University Essay: Promoting Health and Wellbeing in Stroke Patients

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of stroke intervention, focusing on promoting health and wellbeing. It begins with an introduction to stroke, its causes, types, and the importance of early intervention, highlighting the 'Act FAST' campaign. The essay then describes the intervention, explaining the FAST acronym (Face, Arms, Speech, Time) and other symptoms. It explores concepts of health and wellbeing, including telemedicine, stroke rehabilitation, and health policies. The application of these concepts to stroke patients is discussed, followed by a critical discussion of their effectiveness. Social determinants impacting intervention success, such as work stress and financial conditions, are examined. Finally, the essay considers a holistic approach, including complementary therapies like yoga and massage, concluding with a summary of the main points and the significance of these interventions in improving patient outcomes and overall public health. This study from Desklib offers valuable insights for students and healthcare professionals alike, providing essential knowledge for effective stroke management and patient care.

Running head: PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
INTRODUCTION
Stroke is a medical complexity that arises because of insufficient blood supply to the
brain that inhibits supple of oxygen and ultimately leads to cell death (Nhlbi.nih.gov 2020).
Based on the cause of stroke, it can be categorized into two types: Ischemic and Hemorrhagic
(Ojaghihaghighi et al. 2017). Ischemic stroke can be defined as the type of stroke occurring
due to lack of blood flow to the brain and Hemorrhagic Stroke can be defined as the type
which occurs due to bleeding in the brain from an abnormal vascular structure or blood vessel
rupture or any accident.
Most of the global population is not aware of the symptoms and the conditions that
arise when an individual suffers from a stroke and most importantly, it occurs without any
prior sign or warning. These factors lead to the unidentification of the condition and the late
in admitting the individual to hospital leads to complications and delay may result in death as
waiting means the death of more brain cells. Study shows that stroke causes 36% of the death
in the United Kingdom (Naidoo and Wills 2009). To prevent death because of stroke, Public
Health England in association with The Stroke Association, launched a campaign named Act
FAST in 2018. The motive of this campaign is to make everyone aware of the signs and
symptoms of a stroke and call 999 hotlines to admit the individual to the hospital
immediately (Public Health England 2019). This paper discusses the reasons, effects,
identification process (FAST), prevention technique and wellbeing concepts regarding this
intervention.

2PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
DISCUSSION
DESCRIPTION OF THE INTERVENTION
The abbreviation FAST can be explained as: ‘F’ means Face or understanding if the
individual’s face droops on one side or has turned numb or not. This can also be understood
by asking the person to smile, and if the smile is uneven or unsymmetrical, it might indicate a
symptom of stroke. The letter ‘A’ means arms or understanding if the individual’s one arm is
weak or numb which can also be understood by asking the individual to raise the arms. If the
individual fails to lift an arm or gradually drifts downward, it might be a symptom of stroke.
The letter ‘S’ denotes speech or to identify if the speech of the individual is slurred. It can
also be understood if the person cannot repeat a sentence. The letter ‘T’ stands for the time to
call the hotline 999. If any of the above stated symptoms are observed, people around the
affected individual should call the hotline to get the individual admitted to a hospital before it
gets too late.
The signs and symptoms other than the ones stated above that give an idea of an
individual having a stroke or brain attack include dizziness, severe headache, difficulty in
comprehending simple things, inability to move a side of the body, paralysis, and loss of
vision (www.stroke.org 2020). Stroke generally occurs due to hypertension, high level of
cholesterol and diabetes. Apart from these factors, tobacco smoking increases the chances of
a stroke several manifolds (Nordahl et al. 2014). Diagnosis procedures of stroke include
Computer Tomography Scan (CT Scan) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), which
detects the blockage or rupture of the blood vessel. Stroke can be successfully treated if it
gets diagnosed within three to four hours, and the necessary medical proceedings are initiated
soon enough (Mendelow et al. 2015). Various researchers on conducting surveys on different

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parts of the world have shown that individuals of age fifty and more are the ones most
vulnerable and affected by stroke.
Most of the global population is not aware of the symptoms and the conditions that
arise when an individual suffers from a stroke, and most importantly, it occurs without any
prior sign or warning. These two factors lead to the unidentification of the condition
immediately and the late in admitting the individual to hospital leads to further complications
and a longer delay may even result in death as waiting for a longer time means the death of
more brain cells. Stroke also leads to disability of various body parts as different parts of the
brain are responsible for controlling multiple bodily functions. Standing on this point where
the maximum of the population is unaware of the symptoms and factors resulting in a stroke,
Act FAST effectively makes a genuine effort in making the population across the United
Kingdom aware of the facts. The medium of their spreading stroke related awareness includes
radio, television, and social media. Act FAST officials have also been educating about the
factors leading to stroke in various regions across the country to increase the awareness level.
Their efforts have shown positive effects as the instances of stroke have shown a remarkable
decrease in the past few years (Strokecenter.org 2020).
CONCEPTS OF HEALTH AND WELLBEING
Health and wellbeing can be defined as the state where an individual does not have
any disease as well as his or her complete wellbeing on the mental, physical and social
grounds. Generally, wellbeing can be achieved by everyone by maintaining and developing a
relationship with family members as well as friends, keeping contact with the society, joining
a local organization to stay motivated, regular physical exercise and eating nutritious food.
These can maintain an individual’s stress level, keep the body fit, prevent various diseases,
and keep them motivated at work (Health Knowledge 2020). However, for individuals who

4PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
have been already affected by a stroke, these factors might not be the same for them so they
should be appropriately aided to live a healthy life again. The procedures of wellbeing that
can be used for the individual coping from stroke include support from doctors as well as the
facilities of Telemedicine, Stroke Rehabilitation, and Health Policies regarding stroke.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CONCEPTS
TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine is a concept that is still developing in the United Kingdom. Though
there is the hotline number 999 which can be called when an individual is recognised to be
having a stroke it is unable to provide any immediate measures to inform the person calling
about the immediate medication or steps to be taken apart from any basic measures.
Telemedication can resolve this. It can be defined as the usage of telecommunication
technology for providing information and other related facilities when an individual suffers
from any disease all of a sudden, in this case, stroke. When an individual is suffering from
stroke, Telemedicine can provide the patient with clinical support immediately (Rubin and
Demaerschalk 2014).
STROKE REHABILITATION
Stroke Rehabilitation is a procedure by which a stroke survivor the to become fit and
independent by teaching them simple things like eating, bathing, walking, dressing and other
necessary daily activities as the individual used to do before having a stroke. This has to be
done in a dignified way so that the individual is not demoralised. This rehabilitation generally
starts from the hospital itself depending on the severity of the stroke. If the stroke happens to
be mild, or the condition has improved, it can be started after two days of admission. If the
condition is serious, it takes some time to start with the rehabilitation as the condition needs
to be stabilised at first before beginning the rehabilitation procedure (Gillen 2015).

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HEALTH POLICIES
National Health Service England, in association with Stroke Association, has
developed the National Stroke Programme to look after the stroke affected people and limit
the instances of stroke in the United Kingdom.
APPLICATION OF THE CONCEPTS
TELEMEDICINE
Telemedicine is immensely helpful for people staying in the rural side, far from
medical centres, people with weak socio-economic background and others as well. The help
of telemedication can be taken in case of stroke over the phone and every other mode of
communication so that immediate treatment does not come to a halt and the patient could also
be harmed less before admitting him or her to a hospital. If the family members can not
identify the symptoms of the individual suffering, then the telemedication experts can
identify the signs FAST by the symptoms the patient is showing. This model has the
possibility of increasing the patient's chance to enter the clinical medication state. This model
will also help the medical professionals in being an expert faster than usual because of the
vast experience they will gather while treating patients over time and helping them with the
primary medication (Itrat et al. 2016).
STROKE REHABILITATION
There are quite a few options for availing this therapy in the United Kingdom. The
options include a rehabilitation section in the hospital itself and home rehabilitation. The
rehabilitation team should contain the following experts — first, Psychiatrists who counsel
the patients mentally to be stable and independent. Second, Neurologists who diagnose the
patient’s problem and treats them accordingly. Third, Physical Therapists who help in
moving the body helps the patient in exercising to facilitate walking and moving. Fourth,

6PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
Occupational Therapists who help the patient in doing day to day activities and teach them
the same as well. Fifth, Speech Therapists who help in talking fluently, reading books and
writing along with teaching them swallowing. Sixth, Dieticians who teach the patients to
develop a healthy eating habit. Lastly, Rehabilitation Nurses who help people in every step to
live life properly (nhs.uk 2020).
HEALTH POLICIES
The policies include improving stroke rehabilitation in hospitals, develop
thrombectomy or removal of clots from a blood vessel unites in hospitals and related
programs. They have also planned to campaign in local areas to make everyone aware of
stroke and ways it can be provided. They are also working towards decreasing the cost of
treatment so that every individual can afford the treatment (Stroke Association 2020).
CRITICAL DISCUSSION OF THE CONCEPTS
It can be stated that the wellbeing concepts are quite useful though they are not yet
fully developed. Its direct and practical implementation can decrease the number of deaths
due to stroke and increase the life expectancy of people be it from any socio-economic
background. The concept of Telemedicine and its application can do wonders during a
sudden stroke attack and can also save the lives of many during emergency cases. Stroke
Rehabilitation is also a vital concept by which the patients having a stroke can get into a
healthy life after the condition is improved. Lastly, health policies are the most essential
concept as innovating newer strategies can only implement a particular idea in practicality
and save more lives.
SOCIAL DETERMINANTS
There are quite a few social determinants that can result in stroke and also affect the
success of the developed interventions. These social determinants include work stress,

7PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
financial condition, smoking and treatment access. These habits or thoughts always exerts
pressure on the individuals, which gives rise to hypertension and other cardiovascular
diseases leading to stroke. So, it is necessary to avoid these social determinants to live a
healthy life and new ways should be developed to counsel the stressed individuals or the
individuals with smoking or any other intoxication habit so that he or she do not end up
having a stroke (Snozzi, Blank and Szucs 2014).
HOLISTIC APPROACH
Holistic medication is a treatment that observes the total wellbeing of the body
including mind, spirit, emotions, and the whole body. The holistic medicine states that
ailments can be decreased or avoided by maintaining a proper balance in life (Dychtwald
2019). It has been observed that if an individual affected by a stroke apart from taking
medication if undergo complementary therapies, it helps the individual. The therapies include
yoga, massage therapy and acupuncture (Siddiqui et al. 2014).
Yoga is a process in which the range of motion in the stroke-affected individual can
be increased. It is a fact that an individual who has had a stroke suffers from imbalance and
faulty body coordination which can be overcome by Yoga. Study shows that affected
individuals after an eight-week yoga treatment shows increased mobility and stability. It also
makes the individual believe in themselves and cures their emotional problems (Lawrence et
al. 2017).
Acupuncture is a procedure involving skin penetration with fine needles that aid the
patients to be more active, stable, reduce pain and depression. A study shows that treating a
stroke patient post the critical phase with acupuncture promotes growing and developing new
tissue in the central nervous system and also increases blood flow in the affected region and

8PROMOTING HEALTH AND WELL BEING
often it improves the memory. Another study shows it also has some positive psychological
effects on the stroke-affected individuals (Yang et al. 2016).
Massage Therapy is a process that can ameliorate fine motor skills. It is observed that
taking help from massage therapists improves in sleep patterns, mood, pain and daily
functions of the stroke-affected individuals (Thanakiatpinyo et al. 2014).
CONCLUSION
Therefore to conclude the paper, it can be stated that stroke is a deadly medical
condition, but with the knowledge, it can be prevented, or with treatment, the effect can be
reduced. Policies and developments that are made regarding stroke in the past years have
improved awareness among commoners and the instances of stroke have decreased in
population. More studies and awareness campaigns regarding stroke are also required that
can make the process of diagnosis and treatment easier than it is now.

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