Healthcare Case Study Analysis: Betty, Amy, and Tom Cases

This assignment presents an analysis of three healthcare case studies focusing on palliative care, cultural sensitivity, and end-of-life decision-making. Case study 1 examines Betty's experience with chronic kidney disease and her decision to pursue palliative care, highlighting symptom management, family support, and medication adjustments. Case study 2 explores the impact of cultural differences in healthcare, particularly Amy's experience as an immigrant and the importance of effective communication and interpreter services. Case study 3 addresses Tom's need for palliative care, emphasizing the importance of involving him and his family in care planning, providing psychological support, and addressing his wishes. The analysis emphasizes the need for patient-centered care, effective communication, cultural competence, and the provision of emotional and social support to patients and their families facing challenging health conditions.

Running head: HEALTHCARE
Healthcare
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Case study 1
In this case, Betty who was suffering from chronic kidney disease decided to go for
palliative care. She was facing this problem for around two years and she understood that the
problem would get severe with time. The primary treatment helped her to reduce the
symptoms to some extent but reoccurrence of symptoms occurred. Apart from that, she had
different other health complications and faced side effects of drugs and faced difficulty to
take oral medicines.
The palliative care plan for patients refers to provide adequate care to the patient and
family in the last stages of the disease (Kelley & Morrison, 2015). The main aim of the plan
was to support Betty at her home with symptom management and support her family to face
this challenging situation. The palliative care team was supported Betty by providing
strategies to reduce her pain during this situation. Apart from that, the general physician
reviewed her medication management and care plan to provide adequate care. Moreover,
implementation of subcutaneous medication was planned to avoid his difficulties in oral
medications. The palliative care team also helps her daughter and husband by involving them
in bereavement and support program. Apart from that, her notional uptake was also reviewed
for any additional inputs. A staff counselor was also involved in this plan to provide
psychological support to Betty and her family.
There are several factors need to consider before the end of life care. The first factor
relating to this is condition of the patient. In this case, Betty is condition was not good.
According to different literatures, understanding of the health situation of patient is important
for the patient, especially in this situation (Kelley & Morrison, 2015). Secondly, it is
important for the patient to accept the condition and physiological counseling can help in this
case (Kelley & Morrison, 2015). The involvement of family in this situation is an essential

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factor to start the end of life care. Along with the patient, the family needs to understand the
situation. Patient’s choices need to be the first preference of end of life care (Kelley &
Morrison, 2015). In this case, Betty chooses to stay at her home so that she can stay near to
her family. It is also important, as the whole plan of care can be designed on the basis of the
choices.
Case study 2
1. a. Story of Amy described that Amy was an immigrant and she is from a different
culture. It is important in nursing to provide adequate care to the patients along with
supporting them by accepting the cultural beliefs and values of the patient. In this case, nurse
who was assisting Amy was working as per the standard. She asked a medical interpreter to
help Amy and her family to understand the health condition. Apart from that, the interpreter
was communicating with Amy and her family with their traditional language, which had a
positive effect on their family. Several studies reported that, communication in a regional
language helps to establish therapeutic relationship among the nurses and the patient (Ali &
Johnson, 2017). Involvement of the interpreter was important to improve the therapeutic
relationship (Lindley et al., 2017). Apart from that, other staffs felt little confused about their
language, food habit, religion, and culture. This could affect the care plan, as the patient may
feel uncomfortable if the health professionals are behaving differently to them because of
their culture (Betancourt, Green, Carrillo & Owusu Ananeh-Firempong, 2016). As a result,
they may avoid communicating with the staffs and insufficiency of information can lead
different errors related to the intervention. However, the nurse and physician shared the
proper information to the staffs so that they can improve the communication.
1.b. Impact of communicational gap due to cultural misunderstanding can lead to different
psychological distress in patients and the family. Different studies mentioned that patients

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and families who faced communication gap due to the cultural misunderstanding could face
stress (Almutairi, 2015). Apart from that, they will be very confused about the situation of the
patients. In this case, the different behaviors from the staffs of the hospital can generate
confusion in the patient and the family (Almutairi, 2015).. The family and patient from
different cultural background may feel that their values are not respected, as the measure of
activity is different from their culture (Almutairi, 2015). Amy and her family might feel that
the staffs are not concern about the patient due to the reactions of the staffs. This can lead to
confusion and stress which can affect their quality of life.
Case Study 3
Tom and his family require special attention from the health professionals at this time.
Palliative care is required for Tom and his family. In this case it is important to
 Involve Tom and his family to discuss and take decision regarding the care plan
for the patient (Lund, Richardson & May, 2015).
 Effective and sensitive communication with Tom and his family is required to
provide them adequate information regarding the situation apart from that it also
helps the health professional to understand the patient’s perspective (Lund,
Richardson & May, 2015).
 Tom and his family need psychological and social support along with empathy to
face this situation (Lund, Richardson & May, 2015).
 A personalized care plan is required for Tom which need to be designed on the
basis of his health condition and preferences (Lund, Richardson & May, 2015)..
According to the story of Tom, Jimmy, his son mentioned that his dad could not return to
their country due to his medical condition. It is understood from the video that Tom is staying out

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of his country for a long time. He must have his other friends and persons who are close to him. It
was important to Tom to reach them after long time so that he can share his experience of life to
his friends. Tom was aware of his health condition; he knew that it is not going improve. That’s
the reason wished to return to his country to share his stories with his friends before death.
A health care professional in this situation can take several strategies. Firstly, it is
important interact with the patient apart from health related talk. Patients, empathy, listening can
help the patient to go through this challenging time (Greer et al., 2018). Several studies
supported the fact that nurses can involve in this kind of relationship with a professional mindset
to support the patient (Blomberg, Griffiths, Wengström, May & Bridges, 2016). Secondly, it is
important to share proper information regarding the intervention plans such as, communication
with the parents about the pain and provide the medication accordingly (Greer et al., 2018).
These steps can help the patient to adjust with their situation and look forward. Finally, it is
important to support the patient by focusing on the positive perspectives of their lives. It is
difficult to induce hope to the patients at this stage. However, different studies reported that hope
could play a significant role in improving patient’s mental condition (Greer et al., 2018).

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Reference
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