Chronic Illness: Liz's Health Risks and Healthcare

This essay analyzes a patient scenario focusing on Liz, who is at risk of developing various chronic illnesses such as Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA), atrial fibrillation, and bronchitis, due to lifestyle choices and other factors. The essay details the health services available in Australia, including mental health support, pharmaceutical benefits, and various healthcare professionals and organizations that can assist Liz. It explores how these services aim to improve patient outcomes, prevent chronic diseases, and promote overall well-being. Additionally, the essay addresses the challenges Liz might face in accessing these healthcare services, such as financial constraints, lack of knowledge, and social factors, highlighting the disparities in healthcare access and potential solutions to overcome these barriers. The conclusion summarizes the essay's key points, emphasizing the importance of understanding chronic illness and accessing available resources for improved health outcomes.

PATIENT
SCENARIO

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
PART 1............................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Details about chronic illness which Liz could develop.........................................................1
PART 2............................................................................................................................................2
2.1 Health services available in Australia and benefits of it.......................................................2
PART 3............................................................................................................................................4
3.1 Challenges involved in availing healthcare services.............................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Chronic illness is the health condition or disease which substantially has a long lasting
effect on well-being of people. This sickness generally cannot be treated by vaccines or
medications. There are various types of acute illnesses like arthritis, asthma, cancer, HIV- aids,
blood sugar, COPD, bronchitis, etc. (Smith, Smucny & Fahey, 2014). They have a huge impact
on psychological, physical and mental functioning. Essay is particularly based on a scenario and
will include diseases which patient is at risk of developing and details about healthcare services
available in Australia.
PART 1
1.1 Details about chronic illness which Liz could develop
In accordance to Brazzelli & et.al., (2014) Liz is at high risk of developing various acute
diseases like Transient ischemic attack (TIA), atrial fibrillation, bronchitis etc. It has been
founded that smoking cigarettes, marijuana and consumption of alcohol usually causes these type
of illnesses. TIA symptoms may include weakness in whole body, blindness in one eye, inability
to sleep, high cholesterol level, etc. This disease is also found to be appear in body, if one or two
family members are also suffering from it. Risk of chronic illness like TIA also increases due to
lifestyle choices like unhealthy diet, heavy consumption of harmful substances like drugs or
alcohol and excessive use of pregnancy pills. All these unhealthy habits can lead her to heart
stroke.
Following these unhealthy practices can lead to various problems like high blood
pressure, cardiovascular disease like heart stroke blood sugar, obesity and increase in cholesterol
level (Brazzelli & et.al., 2014). For living a healthy and fit life individual need to eliminate
intake of harmful substance like, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and marijuana. They should also start
in taking diet which contains lot of fruits and vegetables, physical exercise like yoga, aerobics,
dance which will help the society in by controlling weight, diabetes and cholesterol level people
could live their life peacefully.
In view of Ioannidis, (2016), atrial fibrillation is related to improper or fast heart rate
which increases the risk of heart attack and many more cardiovascular diseases. The patient
suffering from chronic suffers from fatigue, dizziness, pain in chest, confusion or deficiency in
breath. This can lead to patient in developing chronic illness like stroke. In future she can also
face diseases like epilepsy. Liz may be facing these problems due to her age, as with the passing

time threat of this illness increases. Heavy intake of alcohol or smoking cigars also makes this
disease grow. These diseases also develop due to heredity like, in case if any family member is
suffering from it previously or person is facing severe hypertension because of unstable personal
life condition, or inability to adjust in society. Atrial fibrillation can be prevented by individual
by limiting the use of caffeine and medications which holds the high chance of increasing heart
rate.
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Bronchitis is a severe condition in which respiratory tubes contrast because of heavy
smoking. Patient may suffer from symptoms like developing of mucus which can be grey or
yellow, inability to breath properly, cough and cold etc. Common causes of this illness comprise
smoking cigarettes, air and dust pollution in area where individual is live or work (Ioannidis,
2016). It can be prevented by living in a healthy area and following regular hygiene habits like
washing hands and mouth regularly, getting timely vaccination from professionals etc. Wearing a
surgical mask can also help Liz in improving health condition and well-being. If person is
suffering from this sickness from long time, then it may turn into pneumonia or chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. TIA and bronchitis in future can further be converted into heart-
stroke.
Suffering from all these diseases Liz is at high risk of developing chronic disorder like
epilepsy. It can occur after stroke which can be faced by patient in the future. Epilepsy is a
neurological disorder which can affect the functioning of brain in human body. In this disorder,
patient can face issues like peculiar changes in senses such as smell, touch and sound. The main
reason behind chances of occurring this disease is stroke. It can severely impact the well-being of
individual.
Moreover, Liz is at risk of developing problems related to mental-health like depression
and anxiety. Because she has been suffering from various issues in her personal life such as
patient is living away from her partner. Also, in past lady has faced severed domestic violence
from her husband which is a major cause for despair. Service user is also at risk of developing
cardiovascular diseases such as heart stroke due to hypertension and obesity. Due to bronchitis
Liz in future can be further faced with the issues like pneumonia or COPD.
PART 2
2.1 Health services available in Australia and benefits of it
Patient is at risk of developing severe diseases like stroke which can be further converted
into epilepsy. Liz can seek assistance from epilepsy action Australia which provides assistance to
people suffering with this problem. They help them in identifying the signs and symptoms
related to the disorder. Also, impart them with treatment to overcome it. Liz may also develop
diseases like depression, cardiovascular problem, COPD and many more in the future. For this
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she can take help from various health services which are available in the country. The mental-
health foundation of Australia can provide her assistance to fight against depression.
The department aimed at providing education to the patients about the disorder. This can
help them in fighting against the disease. They also provide them with cognitive behavioural
therapy which supports service user in overcoming the disorder. She can also take help from the
department of health which has initiated various schemes like the pharmaceutical benefits
scheme in order to provide assistance to patients suffering or who may face cardiovascular
problems like heart stroke.
Liz is suffering from chronic diseases like Bronchitis, atrial fibrillation, Transient
ischaemic attack and for curing these health concerns, various health services are provided in
Australia. In opinion of Robert & et.al., (2015) risk of developing chronic illnesses are common
in elderly people, individual’s in-taking irritating chemicals, smokers, those facing asthmatic
problems, and person who have weak immunity. Various attention services are provided by
health organizations in country like Australian safety and quality goals for healthcare, the
department of well-being, health direct and heart foundation, etc.
These organizations have determined objectives which helps in improving health
conditions and well-being of people. Their goal is to reduce suffering from strokes and improve
quality of life (Robert & et.al., 2015). Many health professionals are involved in these
foundations like carer, dietitian, exercise physiologist, general practitioner, Medicare locals and
oncologists, nuclear medicine physician and nurses, psychologists etc. These professionals help
patient in identifying risk of diseases. They also monitor them on timely basis.
Healthcare professionals provide treatment where carers act as a friend and encourages
patient to share their thoughts and beliefs with them which help them in reducing stress.
Individual suffering from strokes and Bronchitis undergo treatment like surgeries, long term
medications, ECG, CT Scan etc., (Smith, Smucny & Fahey, 2014). There are various programs
conducted by government for curing these diseases like The Medicare benefits Schedule which
includes commodities which plans and manages health condition of patients. Further, there is
pharmaceutical benefit scheme in which government gives free medicines to people and also
helps in improving life style of people.
Liz would be highly benefited by undertaking these services and treatments. As in
accordance with Mirza & et.al., (2014) many healthcare professionals are appointed by these
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foundations which helps in imp roving mental and physical condition of patients. Dietitian
focuses on diet routine of patients who are under or over weight and provides them with healthy
food habits which helps in improving their lung and heart conditions. Exercise physiologist
encourages individual participation in physical activities that improves inner capacity and
improve body functioning. Individual are also benefited by care of general practitioner which
makes people identify risk of sickness and can also refer patients to specialist for particular
disease. They also help in monitoring or diagnosing the disease.
Australian healthcare services also provide psychologist who supports patients which are
suffering from anxiety or depression due to these diseases. They motivate them to share their
thoughts and beliefs with them and which help in addressing these problems by understanding
needs of service users (Mirza & et.al., 2014). People also seek help from tobacco dermatologist
specialist who uses significant methods which help person in limiting consumption of alcohol,
cigarettes and marijuana. These methods help individual in following healthy diet practices and
controlling their cholesterol, weight and sugar level. Organizations also provides education and
support to patients which makes them diagnose and understand their illness well.
Liz can also be benefited by using evidence based medicines like Warfarin which helps in
improving quality, patient's satisfaction and reduce expenses. These medications add value to
health instrumentation (Mitchell & Beales, 2015). Practising above treatment can help healthcare
professionals in transparency, accountability, value and also increases quality of care. It also
helps in giving positive outcomes. It can help in improving physical and mental condition of
patients.
PART 3
3.1 Challenges involved in availing healthcare services
As, per the opinion of Mitchell & Beales (2015), there are various challenges which can
be faced by patients in availing healthcare services like evidence-based medicine. Practising of
this process involves lifelong, directed by self, solution based learning in which taking care of
one's own patient involves demand of clinically important data diagnosis, therapy, prognosis and
other health-related problems. Problems can be occurred with individuals availing these services
like these practices requires family support in decision making processes and also accessing
these services requires a lot of funding which might be difficult for patient to arrange. Also, the
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medications followed by patient is in Australia so travelling can also be a problem for
individuals. The Biggest challenge in getting benefits of these services may occur due to no
proper knowledge of disease and inability to diagnose and understand the problem.
In accordance to Indigenous Australians’ access to health services (2016) gaps in health-
care services is related to inequalities in accessing care which are particularly designed for
patients. The major disparity is that despite being expanding health insurance services huge
number of population is unable to avail it due to discrimination on basis of culture, religion,
social groups, geographical location etc. These gaps are also due to poor health condition, low
education, unemployment, no income. Inability to access health-care services is also one of the
main reasons for gap.
There can be many reasons for this denial of receiving services like waiting for too long,
care not being provided at requested time, poor transportation or accommodation service,
inability to afford. Social factors can also restrict people ability to have access health-care
services. For instance, lack of education can limits person's ability to understand the needs and
requirements of their health diagnoses and treatment (Evidence Based Medicine – New
Approaches and Challenges, 2008). These gaps can be filled by seeking technological
advancements and opportunities which can help organizations in curing diseases easily. The gaps
are mainly driven due to factors like time which includes availability of services, financial
conditions which shows affordability, and cultural themes which consists of acceptability.
Patients who are not able to avail services continues to have poor mental and physical lifestyle
which affects their condition negatively and also act as a barrier in their development.
CONCLUSION
This is to summarise that current essay is based on a scenario which includes chronic
diseases are faced by Liz. It includes illnesses like atrial fibrillation, bronchitis, TIA which can
be occurred due to heavy consumption of alcohol, cigarette smoking, excess intake of birth
control pills etc. There are many symptoms which shows person is suffering from these diseases
like fatigue, dizziness, high blood pressure etc. Various health care services like evidence-based
medicine are provided to cure these illnesses. Gaps in these services are due to social and
cultural factors like availability and affordability.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Brazzelli, M. & et.al., (2014). Diffusion‐weighted imaging and diagnosis of transient ischemic
attack. Annals of neurology.75(1). 67-76.
Ioannidis, J. P. (2016). Evidence-based medicine has been hijacked: a report to David
Sackett. Journal of clinical epidemiology. 73.82-86.
Mirza, M. & et.al., (2014). Barriers to healthcare access among refugees with disabilities and
chronic health conditions resettled in the US Midwest. Journal of immigrant and
minority health. 16(4).733-742.
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Mitchell, T. & Beales, D. (2015). Knowledge and Use of The ‘Clinical Framework For the
Delivery of Health Services’ in Western Australia: Summary report of a survey of
Workers’ Compensation stakeholders.
Robert, G. & et.al., (2015). Patients and staff as codesigners of healthcare services. Bmj.350,
p.g7714.
Smith, S. M., Smucny, J. & Fahey, T. (2014). Antibiotics for acute bronchitis. Jama.312(24).
2678-2679.
Online
Evidence Based Medicine – New Approaches and Challenges. (2008). [ONLINE] Available
through: <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3789163/>
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