Week 5 Project Illness

NSG4055- Illness And Disease Management across a Lifespan

Professor Amber Mccall

From the interview, Mr. X has stage 3 chronic kidney disease, which is a slow loss of kidney function. In this case, there is a buildup of dangerous amounts of fluids, wastes, and electrolytes in the body because the kidney cannot eliminate them (Green & Boulware, 2016). It is a disease that is common among the elderly populace as can be seen in Mr. X’s case. However, any person can get the disease at any age. Many people have little information regarding certain health conditions and this is the case with Mr. X who has a low level of awareness. Despite chronic kidney disease have several adverse consequences, many people with the condition remain uninformed of their disease. The awareness of chronic kidney disease remains way too low despite the attempts to upsurge awareness through the distribution of guidelines for clinical practice and free screening for people at high risk.

In his condition, Mr. X requires family and friends more than before as it is something he cannot manage alone. However, these people who should stand with him are affected psychologically and emotionally by his condition. Mr. X together with the family has accepted his condition and is ready to walk with him through the process of treatment. Kidney disease has no cure, but stage three means that an individual still has a chance to prevent further advancement of kidney failure. In this case, the most important support Mr. X needs is emotional, psychological, and social support, which he needs at the moment to help him recover quickly. This support should be followed with medications and lifestyle changes (Taylor, 2016).

Nursing interventions for chronic kidney disease are not to treat the disease, but to prevent extreme complications and for supportive care. The nurse assesses Mr. X's hemoglobin level, assess his fluid status, his nutritional status, nutritional dietary patterns, hyperkalemia signs, assess the responses and reactions of Mr. X and his family regarding his condition and the treatment, and assess comprehension of the cause of the kidney failure, the consequences, and treatment (Lopez-Vargas, 2016). The nurse would assess Mr. X's fluid status to identify the possible sources of imbalance, assessing his nutritional status and nutritional dietary patterns would make the nurse implement a dietary program for Mr. X that will ensure he has proper nutritional intake within the treatment regimen's limits. The nurse also administers diuretics to remove excess body fluids to control edema and antihypertensive drugs to manage his blood pressure.

Implementing Healthy People 2020 objectives to increase wellness

Healthy people, 2020 is a well-known health plan that is aimed at health promotion and preventing diseases to promote a healthy nation. It is an extensive set of objectives focused on exterminating disparities and improving health over the years to come. Increasing life expectancy, life quality, and advancing healthcare service delivery is the general objective of healthy people 2020. Healthy people, 2020 can be utilized to identify the root cause of chronic kidney disease affecting Mr. X and others within the community and the goals that are set to fix the problem, thus improving their well-being.

It would be appropriate to implement the healthy people 2020 objectives by engaging in one-on-one health awareness with Mr. X’s family and friends and the general community by increasing their knowledge of the risk factors of chronic kidney disease, how healthy lifestyle, frequent medical checkups, and earlier treatments of the condition improve health, quality of life, productivity, and wellness. Educating the community and close family and friends about the significance of living healthy can help in the prevention of future cases of kidney diseases and other infections that are common (Taylor, 2016).

Additionally, positively influencing the behavioral patterns of the general public at an early stage will aid in determining the current health of the public and it can help in reducing their risk for developing many chronic diseases even as they grow old. Finally, the healthy people 2020 objectives can be implemented to promote wellness through the formation of social and physical environments, which promotes excellent health for everybody and through achieving health fairness, eradication of disparities, and improving the health of everybody.

The role of Nursing as an advocate for Mr. X diagnosis and treatment acceptance

Nurses play vital roles in advocating for patients to accept disease diagnosis and treatment by helping them make informed decisions concerning their health. Nurses take patients through the entire process of disease diagnosis to treatment by helping the patients navigate a multiplex health system, translate medical terms, and help the patients make ethical decisions (Potter, 2017). Nurses as advocates support the best interest of the patient while respecting the important role of the family. In Mr. X’s case, the nursing’s role is to help him understand his condition and accept that it cannot be cured.

Mr. X has accepted his condition and has made ethical decisions to avoid any kind of stressors that might deteriorate his health and begin his medications after explaining to him that they are only meant to prevent further damage to his kidneys. A nurse has to educate the patients on ways of managing their chronic conditions to help in improving the quality of their day-to-day life and this is very important for Mr. X as the nurse can teach him how to take his diuretics and antihypertensive medications.

The effect of the environment on the health of a patient

The environment has a significant impact on the health outcomes of a patient, particularly the most vulnerable populations. Several environmental factors such as air pollution, poor sanitation, drinking contaminated water, poor infrastructures, unequal access to health, and poverty negatively impact the health of a patient. Poor sanitation is associated with numerous infectious and nutritional outcomes that have a significant effect on the health and well-being of a patient (Dueñas, 2016). Additionally, poor infrastructure and lack of access to healthcare services deny patients their right to healthcare making their health deteriorate. The social environment plays a critical role in the risk of chronic kidney disease, its progression, and the inception of complications. Individuals with good infrastructures, proper sanitation, and easy access to healthcare services have proper disease progression and they receive treatment on time, hence improving their health.

Conclusion

To conclude, chronic kidney disease is an incurable disease that only requires management to prevent further kidney damage. Nurses play a vital role in advocating and providing interventions that will help improve the health of these patients. Moreover, the environment is a contributing factor to the disease prognosis of these patients as many people with chronic kidney diseases come from socially deprived areas. Despite this, it is important to ensure that everybody in the community receives equal care to improve wellbeing by implementing the Healthy People 2020 objectives.

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