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Public Health Care Nurse Case Study

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Public Health Care Nurse Case Study As a public health nurse, I can identify certain risk factors based on client information. These risk factors include habits and routines that can negatively affect a person. Furthermore, genetic factors and environmental conditions play a key role (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012, p. 68).
In this public health care nurse case study, a young female suffers from malnourishment, substance abuse, economic duress, and poor living conditions. Emotionally, she is in distress and is now seeking assistance. Additionally, I am assuming that she might be homeless and lacking family support.
Questions to Consider when Interviewing the Client While interviewing the client, I would ask myself which public/social services might best fit this young female’s needs. I would also mentally start addressing her sexual habits and considering when she last had a full physical assessment with laboratory tests and was checked for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). I would also be concerned about her psychological condition and if she suffers from any mental illness. Additionally, I would reflect on how to establish a safe environment for the patient.
How to Assist the Client during Planning Identifying the stage of prevention is required to help a person in need. This female needs a secondary prevention. This measure identifies, plans around, and reduces the impact of a current disease (Harkness & DeMarco, 2012, p. 90). As a public health nurse, during planning I can assist the client in making the decisions to cease substance abuse and to seek permanent housing. I can also help her access Social Services and assist her with obtaining the appropriate medical care. I can encourage her to complete an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) followed by a drug screening for potential drugs. Furthermore, I can provide her with information regarding the adverse effects of cigarettes and drugs (Vera, 2014).
Potential Strategies to Help the Client Adopt a Better Lifestyle Making a successful recovery from an addiction means that the client will have to make significant changes in her lifestyle (Hazelden Publishing, 2016). Thus, building good coping skills is essential for the client to have a better life. Since she will be making changes in her life, she is prone to stress. Rather than giving her strategies on how she can avoid the stress, I believe it is important to give her strategies that can help her manage them (Vera, 2014). For example, a mental health care professional would be able to identify any potential psychological condition in the client and provide effective treatment. Another possible strategy to help the client adopt a better lifestyle is to encourage her to partake in a peer support group. A support group can help her overcome her substance addiction. Additionally, being a part of a support group would provide a means for her to make new friends who are focused on changing and improving their lives. Assisting the patient in establishing a more hopeful outlook is necessary. Family members play an essential role in helping loved ones keep hope alive and in encouraging them that change is possible (Hazelden Publishing, 2016). Identifying the young adult’s family life and determining whether any members of her family partake in drug use is essential before making this decision. If her family is well balanced, then education and the reconnection of relationships should be attempted. Additionally, providing education and coping skills for the client/family members on how to reduce family friction are needed. For substance abusers, family friction can cause stress and can make them relapse to drug addiction after going through rehabilitation. Thus, the client’s family members can reduce conflict by ensuring that they adopt and maintain good communication skills with their loved one to reduce tension (Graham, 2006).

References
Graham, C. A. (2006). Alcohol and drug addiction: An emergency department perspective. Clinical Effectiveness in Nursing, 9. doi:10.1016/j.cein.2006.10.006
Harkness, G. A., & DeMarco, R. (2016). Community and public health nursing: Evidence for practice. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Hazelden Publishing. (2016). Nine strategies for families helping a loved one in recovery. Behavioral Health Evolution. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://www.bhevolution.org/public/family_support.page
Vera, M. (2014, March 10). 8 substance dependence and abuse nursing care plans. Nurseslabs. Retrieved May 10, 2016, from http://nurseslabs.com/8-substance-dependenceabuse-nursing-care-plans/

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