In this assessment, an evaluation on a non-family member is done on one with symptoms of suffering from an emphysema condition. In the interview, the family and heritage information of the patient is recorded as well as other factors to help in coming up with an essential conclusion concerning the health condition of the patient. People aged more 45 years are those mostly nearing retirement, or cannot efficiently sustain themselves and are more prone to diseases and chronic conditions as compared to the younger populations. In the neighborhoods visited, the old could be in the ages ranging between 65 to 70 years. In this age, people indicate features of unproductivity, inactivity and health deterioration . I was privileged to interview a 55-year old male, known as Jacob Lee. Below is a presentation of the evidence obtained from the interviews as well as the risk conditions, together with the recommendations for improving the health status of the elderly in the community.
Heritage Assessment
A heritage assessment form is a tool used in nursing and other associated health fields, to asses or evaluate someone's beliefs and culture about his or her health ( Jarvis, 2011) . People from different cultural backgrounds and the same beliefs are likely to be associated with some health issues. Therefore, this form provides background information on a person’s health maintenance practices. This paper will be assessing the background and beliefs of my 55-year old patient, Jacob Lee. Currently, he suffers from a condition known as Emphysema. In appendix 1, the heritage document shows that Lee is a half-cast person, as he belongs to an American father and Canadian mother. He came to the USA when he was 2 years old, and is a protestant, who engages in weekly church attendance. He is a member of a religious institution, and practices some religious activities such as reading the bible and praying at home. Lee does not participate in ethnic events, and mostly has friends from his religious background. His native language is English, and he uses the language more often.
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Genogram
A genogram is a simple chart or diagram which shows the one's relationships, history, and various patterns of physiological conditions of a specific family tree ( McGoldrick et al., 2008) . This helps to determine the client’s possible patterns of any hereditary medical condition. In this case, many women in Jacobs’ family tend to have long-life spans compared to men. For example, Jacob is 55 years old, suffering from an Emphysema condition, while his mother Mina is still healthy at 73 years of age. Mina’s mother, who is 103 years old, is also still alive. Jacobs's grandfather, a father to his father, has 89 years of age. These results are clearly illustrated in Appendix 2. The emphysema condition has been passed on to him from his mother's side. As indicated on the genogram, it is clear that the carriers of the inherited condition came from his mother's side.
Health Risks
Once somebody gets over 45 years of age, he or she is prone to a series of health risk factors. This occurs drastically due to a decrease in the immunity of the body, leaving someone to be susceptible to a range of diseases. For example, Mr. Lee may be vulnerable to a series of other infections that may attack him. These infections may interfere with his cognitive, muscular, digestive system, and respiration organs. Alteration of this vital body system may lead to a decrease in immunity, causing him to be likely to contract various diseases.
The most common risk factors after the age of 45 include smoking, exposure to harmful substances, elevated blood pressure, family heritage, and sedentary lifestyles ( Kharicha et al., 2007) . On the other hand, older individuals who are obese are characterized by slow metabolism. For older people who are 45 years old and above, it is difficult to manage their lifestyles, and lack of enough exercise is likely to cause obesity. Emphysema is a condition that results from long term exposure to aerosol and other air pollutants. The disclosure of these factors creates a risk of contracting this condition because the lung tissues involved in the exchange of gases are damaged, and are impaired or destroyed. In simple terms, this condition affects the air sacs of the lungs, leading to shortness of breath. Inherited emphysema is also known as Alpha-1, and it results in the most severe hereditary emphysema. It causes the production of a protein in the liver, which travels in the lungs, causing breathing problems.
Another risk factor that may lead to a chronic condition for the elderly is the practice of smoking. This may lead to a condition of lung cancer or a stroke, which is common among the people who do not pay much attention to their health welfare. Being overweight or taking too much cholesterol can lead to an increase in the risk of contracting type II diabetes, which comes about when the body cannot effectively utilize insulin. Therefore, insulin accumulates in the body as one gets old, leading to this condition. Diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart diseases can also be risk factors for kidney diseases. Older adults tend to be pre-disposed to these conditions; therefore, those who have any of these conditions have a higher risk of developing kidney complications.
Health Promotion Teaching Opportunities
To promote good health among the elderly people, a series of health-promoting techniques need to be developed. This is to enable the passage of health education to those who have no detailed idea of the risk factors of health. The primary purpose of creating these opportunities is to prepare people psychologically on how to deal with the risk factors, and therefore, to avoid the prevalent conditions. These opportunities include:
Organizing health educational forums ( Runciman et al., 2006) . These are organizational forums created by different medical experts and medical advisors who know about nutrition and health information. This will also involve educating the elderly about the risk factors and giving them the strategies, they need to help in reducing the risk factors.
Creating health seminars, where one could inform the older adults how to maintain self-care so that they take good care for their bodies important. Also, medical professionals in these seminars can help in informing on the importance of participating in various activities so that they ensure that they engage in exercises. During the education sessions and forums, the facilitators should create events and projects that will keep the elderly on toes and also remind them to avoid unhealthy activities such as smoking.
Distributing healthy living articles to the old people, so that they can read and gain valuable knowledge on how to ensure that they maintain good health. These opportunities will also help in educating older people about various health factors. For example, if an article talks about genetic disorders, which can be a risk factor to another family member, then they will be able to easily understand how these factors are presented and note the early symptoms of a particular condition.
Coming up with mass media campaigns which addresses social health determinants and the factors that influence modifiable risk behaviors. These campaigns will be helpful in engaging and empowering the elderly enabling them to choose healthy behaviors and makes changes so as to reduce the likelihood of developing diseases and other complications.
Organizing support groups and encouraging the elderly people to attend. Here the people will gain information on the impact of diseases, strategies of dealing with diseases and means in which the diseases can be prevented. Also the facilitators can be able to provide information on prevention strategies and comprehensive plans with evidence based recommendations for building a healthy life and empowering the elderly people to make healthier choices and eliminate health issues.
Conclusion
Older people account for the highest number of hospital admissions in the society. They are also at the risk of acquiring specific disabilities, cognitive decline, or admissions to residential care as a result of an infection or due to particular treatment problems. The general needs of the elderly are coexistent with psychological, social, and medical needs, as well as the functional ones. In this analysis, a non-family member aged 55 years is evaluated. The analysis is essential in ensuring that the nurses will be able to come up with appropriate conclusions concerning the health status of the patients.
References
Jarvis, C. (2011). Physical Examination and Health Assessment-E-Book . Elsevier Health Sciences.
Kharicha, K., Iliffe, S., Harari, D., Swift, C., Gillmann, G., & Stuck, A. E. (2007). Health risk appraisal in older people 1: are older people living alone an 'at-risk group?. Br J Gen Pract , 57 (537), 271-276.
McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. S. (2008). Genograms: Assessment and intervention . WW Norton & Company.
Runciman, P., Watson, H., McIntosh, J., & Tolson, D. (2006). Community nurses’ health promotion work with older people. Journal of Advanced Nursing , 55 (1), 46-57.
Appendixes
Appendix 1: Heritage Assessment
Where was your mother born? Canada
Where was your father born? USA
Where were your grandparents born?
Your mother’s mother? Canada
Your other’s father? Canada
Your father’s Mother? USA
Your father’s father? USA
How many brothers 2 and sisters 2 do you have?
What setting did you grow up in? Urban? ____ Rural? ____ Suburban ✔
What country did your parents grow up in?
Father? USA
Mother? Canada
How old were you when you came to the United States? 2 years.
How old were your parents when they came to the United States? Mother 15 Father From birth
When you were growing up, who lived with you? My parents
Have you maintained contacts with
Uncles, aunts, cousins? Yes ✔ No __
Bothers and sisters? Yes ✔ No __
Parents? Yes ✔ No __
Your own children? Yes ✔ No __
Did most of your aunts, cousins, uncles live near your home? Yes __ No ✔
Approximately, how often did you visit your family members who lived outside your home? 1). Daily __ 2). Weekly __ 3). Monthly ✔ 4). Once a year or less __ 5). Never __
Was your original family name changed? Yes ✔ No __
What is your religious preference? Catholic __ Jewish __ Protestant ✔ Other __ None __
Is your spouse the same religion as you? Yes ✔ No __
Is your spouse same ethnic background as you? Yes __ No ✔
What kind of school did you go? Public ✔ Private __ Parochial __
As an adult, do you live in a neighborhood where the neighbor are the same religion and ethnic background as yourself? Yes ✔ No __
Do you belong to a religious institution? Yes ✔ No __
Would you describe yourself as an active member? Yes ✔ No __
How often do you attend your religious institution? More than once a week __ Weekly ✔ Monthly __ Special holidays only __ Never __
Do you practice your religion at home?
Yes ✔ No __ (If yes, please specify)
Praying ✔ Bible reading ✔ Diet __ Celebrating religious holidays ✔
Do you prepare foods of your ethnic background? Yes ✔ No __
Do you participate in ethnic activities? Yes ✔ No __
Are your friends from the same religious background as you? Yes ✔ No __
Are your friends from the same ethnic background as you? Yes __ No ✔
What is your native language? English
Do you speak this language? Prefer ✔ Occassionally __ Rarely __
Do you read your native language? Yes ✔ No __
