Health-related risks

Health-related risks

Respond to at least two of your colleagues who selected a different patient than you, using one or more of the following approaches:

· Share additional interview and communication techniques that could be effective with your colleague’s selected patient.

· Suggest additional health-related risks that might be considered.

· Validate an idea with your own experience and additional research.

1 page each response 3 APA/references / citation ( total of 6 for the two responses )

See post below.

 

 

Post 1

Case: 14-year-old biracial male living with his grandmother in a high-density public housing complex

 

“Confidentiality is the cornerstone of the therapeutic relationship between provider and the adolescent” (Sacks, 2018). When developing questions to ask a teenager it is extremely important that they feel comfortable. Many times, teenagers “may be reluctant to talk and have a clear need for confidentiality” (Ball et al, 2019). Knowing this it is important to build a basis of trust with the patient and ensure that whatever they tell you is confidential. The teen may need a lot of reassurance. As the provider it is also important to realize that fourteen-year-old teens are at the stage in their life where taking risks and experimenting with different things will happen. “The risky behavior that adolescents exhibit may lead to lifelong consequences including morbidity and mortality” (Smtih, 2017). Risky behavior could be anything from sexual activity to alcohol and drugs.  Choosing the right risk assessment is crucial in order to determine what the teen is doing, has done, or is planning on doing. With this particular patient I would use the HEEADS assessment. This assessment allows for the provider to assess everything from home life, eating habits, suicide, and safety.

Questions to ask:

1. Can you give me a synopsis of your day-to-day life, starting from when you get up to when you go to sleep?

 

This question allows for the patient to talk about him or herself. It gives the opportunity to gain a better understanding of how the patient lives and many cases it can reveal many things about the patients home life, school life, and extra curricular activities they may engage in.

 

1. What do you like to do in your free time?

This question may open up an opportunity to get a better idea of what the patient does when they are not in school or in the familial home. This can also be a chance to see if the patient is participating in any risky behavior such as drinking, smoking, or partaking in any sexual activities.

 

1. Have you ever had an illness or injury that required a hospital stay?

This question opens up the possibility for the patient to describe to you if there has ever been anything serious that has happened. In some cases the patient may tell you more about certain illnesses that they have had or give you a list of injuries from sports etc that have occurred in detail.

 

1. Are you currently sexually active? If so how many partners and do you use protection?

This question is one that the adolescent may hesitate to answer. Reinforcing that confidentiality is a must between the provider and the patient is a must. If the patient does not want to give an answer the opportunity to give some education arises.

 

1. Have you felt lonely, depressed have you ever thought about hurting yourself? If so what has made you feel that way?

 

This question opens up for the patient to tell you about problems with bullying at school or if there is some type of issue at home.

 

 

Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2019). Seidel’s guide to physical examination: An interprofessional approach (9th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.

Sacks, D., & Westwood, M. (2018). An approach to interviewing adolescents. Paediatrics & child health8(9), 554–556.

Smith GL, McGuinness TM. Adolescent Psychosocial Assessment: The HEEADSSS. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2017 May 1;55(5):24-27. doi: 10.3928/02793695-20170420-03. PMID: 28460146.