Patient Care Management

Essay Outline

Introduction

Discussion

Process

Maintaining a Safe Environment

Communicating

Breathing

Eating and Drinking

Eliminating

Controlling Body Temperature

Mobilizing

Working and Playing

Sleeping

Dying

Conclusion

Introduction

In this essay we will be discussing a patient with several diseases like worsening diarrhoea, ketosis, hypotensive, malnutrition and Type 1 Diabetic Mellitus will also be discussing the care that will be received by the patient following a hypoglycemic attack. The patient being described is a fictitious 45 year old lady called Miss Helen Gordon; she lives in a flat in a city centre with her husband Bert. Miss Helen has had several diseases for years which has been poorly controlled by medication and diet.

Miss Helen's has now progressively worsened; she has been commenced on a self-managed insulin therapy plan. She is cared for by the community team and her GP; she attends the regular diabetic clinic. Miss Helen has no other medical conditions but is currently suffering a cold. On a trip to the chemists Miss Helen feels unwell, clammy, trembling and confused; the chemist calls Bert and the district nurse. On her arrival the district nurse treats Miss Helen for a hypoglycaemic attack, to which Miss Helen responds, but is concerned about Miss Helen's high temperature, she arranges for Miss Helen to be admitted to hospital(Boyd, 99).

Discussion

Little of human food choice and intake on a daily basis is directly determined by the chemical composition of foods and the physiological characteristics of the individual; it is very much influenced by events occurring around and between these factors, perceptions, beliefs and responses to cues. There are global rules that operate on human eating behavior; food choice and intake reflect food availability, existing eating habits but also learning mechanisms, and individual beliefs and expectations, i.e. cognitive influences and meanings. Context largely influences food intake and diet content; it would, thus, be interesting to identify eating behaviors related to food choice in diabetic patients or to glycemic control and explore their importance and contribution. Still, data in this area are very scarce(Ghaye, 45).

Eating behaviors were also evaluated in relation to glycemic control. A healthful eating lifestyle resulted in low HbA1c levels and was positively related to specific food habits, i.e. limiting the amount of high-sugar foods and portion sizes, eating only an occasional dessert, reducing high-fat foods, eating low-fat foods, eating regularly, planning meals, eating large amounts of vegetables, limiting specific carbohydrate. In contrast, it was negatively related to eating at buffets, fast-food and large-chain restaurants, choosing high-fat menu selections and eating high-fat sources of protein. Deviations in prescribed eating patterns, particularly breakfast skipping and snack additions and deletions, were also associated with poor metabolic control.

The adoption of new food habits is not an easily achieved goal. Diabetic patients encounter several educational, environmental, psychological and lifestyle difficulties in modifying their lives to accommodate disease management. Barriers to dietary adherence include complications with daily life (eating out, social events) and temptations, need for food planning, need for constant self-care, denial of the severity of the disease, poor understanding of diet-disease associations, misinformation, lack of appropriate social support and time ...