The Impact of Chronic Illness
In a Microsoft Word document of 4-5 pages formatted in APA style, describe the information collected about a person with a chronic illness. Please note that the title and reference pages should not be included in the total page count of your paper.
Identify one person from the illness group you chose in Week 1 to interview. The person should not be a patient at the facility in which you work. You can use friends, family members, or coworkers. Do not use the person’s name in the paper, only initials.
Administer the questionnaire you created in Week 1 to that person and address the following:
Compile the data and analyze the responses to better illustrate where this person, his or her family, and friends are in relation to accepting the diagnosis in relation to the standard health or illness definitions.
The analysis should also include coping skills, treatment, and support aspects of the illness.
Explain how this information will direct care plan development for the chosen illness group.
Include a copy of the interview you created with the responses from the person interviewed in an Appendix.
Support your responses with examples and information from library resources, textbook and lectures.
Management of Diabetics Mellitus
Diabetes mellitus is one of the chronic diseases that require proper treatment. Individuals suffering from the ailment ought to adhere to specified medication. Equally, they need to adopt a healthy lifestyle to improve their symptoms and the resulting complications. However, patients have different acceptance levels regarding the illness. J.K is one of the patients who have type two diabetes. His level of acceptance hinders his recovery process. If he does not acknowledge the ailment and improve his lifestyle, his condition will worsen; therefore, it is imperative to analyze how he can cope with the ailment and address patients with similar needs.
Evaluating J. K’s Lifestyle Based on the Questionnaire
- K’s lifestyle is significantly unhealthy. He depicts that he finds it hard to maintain a healthy diet. The questionnaire indicates that his favorite food, pizza, is high in fat levels. He highlights that it is hard for him to keep up with eating vegetables and fruits. J.K also indicates that he rarely exercises. Lack of physical engagement while taking a high-calorie diet increases the probability of being overweight. Without a mechanism to utilize the calories from high-fat meals, J.K has fat accumulations in his blood vessels. His unhealthy lifestyle is portrayed by his smoking and drinking habits. The questionnaire reveals that he smokes at least three cigarettes per day and a bottle of alcohol. The practice puts him at risk of worsening his diabetic condition. He rarely goes for checks ups; thus, it is hard to determine if he is improving or not. As a result, it is impossible for medics to monitor his condition and recommend a suitable treatment plan. Surprisingly, J.K takes his prescription seriously. His habits lower the medication’s efficacy. Summarily, J.K leads a damaging lifestyle.
Impact of his Lifestyle on his Acceptance Level
The analysis of J. K’s life depicts that he has not entirely accepted his condition. Acceptance of the illness implies that the person has changed his lifestyle to improve his condition. In J. K’s case, he has not made complete changes to his life. On the positive side, he takes his medication. Fink et al. (2019) reveal accepting the illness involves integrating self-care practices in a patient’s life. J.K smokes, drinks alcohol, and is dependent on an unhealthy diet. His habits imply that he has not taken responsibility for managing the ailment. Zheng et al. (2018) depict that smoking, indulging in alcohol, high-calorie food, and lack of physical exercise worsens diabetes. The nicotine in the cigarettes hinders the proper functioning of insulin (Zheng et al., 2018). Equally, unhealthy diets and dormant routines lead to increased triglyceride levels, resulting in heightened blood sugar levels in the body. Indeed, J.K is not coping appropriately with his diabetic condition.
Recommendations on Coping to Diabetes and Its Management.
Creating awareness to patients, family, and friends on diabetes helps the patients in coping and managing diabetics. Fink et al. (2019) reveal that it is vital for everyone to be conversant with diabetics and its prevention. Educating them on what lifestyle the patient should adhere to helps the family members and friends to support the invalid. They would encourage and help them adhere to self-care practices. Changing personal routines and habits because of a disease can be challenging (Fink et al., 2019). J.K has a hard time adjusting his lifestyle to improve his condition. The questionnaire reveals that it is part of his goal to eat healthier and quit smoking and drinking. Having friends and family members to support him will speed up his recovery process. With moral support from family members and friends, patients can easily cope with the ailment. Equally, offering the same support to other patients will help them in managing the illness. Concisely, creating awareness among individuals aids invalids in managing diabetics.
Offering training programs to patients aid in the management of diabetes. Educating patients on self-care methods help them in coping with diabetics (Fink et al., 2019). Living with the disease without information on what to do to improve the condition hinders proper ailment management. Hospitals should offer programs where they are taught to manage aspects such as complications arising from diabetics. They should be provided with facilities such as glucometer and taught how to use them. Fink et al. (2019) explain that self-care methods involve infection management, caring for feet, and managing cardiovascular diseases. J.K contracted a urinary tract infection (UTI) and developed cardiovascular diseases due to his diabetic condition. offering information on how to cope with these resulting complications will help him adjust to living with diabetics. Offering similar educational programs to other patients will aid them in dealing with the illness. Therefore, educational programs are viable in dealing with diabetics.
Allowing patients to choose their self-care programs will aid in better management of diabetics. Doctors often provide recommendations to the patients on how to adjust their lifestyle due to the ailment. Fink et al. (2019) elucidate that patients that are advised but have the freedom to choose their self-care practices depicted excellent improvement. On the other hand, patients that adhered to doctors’ recommendations had negative progress (Fink et al., 2019). The doctors have a responsibility of offering information on the efficient practices to manage diabetics. Forcing patients to adhere to them deprives them of their free will to shape their lives. As a result, they may rebel against the medics’ stipulations. On the other hand, choosing practices that align with their needs motivates them to adhere to them. J.K should be advised on healthy practices in managing diabetics and given the free will to select what he deems best for him. Similarly, other patients with diabetics should be accorded the same treatment. The strategy will help them in dealing with the illness. Summarily, allowing patients to pick their self-care practices helps them in the management of diabetics.
Conclusion
In conclusion, J. K’s current lifestyle is unhealthy. His habits, such as smoking, make his condition worsen. They explain the cardiovascular complication that affects J.K. Therefore, he needs to change his lifestyle and indulge in healthier options. He should accept his condition and quit habits that increase the fatality of his illness. It is vital to introduce training programs, create awareness, and allow patients to choose their self-care programs while managing diabetics. It is highly recommendable that every patient has access to a glucometer to aid in self-evaluation and monitoring. The recommendations provided will help in managing and coping with diabetes among patients who are adamant about changing their lifestyles. They will help family members and friends to support patients with diabetes on their recovery path. As a result, the recommendations will aid patients with diabetes in their journey to recovery.
References
Fink, A., Fach, E. M., & Schröder, S. L. (2019). ‘Learning to shape life’–a qualitative study on the challenges posed by a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus type 2. International journal for equity in health, 18(1), 1-11.
Zheng, Y., Ley, S. H., & Hu, F. B. (2018). Global aetiology and epidemiology of type 2 diabetes mellitus and its complications. Nature Reviews Endocrinology, 14(2), 88.
Appendix
Questionnaire
Name: John Kings
Date of Birth: 19/12/1990
Local Address:
Phone:
- When were you first diagnosed with diabetes?
Answer: I was first diagnosed with diabetes in 2019
- How old were you when you were diagnosed with diabetes?
Answer: I was 29 years old.
- What medications do you take to manage your health condition?
Answer: Metformin
- Time of Injection Units and Type of Insulin Units Type of Insulin
____N/A________ ________N/A______ ___N/A___________
____________ ______________ ______________
____________ ______________
- Do your change sites with each injection?
Answer: N/A
- Do you experience any problems with the sites?
Answer: N/A
- Do you exercise regularly? If yes, what type of exercises?
Answer: No
- Do you experience any problems with exercise-related low blood sugar reactions?
Answer: Yes, lightheadedness.
- Any complications with diabetes?
Answer: Yes, Cardiovascular disease.
- Do you smoke? If yes, how many cigarettes per day?
Answer: Yes, at least three cigarettes.
- Do you take alcohol? If yes, how many and how often?
Answer: Yes, one bottle every day.
- Do you check your blood sugar?
Answer: No
- Have you had symptoms of blood sugar lately?
Answer: Yes. I have been lightheaded
- Have you had problems with infections? If yes, indicate the type of infection.
Answer: Yes. Urinary Tract Infection.
- Why do you eat?
Answer: I eat both junk and healthy food.
- How many meals per day do you eat?
Answer: Three
- What is your favorite food?
Answer: Pizza
- What is the most challenging aspect of nutrition for you?
Answer: Depending purely on vegetables, fruits, and other aspects of a healthy diet.
- Do you attend sessions with a registered dietitian?
Answer: No
- What goals do you have for living well with diabetes?
Answer: Healthy eating; Quit smoking and drinking.
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