Public Health Case Study: Frank Jones and Alice Johnson

This case study examines the contrasting experiences of Frank Jones, diagnosed with schizophrenia, and Alice Johnson, diagnosed with diabetes. The assignment explores why Frank loses his job, apartment, and friends while Alice maintains her lifestyle. It analyzes the assumptions underlying the actions of healthcare professionals, friends, and family, and how these impact the quality of life for each individual. The study details support approaches for both Frank, emphasizing rehabilitation, palliative care, and cognitive behavioral therapy, and Alice, highlighting the importance of social support groups and exercise. The case highlights the disparities in care and the impact of societal stigma on individuals with mental illnesses compared to those with physical conditions, emphasizing the need for holistic and community-based interventions.

Running head: CASE STUDY
Nursing Case Study Frank Jones and Alice Johnson
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

1CASE STUDY
Frank losing his apartment, job and friends while Alice’s life remained relatively
unchanged.
The chronic illness discussed in both the cases is Schizophrenia and Diabetes
respectively. Frank was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was just 12 year old kid.
Presently Frank is 22 years old and visited and admitted for hospitalised care three times
during this tenure of ten years. The present state shows that he needs to be on concurrent
medication and palliative care to overcome chronic illness. The chronic illness Frank is going
through is considered as a critical medical illness. As per the natural community bviews, the
consideration of the mental illness stands to call a person mad rather forwarding their hand to
help them. Eventually, when the signs of schizophrenia started to reoccur, Frank’s boss fired
him as he had a perception that individuals with mental disparity can show an abrupt change
in the mental state to show unconditional frustration and outbursts. Upon being driven to the
hospital for the fourth time for the health checkup, the physician advised him to stay with his
mother and asked Frank’s mother and his boss to take proper care of him. The conditions led
him to loss of his friends, job, playing community.
On the other hand, the disorder that Alice suffered from is not a mental disorder. The
disease she suffered from is a disorder that the disease may provoke Alice towards depression
but stand out no chance in damaging her profession since she had an intervention
administered by herself. Moreover, her conditions suggested that she can easily get medical
treatment whenever she required and that too cost her not more than three days of
hospitalisation. However, she got control of her condition as she had a dietitian to put an
impact on her health condition by balancing her dietary needs. These reasons were so
minimal that they didn’t affect her lifestyle, friends, occupation and family on the basis of her
illness, though it was a chronic one.

2CASE STUDY
Assumptions underlie the actions of the health professionals, friends and family in both
situations, and how does this affect the quality of life?
Healthcare professional, family, friends and community behavior have an immense
impact on the health of a patient. It might be possible that impacts may not show directly but
mentally through a holistic approach.
In the case of Frank, he was abandoned from the community, had no contact with the
outside world, and had his mother and the physician as the only person to have cared for him.
Thus, a closed environment with no recreational, mental activity can drown his condition to
get more worsened state. The approach of care by the health professional in case of Frank
highlighted no mode of palliative care or cared through a holistic approach, which impacted
his quality of life.
The health care professional who was taking care of Alice allowed her to continue her
work as well as her activities such as dancing. Moreover, the clinician also suggesterd her to
take a rest of a minor period and then continue her profession. The suggested method did not
hamper her quality of life. Furthermore, the approach towards dietary care enhanced her state
much better, which also acted as an interactive intervention in her case.
The comparison shows that how the decision by a health care professional can have
an impact in providing a quality life to a patient and how it can serve as an intervention for
the betterment of the mental state of a patient to provide them with a quality life free of
stressors.
Approach support for Frank
Discussed above, Frank was suffering from a chronic mental illness and hence
required holistic care. This care would have been provided to him through an approach by the
support of the community he belonged within. Certain interventions that can be considered

3CASE STUDY
into the account are the care through rehabilitation center, palliative care and care through
social support (Mayoclinic.org, 2020).
Rehabilitation center shows care through playful intervention and can act as an
effective mechanism to cure or moderately reduce the stressors. Palliative care helps in
providing a proper cure plan as an intervention, which can even impact the diet plan with
inclusion of diet that is liked by frank and has high contents for the betterment of mental
illness. Along with such interventions support through community or social support group
can help in enhancement through his involvement in social help which can also act as a
distraction to distract his schizophrenic conditions.
Moreover, Frank’s physician could have also suggested him for cognitive behavior
therapy. Cognitive Behavior Theory is a short term therapy through speech and has always
proved itself to be one best intervention for several mental disorders including schizoprnia.
This therapy can also put impact for Frank to have a quality life by making him
realise the bright sides he can have in his life and can put the effort into neglecting the darker
past. It can also make him select realistic targets and goals to achieve from his daily life
outcome (heretohelp.bc.ca, 2020).
Approach support for Alice
According to the above discussion, Alice also had a chronic illness. However her
interventions selected by the health care professional was proper from the perspective of a
physician. It was well considered the fact that inclusion of stressors has high impact in
increasing level of glucose in an individual. The health care professional had asked her to
regain her daily life activity but never asked to approach care through a social support group
or by administering a period for physical exercise in her daily life routine.

4CASE STUDY
Administering social support group as an intervention for the care towards chronic
diabetes can be beneficial for Alice. The social support group can help in reducing stressors
for Alice by involving her in several activities towards social care and can have a reduction in
her mental stress and depression regarding the job and the disease. While on the other hand, a
practice of daily exercise can put the impact on the cardiac muscle which can cause intense
sweating and can also act as an intervention towards lowering the blood glucose level.

5CASE STUDY
References
heretohelp.bc.ca. (2020). CBT in Practice | Here to Help. Retrieved 21 January 2020, from
https://www.heretohelp.bc.ca/visions/cognitive-behavioural-therapy-vol6/cbt-in-practice
Mayoclinic.org. (2020). Schizophrenia - Diagnosis and treatment - Mayo Clinic. Retrieved 21
January 2020, from
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/schizophrenia/diagnosis-treatment/
drc-20354449