Introduction/Identification
Findings:
- Alcohol: The patient admits that he drinks alcohol.
- Depression: The patient claims that he often feels anxious and depressed.
- Prescribed medicines: Prescribed medicines have a lot of unpleasant side effects.
- Lifestyle: According to the interview, the patient does not work and obviously leads a passive lifestyle.
Reasons:
- The alcohol has a negative impact on this patient’s health, as it boosts the progression of hypertension and can provoke heartache.
- Depression deteriorates the overall state of the patient’s health (Kaur, & Kaur, 2015).
- The side effects of some of the pills that are prescribed to the patient such as shortness of breath and headache can increase the influence of other patient’s illnesses.
- A passive lifestyle aggravates rheumatoid arthritis and can increase the possibility of diabetes (Cooney, Dwan, & Mead, 2014).
Short-term goals:
- Drink less alcohol.
- Use some medicines to get rid of depression.
- Consult the doctor to change prescribed medicines to avoid undesirable side effects.
- Spend more time in the open air, walk more and do some basic exercises every day (Costello, 2016).
Long-term goals:
- Drink no alcohol.
- Learn different self-suggestion techniques that help eliminate depression.
- Try to use fewer medicines to avoid unpleasant side effects.
- Go in for sport (Costello, 2016).
The patient has five significant and a number of minor problems with his health. All his health problems are mainly of a chronic character and appeared partially due to his elderly age. The first problem that bothers the patient is heartache. The second illness that he has is rheumatoid arthritis. The third problem that he has is the COPD which can be aggravated by a pollen allergy from which he also suffers. The fourth disease that he suffers from is hypertension. The patient also complains about muscle spasms which can indicate the early presence of diabetes. Besides, his father also suffered from it. Thus, considering the patient’s lifestyle and health condition, four modifiable risk factors can be distinguished: alcohol, depression, prescribed medicines, and lifestyle.
Intervention
Tips on overcoming depression:
- Communication: Communicating more and with different people can help get rid of depression.
- Favorite activities: The patient should find certain activities that will make him happy.
- Work: The patient should also find a job that will keep him busy and distract him from depression (Costello, 2016).
- Picnics: The patient should try to organize picnics with his friends and family in the open air at least every weekend.
- Yoga: The patient should also try yoga and some meditation techniques that help eliminate anxiety and depression (Cooney et al., 2014).
Tips on the types of sports exercises:
- Cardiovascular exercises: These types of exercises lower the blood pressure and make the heart stronger. They include bicycling, swimming, aerobics and jogging. These exercises are very helpful to the patient’s health. They can help get rid of heartache and most symptoms of hypertension and rheumatoid arthritis. They are also helpful in eliminating depression and reduce the possibility of diabetes (Kaur, & Kaur, 2015).
- Stretching exercises: The patient should perform these types of exercises carefully in order to avoid muscle sprain. However, stretching exercises can also remove some of the patient’s symptoms, as they help make muscles and tendons more elastic and improve blood circulation (Cooney et al., 2014).
Since the patient does not suffer from alcoholism, he himself can gradually reduce the amount of alcohol he consumes, until he finally stops drinking it. However, the doctor must inform him about the danger of alcohol for his health. As for the problem of the side effects from prescribed medicines, the doctor should prescribe some other pills without the side effects that affect weak points of the patient’s health. The doctor should also provide tips on how to overcome depression. Regarding the sports activities, they must be chosen carefully, as the patient is elderly and also has some minor health issues (Kaur, & Kaur, 2015).
Evaluation
- Activity logs: The patient should show his activity logs to the doctor. The doctor should also listen to the patient’s response about how his state of health has changed, and whether the exercises have been helpful or not.
- Lab tests: The patient should also run certain tests that will detect any changes in the patient’s state of health. If the findings are positive, the recommended course should be continued.
- Actions in case of failure: If the recommendations have not proven to be successful and the results of the lab tests have remained unchanged, then the doctor’s responsibility is to prescribe some medicines that will help improve the patient’s health condition and to advise to continue following the recommended instructions (Costello, 2016).
After some time, it is necessary to check whether the given recommendations have worked or not. In order to do that, the patient should be interviewed again, and some lab tests should be carried out. If the therapy has been successful, its further implementation is advised. If the therapy has failed, the provided intervention measures should be reconsidered (Kaur, & Kaur, 2015).
Summary
The patient has a lot of problems with his health mostly due to his elderly age. Four modifiable risk factors can be distinguished in this case. The first one is connected with the alcohol consumption. The second one is the anxiety and depression that often bother the patient. The third factor is the unpleasant side effects of pills that are prescribed to the patient. The last but not the least factor is the patient’s passive lifestyle that aggravates the overall condition of his health. Thus, the given recommendations can help the patient feel better. In case they are successful, the patient should further follow them, but, if they are unsuccessful, the doctor should give the patient some additional recommendations.
References
Cooney, G., Dwan, K., & Mead, G. (2014). Exercise for depression. JAMA, 311(23), 2432-2433.
Costello, C. G. (2016). Depression: Loss of reinforcers or loss of reinforcer effectiveness? – Republished article. Behavior Therapy, 47(5), 595-599.
Kaur, J., & Kaur M. (2015). Relation of sedentary lifestyle with cardiovascular parameters in primary care patients. Journal of Cardiovascular Disease, 3(1), 284-300.