Assignment Prompt
Write a short (50-100-word) paragraph response for each question. This assignment is to be submitted as a Microsoft Word document. 1. Give examples of psychosocial factors that affect the health care professional and the effect those factors could have on patient education. 2. Give examples of psychosocial factors that affect the patient and the effect those factors could have on patient education. 3. Explain what is meant by personality styles and give examples of approaches that could be used to help the patient. Include self-perception as a factor. 4. List the steps in adjustment to illness and how the patient copes with each step. 5. Explain the health professional's role in teaching the patient at different life stages. 6. Define the role of the family in patient education. 7. How might the family influence the compliance of the patient and what measures can the health care professional use in communication with the family?
Psychosocial Factors Affecting the Healthcare Professional
Psychosocial factors refer to the various social and psychological experiences that affect a person's health. Examples of psychosocial factors that affect healthcare professionals are the healthcare provider's lack of interest in the patient's health, poor communication, and time constraints. According to Falvo (2011), other times, healthcare providers can ignore their psychosocial factors and this leads to poor patient teaching outcomes. Other times, healthcare providers’ avoidance of psychosocial factors makes them overwhelmed with care provision duties.
Psychosocial Factors Affecting the Patient
Some of the psychosocial factors that affect the patients are their age, gender, past experiences, psychological traits, ethnic background, and culture. Other important patient psychosocial factors are support systems such as the family, physical environment, and financial circumstances (Falvo, 2011). The psychosocial factors affect the patient's receptivity to education and their willingness to execute healthcare providers’ recommendations.
Personality Styles and Self-Perception
Personality styles refer to an individual's characteristics that determine their interaction with other people and how they make decisions. Every patient has a personality that determines how they cope with stress, belief systems, and past experiences. Healthcare providers should consider the needs and priorities of the patients and their personalities to alter their patient education approaches. Recognition of the patient's personality determines the patient's receptiveness to education (Falvo, 2011). Another factor that should be considered in patient education is the patient's self-perception. Self-perception refers to the patient's psychological makeup and how they view themselves in terms of health and illness.
Steps in Adjustment to Illness
The major steps of the patient’s adjustment to illnesses are: patients are not perceived as being in power to overcome their sickness; patients are not expected to function normally or perform their obligation; patients expect to recover from their sickness; and patients are expected to seek help for their diseases in collaboration with other healthcare providers (Falvo, 2011). The patient copes with these steps by being self-motivated to actively seek treatment and adhering to the recommendations given by healthcare providers.
Teaching at Different Life Stages
Illnesses create unpredictability among patients and patient education is essential in restoring their self-control and reducing the sense of powerlessness among the patients. Patients work in collaboration with healthcare providers to help the patient understand the clinical manifestation of the patients, determine the issues faced by the patient, and initiate the necessary strategies for disease management (Falvo, 2011). In providing patient education at different life stages, healthcare professionals must allow the patients to express themselves and exercise high levels of compassion and empathy during the consultation.
Role of the Family in Patient Education
Family plays a crucial role in patient education as it is the support mechanism for the patient and helps the patient make important decisions regarding their health. Healthcare providers should always strive to know their patients in the context of their families as this will be of great importance in the patient's after-admission care (Falvo, 2011). Additionally, the family plays a crucial role in enhancing the patient's medication adherence.
Family Influence on Compliance
Family influences patient compliance by ensuring that the patient follows the physician's guidelines. The family members can support the patient by writing them health guidelines that they should follow to act as a reminder for them not to be overwhelmed or forget (Falvo, 2011). Additionally, family members can make inquiries to the healthcare provider on behalf of the patient during the care process.
References
- Falvo, D. (2011). Effective patient education: A guide to increased adherence. Jones & Bartlett Learning.
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