Psychosocial Factors and Patient Education Examples of psychosocial factors that affect the health care professional and the effect those factors could have on patient education.

The sense of well-being plays a significant role in the work of a healthcare professional. A practitioner’s well-being can be linked to the psychosocial work environment, including social support, work recognition, and work climate. Psychosocial factors include physical workload job satisfaction, and for healthcare professionals, work conditions that increase stress can result in psychosomatic health complaints, emotional exhaustion, and higher rates of employee turnover (Goetz et al., 2015). This, in turn, impacts the ability to effectively educate patients on their treatment plans and care. An exhausted or unwell (emotional, psychological, or physical) healthcare practitioner will not deliver high-quality patient service.

Examples of psychosocial factors that affect the patient and the effect those factors could have on patient education.

Psychosocial factors such as job control, hopelessness, depression, hostility, and stress are linked to physical health, such as heart disease. Social disadvantages are linked to poor health and increased exposure to diverse psychosocial factors. Exposure to psychosocial factors mediates the association between physical health and social disadvantage, and hence, psychosocial interventions are important in the improvement of health for the socially disadvantaged (Galletta et al., 2016). A patient with an illness due to psychosocial factors may find it difficult to seek help or, when they do, will be unwilling to make changes because of perceiving their situations as unchangeable. A patient that feels helpless over their situation will more than likely not be open to implementing any recommendations, made during patient education by a healthcare professional.

 Personality Types and Approaches

The five main personality traits are extraversion, neuroticism, conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness. The approaches to personality traits include cultural perspectives, trait, biological, humanistic, learning, neo-Freudian, and psychodynamic. The self-perception theory suggests that the inner abilities or feelings of a person are derived from their external behaviors. If the behaviors are maladjusted, a person will attribute these to their poor ability to adapt and, hence, suffer from the corresponding psychological problems (Pilarska, 2018).

The steps in adjustment to illness and how the patient copes with each step.

The stage of Uncertainty is where the individual suspects or detects illness signs and tries to make sense of these by determining the meaning and the severity. The Stage of Disruption is when the ill person makes the decision that the illness is serious and, hence, seeks help. The Stage of Striving to Regain Self involves striving to make meaning of the illness, and the person examines the past in search of the reason and the predicted outcome of the illness. The Stage of Regaining Wellness is where the person regains self-control and former relationships and also accepts or adjusts to functioning levels (Morse, n d).

The health professional’s role in teaching the patient at different life stages

A healthcare professional must consider the developmental level and age of the patient for effective teaching. This allows the practitioner to select strategies that are most effective. The three areas that a practitioner assesses are cognitive capacity, psychosocial development, and physical abilities and maturation.

The role of the family in patient education.

Hart et al. (2020) note that family members play a significant role in patient care, and this includes their contribution to decision-making, improvement of quality of care and patient safety, assisting in the provision of care, including home care, and addressing the patient’s family expectations as well as those of the society. Family members need to be educated on how to care for patients for better health outcomes.

How might the family influence the compliance of the patient?

Support from family promotes adherence and compliance by patients through encouraging self-esteem and optimism. These can buffer patient depression and illness-related stress. Positive family dimensions such as familial guidance and cohesion can also achieve patient compliance where a warm, close, and accepting family increases the chances of adherence. A family that has good communication in itself will allow for open and honest communication with the patient (Ninuk et al., 2019). Healthcare professionals should maintain patient confidentiality and prioritize autonomy when communicating with the kin of the patient to avoid misunderstanding, miscommunication, and negative p