The initiative on improving patient outcomes requires the use of theoretical approaches to the problem. They are frequently provided by other fields when applicable to nursing and used by scholars for researching the ways to modify the patterns of healthcare services provision (Ryan, 2009). The lack of thereof might result in the impossibility to use their findings in practice due to their ambiguity, and this fact defines the need to adopt various frameworks. Therefore, it is vital to examine the application of social and behavioral theories to the operations of healthcare facilities in practice by considering the case of the 65-year-old woman admitted for a mastectomy.
In the situation under consideration, the principal factors, which should be examined for selecting applicable theories, are the effects of the condition on the patient. According to the information, the woman expressed fear and depression as the main obstacles to providing medical services (McEwin & Wills, 2019). Hence, the most suitable concepts include symbols as per symbolic interactionism, a social position as per the role theory, age appropriateness as per the developmental theory, and cognitive restructuring as per the cognitive theory.
The planning of care should start with assessing shared meanings stemming from the patient’s belonging to her population group defined by gender and age. In other words, the reported feelings should be viewed through the lens of their connection to symbols reflecting their basic perceptions (McEwin & Wills, 2019). They will be complemented by analyzing her social position with corresponding beliefs contributing to the negative attitude towards the proposed interventions (Conrad & Barker, 2010). In turn, the inclusion of age appropriateness and cognitive restructuring will allow assessing her behavior concerning her development stage and reveal possible bias in the perspective.
In practice, it is possible to incorporate the concepts stemming from the corresponding theories described above in the plan of care for the woman. They will be useful in acquiring sufficient information regarding the obstacles to her well-being and finding methods to overcome them as per symbolic interactionism. First, the symbols typical for female patients over 65 years include the increasing concerns about health typical for this population group alongside their worries about negative consequences of interventions (Conrad & Barker, 2010). Even though the creation of such shared meanings is critical in terms of survival in society, it can become exaggerated with age, as follows from the developmental theory (McEwin & Wills, 2019). It means that a nurse should start communicating with the patient by debunking the myths of lower quality of life, which is the main woman’s fear.
Subsequently, the attention to the person’s social position and cognitive restricting will help avoid misinterpretation of the information provided by healthcare employees. The former will be useful in revealing the impact of the woman’s family and friends on her attitude towards the proposed intervention in accordance with the critical social theory and the role theory (Carnegie & Kiger, 2009). In turn, the latter will be advantageous for ensuring that the woman understands the actual meaning of mastectomy for her and does not rely on distorted facts (McEwin & Wills, 2009). The information regarding these two aspects should be included in the initial conversations with the patient so that they are not overlooked in the process of treatment.
If the woman were 25 years old or 45 years old, the provision of care to her would have changed dramatically due to the difference in circumstances. First, she would have shared different convictions deriving from belonging to another population group. They will be less likely to view the situation as critical in terms of complications, and their more positive perceptions will facilitate the work of nurses (McEwis & Wills, 2019). Second, the patient would have been considered from the perspective of her characteristics, such as younger age, varying beliefs, and other personal factors. Their combination allows for addressing other concerns deriving from different views. In this way, the nursing approach should have been readjusted following these conditions.
Social psychology theories are helpful in this case because they have been widely used for promoting breast cancer awareness. Their effects can be clearly seen from the adoption of social constructivism as an instrument to inform people and predict their reactions based on one’s culture (Conrad & Barker, 2010). Hence, the woman expressed negative feelings because she was already aware of the significance of this intervention for her future well-being from the shared meaning of this event while realizing its inevitability. In this way, applying theoretical approaches allowed revealing the source of the patient’s concerns while acknowledging the information available to her.
These theories have also been suitable for my clinical practice area. Thus, examining sociological and behavioral factors as per the commitment to health theory and the critical race theory helped understand the patients better (Kelly, 2008; Ford & Airhihenbuwa, 2010). In other words, their evaluation helped me determine the probability of behavior change for active participation as well as the impact of race, among other characteristics, on the outcome.
To summarize, the case under consideration can be successfully addressed when using various theories. They can demonstrate the significance of personal and external factors for care provision and adjust the plan of interventions accordingly. In this way, it can be concluded that sociological and behavioral factors have a tremendous impact on one’s health and affect the overall process of rendering medical services in a clinical setting.
References
Carnegie, E., & Kiger, A. (2009). Being and doing politics: An outdated model or 21st century reality?Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(9), 1976-1984. Web.
Conrad, P., & Barker, K. (2010). The social construction of illness: Key insights and policy implications.Journal of Health and Social Behavior: Special Issue, 51, S67–S79. Web.
Ford, C. L., & Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (2010). Critical race theory, race equity, and public health: Toward antiracism praxis.American Journal of Public Health, 100(S1), S30–S35. Web.
Kelly, C. (2008). Commitment to health theory.Research & Theory for Nursing Practice, 22(2), 148-160. Web.
McEwin, M., & Wills, E. M. (2019). Theoretical basis for nursing (5th ed.) Wolters Kluwer Health.
Ryan, P. (2009). Integrated theory of health behavior change: Background and intervention development.Clinical Nurse Specialist, 23(3), 161-170. Web.