The Holistic Patient Assessment

Running head: THE HOLISTIC PATIENT ASSESSMENT
THE HOLISTIC PATIENT ASSESSMENT
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Introduction
Holistic patient assessment forms an important component in nursing and forms the
foundation of patient care. Through the conduction of a holistic assessment, nurses are able to
collect subjective and objective patient data, followed by implementation of a person-centred
care plan. This essay will elaborate on a holistic patient assessment that had been conducted on a
person suffering from diabetes mellitus.
Patient assessment
Health history: The patient is 65 years old named Lily Blossom and she was suffering
from diabetes type-2. She has been suffering from osteoarthritis for a period of about 10 years.
She is suffering from obesity as well as for 15 years. She has a family history of diabetes type-2
in the family with mother and sister being affected by the disorder. Her complaints about
sleeping disorder had been also noted in the recent pasts
Physiological assessment: On close analysis it was found that she was suffering from
type-2 diabetes and had a glucose level of 167mg/dL, which was much higher than that of the
normal level of 100 to 125 mg/dL. It was also found that she was suffering from extreme pain in
the joints because of osteoarthritis and the pain scale was found to be 8 out of 10.
Psychological assessment: She was found to be highly depressed about her condition of
life. She had been quite frustrated about her sufferings as he fails miserably to manage her
symptoms. She had been not able to manage her activities of daily living and is undergoing the
feelings of loss of independence. She has to depend on her family members for help and this
affects her self-esteem. She had undergone depression and anxiety and even she has been found
to suffer from social withdrawal.

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Social assessment: It has been found that Lily has withdrawn herself from the society.
This is because of her difficulty in vision, she cannot drive. Moreover, pain in her joints had
resulted in restricted mobility which had become difficult for riding steps and conducting various
activities like meeting friends, going for walks and many others. Her family member is
supportive and her daughter in law is her caregiver. She cannot visit the church and also cannot
attend the various ceremonies that occur in the neighborhood.
Cultural assessment: The patients are Islamic in origin and are found to be quite
dedicated towards her cultural traditions and customs. She had married her husband in Saudi
Arabia and then settled in Australia after the birth of her son. However, she had been never
discriminated other culture and had tried her best to mix up with the Australian society. Still, she
had been very strict with her own cultural traditions and customs that she had grown up with.
Developmental assessment: She had proper psychological as well as physical
development. However, there was a slight cognitive decline that is a part of the normal aging
process.
Spiritual assessment: The patient places adequate belief in the universal spirit of God and
considers religion to be of utmost importance for any individual. She also considers faith as
imperative for helping people cope with their illness.
Interpretation of findings
Blood glucose level of 167mg/dL provided indication for the fact that the patient is
suffering from diabetes type 2. T2D is also referred to as adult onset diabetes and commonly
characterized by the lack of insulin hormone, or insulin resistance. Some of the common
symptoms of the condition include frequent urination, an increase in thirst, and sudden loss in

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body weight, all of which were reported by the patient. According to Taskinen and Borén (2015)
the metabolic syndrome is caused due to insufficient production of the hormone insulin from the
beta cells of islets of Langerhans, thereby leading to insulin resistance. This typically makes the
body cells incapable of adequately responding to normal insulin levels, primarily within the fat,
liver and muscle tissue. Furthermore, when present in liver, the hormone also brings about a
suppression of the release of glucose. During insulin resistance, there occurs inappropriate
release of glucose into bloodstream from the liver (Zaccardi et al., 2016).
Taking into consideration the fact that diabetes is a demanding metabolic disease, it has
created an impact on the life of the patient in several ways. The patient often finds it difficult to
show adherence to dietary modifications that form an essential part of diabetes management. In
addition, high blood sugar levels has also made her apprehensive of the consequences, and she
often finds it difficult to engage in activities that encompass self-monitoring of her blood
glucose. In addition, the condition has also created an impact on the functioning of her kidneys,
and have attributed to an increase in blood pressure (Trikkalinou, Papazafiropoulou & Melidonis,
2017). This in turn creates a significant impact on her quality of life as well since the patient and
her family members are constantly worried about her future health complications, and also fear
about the onset of diabetic retinopathy.
The patient represents lack of adequate coping mechanism for the metabolic syndrome
since she lacks the much needed support that is imperative for reducing the negative impacts that
diabetes creates on the quality of life. In addition, she does not have necessary problem solving
capabilities and also lacks a basic understanding on T2D and the ways by which it can be
effectively managed. Hence, the essential improvements that can be made encompass enhancing
her relationship with her family members that will provide her support for diabetes management.