Chronic illness affects the whole family not just the patient. As discussed in our readings from this week, the impact of disease on family members includes: Emotional impact, financial impact, Impact on family relationships, Impact on the caregiver’s education or work, Impact on the caregiver’s leisure time and Social impact for the caregiver (Golics, et al, 2013). All of these factors are import to consider when formulating a plan of care for these patients. The plan of care should always include the patient and the family to ensure good outcomes for the patient. My Diabetic Patient
My patient has been a Type 2 Diabetic for the last ten years. IRJ is Hispanic, 53 years old, overweight, and is a male. IRJ is a retired Park Police Officer and now leads a very sedentary lifestyle. IRJ is not a smoker or a drinker. Questionnaire In order to assess the needs of my patient and to be able to formulate a plan of care, this questionnaire was administered to IRJ.
1. How long have you been living with diabetes? I have had diabetes for 10 years. 2. Is there anyone else in your family with diabetes? My parents and both sets of grandparents, also I have aunts and uncles on both sides that have diabetes. . What other health problems do you have? High cholesterol and overweight 4. What medications are you currently taking for your diabetes? l use the Lantus injections every night and take Kombiglyze pills twice a day.
5. Do you understand how and when to take your medications? Yes 6. Do you know how to check your blood sugars? Yes, my doctor sent me to classes for diabetes and they showed me how to check myself. 7. How often do you see your doctor for your diabetic lab workup? I get my labs done every 3 months and I see my doctor after I get my labs done for my results. 8. Do you have funding for your iabetic testing supplies and medications? Yes, my wife’s insurance covers my machine, lancets and test strips; I only have to buy the alcohol pads. 9. Do you have transportation to get to the doctor when needed? Yes, I drive myself.
10. Do you know the signs and symptoms of high and low blood sugars? Yes, in the classes I went to, they taught us about hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia and they gave us handouts with pictures showing us the signs and symptoms of each. 11. Do you know what to do when your blood sugar is too high or too low? Yes, I learned what to do in my classes. 12. Do you see a doctor for your eye xam at least once a year? Yes, I go once a year and they dilate my eyes and they do a computer test to check my retinas for any damage. 13. Do you check your feet daily for any dryness, blisters or sores? Yes, I check my feet after I come out of the shower for blisters or cuts. 14. Do you use insulin? Yes, I use the prefilled pens of Lantus.
15. Can you prepare your own syringes and inject yourself? Yes, I just dial to the amount of insulin that I need, I put on the needle, wipe belly with alcohol pad and inject myself. 16. Who does the cooking in your home? My wife does, but we eat out most of the time. 7. Write down what you ate yesterday, starting with breakfast, lunch, dinner, any snacks and any kinds of drinks. For breakfast I had and egg taco and a cup of coffee, after church we went to eat at my granddaughter’s favorite restaurant and I had a 4 rotisserie chicken with a side of macaroni and cheese and a side of corn, one dinner roll and a diet coke, for dinner I had a Whopper, fries and a diet coke and I had a bowl of chili and a diet coke as a late night snack.
According to the answers of IRJ’s questionnaire, I feel that he is pretty much on track with knowing about diabetes, what to do ith high and low blood sugars, how to do his accuchecks and how to administer his insulin. Based on IRJ’s response to Question 17, the area where I will need to concentrate more on as I formulate a plan of care is on his diet. Diabetes and the Impact on Family In reviewing the responses from IRJ’s questionnaire and my interview with him, I feel that IRJ has accepted his diabetes quite well. As IRJ stated, his doctor sent him to classes for his diabetes where he learned about disease process, signs and symptoms, portion control, portion size, healthy eating, exercise, medications, and how to test his blood sugars.
IRJ’s wife and family are in acceptance of his disease, but at times forget about portion control and the nutritional value of certain foods. I feel that IRJ and his wife need more education on the diet aspect of his diabetes, as most of their meals are not prepared at home. Educating them on eating healthier choices such as baked or grilled foods, water instead of sodas and more vegetables need to be included in their diet. Eating a carbohydrate controlled diet is recommended for IRJ.
According to the American Diabetes Association, data from the National Diabetes Statistics Report, in 2014, 13. % of Mexican Americans were diagnosed with Diabetes in the United States (ADA, 2015). The impact of a chronic illness such as diabetes can put a big strain on patients as well as families and caregivers alike. According to IRJ, one of the factors that have had a great impact on him and his family is the financial factor. Even though IRJ has insurance where his medications, diabetic supplies and doctor visits are covered, there are still additional expenses.
Before his diabetes diagnosis, IRJ was hardly ever sick and maybe went once a year to the doctor, now he goes every three months and as a co-pay every visit. IRJ now sees a specialist (Internal Medicine) for his diabetes and based on his insurance plan, specialists have higher co-pays per visit. Grocery shopping and eating out at restaurants is also more expensive when buying or ordering healthier foods. Emotional health is another factor that has had an impact on IRJ and his family. The life of someone living with a chronic illness is impacted in ways that a healthy person cannot begin to comprehend. There are many emotions that patients and families go through when diagnosed with a chronic illness such s anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, helplessness and hopelessness.
Learning to cope with these ongoing effects of a chronic illness is very important for your overall health and well- being. Care Plan For IRJ’s care plan, the most important thing to concentrate on is his diet. It is important to include his wife in this step as she is the main support system and caregiver for IRJ. Both the patient and family need to be included in formulating a care plan with realist patient goals and outcomes in order for the care plan to be effecti patient compliance as will a holistic approach to patient care lanning. One very important thing to remember when In my opinion, patient-focused goals will help with teaching patients and families is to teach at their level, use words that they understand and find out what style of learners they are so that they will comprehend what are being taught to them.
Some people are visual learners and like to read handouts, others are auditory learners and will learn from listening to a lecture and some are hands on learners and learn best while doing the task that is being taught. Conclusion No one can ever be prepared for the tremendous impact, isruption and despair that is brought about by a chronic illness. It is very important that patients are in acceptance of their illness in order for better patient outcomes and compliance. If patients and families are not in acceptance of their illness, the outcomes can be very bad for the patient. If patients are not in acceptance of their chronic illness and ignore their illness, devastating complications can occur. I feel that quite a bit of education is needed regarding disease process, progression, complications and outcomes in order for patients to be more compliant.