Case Study Report on Asthma

This case study report on asthma describes the health issue, social and environmental determinants of health, services available, and recommendations for the patient. The report also provides information on the prevalence of asthma in Australia and the importance of culturally competent care. The report suggests that healthcare professionals should educate the patient and caregiver about the disorder, identify triggers, and develop an asthma plan. Desklib provides solved assignments, essays, and dissertations for students.

Running head: CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
Description of the health issue:
Asthma is a chronic condition that affects the airways of individuals. Airways are the
tubes that help in carrying air in and outside of the lungs. In case of asthma, the inside walls of
the airways become sore and swollen making it difficult for them to breathe. Children who are
suffering from asthma are seen to experience wheezing, coughing, chest tightness as well as
troubled breathing. In the case study as well, the teenage child was seen to suffer from the
disorder. Researchers are of the opinion that a number of factors trigger the occurrence of the
disorder (Azzopardi et al., 2018). These are the allergens like mold, pollens as well as animals.
Irritants like cigarette, smoke and air pollution along with cold air and changes in weather can
also exacerbate the situations. Exercise, flu and common cold also influence the symptoms. The
child of the case study has seen to undertake exercise, inhale smoke from cigarettes exhaled by
his mother and affected by the mould. These had exacerbated his symptoms making him suffer
from asthma attack. 1 in 9 Australians have been reported in having asthma in 2014 to 2015 and
about 421 deaths sue to asthma have taken place in 2015. Only 1 in 5 people have been seen to
possess a written asthma action plan that is based on 2014 to 2015 self-reported data mainly in
age of 15 and above (Asthma Snapshot, 2018). Asthma is more common in the indigenous
children in comparison to the non-indigenous children with a prevalence of 14.6% in native
children and 9.35 in non-native children. 2012-2013 Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander Health Survey have published this data
Social and environmental determinants of health:
One of the most important social determinants of health is the addiction as stated by the
World health organization. The mother of the child is seen to be addicted to smoking of

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
tobaccos. This addiction is one of the determinants of poor health condition of the child (Jenkins
et al., 2009). Researchers are of the opinion that substances in the tobacco smoke have the ability
to irritate the airways. They make the airways swollen, narrow and fill them with mucus in the
patients who are vulnerable towards it. Moreover, smoking also causes damage to the tiny hair-
like structures in the airways called the cilia. The cultural traditions of the native people expose
them to smoking from a very young age (Swan, 2008). When mothers smoke during pregnancy,
the child in her womb might not have normal births or he might be born with various disorders.
This smoking behavior is one of the social determinants of health that is affecting the teenage
child. Another social determinant is their poor socio-economic status. People of such cohort face
difficulty in ensuring finical security in life and is exposed to various disorders. In the case study,
the family is seen to belong to such cohort where they do not have the financial strength to move
into a new place that is free from any infection. The environmental determinant is the poor
housing system where the family lives with the child. There are moulds present in the house
where they stay and this condition increases the chances of exacerbation in the affected
individual. Therefore, it can be seen that low socioeconomic status and addiction of the mother
to smoking are the two social determinants and presence of moulds in the physical environment
are the conditions that influence the disorder in the teenage patient.
Description of the services available:
Condobolin, NSW possesses a number of healthcare services that provide culturally
competent healthcare services to the native people residing in the region. One of the most famous
healthcare service centers in this region is the Condobolin Aboriginal Health service. Murrin
Bridge Aboriginal Health Services, Lake Caegelligo Family Practices, Peak hill Community
Practice, Peak hill Aboriginal Medical services are some of the Aboriginal health care services

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
present in the nation. Some of the others are the Currajong Street Medical Centre Aboriginal
Health Services, Yoorana gunya Family Healing Centre are some of the others (Aboriginal
Health Services CONDOBOLIN, 2018). Gary and his family may seek for service from one of
the fifty aboriginal health care services in this region according to their accessibility and
convenient and can work accordingly to the healthcare professionals to develop the health of the
patient.
Critique of the services:
The care services that are mentioned above are the aboriginal health services called as the
AHS. For a large number of years, the Indigenous Australians have suffered culturally
incompetent care from the western healthcare professionals. Many of the Indigenous Australians
were seen to avoid the western healthcare services as they felt that their cultural traditions,
perceptions and inhibitions were not respected. Therefore, AHS have been established in the
regions with the sole aim of providing culturally competent care where professional would be
having cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity and cultural awareness (Valery et al., 2016). The
care services in the region also employ aboriginal healthcare workers who can easily understand
and communicate the different care services along with culturally competent healthcare
professionals. Different types of services are provided by the aboriginal healthcare services in
order to bridge the health status gap between the natives and the non-natives and help in
addressing the inequality they face by ensuring health services that meet the needs of the
Indigenous Australians. They work in close approximation with the Indigenous Australians
communities and invite participation from the Indigenous Australians (Jongen et al., 2018). They
provide heath screening tests, chronic diseases managements, illness prevention and counseling,
healthy lifestyle advice, adult and child health checkups, healthcare plans and referrals.

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
Therefore, Gary and his family would be getting immense help and culturally competent services
from the centers.
Recommendation and conclusion:
It is very important for the professionals to identify the health literacy level of the child
and the caregiver. Accordingly, they should be first educating the child and the family members
about the disorder in nonprofessional language and make them understand the disorder
(Coombes et al., 2018). Following this, they should educate them about the different triggers that
cause asthma attacks and how their behavioral modifications can prevent occurrences of such
exacerbations. In this case, Gary’s mother should be advised not to smoke for the betterment of
her son and should be referred to concerned authorities so that they can get help regarding their
housing issues like mould infection control or changing to a new place.
The professionals should first track the asthma symptoms and then the triggers affecting
the patient. The child should be taught to use peak flow readings by properly learning to use the
peak flow meter. This would help in understanding the condition of the lungs day to day. Asthma
plan will be prepared for the child with the use of the traffic light system of green, blue and red
zones (Stumbles et al., 2018). This will correspond to worsen symptoms. Medications should be
adjusted and the teenager and caregiver should be taught to understand emergency conditions
when it arise and immediately seek for help. Proper avoiding of triggers of asthma, regular
check-ups and proper lifestyle interventions are to be followed by Gary and his family members
effectively.

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
References:
Aboriginal Health Services CONDOBOLIN, NSW 2877 (2018), Healthdirect, retrieved from:
https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/australian-health-services/results/condobolin-2877/tihcs-
aht-10006/aboriginal-health-services?undefined&pageIndex=2&tab=SITE_VISIT
Asthma Snapshot, 2018 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Retrieved from:
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/chronic-respiratory-conditions/asthma/data
Azzopardi, P. S., Sawyer, S. M., Carlin, J. B., Degenhardt, L., Brown, N., Brown, A. D., &
Patton, G. C. (2018). Health and wellbeing of Indigenous adolescents in Australia: a
systematic synthesis of population data. The Lancet, 391(10122), 766-782.
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)32141-4
Coombes, J., Hunter, K., Mackean, T., Holland, A. J., Sullivan, E., & Ivers, R. (2018). Factors
that impact access to ongoing health care for First Nation children with a chronic
condition. BMC health services research, 18(1), 448. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-
018-3263-y
Jenkins, C. R., Chang, A. B., Poulos, L. M., & Marks, G. B. (2009). Asthma in Indigenous
Australians: so much yet to do for Indigenous lung health. The Medical Journal of
Australia, 190(10), 530-531. Retrieved from:
https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/190_10_180509/jen11367_fm.pdf
Jongen, C., McCalman, J., Bainbridge, R., & Clifford, A. (2018). Health Organisation and
System Cultural Competence Interventions. In Cultural Competence in Health (pp. 99-
113). Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-5293-4_7

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CASE STUDY REPORT ON ASTHMA
Stumbles, P. A., Andrus, P., Allen, C., & von Garnier, C. (2018). Principles for nursing practice:
Persistent asthma. Elsevier Australia.retrieved from:
http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/id/eprint/38596/
Swan, N. (2008). Indigenous women and smoking during pregnancy. On Health Report.
Sydney: Radio National ABC. Retrieved from:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/healthreport/indigenous-women-and-
smoking-during-pregnancy/3252798
Valery, P. C., Whop, L. J., Morseu‐Diop, N., Garvey, G., Masters, I. B., & Chang, A. B. (2016).
Carers' perspectives on an effective I ndigenous health model for childhood asthma in the
T orres S trait. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 24(3), 170-175.
https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.12257