Patient Education and the Spread of HIV - Research Paper Example

? Teaching Plan Teaching Plan Introduction Patient education enables people to make informed decisions related to their health behaviors. The primary objective of educating people is to improve their health through encouraging compliance with treatment regimes and promoting healthy lifestyles. The spread of HIV/AIDS in the 21st century has led to increased concentration of nurse teachers on educating people about the causes and effects of HIV/AIDS infections (Prater, 2011). The nurses have produced varieties of materials, which provide excellent starting points when educating people. Nurse teachers need to develop a proper teaching plan that consisting of learner assessment, expected outcomes, appropriate teaching strategies, and applicable theory for the teaching interventions. Facts of the Case Rosemary celebrated her 27th birthday on June 12, 2013. Despite having attained this age, Rosemary has never visited a Voluntary Testing, and Counselling (VCT) centre to know her HIV status. There are several centres and hospitals in her hometown that test and advice people concerning their HIV status. Rosemary’s parents and workmates have made several unsuccessful attempts to encourage her to visit one of the centres to be tested since it is necessary for her if she wants to take good care of her health. Her fiance proposed marriage to her on condition that she accept to undergo the HIV testing first. Rosemary, however, did not agree. She argued that if the fiance does not trust her, then he can find another partner and go ahead to marriage. One of the reasons that makes Rosemary to avoid testing her HIV status is that she fears to find out that she is positive; according to her, this would accelerate her death due to increased stress. Rosemary also fears that the doctors may reveal her HIV status test results, which will traumatize her in the face of her friends and relatives. Rosemary is undoubtedly aware that she was involved in a sexual relationship with a town businessman who died of HIV/AIDS approximately three years ago. Objectives of the Teaching Plan By the end of the teaching session, the learner will be able to: 1. Appreciate the necessity of undergoing the HIV test to know her status. 2. Understand how HIV/AIDS infections are spread, and the time that the virus takes to develop in the body of human beings. 3. Identify informed lifestyle choices and changes that will maintain health despite her HIV status. 4. Enlighten the learner about the significance of complying with the requirements of medication and nutrition. Assessment of the learner and Related Factors The learner in this case is Rosemary. Rosemary has developed a negative attitude towards HIV testing. Rosemary's beliefs that the doctors may reveal her HIV test results to her friends and family members, which may cause trauma and hatred. According to her, knowing or not knowing her HIV status does not make any difference because testing will not treat her if she is HIV positive. The factors that have led into this belief include intellectual limitations, inattention, lack of exposure to accurate information, and lack of motivation to learn. Most people do not understand the significance of knowing their HIV statuses because they do not have intellectual knowledge concerning the self-care. People who work in other fields such as industrial manufacturing, engineering, teaching and serving consultants are not informed about adversities associated with HIV/AIDS infections and the benefits of knowing their statuses during the early stages of infection (Prater, 2011). Rosemary is a mature person who is about to get married. Rosemary is a qualified accountant and a bank manager in her hometown. Regardless of her intellect in the accounting field, Rosemary has limited intellectuality about the significance of going for a test to know her status of HIV. Inattention is another cause of failure to understand the health benefits of knowing one’s HIV status. Information about HIV/AIDS is one of the most common themes in the print media, televisions, health publications, and the electronic media. Rosemary may not have taken time to attend to the advertisements that are spread by these media. These advertisements inform people about the centres for HIV testing and counselling, benefits of knowing HIV status before advancements and health skills to avoid the problems associated with the infection. Most people like watching news, programs, reading newspapers and using the Internet for searching specific information. They stop concentrating when the media airs or prints something that is different from their topics of interest. Inaccurate information distorts the viewpoints of people on health issues. Rosemary’s belief that doctors may reveal her test results is not accurate. This kind of information disperses through rumors and false thoughts of people. People with fallacious thinking are prone to generalizations because of lack of reasoning. The result of this is the spread of false and inaccurate information about how doctors handle the confidential information about their patients (Kuhlenbeck, 2012). Rosemary might have listened to and believed in the ideas of such people, leading to his distrust in doctors’ confidentiality. Rosemary seems to have uniformed judgements about the benefits of being tested. She thinks that knowing her HIV status will make no difference because it will offer no treatment. She is aware that HIV/AIDS is incurable, and that knowing her status will only stress her more than when she is not aware of it. Expected outcomes Rosemary will be able to appreciate the benefits of undergoing the test to know her HIV status. Testing is crucial because it enables the infected people to take good care of their health before the virus reaches advanced stages. Medical researchers have found out that HIV virus exhibits phased developmental features. These stages include acute infection, clinical latency and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) (Prater, 2011). Lack of early treatment after HIV infection leads to the person being diagnosed of AIDS. Acute infection lasts between two to four weeks. It is not easy to identify the virus during this time, but the infected person can transmit it to another person. Early identification and treatment can maintain the immunity system and avoid reduction of CD4 cells (Prater, 2011). Rosemary is expected to understand that it is easy to control rapid advancement of HIV infection during early stages than at late stages of development. Rosemary will also understand that doctors strictly observe their code of ethics and confidentiality requirements; they will not disclose her HIV test results. The nurse teacher expects Rosemary to understand how HIV infections are spread from one person to another. The primary mode of transfer of HIV infections is through engaging in sexual intercourse with the infected person. Rosemary will be informed that HIV viruses concentrate in body fluids from which they get access to the other partner if one of the partners is infected. Rosemary will also understand the period that HIV infection takes to overcome the body immunity. A person may live between ten to fifteen years with the infection before death (Prater, 2011). The action of HIV infection is through reducing the immunity of the body and rendering a person vulnerable to other diseases, which eventually lead to death (Berger, 2010). Rosemary is expected to comprehend and appreciate to live a lifestyle that will maintain her health despite her HIV status. Medical researchers have developed drugs that reduce the pains of HIV infections. These dugs include ARVs and painkillers (Berger, 2010). Researchers have also identified causes of early deaths arising from HIV/AIDS infections: stress, lack of proper nutrition and exposure to re-infections. Through guidance and counselling, the teacher expects Rosemary to accept her status and live a positive life. Proper nutrition includes a balanced diet comprising of vitamins, proteins, water and carbohydrates. Rosemary is expected to avoid further unprotected sex in order prevent further re-infections; re-infections double the adversity of the HIV viruses. Rosemary will be able to explain the significance of complying with the requirements of medication and nutrition. Compliance with the prescriptions of medications is the only way through which medical drugs can work. Regular and consistency intake of drugs has the potential for maintaining the health of a HIV positive person for approximately thirty years (Prater, 2011). Rosemary is expected to understand the facts about ARV drugs and avoid the misconceptions that these drugs have adverse side effects. Appropriate Teaching Strategies and Interventions The most appropriate teaching strategies the teacher will consider include patient-teacher discussions, brainstorming and videos. The teacher will create a personal relationship with the Rosemary in order to enhance the effectiveness of the discussion. The teacher will ask Rosemary if she has any information about the spread of HIV infections and the importance of being tested. Rosemary’s response will enable the teacher to identify the major gaps in her knowledge and strategize on the best approaches of advising her appropriately. Brainstorming will involve the teacher giving Rosemary a topic to discuss during the progress of the teaching process. The topics for brainstorming will be based on self-care strategies in order to find out whether Rosemary has any prior knowledge on the topics. The teacher will also show her films about HIV/AIDS spread, and the strategies used by people living with AIDS to lengthen their lifespan. Applicability of the Self-care Theory to the Teaching Interventions The most suitable theory for this teaching plan is Dorothea Orem’s Self-care Theory. The Self-Care Theory was published in the year 1971 (Peterson & Bredow, 2009). Dorothea believed that people have a responsibility of taking care of their health (Taylor & Parse, 2011). Dorothea, therefore, proposed that people could be self-reliant and responsible for their own healthcare. This can be extended to close members of the family who could be needing care. The theory assumes that a person is a distinct individual from other people, but these people interact in a mutual relationship to enhance each other’s health. Dorothea Orem recommended that people should be dedicated to successfully meeting the universal requirements of self-care; this is a critical component for illness prevention and treatment (Taylor & Parse, 2011). The theory stresses that people should be exposed to knowledge concerning potential health problems. This knowledge is crucial because it ensures self-care behaviors. The socio-cultural context promotes the learning of self-care and independent care behaviors. Socio-cultural context leads to mutual interactions, which are crucial for beneficial exchange of knowledge. The Self-Care Theory is the most suitable theory for this teaching plan because it emphasizes the importance of mutual relations prevalent in socio-cultural contexts. Dorothea Orem argued that the socio-cultural context is crucial when teaching people about the best approaches for maintaining their health behaviors (Taylor & Parse, 2011). The teaching techniques that the teacher plans to use with this plan are discussion, brainstorming and video showing. Discussion strategy will promote a mutual exchange of knowledge between the teacher and Rosemary. Rosemary will explain what she understands about HIV/AIDS infections to enable the teacher to identify whether he has any self-care strategies. During the teaching program, the teacher and Rosemary will exchange knowledge of HIV/AIDS and the consequences of her not being tested. The teacher will inform Rosemary that she has the responsibility of maintaining her own health and that of her family. Additionally, the teacher will advise Rosemary to go ahead and be tested in order to be counselled on proper methods of living to avoid the adversities associated with the disease. Conclusion The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS infections has made nurses to consider enlightening people about the benefits of knowing their HIV status before the infections reach advanced stages. Rosemary is twenty-seven years old, but she is not ready to visit a Voluntary Counselling and Testing centre because she does not see the significance of it. The teaching plan is designed with an objective of educating Rosemary about the necessity of knowing her HIV status to compel all her fears concerning confidentiality of her test results. The teaching strategies for this teaching plan include discussions, brainstorming and videos shows. The teacher will apply Dorothea Orem’s Self-care Theory since it is applicable to the teaching strategies. References Berger, J. R. (2010). Pearls: neurologic complications of HIV/AIDS. Seminars in Neurology, 30(1), 66-70. Kuhlenbeck, H. (2012). Immunization against alzheimers disease and other neurodegenerative. S.l.: Springer. Peterson, S. J., & Bredow, T. S. (2009). Middle range theories: Application to nursing research. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Prater, A. M. (2011). Point of orgin: the discovery and spread of HIV. Positively Aware : the Monthly Journal of the Test Positive Aware Network, 23(1), 2-24 Taylor, S. G., & Parse, R. R. (2011). Dorothea Orem's legacy. Nursing Science Quarterly, 24(1), 5-6. Read More