DQ Describe two middle range theories that are most valuable in addressing this issue and explain why
Practice Issue
Awareness of Mental Health within the refugee population is a practice issue I would like to address. I live in a community that has a diverse population. There is a refuge center located in the city of where I see patients for mental health issues. I have found that many of these refugees have had an extreme abusive and traumatic past. Some of the refugees have limited resources, do not speak English, have financial stressors and physical and mental illnesses that are not being addressed. There could be many reasons why the refugees are not seeking mental health services.
Two Middle Range Theories
Theories have molded the way in which one looks at nursing and caring for patients. One middle range theory is the Health Belief Model. This theory explains reasons why people would seek out medical attention. The theory hypothesizes that people go to medical treatment for (perceived susceptibility) such as the thought that an illness could be contracted, (perceived severity) that the problem will interfere with everyday life or result in significant consequences, (perceived benefits) believing that getting treatment will decrease symptoms and (perceived barriers) that there are little barriers to move forward with care (Henshaw & Freedman-Doan, 2009). Refugees may not be seeking mental health care due to lack of knowledge. Our Behavioral Health Clinic is trying to increase the awareness to primary care providers to assess each of these individuals for mental health care needs. I believe that it is more likely for the refugees to seek out care from primary care providers for various reasons. Examples includes thoughts of having Covid, abdominal pain, rashes or sore throats. When the refugees come in for these simple visits it is a good time to do a quick survey of the patient’s mental health.
Another middle range theory is the Theory of Watson’s Human Caring. This theory focuses on not treating the human as an object and the person is apart of themselves and their surrounds such as nature and the larger universe (Ozan et al., 2015, p. 26). Primary care providers can treat simply mental health issues. The problems that I see is that the primary care visits are limited and shorter in time than mental health visits. The patient sees their primary care provider for a variety of reasons and if mental health is addressed there is not enough time to fully evaluate the patient’s symptoms or there is sometimes a lack of knowledge of the medications that can be used to treat their symptoms. Having the refugee see a mental health specialist allows more time with the patient, the use of an interpreter, a less chaotic environment and the chance to fully focus on the patient’s mental health. This would provide a decreased chance of the patient being treated like an object and look at the patient as whole.
References
Henshaw, E. J., & Freedman-Doan, C. R. (2009). Conceptualizing Mental Health Care
Utilization Using the Health Belief Model. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice,
16(4), 420-439.
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