Question

Chapter 1: Community and Public Health Nursing: Present, Past, and Future As a public health nurse at a free clinic, you are assessing and interviewing a 21-year-old woman who has come to the clinic because “I don’t have any energy and haven’t felt good in weeks”. During the interview, you learn that she averages one meal per day, smokes up to two packs of cigarettes per day and rummages through trash to find items to sell to purchase food, snacks, and cigarettes. She admits to using street drugs “every once in a while, when I can find someone who will share with me”. She admits, “My life is a mess and I don’t know how to make it better”. (Learning Objective: 5) What data can you gather based on available client information? What questions should you ask yourself while interviewing this client? During planning, how can you best assist the client? Outline potential strategies to assist her in making her life “better”.

Answer 1

The following data can be gathered from the patinwt information

• Is homeless, unemployed
• Substance abuse of smoking present
• Low self esteem, psychologically depressed and feeling isolated,worthless
• Unable to make right decision

The question that one should ask self before interviewing these type of client are

• Should make the patient to come out with the problems
• Is confident enough to handle the patients physical and emotional needs
• Should ask about any illness or medication
• To be precautionary when handling patients body fluids as these patients are at risk of infectious diseases

The client can be best assisted by

• Provide psychological support and health educate about healthy life
• Support to take therapy for smoking cessation
• Provide basic needs of food (nutrients through IV fluid to recover)
• Referring to hospital social worker
• Health educatingon personal hygienic practices

Some of the potential strategies to assist her are

• Making her enroll in the non-profit organization to get housing facility
• Making her to get a Medicaid service which includes a part of serving homeless and low socioeconomic group
• After discharge the women can be sent to homeless women shelter to lead a quality life