Question

As a nurse practicing within a family practice, you are interviewing a 55-year-old woman who is an executive assistant at a local law firm, where she has worked for 9 years. She has a 7-year history of respiratory illness, which occurs several times throughout the year, not seemingly connected to the changes in season. She does not use tobacco products in any form. During your questions regarding her home and work environments, she reports that she enjoys working adjacent to the courthouse in a building over 100 years old because it is such a contrast to her brand-new home on a local golf course. When describing the health of her coworkers, she indicates, “We all share illnesses, which seem to affect everyone else during the year; we just seem to be sicker more often!” What information is pertinent to your client’s case? How would you assess your client’s risk? What would be an exposure pathway for your client? Your document should be 1-2 pages in length, in APA format, typed in Times New Roman with 12-point font, double-spaced with 1” margins, and include at least two citations using references less than five years old. This is the whole case study and questions, no further client info was given.

Answer 1

Sick building Syndrome

The woman who attended the interview, may be suffering with 'Sick building syndrome'. As she mentioned in the  interview , she was working in a law firm and the office is situated at the building, which is 100 years old. Her co -workers also sharing the same health problems and it is not related to any season changes. These information are pertinent to the client's diagnosis.

The disease pathway:

Sick building Syndrome( SBS): It is a group of symptoms, health effects experienced by building occupants that appear to be linked to time spent in a building. The main etiology is unknowin. But the syndrome is attributed to the poor air quality inside the building, and inadequate ventilation. The contributing causes may be old buildings with defects in construction materials, poor cleaning methods, presece of black toxic molds, inadequate ventilation, Volatile organic compounds in paint of walls and wood, decayed wood materials .

Sick building Syndrome or Building related symptoms are general health problems such as head ache, fatigue , irritability and respiratory illness such as running nose, breathing difficulty, chest tightness , sneezing , burning sensation in nose etc. Dry itchy skin rashes and throat irritation also may occur.

Assessing the client's risk.

Nurse can obtain more information from the woman, regarding:

* How many hours she spent in the office room per day/ week.

* Is the symptom persist through out the day or only during office hours.

* What specific symptoms she suffering with.

* Her past and present medical history, including allergies.

* Information regarding the building, such as the common materials used for building, woods or concrete.

* Asbestos use in the building.

* Presence of molds and fungus in the building.

To prevent or manage the SBS, primary step is to monitor the air quality inside the building, vaccum regularly, change air filters frequently, do mold test, take break inbetween for lunch or tea out side the office. Get some fresh air by opening the windows, if the outside air is free from pollution.

( Please make the answer into the required format, letter size , spacing and font. Thank you.)