Health Interview Paper

Health Interview Paper

Interview 1 and Assessment

Case

The grey-haired, 55-year-old Gananoque-area resident, a member of the depression recovery support group at the Leeds and Grenville Rehabilitation and Counselling Services, speaks with difficulty, slowly and with frequent pauses. His eyes are lowered, his hands shake and he works nervously with his pen on the plastic cap of his open pop bottle as he recounts some of the horrific incidents that caused his illness.

Causes and Key Themes

This is one of the triggers of depression - experiences so traumatic they are literally painful to remember. The body and mind shut down under such a barrage. A younger member of the group, which used to meet at the Brockville Psychiatric Hospital (BPH) Elmgrove Unit, has similar outward symptoms. He speaks in a quiet voice, eyes down, head swaying back and forth.

The man, whose sister is also in depression recovery, said his depression dates back to childhood, when his father suffered multiple health problems. The man's depression so debilitated him that teachers at the time believed he had a learning disability.

Assessment

Depression can happen to anyone who undergoes an event that is traumatic enough, like losing a loved one, losing a job or suffering the kind of abuse that poisoned Marcel's childhood.

It can also happen on its own, the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain - a problem with a strictly physical cause such as, say, diabetes. Often, both a difficult life situation and psychochemical issues are at work in a depression sufferer, Dr. Malavi said. In some cases, people with a biochemical tendency to depression just need something to trigger it. Suicide becomes a major risk in people with severe depressions, he noted. As his story draws to an end, the group learns that Marcel is now on a very specific mission. It turns out "Marcel" is not his name at all. He was adopted, and is now searching for his biological family.

Interview 2 and Assessment

Case

I interviewed Dr. Samina Ajmal from Zulekha Hospital, Dubai. We discussed Obesity; THE BANE OF THE DEVELOPED WORLD- is spreading its tentacles among the young in the UAE too. Dr. Samina Ajmal explains how I can be tackled.

Maria: What are the major concerns regarding eating patterns of children in the U.A.E? Dr. Samina: I have worked with children for about 12 years now. In the U.A.E, I feel the eating habits of children are particularly distorted because parents are hard-pressed for time especially if both of them are working. Due to this, it becomes common practice to eat out and the main emphasis is on junk food.

Key Themes

Children get into the habit of eating while on the go and snacking from an early age. They lack balanced nutrition. Hence they start to develop health problems like obesity, iron deficiency, constipation and other nutritional deficiencies. Maria: At what age should a child be allowed to make his own food choices and how should this transition is achieved?

A child can be taught to take his/her food any time after the ...