Educating Emphysema Patients on Treatment Adherence for Better Health Outcomes

Introduction

The topic selected for the Health Promotion Project is the motivation of patients with emphysema to strictly adhere to their treatment plans. The target audience associated with this project includes adult patients with emphysema who demonstrate non-adherence to treatment plans because of internal and external factors. The reason for focusing on this problem is that certain habits of patients, including smoking, and their lack of motivation for taking medications can cause worsening of this chronic condition with further complications.

Learning Objectives

The following objectives are formulated for the project concerning three domains, such as cognitive, affective, and psychomotor ones:

1. At the end of the one-to-one consultation, patients with emphysema will rewrite their daily schedules to guarantee taking medications twice per day.
2. By the end of the project, patients with emphysema will apply techniques for giving up smoking while using the provided recommendations, and the number of cigarettes will decrease to two per month.
3. At the end of role-modeling, a patient with emphysema will verbalize at least four reasons for changing daily routines and giving up smoking.
4. After discussing case studies, a patient will display at least two obstacles she or he has regarding the adherence to the treatment.
5. After taking a simulation, patients will be able to repeat all steps in the procedure of using bronchodilators.
6. After the demonstration, patients with emphysema will be able to display how to use at least three exercises for coping with shortness of breath.

Learning Domains

The learning domain for the first two objectives is the cognitive one because patients with emphysema are expected to apply the received knowledge while rewriting daily schedules and applying techniques for giving up smoking. The level of cognitive behavior, in this case, is the application (Bastable, Gramet, Jacobs, & Sopczyk, 2011). The third and fourth objectives are related to the affective domain as patients are expected to verbalize their feelings and reasons for adhering to the treatment plan, as well as to discuss internal barriers preventing them from taking medications. The fifth and sixth objectives are related to the psychomotor domain because patients are expected to demonstrate in practice how to adapt to their state and behave in problematic situations.

Teaching Methods

An effective teaching method for the cognitive domain is the one-to-one instruction that is important to share the knowledge regarding the condition and ways to cope with its symptoms. Referring to the affective domain, it is appropriate to use role-modeling and role-playing in order to help patients to demonstrate their emotions and feelings that prevent them from adhering to the treatment (Bastable et al., 2011). For the psychomotor domain, it is possible to use simulations in order to help patients practice their skills in addressing symptoms of the disease.

The VAK Survey

My preferred learning style is visual, and I can benefit from using graphs, posters, presentations, and other types of visuals. Referring to teaching methods, I should state that using lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, handouts, and demonstrations is important for me (“VAK learning styles,” n.d.). I can learn the material better if I read the notes, use mind maps, write outlines, and focus on illustrations related to the text.

Conclusion

While working on the Health Promotion Project, it is important to determine learning domains in order to organize teaching and learning most effectively. The next important step is the formulation of specific and measurable objectives that need to be achieved as a result of using the proposed education for patients. The understanding of patients’ expectations can be improved concerning using the VAK survey in order to know more information about different learning styles to choose the most appropriate teaching methods.

References

Bastable, S., Gramet, P., Jacobs, K., & Sopczyk, D. L. (2011). Health professional as educator: Principles of teaching and learning. New York, NY: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

VAK learning styles. (n.d.). Web.