PUBLIC HEALTH AND PRIMARY CARE

Public Health and Primary Care

Public Health and Primary Care

Introduction

This assignment will form a case study which focuses on a patient whom I have had contact with during my community placement. The paper will also examine the documentation process within the community setting and look at the importance of regular inter-professional communication and how this has an impact upon the efficiency and appropriateness of the care and support that the patient generally receives. In order to preserve the identity of this patient in accordance with the NMC Code of Professional Conduct (2010), we will give a false name to the patient throughout this assignment by using Jane.

Case Review

Jane is aged 45 years old and is morbidly obese, with a BMI of over 45. She has type two Diabetes Mellitus, and has limited mobility. She lives alone in a remote area, has never gone to school and never worked. Her daughter comes every morning to wash and dress her. She also helps her to get into bed and does the house chores. Jane rarely leaves the house unless she has health appointments and thus, she has very little social interaction apart from health professionals.

She required regular nursing care since she had diabetes type 2 and she was obese as well. We will discuss the patient's condition, from a physiological, social and psychological viewpoint with particular reference to her overall quality of life. We will also focus upon her condition in relation to current public health issues and government policies relevant to it, and explore the role of the community nurse and wider inter-professional team in terms of health promotion for this patient.

The Diabetes Mellitus comprises a group of metabolic disorders in common the fact of presenting a persistent instability of the blood glucose level, passing from conditions of hyperglycaemia, more frequently, in conditions of hypoglycaemia. Although, the term diabetes refers to the common practice on the sole condition of diabetes mellitus, there is another condition called diabetes insipidus. These diseases are united only by the fact of having copious amounts of urine, not having in fact causes or other symptoms are common (Baum 2007, p99).

Literature Review

According to NDIC (2011), growing prevalence of DM2 has underlying reasons in United Kingdom. Escalating levels of obesity were recorded in the National Statistics (2009) which showed that in 2007, 24 percent of adults were classed as obese compared to 1996 when only 15 percent were classed as obese. Diabetes and obesity are closely interlinked (Roberts 2007).

Nair et al (2009) and Kumar et al (2009) state that diabetes type two is related to lifestyle factors and increase in obesity, over eating sugary foods and lack of exercise. Marieb (2007) states that pancreas produces major hormones insulin and glucagon which maintain circulating glucose concentrations. Insulin is produced by the beta cells of the islets of Langerhans in response to raised glucose levels following a meal. It prevents a build-up of glucose in the body and promotes glucose absorption into the ...