Focus on Adult Nursing in the Asian Community of Hounslow Council

Introduction

The role of the nurses in promoting health across the lifespan is to act as educators for the patient. This is important because most of the public and patients are found to lack effective health education to manage their enhanced health which in turn leads the patients and public suffer from deteriorated health consequences out of their inappropriate actions towards health. In this condition, the nurses by acting as the educator are able to provide them guidance and information about the best interventions for their health to be followed to ensure their enhanced well-being (Darch et al., 2017). The field of nursing to be focussed in this study is adult nursing regarding which effective promotion of health and well-being is to be supported by the nurses. This is to allow the elderly to make changes in their life course to increase their life expectancy and manage better health with less complication from illness (Keele, 2019). For this purpose, the health aspect of an individual from Hounslow Council (Asian Community) is to be discussed. On the basis of the individual’s health complication and needs, health promotion activities are to be mentioned along with policies which could support the person’s enhanced health and well-being.

Background of Health

According to WHO, the health is complete state of mental, physical and social well-being and is not merely includes lack of infirmity or disease in a person (WHO, 2020). In order to understand if a person is healthy, a complete health analysis is to be made and the information are to be included together to form the health profile of the individual. This is because health profile reports contain details about the vital signs of physical and mental health which can be analysed to understand the health status of the person as well as in which aspects they are facing risks that are to be immediately intervened to avoid health deterioration of the patient (Breda et al., 2018).
The health profile report of a person also helps the nurses to understand the probable health complication present in the family of the patients and determine if they are related or probable to be present in the person which makes the nurses be alert in executing early healthcare intervention for the person. The health profile of the person is useful to make the nurses understand the hindered activities been executed by the individual due to which the person’s health has deteriorated in turn providing them easy analysis of the exact intervention to be made to ensure their better health (Artiga and Hinton, 2019).

Health Profile of the individual and related health promotion

In the study, the health profile of Mr A who 78-year-old individual living in the Hounslow Council area and belong from the Asian Community is to be discussed. In the Hounslow Council area, it is mentioned that 25% of the population is Asian whereas rest 65% are white and 10% are from BAME community (democraticservices.hounslow.gov.uk, 2015). This indicates that in Hounslow Council, there is presence of multi-cultural and multi-racial environment allowing Mr A to live effectively in close contact with individuals of personal as well as other culture. In Hounslow Council, as per last census in 2011, there are 10.6% of people who are on and above the age of 65 years (democraticservices.hounslow.gov.uk, 2015). This indicates that since Mr A is 78 years he falls under the elderly population in the area which is in concerned numbers. According to NMC Code of Practise, the privacy and confidentiality of the patient are to be upheld by the nurses (NMC, 2018). Therefore, the anonym is used to indicate the individual so that his real identity is not revealed, and confidentiality is maintained.

Mr A is currently a retried person since 2015 who used to work as a financial advisor in a reputed firm. He has Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and is currently living alone in his own house. His wife passed away 5 years ago, and his son is settled in the USA with his wife who calls everyday to keep check on the health of his father and other needs. The physical health assessment of Mr A revealed that his height is 180 cm and the person currently weight 110 kg. The lifestyle assessment of Mr A indicates that he highly prefers fast food and has continued to eat burgers, pizza and others in high amount till the current stage initiating from the early age after he involved in job. He is also found to be dependent on frozen foods as he lacks knowledge regarding cooking which was the skill his wife specialised. He reported that while his wife was alive he was able to eat least home-cooked for dinner but after her death he has developed a dependency of fast foods and rarely cooks.

Mr A reported to be smoking 30 cigarettes a day at the present since the age of 25 years. The health history of Mr A inform that he has suffered a mild stroke 5 years ago after listening to his wife death who died in an accident for which he was hospitalised for a week. He is also found to be suffering from pain in the joints for the past 2 years due to which he feels constraints in moving around. He reports to feel lonely and expressed no interest in executing any physical activity due to pain and hindrance in walking along with mentioned having sleeping problem. The social health assessment of Mr A revealed that he has not remaining connected with the family and hardly interacts with his friends.

The NHS informs that adult individuals are required to take in at least 400g of fruits and vegetables in a single day to lower the risk of facing heart diseases, cancer and stroke (NHS, 2019). This is because fruits and vegetables contain healthy nutrients and minerals (multivitamin, fibre and antioxidants to support enhanced heart health, calcium by healthy bones) required by the body to support their enhanced functioning (Amao, 2018). Moreover, the study by Rosser (2018) mentioned that taking in healthy foods such as nuts, beans and others are effective to block blood vessels which are responsible for feeding the cancer cells to grow in the body. Thus, Mr A's habit of rarely eating fruits and vegetables would create risk for him to face cancer, heart disease and reoccurrence of stroke that may be fatal. This is because Mr A has already suffered a mild stroke and not taking healthy nutrient would lead him to face deteriorated cardiovascular condition causing reoccurrence of stroke that he already suffered.

The study by Hadjikakou and Baker (2019) informed that intake of increased amount of fast and frozen foods leads individuals to be at higher risk of facing depression, obesity, heart disease, cancer, type-2 diabetes, early death and stroke. This is evident as fast foods are reported to contain increased amount of saturated fats which leads to increased deposition of fat in the body resulting in increased body weight. Moreover, the fats from fast foods and trans-fats from the frozen foods are seen to raise the cholesterol level and get deposited in the inner lining of the arteries to clog them, causing development of high blood pressure and associate cardiovascular diseases (Wani and Sarode, 2018). In contrast, the study by Parr et al. (2020) mentions that fast and junk foods contain trans and saturated fats which increases the triglyceride level in the body responsible for creating risk of type-2 diabetes. Therefore, the diet of fast and frozen food is going to create risk of heart disease and type-2 diabetes for Mr A.

The deposition of saturated fats in the body by eating increased amount of fast food without effective physical exercise to use the fat in the body results individuals to be at risk of facing obesity or overweight (Brassard et al., 2018). The normal BMI rate of a person usually varies from 18-25 kg/m2 and the BMI rate above 30 is classified as class I obese and above 35 is referred as class II obese (NHS, 2020). Mr A’s BMI rate considering his height and weight is 34 kg/m2 which indicates that the person is suffering from obesity and is a class I obese patient. It also determines that high fast food habit and lack of physical exercise has contributed towards his current physical condition of being obese. The NHS informs that adult individuals are required to be involved in physical exercise each day with 150 min of moderate to intensive activity achieved in a week (NHS, 2019a). The lack of effective physical exercise leads to cause heart disease and leads people to develop additional health issues such as overweight, high blood cholesterol, diabetes and others (Tseng et al., 2018). In case of Mr A, it is seen that he avoids performing physical activity and led a sedentary life which has already led him to be obese and creating risk for him to face deteriorated heart disease and diabetes.

The impact of smoking in chronic manner leads individuals to develop risk of develop heart disease, lung diseases, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) and others. This is because the harmful chemicals such as nicotine from the cigarette smoke cause damage to the healthy cells lining the inner side of the trachea and lungs leading to damage to the alveoli resulting in increased sputum, respiratory problem and other nature of lung diseases and COPD (West, 2017). Mr A is seen to be smoking for long time and is currently smoking at the same pace. Therefore, it would create risk for him to develop COPD, heart diseases and other nature of respiratory and lung problems. The key signs of depression include lack of interest in performing everyday activities, increased fatigue, hindered appetite, isolative behaviour and others (Strulik, 2019). In case of Mr A, it is seen that after the death of his wife he has remained made himself to remain isolated along with expressed having sleeping problem which indicates that he may be suffering from depression. The presence of depression leads the individuals develop risk to executing suicide or self-harm as well as it hinders the individual's immune system (Baker and Algorta, 2016). Therefore, presence of depression in the case of Mr A is going to create risk for him to develop diseases out of poor immune system and may lead him to execute suicide out of disturbed thoughts.

The initial advice to be provided to Mr A in improving his health and resolving health-related risk is making him develop the habit of eating vegetables and fruits as well as make him involve in physical activity. For this purpose, he is to be referred to a dietician and physical trainer. The dieticians are experienced professionals who have adequate knowledge about the nature of food to be suggested and in what amount specifically to each individual to ensure them healthy living (Segal et al., 2017). Thus, Mr A is to be referred to the dieticians so that the professional by analysing his current health condition can develop a detailed diet chart. The chart is to act as guidance for Mr A to be followed in resolving risk regarding heart disease, diabetes and lungs along with manage obesity and take in adequate amount of fruit and vegetables required for his health condition. The physical trainer provides support to the individuals in learning regarding the way to perform physical activity best suited for their health condition to remain healthy (Ferioli et al., 2018). In case of Mr A, the physical trainer would help him to learn regarding the specific physical activity to be maintained so that his obese state is resolved.

The physiotherapists are qualified individuals who are able to treat any injury, disease and deformity through the use of physical massage, exercise and heat treatment (Williams et al., 2018). Since Mr A is facing issues with making effective movement due to pain in the joints, he is to be referred to the physiotherapist within the community. This is to help him access physical therapy useful to help him cope with the pain in the joints and involve in effective physical activity which he currently neglects due to the pain. The advice to be given to Mr A regarding his unhappy and lonely feeling is politely asking him to interact with family and friends in sharing his emotions and thoughts. Moreover, he is to be referred to a psychologist as well as psychiatrist to help home cope with his depression. This is because the psychiatrist would detect the severity of the mental health issues and prescribe effective medication to resolve the illness (Grover et al., 2017). Moreover, the psychologist is also important as the professional would help patients like Mr A to develop talking session with them to help the individual share their emotions and educate them action to overcome the negative emotions to develop a positive mental health condition (Cheng et al., 2016).

In case of Mr A, he is to be advised to join smoking cessation program within the Hounslow Council to overcome is addiction with smoking. In this purpose, Mr A is to be referred to NHS-endorsed smoking cessation program where smoking replacement products such as gums, patches and others along with smoking cessation tablet are provided to help people quit smoking (NHS, 2019b). Moreover, Mr A is to be referred to a pulmonologist to determine the current condition of his lungs to determine the extent to which smoking has affected his lung and the early intervention immediately required to enhance his health. The UK government’s Healthy Eating policy named as Eatwell Guide mentions that 5 portions of vegetable and fruits, inclusion of wholegrain or high fibre food, low fat and sugar food products, two portions of sustainable fish each week and increased amount of pulses are to be present in the daily diet to adults (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2018). This policy is to be informed to A to influence him to understand the nature of food to be included in his diet to maintain own health and well-being. The Tobacco Control Plan 2017-2022 is to be used in influencing the smoking cessation decision of A. This is because the plan provides information about the actions to be taken and their importance in smoking cessation and enhanced health of patients (assets.publishing.service.gov.uk, 2017).

The things to be looked out in the community and neighbourhood of A is the presence of social services who would assist him in cooking, maintaining healthy diet and physical activity. This is to be taken in account while providing support to Mr A by asking him what additional social services are required by him which could help him led a better life. Moreover, the things to be looked out in the family of A is if there are any nearby distant relative present around the area of the Hounslow Council who could regularly or weekly visit A to accompany him and avoid making him lonely. This is to be taken into account during providing support to A by asking him if there are any nearby friends or relative he wish them to visit him to avoid making him feel lonely.

Conclusion

The discussion concludes that importance of using health profile of patient is that it helps to develop enhanced knowledge regarding the health history of the patient. Moreover, it helps to determine the key physical, mental and social issues being faced by the patient which are to be resolved to ensure the person enhanced well-being. The health profile is also important to determine the probable health risk and current health status of the individual which later allows to make definitive care plan and assist to provide supportive care advice along with referral for the patient to ensure them enhanced well-being. However, additional information required for enhanced health profile development of patients is including information through clinical diagnosis and assessment of vital factors of health. This is because it helps to detect definitive presence of certain health issues rather than considering them as only risk to be present for the health condition of the patient.

References

Amao, I., 2018. Health Benefits of Fruits and Vegetables: Review from Sub-Saharan Africa. Vegetables: Importance of Quality Vegetables to Human Health, pp.33-53.

Artiga, S. and Hinton, E., 2019. Beyond health care: the role of social determinants in promoting health and health equity. Health, 20(10), pp.1-13.

Baker, D.A. and Algorta, G.P., 2016. The relationship between online social networking and depression: a systematic review of quantitative studies. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 19(11), pp.638-648.

Brassard, D., Arsenault, B.J., Boyer, M., Bernic, D., Tessier-Grenier, M., Talbot, D., Tremblay, A., Levy, E., Asztalos, B., Jones, P.J. and Couture, P., 2018. Saturated fats from butter but not from cheese increase HDL-mediated cholesterol efflux capacity from J774 macrophages in men and women with abdominal obesity. The Journal of nutrition, 148(4), pp.573-580.

Breda, J., Jakovljevic, J., Rathmes, G., Mendes, R., Fontaine, O., Hollmann, S., Rütten, A., Gelius, P., Kahlmeier, S. and Galea, G., 2018. Promoting health-enhancing physical activity in Europe: Current state of surveillance, policy development and implementation. Health Policy, 122(5), pp.519-527.

Cheng, P.G.F., Ramos, R.M., Bitsch, J.Á., Jonas, S.M., Ix, T., See, P.L.Q. and Wehrle, K., 2016. Psychologist in a pocket: lexicon development and content validation of a mobile-based app for depression screening. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 4(3), p.e88.

Darch, J., Baillie, L. and Gillison, F., 2017. Nurses as role models in health promotion: a concept analysis. British Journal of Nursing, 26(17), pp.982-988.

Ferioli, M., Zauli, G., Martelli, A.M., Vitale, M., McCubrey, J.A., Ultimo, S., Capitani, S. and Neri, L.M., 2018. Impact of physical exercise in cancer survivors during and after antineoplastic treatments. Oncotarget, 9(17), p.14005.

Grover, S., Dalla, E., Mehra, A., Chakrabarti, S. and Avasthi, A., 2017. Physical comorbidity and its impact on symptom profile of depression among elderly patients attending psychiatry services of a tertiary care hospital. Indian journal of psychological medicine, 39(4), p.450.

Hadjikakou, M. and Baker, P., 2019. The untenable role of “junk food” in a healthy and sustainable food system. Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems, pp.158-169.

Keele, R., 2019. To role model or not? Nurses’ challenges in promoting a healthy lifestyle. Workplace Health & Safety, 67(12), pp.584-591.

NHS 2019, Why 5 A Day?, Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/why-5-a-day/ [Accessed on: 17 December 2020]

NHS 2019a, Exercise, Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/ [Accessed on: 17 December 2020]

NHS 2019b, NHS stop smoking services help you quit, Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/quit-smoking/nhs-stop-smoking-services-help-you-quit/ [Accessed on: 17 December 2020]

NHS 2020, Obesity, Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/obesity/ [Accessed on: 17 December 2020]

NMC 2018, The Code, Available at: https://www.nmc.org.uk/globalassets/sitedocuments/nmc-publications/nmc-code.pdf [Accessed on: 17 December 2020]

Continue your exploration of Exploring the Significance of Health and Social Care with our related content.