Health studies Assignment PDF

Running head: HEALTH STUDIES
Health studies
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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HEALTH STUDIES
Table of Contents
Part A:..........................................................................................................................................................2
An elderly lady is living at home, but is partially sighted:........................................................................2
A lady has just had a C-section and is now back on the ward:.................................................................2
A male soldier is recovering following an amputation:............................................................................3
Part B:..........................................................................................................................................................3
Physical factors:.......................................................................................................................................3
Psychological factors:..............................................................................................................................4
Social factors:..........................................................................................................................................5
References:..................................................................................................................................................6

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Part A:
An elderly lady is living at home, but is partially sighted:
An elderly lady with partial blindness can have many severe risks to her health and
wellbeing if alone. The first and foremost care that is needed to be taken in this context is for her
mobility restriction and avoiding the risk of falls. In this case, her physical environment needs to
be de-cluttered so that her movement through the house can be with no obstructions. Along with
that, she would require a thorough fall risk assessment as well, and changes in her physical
environment is needed to be made to ensure optimal safety (Hyder 2016). However,
empowerment is not just associated with safety, it is also linked to optimal functionality and
utmost dignity. In this case, she could be provided the assistance of artificial vision device like
the OrCam which utilizes artificial vision, incorporating pioneering mobileye technology is an
agronomical and easy to use platform to help people with partial or complete vision loss live
independently. Lastly, she could be given the aid of social support workers as well for 24*7
support with her consent (Andrade Selibe 2018).
A lady has just had a C-section and is now back on the ward:
The impact of giving birth can be supreme on both the physical and emotional health of
the mothers, especially when it involves operation. Hence, while a new mother is recovering in
the post-operative ward after a C-section, there is need for a holistic and empowerment focussed
care plan. First and foremost, pain and discomfort will be the most notable concern, often
accompanied by bleeding. In this case, patient controlled pain management technique will be the
most independent and empowering. The aid of a nurse call light in her reach will also make her
extremely empowered and independent without any fear or stress. Along with that, the mobility
restriction and fall risk is also present in this cases as well, hence fall risk assessment, raised bed

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HEALTH STUDIES
rails, and non-skid footwear will help her evade the risk of falling independently. Nursing the
child in the initial; few days can be a challenge, hence the aid of a midwife to supervise and
monitor the procedure will be a very important support to help her feel empowered (Koblinsky et
al. 2016).
A male soldier is recovering following an amputation:
The loss of a limb is undoubtedly a devastating event for anyone, and for soldiers, the
added impact of trauma and losing optimal functionality can affect their protective nature,
character and dignity. Hence, empowerment in the recovery period post the loss of limb can be a
very important aspect, and it will involve both medical and therapeutic measures (Curtze et al.
2016). First and foremost, mobility restriction and loss of functionality will be the first concern.
Hence, considerable fall risk assessment and optimal functionality assessment should be carried
out to ensure wellbeing, following providing of call light and bed rails. The use of prosthetics
can be a difficult task both physically and psychologically in the recovery period, hence
education and support to help learn and adapt to using prosthetic limb can be empowering and
foster independent living in the future. Along with that, phantom pain and discomfort can be a
distressing aspect. In this case, wound care involving wrapping the residual limb in warm soft
towel, heating pads, or cold packs can be helpful. Psychological empowerment will also help in
fostering independence hence talk therapy, mindfulness based therapy and mental exercises of
lost limb has been reported to be helpful remedies (Farrugia 2016).
Part B:
Physical factors:
The physical health is the first and most important physical factor that affects the
wellbeing of a patient. On a more elaborative note, in case an individual is struggling with a

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chronic illness, it will inevitably have a strong and deleterious impact on the well-being of the
individual as well. Similarly, pain, both acute and chronic has a strong delimiting impact on the
personal wellbeing of the individual as well (Steptoe, Deaton and Stone 2015). Thirdly, disability
or loss of functionality is a very important physical factor which will inevitably affect the
wellbeing of the individual and will also alter the quality of life in the individual. Lastly,
addiction to either smoking, alcohol or drugs will have a strong deleterious impact on the
wellbeing, quality of life and in turn will also reduce the life expectancy as well. On the other
hand, regular exercise, sleep quality and duration, and maintaining a healthy diet are indirect
physical factors that will have a positive impact on wellbeing, quality of life and life expectancy.
Psychological factors:
Psychological factors pertains directly to the mental health of the individual and has a
strong impact on the wellbeing state of individual. The first and foremost important factor is
motivation, the lack of which can alter the functionality, pro-activeness and participation level of
the individual in turn affecting wellbeing as well. Similarly, attitude, beliefs and principles
control presence of optimism and pessimism in life, for a person with optimistic attitude and
beliefs, the impact on personal wellbeing will be positive. On the other hand, for someone with
negative perception or beliefs, the wellbeing would be negatively affected. Confidence and
compassion can also alter the state of wellbeing making the individual irritable, withdrawn and
sad. Authors have mentioned presence of negative personality traits such as aggression,
irritability, lack of compassion or empathy can lead to various psychological distresses affecting
wellbeing as well (Newman, Tay and Diener 2014).

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Social factors:
The impact of social factors is also substantial on the personal wellbeing of the
individuals. First and foremost, familial support is a strong support network which can not only
affect the mental and emotional state of the individual, but the lack of it can also affect the
wellbeing as well. The next factors is housing, the presence or absence of which will determine
the state of security, and in turn will affect the state of wellbeing. The employment status can
also impart a huge impact on the wellbeing of the individual as it is linked directly with the
quality of life (Ross 2017). Hence, the education is also an indirect effect on the wellbeing status
of the individual as it affects the employment status and even housing.

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References:
Andrade Selibe, R., 2018. An Exploration of Strategies for an Uncertain Future for CNIB Given
Aging with Vision Loss.
Curtze, C., Hof, A.L., Postema, K. and Otten, B., 2016. Staying in dynamic balance on a
prosthetic limb: A leg to stand on?. Medical engineering & physics, 38(6), pp.576-580.
Farrugia, C., 2016. The impact of lower limb amputation on self-identity: implications for the
counselling profession(Master's thesis, University of Malta).
Hyder, E., 2016. Reading Groups, Libraries and Social Inclusion: Experiences of Blind and
Partially Sighted People. Routledge.
Koblinsky, M., Moyer, C.A., Calvert, C., Campbell, J., Campbell, O.M., Feigl, A.B., Graham,
W.J., Hatt, L., Hodgins, S., Matthews, Z. and McDougall, L., 2016. Quality maternity care for
every woman, everywhere: a call to action. The Lancet, 388(10057), pp.2307-2320.
Newman, D.B., Tay, L. and Diener, E., 2014. Leisure and subjective well-being: A model of
psychological mechanisms as mediating factors. Journal of Happiness Studies, 15(3), pp.555-
578.
Ross, C.E., 2017. Social causes of psychological distress. Routledge.
Steptoe, A., Deaton, A. and Stone, A.A., 2015. Subjective wellbeing, health, and ageing. The
Lancet, 385(9968), pp.640-648.