Nursing Holistic Paper

Patient Evaluation

This paper seeks to evaluate the developmental, sociocultural, spiritual, and psychological variables of A. H., who is 32 years old, married and has one daughter. The family are Christians and A. H. works in a hospital as a clinical technician/nurse’s aide. The patient has a brother and a sister. Both his father and mother and all grandparents are still alive and healthy. He is an African who migrated to the UK when he was two years old and later moved to the United States to attend college. Concerning his health status, he is healthy, although he had a car accident two years ago and suffers from regular headaches.

Analyzing A. Housing Erikson’s psychosocial development Theory

In his theory, Erikson explains that individuals experience a range of psychological conflicts or challenges in various stages of their lives. When facing these conflicts or challenges in various stages, individuals are then able to progress to the next stage. An individual’s success rate and health status depend on how well he or she passes through each stage of psychological development (Crain, 2011). A. H., for instance, had to learn how to adapt to a new environment as early as being two years old, when he migrated to the UK from his African origin. Despite having been involved in a car accident some time back, the health of A. H. is considered to be sound, although he regularly experiences headaches. This could have been attributed to his family, who adhere to religious values and hence were supposed to provide moral and psychological support.

In addition, the fact that A. H. was able to complete his college education implies that he was also supported accordingly. Erickson points out that when individuals are positively supported in each stage of psychological development and conflicts, they will be able to withstand many various challenges and be able to progress to the next stage. What is more, A. H.’s career as a clinical technician could have contributed to his quick recovery and holistic management of health care issues that may have been caused by the accident. Finally, the level of the patient’s education is also an important aspect of nursing, since educated individuals are much more aware of health issues alongside their management. They will also be able to read and understand the prescribed medication more easily than patients with no appropriate education (Mirsky & Duncan, 2005).

Socio-cultural Variable

Being an African, there are various factors that may have affected the health of A. H. Kiefer & Armenakis (2007) explains that all cultures have systems of health beliefs, which they use to explain the causes of illnesses, how they should be treated or cured, and who should be involved in the entire process. For instance, many Africans place considerable importance on religion and family. This explains why A. H. is a Christian and a religious adherent. He believes in supernatural forces, not only in presenting supernatural healing power but also as a source of courage, which is critical to nursing since it gives the patient courage and hope of surviving. When a patient positively acknowledges his situation, there is also a possibility of the healing process succeeding in a much faster way.

You may find this article APA Research Paper Help useful.

Spiritual Variable

Levin (2010) notes that for patients to experience a more effective healing process, health care professionals, who are dealing with their conditions, must be sensitive to their psychological needs. This is due to the fact that religion and the associated psyche do indeed have an impact on the health and wellbeing of individuals. A. H., as a Christian, therefore has high regard for spirituality. Consequently, he believes that God maintains and sustains his health. He also affirms that health care practitioners should respect his religious inclinations, irrespective of whether they contradict their own faith. This, therefore, could have been attributed as one of the factors that contributed to his physical and psychological health. Religion and spirituality are critical to the wellbeing of many patients (Kiefer & Armenakis, 2007). Due to this fact, health providers should not ignore this aspect but should instead support the patients psychologically when providing health care.

Psychological Variable

Mental health is an important aspect of the general wellbeing of an individual. When an individual is free from negative factors, such as too much worry, stress, anxiety, addiction or any other psychological issue, they are able to live their lives to the fullest (Mirsky & Duncan, 2005). For A. H., it appears that there were some psychological issues affecting him, thus the regular headaches. A number of studies have noted that the presence of psychological problems may cause other disorders and may cause a patient to frequently visit a healthcare facility.

The regular headaches experienced by A. H. could be a warning sign of other underlying health issues. These could be high blood pressure, infection, stroke, and many others. Levin (2010) articulates that when headaches occur suddenly and regularly as in the case of A. H., there may be a serious problem in the patient’s brain, including bleeding. This implies that A. H.’s brain or part of his brain could have been affected by the car accident. Because of this, it is recommended that A. H. visits a hospital for diagnosis to determine the cause of the constant headaches. It is more probable that these headaches could be a sign of other issues, which may manifest themselves and cause significant implications if left untreated.