Lifespan Approach to Health and Wellness for Nursing Essay 2022

Running head: LIFESPAN APPROACH TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR NURSING

1LIFESPAN APPROACH TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR NURSING
Table of Contents
Introduction:....................................................................................................................................2
Discussion:.......................................................................................................................................2
Identification of client:................................................................................................................2
Factors impacting health decision and behavior:.........................................................................3
Psycho-physiological aspects of health:......................................................................................5
Prevention of illness and promotion of health:............................................................................6
Conclusion:......................................................................................................................................8
References:......................................................................................................................................9

2LIFESPAN APPROACH TO HEALTH AND WELLNESS FOR NURSING
Introduction:
Health and wellbeing are defined as a positive concept which is associated with the
social and emotional wellbeing of individuals and communities. Homan (2016), highlighted that
while health and wellbeing rely on the individuals, psychological, social, spiritual and cultural
factors plays a crucial role in shaping the health and wellbeing of the patient. Within the
perspective of wellbeing, an individual is empowered to manage the possible elements that act as
stressors and make situations difficult for them (Killen & Macaskill, 2015). This essay will
explore one such case scenario where social, cultural and psychological factors play a crucial
role in the development of health outcome of the clients. The case study involves a woman,
named Mabel who has lived in her current home with her husband Ross for the past 20 years.
Ross is experiencing early signs of dementia and able to live in his home with the help of
community nurses. However, there are certain factors highlighted in the case study which further
impact the health outcome of the patient. This paper aims to provide an introduction of the client
using life span approach, Identify the health concern and model of care, factors affecting health
behaviors and health decisions, Psycho-physiological aspects of health, prevention of the illness
and promotion of health in following paragraphs.
Discussion:
Identification of client:
The client in the mentioned case scenario is Ross, a man in his late 70s suffering from
dementia. Ross is staying with his wife of the same age and his son in his mid-40s. In
understanding Ross, life span approach can be implemented. The lifespan approach is considered

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as an overarching framework for understanding human development from conception to death
(Delaney, 2018). In this context, it can be said Ross was experiencing early signs of dementia
which impacted his quality of life. Based on the developmental life approach, the following
statements can be made that differentiates between normal aging and events of dementia. In the
case of normal aging recollection of a year-old event is difficult and normal (Killen & Macaskill,
2015). However, in the case of dementia, it becomes difficult to recollect recent thoughts due to
impairment of cognition (Luckett et al., 2017). A similar instance can be observed in the case of
Ross; he could not recollect the incident of fall. Aoun et al. (2018), highlighted that a significant
aspect of the aging process is cognitive decline which impacted the memory of the adults. Hence,
in this case, the health concern in the early signs of dementia. Suzman et al. (2015), suggested
that the impact of dementia include anger, loss, declined memory, disbeliefs, sudden fall, and
other factors. Hence, to manage the health concern, the bio-psychosocial model of care is the
best suitable care which is a holistic model of care that consider dynamic interactions of
biological, psychological, and social factors while providing care (Magin, Goode & Pond, 2015).
Hence, in this case, the nurse must incorporate the biological, psychological and social factors
that influence the health outcome Ross while providing care.
Factors impacting health decision and behavior:
Northwood et al. (2016), suggested that social determinant of health are crucial
contributor behind shaping health decisions and behavior. In this context, it can be said that one
of the most crucial biological factors that influence the health decision is early signs of dementia.
The patient experience cognitive decline such as recollection of thoughts which further impacted
his health behaviors. Consequently, it facilitates a lack of social interaction in case of Ross where
previously he used to interact with the neighbors and showed them his medals (Nicholls, Maller

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& Phelan, 2017). No signs of medications or other interventions by nurse were observed in the
case scenario. There remains no evidence that both of them were provided with a routine
provision of healthcare. Another social factor that influence of the health behavior and health
decisions is constant violence by their son, Burt who constantly shout and howl at his parents for
past three months which was also noticed with the neighbors. Consequently, this constant
violence not only impacts the mental wellbeing of Ross but also the wellbeing of Mable. Mable
was unable to take care of her husband and exhibit cessation of social interaction with the
community members and keeps neatness around her house. Jackson and Hafemeister (2015),
suggested that constant violence is one of the most prominent social factors that subject patients
in high psychological distress such as depression and anxiety. In this context, it can be said that
Mabel develops depression due to high psychological distress which impacted her health
behaviors such as lack of social interactions and health decision of not seeking care provision for
herself and management of her husband (Wright & Brown, 2017). The apprehension might be
the factor that influences the health behavior of Mable and Ross and influence health decision of
not seeking professional help. Mable and Ross belong to the small local community of
Williamstown where they might experience the lack of access to the health care services required
for management of dementia since Mable was unaware of proper management of health situation
of her husband and there was no evidence of seeking constant health assistance from the
community nurse (Northwood et al., 2016). Ross was living at home with the assistance of the
community nurses.
Considering the cultural context, lack of intervening nature of the neighbor is one of the
factors that impact health behaviors and health decision. Despite the lack of social interactions
noticed by neighbors and howling from her sons, the neighbors did not initially investigate the

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situation. Friedman et al. (2017), suggested that every individual have a social responsibility
within the community for promoting social justice. However, in this case, due to the open-
minded cultural beliefs and values, the neighbors did not intervene and investigate it, rather in a
severe situation, they contact the community nurse. Social stigma and limited knowledge of the
health care services can be the case for the neighbor which hindered proactive initiatives (Wright
& Brown, 2017). Hence, in this case, health decision such as neighbor informed the community
nurse after the noticeable social withdrawal of the couple.
Psycho-physiological aspects of health:
Considering the life span development of the human being it can be said that the Ross
and Mable both are in their late adulthood which further trigger certain psychological,
psychological, emotional and cognitive changes in the adults. According to the Immunological
Theory of aging, the immune response of the individuals gradually decreases with the aging
process and dysfunctional immune system further increase the susceptibility of the older
population towards the chronic diseases like dementia as observed in this case (Homan, 2016). In
this aging process, the stressors present in the social and personal environment tend to influence
the health of the population. Considering the case study, it was observed that Brut is seen to
exhibit trouble such as constant violence which subjected Ross and Mable to high psychological
distress. Jackson and Hafemeister (2015), violence is considered as one of the crucial stress that
trigger the emotions of the couple such as apprehension and impact health. On the other hand,
According to stress vulnerability model, every individual carries genetic and other predisposition
to mental illness where stress further facilitates the biological factors to develop a mental illness
such as dementia (Colodro-Conde et al., 2016). In this context, negative emotions such as
apprehension often result from chronic stress like violence individuals usually subjected to in the

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social environment as observed in this case study. Finlay et al. (2015), suggests that chronic
stress is often seen to cause hormonal disruption; decreasing the brain chemicals required for
happiness, leading to damage of the immunity system. In similar regards, it can be stated that the
dynamic interactions of chronic stress and genetic factors facilitate the development of early
signs of dementia in Ross. Ego integrity versus despair of Erikson’s psychosocial stage
suggested that in late adulthood, older adults often lack the productivity which made them feel
helpless as evident in this case. High level of apprehension and helplessness reduces the
flexibility or plasticity of prefrontal cortex and facilitate the development of dementia (Chihuri et
al. 2015). This chronic stress also impacted the wellbeing of Mable who might be at high risk of
developing depression. They failed to manage the stress that impacted their wellbeing. The
responses that were observed after exposing themselves to the high level of stress include social
withdrawal and unkempt housing (Evans et al., 2018). The case study highlighted that some of
Mabel's collection of rare teapots that she was so proud of are reducing in number and Ross's
service medals are no longer in the display case. Her once well-tended flower garden has
vanished and a solitary rose now pokes up through a bed of weeds. These factors indicate
impairment in the daily activities of living. The couple used to interact with the neighbors during
morning walks and after the exposure to the constant violence, they exhibited social withdrawn
(Evans et al., 2018).
Prevention of illness and promotion of health:
Prevention of illness and promotion of health is considered as the approach which
enhances the ability of an individual to achieve psychosocial wellbeing through healthy coping
mechanism (Livingston et al. 2017). Apart from the prevention of illness, the intervention will
also additionally focus on causes of reducing the potential risks. In this case, to prevent dementia

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in Ross, The Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) is the most suitable therapy. It is a therapy
which offers diverse enjoyable activities that stimulate the thinking, concentration, and memory,
usually in a social setting such as a small group (Martyr et al., 2018). In this case, his family can
be involved in therapy along with neighbors to support his wellbeing. The nurse can engage Ross
in meaningful conversations that include the discussion about his medals and other activities
which stimulate the recollection of thoughts. The nurse must encourage Ross for a reorientation
of thoughts to improve memory. Consequently, it will not only empower Ross but also promote
the health and wellbeing of Ross. To prevent sudden fall which is common in patients with
dementia, the community nurse must keep the floor clean, remove home hazards, light up living
space and install the assistive device (Killen & Macaskill, 2015). Mable is required to provide
with early diagnosis of mental illness according to DSM V. The nurse must identify the
underlying reason behind frequent violence of his son and assess the mental health of their son to
prevent the violence. Since they were unable to perform daily activities which give rise to
hygiene issues (Killen & Macaskill, 2015). Activities of daily living is the best suitable
intervention which nursing professionals must incorporate while assisting the patient in
performing daily activities (Maeda, Koga & Akagi, 2018). In this case, the nurse must
incorporates activity of daily living framework while assisting Ross and Mable in daily activities
such as maintaining a safe environment, eating and drinking and Washing and dressing.
The case study highlighted that Mable is unaware of the management of dementia of his
husband and self-management. She also has limited knowledge regarding dementia. In this case,
the community nurse provides health literacy to Mable regarding dementia, impact, and
management of it (Livingston et al. 2017). The nurse also required to provide her with adequate
literacy of self-management and assist her in gathering self-management skills. The community

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nurse must involve Ross and his son in this health literacy. The involvement of the neighbors can
be encouraged in this case to prevent the illness and promote health by empowering them
(Livingston et al. 2017).
Conclusion:
On a concluding note, it can be said that dementia is one of the chronic diseases which
impact the quality of the life of the patients. The development of dementia is known to have a
severe impact on the life of the family and their care providers. Hence, it becomes important for
healthcare service providers to understand and support people with dementia and their family
members. The case study involves a couple where the husband is suffering from dementia and
they both are subjected to constant violence which shaped their health behavior. They exhibited
social withdrawal and unkempt housing as a response to it. In this case, the nurse must support
the family with Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) and the activity of daily living for
preventing illness and promote illness. Health literacy can be given to them to empower them
and promote health and wellbeing.

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Friedman, E. M., Ruini, C., Foy, R., Jaros, L., Sampson, H., & Ryff, C. D. (2017). Lighten UP!
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