Week 2 Discussion Which factor do you feel has the most impact on family members

Week 2 Discussion

Emotional factor has the greatest impact on family members with a sick loved one. According to Golics et al. (2013), family members suffer emotional stress when living with and caring for a sick member. The emotional impact of some conditions is often felt by each family member.

Individuals develop psychological distress when they develop feelings of helplessness and lack control (Golics et al., 2013). Psychological distress among family members is demonstrated by anger, guilt, worry, frustration, upset, embarrassment, despair, and loss. Golics et al. (2013) explain that the various emotions affect the family members differently and to different degrees, depending on the disease severity and duration since diagnosis.

The psychological distress can contribute to physical and mental health conditions for the family members resulting in worse health outcomes. The role of support persons is to assist their loved ones through the healing process by supporting, encouraging, and communicating with the patient.

They take part in decision-making, assist the healthcare team in providing care, improve patient safety and quality of care, assist in home care, and address the expectations of the patient’s family (Jazieh et al., 2018). Consequently, support persons are important partners in the plan of care for a patient. They should be involved in the care plan since they convey essential patient information and present the patient’s interest to the health team.

For patients with chronic illnesses, support persons should be included in the care plan to help the patient manage the disease at home. Patient safety is often a major concern when discharging patients, mainly bedridden and elderly (Jazieh et al., 2018). Involving support persons is crucial to support and strengthen the caregiver’s competency in providing basic care at home. Besides, it ensures that the caregiver has the necessary skills that will promote patient safety at home.

References

• Golics, C. J., Basra, M. K., Finlay, A. Y., & Salek, S. (2013). The impact of disease on family members a critical aspect of medical care. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 106(10), 399–407. https //doi.org/10.1177/0141076812472616
• Jazieh, A. R., Volker, S., & Taher, S. (2018). Involving the family in patient care A culturally tailored communication model. Global Journal on Quality and Safety in Healthcare, 1(2), 33-37. https //doi.org/10.4103/JQSH.JQSH_3_18