Week 1 discussion
C OL LA P SE
Assigned Case Study:14-year-old biracial male living with his grandmother in a high-
density public housing complex
The first consideration to the patient in this week’s case study is the patient’s age. The
patient is a teenage boy that is most likely going to be non-compliant without proper direction
from both the clinician and the help of his family. In addition to the patient’s age, a social
determinants of patient health are the socioeconomic status of the patient in the scenario. The
high-density public housing complex could be an indicator of low income. According to Powell
et al., “Low economic status can lead to unaffordable copays and lack of insurance preventing
patients access to healthcare” (2016). Low income can also lead to poor education, which could
lead to limited understanding of patient instructions.
Treating each patient as unique individuals and exploring their respective background is
important in engaging the patient to give necessary information, as well as the history that guides
care they will receive. For example, if a patient is hesitant to give information such as risky
behavior like smoking or illicit drug use, preventative education and testing would be an
