of good quality. The quality of care should be availed when required. All the requirement of the healthcare should be granted. Quality of health care is informed by healthcare standards and regulations. In case the patient progress is not improving the home health aide should ensure that they report the progress of the client to the appropriate institution in time. They should be prepared to support and assist the client in the case of emergency. They should inform the patient and family on the necessary procedure and what has caused the action. It is the home health aide duty to ensure they make arrangement together with the patient or family to have the appropriate resources needed. In the case of absenteeism, the home health aide should inform the patient or family in advance. They should be cleared if they have terminated the services, are on leave or will come after some time. The home health aide should cooperate and partner with the client and family to provide care. They should not be discriminatory about their religion, culture, gender or race. They can make the safe for their clients. They can establish a relationship with the client to create a good avenue for bringing in emotional and physical support. 4. Relating client and family rights to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an analysis of human needs. Maslow proposes that people chase the fundamental needs first and proceed to successive needs to form a hierarchy (Maslow, 1970, p. 37). When self actualization needs are met, the person is believed to have acquired growth. Satisfaction of needs is attained as level in hierarchy is accomplished. Therefore, the bottom level in the hierarchy contains the most important needs, while the highest level contains the less important needs. The first level at the bottom of the hierarchy is the physiological level. It entails needs such as water, food, rest, sleep and sex. The client and their family in home care are entitled to the basic needs related to homeostasis. The client whether elderly, disabled, convalescent or infant should be entitled to access the required food, get access to clean water, and get assisted incase their condition requires air. Those are basic requirements for sustenance of life. The second level from the bottom of the hierarchy is the safety level. The safety needs include: health, environmental safety, availability of resources and employment. The client and their family have a right to enjoy good health. They have a right to secure environment and not to be exposed to danger. The availability of resources enhances the security of the client and their family. Clients have a need to restore their health and live without ailments. In case they are infants and disabled, they need to be prevented from exposure that could lead to poor health, injuries, sickness or harm. The family and client need medication and a safe environment where they can be comfortable and secure. They need to be assured that procedures and services offered when receiving home health care are safe The third level from the bottom of hierarchy is the belonging level. People have a desire to feel that they have friends, feel loved and belong to a family. The family of the client should be encouraged to give support to the client. Emotional support from the health aide will facilitate the feeling of belonging to the client and the family. The client and the family have a right to express and to be shown love. Every human being is entitled to be treated with respect and dignity. Politeness can be exercised when dealing with the client and family. The fourth level is the esteem level. Esteem needs include respect, accomplishment, self esteem and confidence. The client and the family need to feel they are respected. The home health aide must exercise reverence as they give service. Insult, disrespect and lack of kindness could be considered a violation of their rights. When respect is not granted the patient may lack confidence and loose self esteem. Maintaining self-esteem will provide a platform for giving emotional support. Esteem is one of the important needs when it comes to mental, physical, social and emotional needs. The topmost level is the self actualization level. The needs are reflected on morality, ability to make decisions and renewal of mind. Morality and ethical considerations of the client and family must be considered. There are professional ethics and laws that are provided for the home health care which must be observed. The home health aide will provide all the information concerning the treatment plan, condition of the client’s health, and notify them when there is change in schedule, treatment or payment. The home health aide will ensure that they do not withhold important information on emergency or change in health that requires immediate attention. 5. Culture, lifestyle and life experiences. Understanding the culture, experience and lifestyle of the client and family will enable the home health aide learn the preferences and attitudes when giving their service. Belonging to a specific community, religion, or any group of people is not a good way of establishing the reasons for the client and their family’s behavior. Decision making should be based on their choices and attitude. Culture, lifestyle and life experience dictates what values the client and the family has. It is necessary to investigate the relationship of the client and their family. Cultural values could affect choices of health in different patients. For instance, some ailments or disability may be associated to negative meaning. People vary in experience because they grow up and live in diverse regions. Understanding their lifestyle could give ideas if their ailment could have been caused by their choice of lifestyle. Cultural values could give ideas on how to treat an elderly person. Furthermore, it will give information on the kind of language to be used. This could bring in new ideas like introducing an interpreter. Wernig and Sorrentine (1989, p. 81) note that, people value culture and respect it. The home health aide should show respect to the client’s culture. If they have respect the client and family will entrust the home health to provide service. Failure to recognize their cultural values and beliefs could cause mistrust. They can avoid mistrust by practicing humility. The home health aide can engage into a relationship with the client and the family to find out what are they feelings are and thoughts are about when it comes to the client’s condition. Treating a person with dignity and giving quality care could be seen as a significant way of giving value to the client. Identifying cultural prejudices is an effective way of becoming culturally aware. When one pays attention to their beliefs and cultural practices, they choose to adjust their behavior to treat them right. Depending on an individual’s culture, lifestyle and experience the home health aide should investigate beliefs about sickness and death. They consider understanding attitude towards health, attitude on the service of the home health aide, alternative ways of gaining health, religious beliefs, family influence, communication and the client’s opinion about their health. Because of lifestyle and life experience, the client and family may have perception about medical care and home healthcare aides.. They may have negative or positive experience with home health aides. Negative experience could cause a client who is elderly or disabled refuse to cooperate. One can also establish the decision making of the family. There are cases where the family male head makes decision, while in other families members discuss and give a common answer. The client may be able to give their decisions and they should be considered. Maters of religion can play a major role in the way the client and family perceives illness. While some may reject some treatment and choose other alternatives, others believe in supernatural power of healing. Depending on experience and culture, clients and family will have diverse response to the home health care. 6. Common reactions to illness/disability. It is important for the home health aide student to be prepared in dealing with the reaction of the client and family on their condition or illness. The elderly, convalescent, disabled and infants may not be able to perform certain duties. Additionally, their condition may not allow them to generate income. This means that they are dependent on others for service and financial support. If the financial burden is very high on the family, family constraints can occur. Some families have insurance and get the relief. Some family members may not be willing to give service, for fear of contracting the disease. The burden of taking care of the client may be left to one person. Financial burden, risk of contacting a disease, as well as inability to cope with the challenge of giving service can affect the client and family from getting maximum care. As the family gives support to the client, they develop emotional, psychological and physical needs. They may end up with limited time to take care of themselves. The challenge emerging from the home health care can cause depression to the patient and family. Demands for more resources and time can be tiring. Moreover, taking care of the patient could be involving and cause stress. If the patient does not show any improvement after the home health care anxiety may crop in for lack of progress. They may live in worry; lose self esteem and loose identity because of client’s condition. If stress on the part of client and their family is not managed well they could end up in destructive behaviors. The client may attempt to withhold from treatment, the family may ignore their responsibility and become hostile. Home health environment where working relations are constrained and the family is fully or partially withdrawn from giving support may become stressed. Good relations between a client and their family facilitate creating a complimentary environment for home care. Assessing the needs of the client and that of the family will inform the plan when giving service. The home health aide should evaluate the most important and the less significant needs and give priority according to the needs. It is necessary to give the family and the client relevant information that can help them cope with the situation. Getting them to increase their knowledge about the circumstances will give them a reason for negative reactions. Family members who feel overburdened by the demands of the resources could seek alternatives such as insurance. They can be referred to a program that educates and provides support for people with similar health needs. In the case where one of the family members is overburdened with responsibilities, arrangements can be made to reduce the burden. The family can request support from other family members to get economic relief resulting from the conditions of the client. There is need to treat depression and stress to facilitate good health. Training on how to deal with the special need of the client can be given. Engaging in a program will facilitate an opportunity for the family and client to share with pothers and reduce the chances of getting stressed (Doenges et al, 2010, p. 67). 7. Description of basic body functions and changes that should be reported. Basic body functions can be explained by understanding the functions of the organs of the body. The integumentary system is responsible for normalizing temperature of the body, generate hormones and support the sensory organs. Skeletal system facilitates body movements, stores blood cells and minerals. Muscular organs give the body posture, warmth and enables movement. The nerve system enables communication and control between the surrounding and the body. Endocrine body functions include generation and distribution of hormones to the blood. Circulatory system distributes immunity and required substances to different parts of the body. The lymph system facilitates transportation of fluids in the body. Respiratory system basic function is to excrete carbon dioxide and inhale oxygen. The digestion enables the body transform food into nutrients and excretes the unwanted waste from the body. Urinary organs remove waste, and create a balance between acid and electrolytes with water. Reproductive organs are responsible for generating sex cells and allowing transfer as well as fertilization to produce new offspring. The home health aide should ensure that they report any changes that threaten the life of the client. This may include persistent respiratory difficulties, frequent falls and unconsciousness that cannot be explained. They should report when the blood sugar is very high despite medication. Similarly, very high blood pressure or very low blood pressure. Drug reactions must also be reported for the physician to make adjustments. The home health aide should make it a routine to report to the home health care agency the client’s progress (Birchenall, 2012, p. 61). 8. Diseases and disorders common in the healthcare clients. There are diseases and disorders that home health aides should be aware of because they are common in home health care. The elderly people complain of Dementia. Dementia is characterized by impaired cognition and loss of memory.The elderly demonstrates neurological disorders. Neurological disorders signs include pain in the muscle especially when making movement. The elderly may suffer from incontinence. Symptoms of incontinence are loss of control of bladder. Another common disease in the elderly is cardiovascular disease. Some may experience a heart attack, cardiac arrest or high blood pressure. The elderly clients may have arthritis. Signs of arthritis include pain in the ankle, knee, feet, wrist, hip, hands, back, spine, neck and shoulder. Elderly have challenges with their vision and earring. Their vision becomes blurred and they may require one to talk aloud so that they can hear. The vision problems could have been caused by glaucoma or muscular degeneration. Some elderly clients have diabetes. Signs and symptoms include blood glucose that is high, sweating and blurred visions. Some have sleeping disorders. The elderly may have osteoporosis. Osteoporosis makes bones breaks easily and takes a long time to heal, and cause injuries and sprains. Other clients may have lung disease, which causes them to breath with difficulty. Skin disorders are common in home health care. Skin disorder signs include irritation of the skin, rashes and sensitive skin (Sommers, 2010, p. 25). Cancer is another disease where home health aide takes care of. Cancer is abnormal growth of cells that invade any part of the body and grow without control. There are various forms of cancer, others are gender based. The client could suffer from cognitive disorders. It could be in for of delirium syndrome. The symptoms include disturbed conscience, disorganized thoughts and agitation. 9. Common emotional and spiritual needs. A terminally ill client together with their family has different emotional and spiritual needs. They have different abilities to cope with the situation. While some may be in denial, others may have accepted reality. Majority of the terminally ill patient go through the grieving process. They first deny the news and isolate themselves. They experience anger and strong emotions of despair. They quickly realize the reality and begin to bargain on the life in their thoughts. They then enter into a depression. Finally, they accept the reality and begin to give their best in the remaining days. The terminally ill and the family agonize and feel pain for the anticipated loss. The terminally ill experiences pain from the illness. They have feelings of helplessness for not being able to accomplish all they wanted in life. The patient may go into depression because they are not able to meet their responsibilities. The family members become depressed after seeing that they cannot be able to restore the health of their loved one (Birchenall and Streight, 2003, p. 11). The interventions for emotions include allowing the patient and the family talk to a therapist or counselor about their experience. One can facilitate and organize for the family to spend a lot of time with each other. They can be encouraged to share their thoughts and feelings. In their discussion they can be helped to deal with anxiety and fear. This can be done by showing them how to relax. They can exercise breathing exercise. Their concerns on medication and treatment for comfort should be conversed. Spiritual support involves inviting the client’s religious leader for spiritual guidance. The client and family can be encouraged to get the support from their clergy. Interacting with the clergy will create avenues for asking questions and obtaining answers about spiritual matters. The religious leader can provide spiritual support which is effective in dealing with anxiety (Stanworth, 2003, p. 30). 10. Conclusion. The client needs someone to help them bath, dress do self grooming, control infections, take medication, get help in mobility, manage pain, safe environment and get help with cleaning. They need company and encouragement as emotional support. The home health aide should follow the medical instruction in giving service. The client and family are entitled to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which include the physiological, safety, belonging, esteem and self actualization needs. Culture, lifestyle and experience of client and family motivate their decision making and perception about the condition of the client. Illnesses and disability cause financial constrains and need for service. Support helps the client and family deal with constrains. Changes such as unconsciousness, persistent high blood sugar and persistent difficulty in breathing should be reported. Many clients in home care have Dementia, neurological disorders, incontinence, cardiovascular disease, arthritis, poor vision, hearing difficulties, diabetes, osteoporosis, sleeping disorders, cancer and cognitive disorders. The client and family need encouragement when the patient is terminally ill. They can be given support by their religious leader. Bibliography Ahroni, J. H. (1989). A description of the health needs of the elderly home care patients with chronic illness. Home Health Care Service Quarterly, 10, 3, 77-92. Birchenall, J. M. (2012). Mosby’s Textbook for the Home Aide. New Jersey: Mosby. Birchenall, J. M., and Streight, E. (2003) Mosby’s Textbook for the Homecare aide, 2nd edition, New Jersey: Mosby. Doenges, M., Moorhouse,M., and Murr, A. (2010) Nurse's Pocket Guide: Diagnoses, Prioritized Interventions and Rationales. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company. Eldelman, C. L., and Madle, C. L. (2010). Health promotion throughout the Life span, seventh edition. New Jersey: Mosby. Harris, M. D. (2004). Handbook of Home Health Care Administration. London: Jones & Bartlett Publishers. Maslow, A. H. (1970). Motivation and personality, 2nd edition., New York: Harper and Row. Sommers, M. (2010) Diseases and Disorders: A Nursing Therapeutics Manual. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis Company. Stanworth, R. (2003) Recognizing Spiritual Needs in People who are Dying. Oxford: OUP Oxford. Wernig, J. K., and Sorrentine, S. A. (1989). Homemaker- Home Health Aide. Journal of Health Occupation and Education, 5, 1, 81-82. Read More