Case study assignment: JC, an at-risk 86-year-old Asian male is physically and financially dependent on his daughter, a single mother who has little time or money for her father\’s health needs. He has a hx of hypertension (HTN), gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), b12 deficiency, and chronic prostatitis. He currently takes Lisinopril 10mg QD, Prilosec 20mg QD, B12 injections monthly, and Cipro 100mg QD. He comes to you for an annual exam and states “I came for my annual physical exam, but do not want to be a burden to my daughter.\”

Diversity and Health Assessments

Factors Associated with Assigned Patient 

The first factor associated with the assigned patient is the economic factor. The patient is dependent on his daughter, who does not have the financial muscle to properly care for him. This factor may hinder the patient’s ability to access quality care. The second factor is the social factor (Ball, Dains, Flynn, Solomon & Stewart, 2019). The patient has only one family member, his daughter, who can care for him.

However, the daughter is often busy and does not have time to care for her father. The patient is also a single mother struggling with her issues. Another factor is age. The patient is old and cannot perform several ADLs and is also unable to exercise. He need help to perform some physical activities.

Issues to Consider

First, healthcare professionals should be sensitive to is communication. For the patient to trust the caregiver, they must be able to communicate effectively. Dains, Baumann, and Scheibel (2019) note that the language barrier can hinder communication between a nurse and the patient. Second, when interacting with the assigned patient, a care provider should be sensitive to his traditions (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015).

The caregiver should be able to understand whether the patient trust western medicine or Asian traditional medications. Lastly, the nurse should be sensitive about the patient’s health literacy level (Melton, Graff, Holmes, Brown & Bailey, 2014). The healthcare professional should determine whether the patient understands his current treatment protocols and their benefits to his general health.

Targeted Questions

1. Have you ever taken any Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) or non-prescription medications?
2. What is your alcohol, smoking, and illicit drug use history?
3. When your daughter is busy at work, which helps you with your prescribed medications?
4. Can you visit the nearby grocery store or a pharmacy by yourself when nobody is at home?
5. Does your daughter often help you take a walk around the neighborhood, or do you do it alone?

References

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel\’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Cultural competence. Retrieved from https://npin.cdc.gov/pages/cultural-competence

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