Phase 5: Developing A Care Plan—Continued

Last week, you began working on a comprehensive care plan for the aggregate. The care plan is due this week.
Propose a nursing diagnosis and suggest interventions that address the major health risks identified from the risk assessment. In your care plan, include a list of disasters that may affect the aggregate and a disaster management plan.
Your comprehensive care plan should be in a 4- to 5-page Microsoft Word document.

Submission Details:
Name your document SU_NSG4075_W6_Project_LastName_FirstInitial_Phase5.doc.
Submit your document to the Submissions Area by the due date assigned.
Cite all sources in APA.
Support your responses with examples.
Running head: AGGREGATE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

AGGREGATE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES 5

Aggregate strengths and weaknesses

Lissette Valcarcel

SU_NSG4075_W4

PHASE 3

In my community, the aggregate or the target population I have chosen are minority communities and more specifically African Americans. They are among the largest of numerous ethnic groups in US. African Americans are usually African ancestry but most of them do not have black ancestors. Most of them are descendants of the slaves who were brought from Africa by force so as to work in New World. Most of the African Americans live in 10 US states (Harkness, 2016). Chicago and New York have the largest African Americans populations. In this phase, I will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of African Americans and also the community where they live.

The first strength is that African Americans fall under the scope of Healthy People 2020 which advocates for an increase in the number of individuals under the span of healthy life as well as a reduction in health disparities among the rest of the community. Another strength is that African Americans are able to reside or dwell in environments where they are a minority with little or no anxiety (Harkness, 2016). African Americans also have a deeper appreciation to love the United States especially when it comes to paying taxes, voting and fighting for most of American history yet they are treated as second-class citizens. Another strength is that they originate from a rich heritage of individuals who understand how to endure and also overcome hardships. Another strength is that African Americans have a shared consciousness where they perceive the world and one another as unofficial family. Another one is that African Americans are a worldview marked with empathy and a desire for equity and justice (Harkness, 2016). African Americans are also able to share their non-verbal communication with other Black Americans in situations of cultural obliviousness or racial insensitivity.

African Americans are characterized by high illiteracy levels and poor health facilities. Despite the good preventative care in the community they live in, African Americans are succumbing to chronic diseases and respiratory-related diseases (Harkness, 2016). This is as a result of poverty and being treated like second-class citizens. Another weakness is that African Americans are the unnecessary target of racial profiling by the local police. They are treated like second-class citizens yet they do everything that others do.

PHASE 4

I chose Smith family from my aggregate who are the African Americans. Smith family is a nuclear family. Chris is the father. He is 56 years old. He works as a bank manager. He was diagnosed with stage two lung cancer. Judy is the mother. She is 53 years old. She is a businesswoman. Travis is the oldest child in this family. He is 28 years old. He is single and a university professor. Shirleen is the youngest kid. She is 24 years, single and a nurse. The family lives in an apartment in Upstate, New York. In my interview with the family for risk assessment purposes, Shirleen was the family member present. She is the main and sole historian. The following is the story of Smith family (Stanhope, 2015).

Travis and Shirleen are the only children. They suffer from no health illness. They practice healthy eating and regular physical exercise. Travis and Shirleen are as close as siblings can be and they are each other’s best friend (Stanhope, 2015). This is how their parents, Chris and Judy aimed to raise them. Travis and Shirleen take pride because their parents have been together for long and have shown them, love. Smith family have a robust foundation in Catholic Church. Their father, Chris, was recently diagnosed with stage two lung cancer. He also suffers from hypertension resulting from a diet high in fat and calories. Travis and Shirleen help their father to do physical exercise after attending church service on Sunday. They also teach their mother to prepare healthy meals. The mother opts to be preparing food high in nutrients and vitamins. Chris losses weight. He develops a nasty cough (Stanhope, 2015). He sees the doctor who recommends him for the weight loss. The doctors give him antibiotics. The cough persisted to an extent that he was having trouble in breathing. Chris succumbed to lung cancer. The family suffered the loss of a father and husband. Chris left a gap considering that the family lived together in love. Judy went into an eerie state of silence. Travis was angry.

The stressor which Smith family is experiencing comes from the Loss of Chris; beloved husband and father. The family was in an emotional state of endurance due to loss of Chris. Emotions attached to the stressor are vast and plentiful (Stanhope, 2015). The feelings left to the family in regard to the stressor include confusion, anger, remorse, loss of self, ambiguity, hostility, detachment etc.

Shirleen’s appraisal of the stressor is high. Another stressor for this family is Judy’s inability or unwillingness to vocalize and communicate her feelings. Another stressor is Travis anger which seems very deep. The remaining members of Smith’s family have solidarity as a family unit. All of them are healthy and they do regular exercise.

Interventions which may be provided to the family include familial grief and individualistic counseling. Information and education can be offered to the family about stages of grief. The family will also learn more about ways of channeling and expressing their grief i.e. exercise, storytelling, journaling etc. They will also not the significant results obtained when interventions are patient-specific (Stanhope, 2015).

Given Shirleen’s situation that hits very close to home, I realized that sometimes it was difficult to refrain from being emotionally involved. I liked the tools to base my assessment off in front of me. I also realized the benefit of using both qualitative and quantitative data as it enabled Shirleen to expand the designated topics which she felt were more significant to her stressors and situations.

In conclusion, I noted that my aggregate, African Americans, are vulnerable to chronic and respiratory diseases. I also feel that the knowledge which I acquired is applicable to my present and future nursing practice. I am able to reflect on what I learned and use nursing concepts to conduct an interview.

Reference

Harkness, G. A. (2016). Community and Public Health Nursing: Evidence for practice. Wolters Kluwer. Stanhope, M. &. (2015). Public Health Nursing-E-Book: Population-Centered Health Care in the Community. Elsevier Health Sciences.