One of the most urgent problems of modern health care is the issue of patient assessment. Individual approach to health needs assessment requires considering personal characteristics that affect treatment selection (Mahalingamet al., 2020). Given the individual particularities of each patient, the interview techniques would differ in selecting questions on the health history of male and female patients or the representatives of different cultures. In this case, an individually tailored questionnaire for an elderly single patient is used to assess health.
The questionnaire should be based on social determinants such as financial, marital status, and housing status and be related to the patient’s health (American Academy of Family Physicians, 2018). Based on the patient’s social determinants of health, the questions for the interview would include the inquiry on the socio-economic status, environment, community facilities, transportation, and income. The questions should be asked politely and accompanied by active listening techniques to yield adequate responses. The health risks the patient might face include poor nutrition, insufficient income, falls, and medication errors due to declining health, older age, and solitude.
The interview used a social needs assessment model covering most social determinants. As a risk assessment model, a qualitative one is used, giving a descriptive assessment of problems. This risk assessment is appropriate because it allows the patient to reflect and independently state the problematic aspects (Ball et al., 2018). The following questions will help assess the patient’s health risks. 1) Are you receiving adequate medical care? 2) Do you have consistent access to healthy food and clean water? 3) Are you currently experiencing any financial difficulties? 4) Are you facing any problems with taking care of yourself and your health, such as housing, food, transportation, and personal safety? 5) Do you reside in a safe environment, and how might it be improved if necessary?
The 85-year-old single woman who gave an interview had no relatives, but she was visited by the younger sister of her late husband once a fortnight. In a distant city, she has another friend who calls from time to time on the Web and rarely visits the interviewee. She has few problems taking care of herself; however, in a serious illness, she would hardly have sufficient savings for treatment. The semi-structured interview would collect relevant and full information about the patient’s health history. Moreover, a qualitative risk assessment model would be used to determine potential hazards to health faced by the patient.
References
American Academy of Family Physicians. (2018). Social needs screening tool [PDF document]. American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation. Web.
Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2018). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach. Mosby.
Mahalingam, S., Kahlenberg, H., & Pathak, S. (2020). Social determinant of health screening tools with validity-related data [PDF document]. UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Web.