University Nursing Assignment: CVD Patient Experience Analysis

This nursing assignment presents a reflective journal exploring the lived experience of a 55-year-old Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander male, Monaro Bindi, diagnosed with cardiovascular disease (CVD). The assignment details his background, including his cultural identity, lifestyle factors (smoking and alcohol consumption), and initial symptoms, including breathing difficulties and chest pain. The journal entries chronicle his journey from initial symptoms, seeking medical advice, undergoing medical check-ups, and finally, treatment and lifestyle changes. The assignment highlights the patient's cultural beliefs, including his initial reliance on traditional Aboriginal medicine, and the influence of his family, particularly his Christian daughter, in encouraging him to adopt Western medical practices and lifestyle modifications. The assignment underscores the health disparities faced by Indigenous Australians and emphasizes the importance of cultural competence, empathy, and preventive care in nursing practice. The author concludes with reflections on the importance of cultural awareness and the need for nurses to advocate for improved healthcare access and understanding within Indigenous communities. The assignment includes references to relevant research articles to support the analysis and recommendations for nursing practice. The author also suggests how they will incorporate the lessons learned into their future nursing practice, including further study in cultural competence and providing patients with preventive health tips.

Running head: NURSING 1
Nursing Assignment
Student’s Name:
Instructor’s Name:
Name of University:
Course Number:
Date of Submission

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Cardiovascular Disease (CVD)
Introduction
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) consists of the diseases that affect the heart or blood
vessels. The disease is caused by the accumulation of fatty deposits within the arteries and the
high presence of blood clots (Berry et al., 2012). The incidence of cardiovascular disease is the
common distinguishing factor in the health inequality between non-Indigenous and Indigenous
Australians. Some of the most common types of CVD among Indigenous Australians include
rheumatic heart disease, coronary heart disease (CHD), hypertension among others (McGrady et
al., 2012). CHD affects the Indigenous Australians twice more than the non-Indigenous
population and its prevalence increases with age. It is the single leading cause of death,
premature and preventable deaths among Indigenous Australians. The trajectory of coronary
heart disease is determined based on the extent to which blood flow to the heart is blocked. If
less than 49% of the artery is blocked, then this is mild CHD, 50-70% average and severe CHD
when blockage is over 70% (AIHW, 2015).
Background
My name is Monaro Bindi and I am an Aboriginal and Torres islander male aged 55
years born in Australia. I was born and brought up in the remote areas of New South Wales but
later in my adult hears, I moved to the city of New South Wales where I currently live with my
family. I am married and have four children, and all of us reside in New South Wales. I have
dark skin and wavy hair with deep-set eyes with the brow ridge floating over the eye sockets. I
have abroad nose broad with a deep groove separating it from the brow.

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I currently work as a petrol station attendant in New South Wales and my leisure
activities include smoking, alcohol consumption. I wished I could go back to live the ancient
lifestyle that I was brought up in the rural part of NSW. I also wish that I could get a better
paying job and improve the livelihood of my family and mine. But I also regret having begun to
smoke at a tender age and now I am a chain smoker and addicted to alcohol. My religious beliefs
are still based on Indigenous spirituality which is animistic, however, I also started to study more
about Christianity, though still not a Christian. Sometimes my future goals seem impractical due
to my current deteriorating health.
Blog Entries
Blog 1: Initial symptoms
I remember it was a chilly morning and I had reported to work as usual. I had difficulty in
breathing the previous night but just continued to work as normal assuming that all will go well.
After two days, the condition continued to worsen and I could sometimes experience shortness of
breath for like two minutes and then it ceases. Influenced by my Aboriginal beliefs in the
causation of illness, I often reflected back to find out if there is an instance when I didn’t
honestly discharge my responsibilities to the society or land (Oliver, 2013). And I, therefore,
thought that my condition could be a result of spiritual and supernatural influences that will not
be resolved without seeking assistance from traditional bush medicine or sorcery.
Blog 2: Advised to seek medication
One month down the line, I began experiencing sleep apnea due to the increasing
incidences of shortness of breath, severe chest pain and felt like someone was standing on my
chest. The chest pain could be more severe on the left side of the chest (Maas, & Appelman,

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2010), thus causing me sleepless nights. Now I had to stop going to work and address my
worsening condition. Due to the inability to sleep, I could wake up at night and go to the sitting
room, switch the lights on and watch movies for the entire night.
One day our immediate neighbor, who is a registered nurse, passed by our home to find
out how we were faring. I narrated to her my condition and she recommended immediate
medical check-up at the nearest health center. This was a daunting task for me since I only
believed in the Aboriginal traditional treatments which in most cases contradicted the Western
health system (Vukic, Gregory, Martin-Misener, & Etowa, 2011). Anyway, I decided to seek for
medical attention at the nearest health center since I had issues with society back home and could
not be treated until I first fulfilled my obligation
Blog 3: Medical check-up
The following morning, I had pain in both arms that moved to the neck and back (Govil
et al., 2014). I went to the hospital and narrated all my experiences to the physician, though I
wasn’t really expecting much since I didn’t fully believe the western system of health. The
doctor recommended several tests, and as I waited in the lobby, I was called into the doctor’s
room. I was informed that I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and as a result, the
symptoms I was experiencing were as a result of the development of coronary heart disease. I
was totally confused and started to think of the way forward and how I will break the news to my
family. How will my family survive when am not working and yet I was the breadwinner?
Blog 4: Treatment and lifestyle reforms
It was now three months without work and under treatment. This implied that the little
savings I had were being consumed in treatment, and my children could no longer afford basic

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education. I sought the help of my relatives and friends through fundraising, but it couldn’t
support for long. Luckily, my first-born daughter who was in her second year in college was
supported by a Christian church where she used to attend. She was the only Christian believer in
the entire family. One day, she came home with some of the Christian believers to comfort us
and they even donated some food for our upkeep. I secretly began to admire Christianity.
Just like the doctor had recommended, one of their believers also advised me to cease
smoking, alcohol drinking and to watch my diet (DiGiacomo et al., 2011). I promised to do so
but, in my mind, I was reluctant, but I had no choice if that would be the solution to my
deteriorating health condition. I began to reduce the rate of smoking and alcohol consumption.
Within four months I had stopped smoking and drinking alcohol. I already knew that my lifestyle
was not healthy but I never thought that it would cause coronary heart disease. My relatives
insisted that I relocate to my rural home and visit the sorcerers for healing, but this plea was
firmly resisted my Christian daughter, and Afterall I already had issues back at home. I am still
taking aspirin and Ranolazine as part of my medication but my health is improving and soon will
look for work and comfortably provide for my family.
Conclusion
As a future practicing nurse, I have learned a lot from writing this blog. I have learned
that the Aboriginal Torrent Islander people are more affected by chronic illness than their non-
Aboriginal counterparts. However, there are factors that lead to such inequality in health status
between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Primarily, this variation is caused by their
lifestyles such as smoking, alcohol consumption and living a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, in
my future nursing practice If I come across an Aboriginal patient diagnosed with lifestyle
diseases, I will encourage them to exercise preventive care in addition to medication.

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This blog writing has also enlightened me regarding the attitude of the Indigenous
Australians towards the Western system of health. They do not believe in it and yet it forms the
foundation of the global system of health. As a result, in my future nursing practice, I would
volunteer and campaign for the creation of awareness to the Aboriginal community on the
importance of adopting the modern system of care in preference to their native system.
Based on the above experiences, I would take three major nursing actions in my practice.
First, I will enroll for further study on a cultural competence course so that I can be well
equipped to deal with varying cultural issues that affect health, for example, the attitude of the
Aboriginal towards the western system of health. secondly, I would seriously exercise empathy
in my nursing practice to enable the patient to open up on other issues that might also be
affecting their health. Lastly, besides offering medication I will provide basic preventive health
tips to patients after diagnosis.

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References
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). (2015). Cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and chronic kidney disease—Australian facts: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people. Cat. no: CDK 5. Canberra: AIHW. Retrieved from
https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-disease/cardiovascular-diabetes-
chronic-kidney-indigenous/contents/summary
Berry, J. D., Dyer, A., Cai, X., Garside, D. B., Ning, H., Thomas, A., ... & Lloyd-Jones, D. M.
(2012). Lifetime risks of cardiovascular disease. New England Journal of
Medicine, 366(4), 321-329.
DiGiacomo, M., Davidson, P. M., Abbott, P. A., Davison, J., Moore, L., & Thompson, S. C.
(2011). Smoking cessation in indigenous populations of Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
and the United States: elements of effective interventions. International journal of
environmental research and public health, 8(2), 388-410.
Govil, D., Lin, I., Dodd, T., Cox, R., Moss, P., Thompson, S., & Maiorana, A. (2014).
Identifying culturally appropriate strategies for coronary heart disease secondary
prevention in a regional Aboriginal Medical Service. Australian journal of primary
health, 20(3), 266-272.
Maas, A. H., & Appelman, Y. E. (2010). Gender differences in coronary heart
disease. Netherlands Heart Journal, 18(12), 598-603.
McGrady, M., Krum, H., Carrington, M. J., Stewart, S., Zeitz, C., Lee, G. A., ... & Brown, A.

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(2012). Heart failure, ventricular dysfunction and risk factor prevalence in Australian
Aboriginal peoples: the Heart of the Heart Study. Heart, 98(21), 1562-1567.
Oliver, S. J. (2013). The role of traditional medicine practice in primary health care within
Aboriginal Australia: a review of the literature. Journal of ethnobiology and
ethnomedicine, 9(1), 46.
Vukic, A., Gregory, D., Martin-Misener, R., & Etowa, J. (2011). Aboriginal and Western
conceptions of mental health and illness. Pimatisiwin: A Journal of Aboriginal and
Indigenous Community Health, 9(1), 65-86.