How to write a write a negotiation in relation to patient education

Negotiation is engagement between individuals to agree on something (Kerasidou et al., 2021). In health care, it is a moral and professional responsibility of health workers to negotiate and advise patients on matters affecting their health and health outcomes. Furthermore, the Healthcare system recommends shared decision-making, which is achieved through negotiation.

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Change in the patient’s status and its effect on patient education.

Studies indicate that patients’ status, such as old age, affects patient education. Most elderly tend to accept the predicament of old age illness, and therefore they ignore medical education or advice from health workers.

Pros and cons of negotiation

Negotiation in relation to patient education facilitates patient involvement in the medical interventions related to their health status. Negotiating healthcare matters with the patients also enables the healthcare workers to individualize the decision-making process in offering treatment options (Karlsen et al., 2020). Moreover, negotiating enables healthcare providers to guide patients in balancing rest and activity, which is critical for energy restoration. However, negotiation can disadvantage the patient due to the power imbalance between the parties involved. In addition, health care providers sometimes ignore the patient’s or family’s social position dilemma, thus ignoring their emotions and their contribution to the decision-making process. For example, treatment may be ineffective when the health care provider is indifferent to the patient’s resistance to interventions.

General conditions included in the patient contract

The general conditions that would be included in the patient contract include opioid contracts, behavioral contracts for guiding the treatment of “difficult patients,” healthy living contracts, and suicide prevention contracts. The use of contracts in medicine is critical in guiding the interaction between patients and clinical personnel in diverse clinical situations.

Old age and the baby boomer

The baby boomers (people born from 1946 to 1964) are approaching their old age. This equates to a potential deterioration in health due to old age-related illnesses (Song & Ferris, 2018). The sustained life quality of the aging baby boomers in the US is attributed to their continued access to the Medicare program, thus increasing healthcare spending.

Generational, religious, and cultural differences between a 30-year-old healthcare professional and an elderly patient

The contemporary high-tech world translates to more digital involvement of the healthcare provider that the elderly patient might not be familiar with. The religious beliefs of the younger clinician are likely to be more flexible and accommodate cohabitation, while the religious beliefs of the older patient are more strict, and living together is restricted to married couples only. Culturally, the older and the younger generation adapt to change differently as the younger generation is more open than the older ones, especially in mental health interventions.

Barriers to patient education of the elderly and their needs

The challenges facing patient education of the elderly patients include limited access as they often need rest, inadequate health knowledge and literacy, which limits their ability to make critical decisions on their health issues, and limiting cultural and religious beliefs that prevent them from utilizing the health information offered by clinicians (Heydari et al., 2019). Critically, most old people are resigned to the finality of old age sicknesses and thus ignore the advice of clinicians on their healthcare issues. The needs of elderly patients include specialized care delivery models, physical safety needs, feeding, bathing, and continence.

Ways to approach patient education of the elderly

The education of elderly patients requires the clinician to use simple language and avoid medical jargon, which impedes knowledge acquisition. The clinician needs to be culturally sensitive and compassionate towards the patient’s needs. Knowledge of the cultural background facilitates the establishment of rapport and enhances the comfort of both parties. The clinician must also show empathy towards the elderly.

Cultural and religious beliefs about death

Some communities believe that the deceased’s spirit continues to live even after their death, and it is critical to evoke the spirit of the dead in family activities and celebrations. In such communities, the deceased is addressed as a living person, and it is not uncommon for the family members to ‘consult’ the dead in important family matters like medical interventions.

Importance of discussing death and dying with the elderly and its impact on the involved parties

Holding open conversations about death and dying with older adults and their families enables the involved family members to consider suitable end-of-life care for the patient (Alftberg et al., 2018). Moreover, the patient can discuss expectations, thoughts, and feelings about death and make decisions about palliative care. Talking about death and dying also relieves the patient’s family of the emotional distress due to the uncertainty of the deceased’s wishes.

Teaching a patient with a life-threatening illness

Educating a patient with a life-threatening illness is critical as it provides them with knowledge and expectations about the condition and its scope. First, gently approach the patient and inform them of the scope of their condition. The nurse must inform the patient of how the condition will change their lives and the impact of the change on their status. Patient education is also critical in giving the patient information to enable informed consent to their medical intervention. Finally, the clinician should highlight the positive aspects of the patient’s life and applaud them when necessary.

References

Alftberg, Å., Ahlström, G., Nilsen, P., Behm, L., Sandgren, A., Benzein, E., … & Rasmussen, B. H. (2018, June). Conversations about death and dying with older people: An ethnographic study in nursing homes. In Healthcare (Vol. 6, No. 2, p. 63). MDPI.

Heydari, A., Sharifi, M., & Moghaddam, A. B. (2019). Challenges and barriers to providing care to older adult patients in the intensive care unit: A qualitative research. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences, 7(21), 3682.

Karlsen, M. M. W., Happ, M. B., Finset, A., Heggdal, K., & Heyn, L. G. (2020). Patient involvement in micro-decisions in intensive care. Patient Education and Counseling, 103(11), 2252-2259.

Kerasidou, A., Bærøe, K., Berger, Z., & Brown, A. E. C. (2021). The need for empathetic healthcare systems. Journal of medical ethics, 47(12), e27-e27.

Song, Z., & Ferris, T. G. (2018). Baby boomers and beds: a demographic challenge for the ages. Journal of general internal medicine, 33(3), 367-369.