The Impact of Medication Adherence on Lung Health Outcomes in Cystic Fibrosis - Essay Example

Nursing 17/09/14 Introduction. Cystic fibrosis is a hereditary disorder that affects the exocrine glands and results in the production of abnormally thick mucus, leading to the blockage of the bronchi, intestines and the pancreatic ducts. The child under consideration has been under the care of foster parents. In addition, the family does not have the capacity and capability to handle the child situation as a cystic fibrosis victim and thereby unknowingly considered medication that has not worked out (Knowles & Durie, 2002). For instance, they have assumed that the child suffers from normal diarrhoea and cold thereby giving the child cold syrups. The child will from a referral community resource after hospitalization as his or her progress would be greatly monitored. Parents would considerably be knowledgeable about the child’s condition and be equipped with the necessary knowledge on handling the situation basing on the fact that they were not aware of the child’s condition. The fact that they were misjudging the child’s situation with at times treating the cases of colds as a normal cold since children of the age often get colds. The parents considerably need moral support too as this encounter may be stressful and worrying. Community resource can provide moral support for the parents. One aspect of caring that can be applied in this case is competence. Basing on the response given by the foster parents, it’s evident that they did not neglect the children but rather misunderstood the child’s condition (Tluczek A, 2011). Thereby, being a nurse, it’s crucial to employ competence in a bid to make sure that nothing is left unsolved in helping both the parents and the child. The assumptions put forward are based on the foster parent’s ignorance and also it would be compassionate to consider that the child is not with her biological parents. The community resource offers a variety of support programmes that are essential for the recovery of the victim and the support of the parents. These services are nutritional, social work, respiratory therapy, genetics and psychology programs. The child has displayed an unhealthy body due to diarrhoea and so would be essentially help in a community resource to recover. Foster parents are particularly heartbroken and may develop stress as they have not encountered such a child in their family. Therefore, being their first encounter; the community resource can help provide support to ensure that they equally feel normal and cope with their situation. Alongside, the child can be equally monitored through series of programs. The community resource integrates clinical definitions alongside social empowerment in relation to clinical problems. Nursing diagnosis There is high risk of the family being unable to cope with the illness of the child. These can be deduced from the fact that they are initially not exposed to such kind of illness. The parents are so concerned with the child and seem anxious. Interventions that can be met include teaching the parents on home care, regularly visiting them to follow up and encouraging the involvement of all family members to engage in giving care Due to the child’s diarrhoea, there can be high risk for altered skin integrity due to acid stools. These can prompt an intervention of changing diapers once they pass stool. Similarly, checks for rectum prolapse and if present replace it gently with a lubricated gloved finger. After that, it’s important to tap the buttocks together in the maintenance of gentle pressure on the anus. There is also a diagnosis of ineffective airway clearance. There are enough respiratory and GI symptoms to merit treatment at the time according to the report forwarded by a physician (Michele & Kristin, 2013). Moreover, it can be handled by aerosol therapies three to four times a day, using mucolytic agents while avoiding cough suppressants, postural drainage, giving respiratory hygiene, frequent mouth washes and observation of the child. The baby also has an altered nutrition that is less than the body requires. Therefore, it can be due to the inability of the baby to digest fat. Interventions made are providing a high calorie and protein with a moderate amount of fat. Similarly, supplements of vitamins A, D, E and K when mixed with water, extra salt in the diet and synthetic pancreatic enzymes supplements in food or warm water are helpful in the recovery of the baby. Room temperatures should be below 720F to prevent excessive perspiration. Importance of a community resource The recovery of the child would greatly be determined by the foster parent’s involvement. As such, a resource centre can offer psychological support for the parents, knowledge about handling a child patient and interaction with other affected families in the facility that are in a similar situation. Psychological support is essential in making the parents equally feel that their child can live a normal life like other kids if well taken care. It can help them be mentally prepared to cope with the situation and avoid worrying too much. A community resource can be helpful since they have vast knowledge and prowess in psychological support. A community resource can also aid in providing information about the condition and how the guardians can handle the child once out of hospital. The situation being their first encounter; it is evident that they fall short on knowing how the condition can be handled. The community resource can provide prior information to parents and encourage them to care for the child better. Similarly, since a community resource has a variety of similar cases, it can engage parents undergoing similar ordeals, and this can help them interact and feel comforted by the fact that they are not alone. Equally, they can be able to share their experiences mainly because they are in similar encounters. Incidentally, these are services that nurses can’t adequately engage in, and the intervention of a referral is important. Services offered by a community agency. A community agency has a respiratory therapy program, psychology services and social work program on cystic fibrosis management. The respiratory therapy program involves determining how much air the lungs can with-hold. It can be essential in monitoring the baby’s condition. The psychology service has psychologists who offer support of patients through engaging with their families. Social work program ensures that people in need are catered through availing the resources and attention required. This program is geared to prevention, care and treatment of the condition. Its focus is all the baby requires in the management of her condition. Advantages and disadvantages of the services. The respiratory therapy program is essential on the follow-up on the progress of the child’s respiratory organ’s progress. However, it’s hard to do a test on the baby since it is uncomfortable. It is also hard to subject a child to such a test as they cannot be able to blow in the machine. The psychological service is essential on providing emotional support to the parents and thereby help them be at ease with the revelations and still care for the baby while remaining optimistic. However, such a service does not have a direct effect on the baby’s health only the emotional wellbeing of the parents. Social work service is involved in the management of the disease by availing all the needed assistance to affected parties. Parents with queries are fed with information and any other assistance they would need from this team of professionals. Sometimes it may be challenging for the team to provide all the required assistance due to new complications the disease may present over the years. The social work service presents the best results as it concerns itself with management of the condition thereby the best service the baby may get. In conclusion, there are still areas of concern that I did not think about them. For instance, I did not actively engage with the foster parents but concerned myself with information provided by the social services and the physician. Also, I did not have the genetic information about the biological parents which could have led to better assessment. Next time, I’d engage with the parents to gather first-hand information from them. References Knowles, M. R., & Durie, P. R. (2002). What is cystic fibrosis? The New England Journal of Medicine , 347. Michele, E., & Kristin, R. (2013). The impact of medication adheherence on lung health outcomes in cystic fibriosis. Curr Opin Med, 19. Tluczek A. (2011). Factors associated with parental perception of child vulnerability 12 months after abnormal newborn screening results. Res Nurs Health, 34. Read More