Assignment: How Illnesses and Injuries Affect the Mind
Health complications can be stressful, especially in more vulnerable populations like young children and the elderly. With stress and loss of function often come depression and other psychological manifestations. As a nurse, part of your job is to recognize and educate patients and caregivers on how to deal with the psychological complications of a health crisis.
In this Assignment, you will educate either a caregiver of an elderly patient or a caregiver of a young child patient on ways to prevent and manage psychological manifestations. Review the Learning Resources dealing with injuries and depression and anxiety.
The Assignment:
Develop a teaching plan for treating the potential psychological issues that may result from health crises in either the elderly or young children. You will use PowerPoint to present your teaching plan. Some considerations to make include:
In what ways does mental health need to be considered across the illness/injury continuum?
How can nurses help both patients and caregivers work through mental blocks and depression associated with an illness or injury?
Although treatment will take place in a medical facility, how can non-medical treatments be used as a supplement? Create a lesson plan for addressing the potential psychological concerns that may arise as a result of a health crisis in either the elderly or young children, and implement it. You will utilize PowerPoint to present your lesson plans to the class. For example, what aspects of mental health need to be considered throughout the illness/injury continuum?
What strategies can nurses use to Help patients and caregivers in overcoming mental barriers and despair that may be connected with an illness or injury?
Though the therapy will take place at a medical facility, how might non-medical treatments be employed as a supplement to the medical treatments provided?
Support your idea with a minimum of three references from the professional nursing literature in the assigned course readings and other references in the Walden Library. If they are relevant, you may use one or two professional Web sites in addition to the literature references.
Include the main elements of your presentation to a group of parents or elderly or their caregivers. This PowerPoint presentation should include between 8 slides.
Required Readings
Buijck, B. I., Zuidema, S. U., Spruit-van Eijk, M., Bor, H., Gerritsen, D. L., & Koopmans, R. T. C. M. (2014). Determinants of geriatric patients’ quality of life after stroke rehabilitation. Aging & Mental Health, 18(8), 980–985. http://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2014.899969
Haugan, G., Innstrand, S.T. & Moksnes, U.K. (2013). The effect of nurse-patient interaction on anxiety and depression in cognitively intact nursing home patients. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 22(15–16), 2192-2205. http://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.12072
Frazao, S. L., Correia, A.M., Norton, P. & Magalhaes, T. (2015). Physical abuse against elderly persons in institutional settings. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 36, 54-60. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2015.09.002
Liu, C. H. & Tronick, E. (2013). Rates and predictors of postpartum depression by race and ethnicity: Results from the 2004 to 2007 New York City PRAMS Survey (Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System). Maternal Child Health Journal, 17, 1599-1610. http://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-012-1171-z
Spilman, S. K., Smith, H. L., Schirmer, L. L., & Tonui, P. M. (2015). Assessment and treatment of depression in adult trauma patients. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 22(1), 17–22. http://doi.org/10.1097/JTN.0000000000000102
