Question

Five Days at Memorial- Life and Death in a Storm-Ravaged Hospital: Identify and discuss strategies used by character/characters in book to adapt to stressors and deal with negative social determinants of health.

Answer 1

STRESSOR:

A biological, psychological, social or chemical factor that causes physical or emotional tension or stressor stimuli.

The trigger that causes a stress reaction is called a stressor

It may be internal or external. Internal factors include fear or guilt and external factors include pressure or trauma.

Stressors are of two major kinds

1. ACUTE STRESSORS :

Certain life-changing events can cause stress, and it lasts for a certain period of time and also has a direct effect on health.

2. CHRONIC STRESSORS :

The persistent difficulties a person faces for a long duration is related to chronic stressors.

Hospitalization is a major factor for stress. There are different measures by which an individual in the hospital can adapt to stressors. The following are the adaptive coping strategies

ADAPTIVE STRATEGIES

1 AWARENESS :

The initial step to managing stress is to become aware of the factors that create it, the individual needs to recognise the stressor and plan for ways to control it. When an individual is physically unhealthy they need to accept the fact and find measures for resolution.

2.EMOTIONAL ADAPTATION:

They are various defence mechanism strategies which an individual can follow to adapt to a stressful situation.

3.RELAXATION :

This method is hight effective as an individual can experience relaxation in different ways. Techniques like breathing exercises and progressive relaxation can be followed to relieve stress.

4.MEDITATION :

The individual can practice meditation which has proved to produce a lasting reduction of blood pressure and stress-related symptoms. It could be performed for at least 10 minutes, by assuming a comfortable position and concentrating and discarding other thoughts

5. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION:

This is an intellectual dimension to adapt to the stressor. Support system plays a major role in adapting to stress. Talking to a person or a family member who is empathetic will help reduce the escalation of stress.

6. MUSIC

Music can reduce stress and anxiety and brings a change in the mood and activity

7. PROBLEM-SOLVING.

This is an extremely effective strategy to cope with stress. An individual has to understand the problem and come up with solutions to the problem that is causing stress. They could also take the help of their family to solve the problem

8.POSITIVE THINKING

The best method to relax is to have a positive mind and positive thoughts. The individual must make an effort to stop all the negative thoughts. A technique called thought blocking can be used to stop the negative thoughts

The above are the various methods by which an individual in the hospital can adapt to stressors

NEGATIVE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Social determinants of health have shown to have an immense effect on the health of an individual .it is important to recognise the social factors that contribute to illness

Risk factors include lifestyle and behavioural factors which is highly seen in hospitalized individuals as they lack physical health and psychosocial conditions like low self-esteem and isolation .it also has an impact on mental health

Social determinants have an impact on health outcomes, it is highly essential for the health care providers to consider social determinants of health and enable holistic healthcare. Patient education plays a major role and income level must be considered when providing treatment to the individual.

DEALING WITH NEGATIVE SOCIAL. DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

The individual must recognise the social factors that influence health and come up with effective ways to cope up with the stressors

Assessing social needs.

Developing strategies that might have an influence on social determinants and reduce the negative impact

Creating a holistic awareness of biological and social factors that impact health which could enable better health outcome.

These are the ways to adapt to stressors and deal with negative social determinants of health.