Awareness & Sensitivity to Client Needs

“There’s only one corner of the world that you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” Aldous Huxley

“The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand but in what direction it is moving.” Oliver Wendall

“If you wish to achieve worthwhile things in your personal and career life, you must become a worthwhile person in your own self-development.” Brian Tracy

Fun Quotes to Ponder

Describe the major stages of human development and the basic health needs of humans.

• Describe five common characteristics of growth and development.

• Describe human needs theory regarding human actualization.

Competency 1

Growth – physical changes that place in the body

Development – increase in mental, emotional and social capabilities

Growth and development from a total process that affects the person physically, mentally and socially.

Growth and Development

1. Occur in an orderly pattern from simple to complex.

2. Continuous process characterized by spurts of growth

3. Affects all body systems but at different time periods

4. Varies from person to person

5. Forms a total process that affects the person physically, mentally and socially

5 Common Characteristics of Growth & Development

• As people mature from infancy to old age, person pass through several stages.

• Developmental task have to be accomplished.• Tasks are social, emotional and psychological growth

experiences.

Stages and Developmental Tasks

STAGE AGE ERIKSON’S STAGE

Prenatal Conception - Birth

Infancy Birth – 1 year Trust vs. Mistrust

Toddler 1 – 3 years Autonomy vs. Shame/Doubt

Preschooler 3 – 6 years Initiative vs. Guilt

Erikson’s Stages of Development (1950)

STAGE AGE ERIKSON’S STAGE

School Age Child 6 – 12 years Industry vs.Inferiority

Adolescences 12 – 20 years Identity vs. Role Confusion

Young Adulthood 20s and 30s Intimacy vs.Isolation

Middle Adulthood 40s and 50s Generatively vs. Stagnation

Later Adulthood 60s to death Ego Integrity vs.Despair

Erikson’s Stages of Development (1950)

Late teens to 30s

Development tasks• Personal and economic independence• Support group of friends and others• Developing work skills/career• Establishing a family• Managing optimal health and healthy lifestyle

Early Adulthood

From 30s to mid 60s

Developmental tasks• Expanding personal and social involvement and

responsibility• Adjusting to the physiological and emotional changes of

middle age• Reaching and maintaining job satisfaction• Maintaining health and managing emerging chronic

health conditions

Middle Adulthood

Age is influenced by heredity, nutrition, exercise and lifestyle

Young – old (65 – 74 years) Development Tasks: • No change from middle age if healthy• Decreasing physical strength and changes in body – social• Adjustments to retirement• Adjustments to changing family roles with spouse, adult

children, grandchildren

Late Adulthood – Mid 60s to Death

Middle – Old ( 75 – 84 years) Developmental Task• More chronic conditions such as arthritis• Adjustments to losses – car, siblings, friends• Need to accept life’s experiences• Accepting one’s immortality

Late Adulthood – Mid 60s to Death

Old – Old ( 85 and older) Developmental Task• Acceptance of physical limits• Dependence on others for help• Losses increase related to social activities and death• Acceptance of relocation

Late Adulthood – Mid 60s to Death

Abraham Maslow, 1908 – 1970, Brooklyn, NY, studied law, studied psychology at University of WI, theory of psychology

Studied people such as Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, Fredrick Douglass

Studied the healthiest 1% of the college student population

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Water, oxygen, protein, salt, sugar, body temperature

Also a need to be active, to rest, eliminate waste, avoid pain

These are individual needs

Physiological Needs

Finding safe circumstances, stability and protection

A need for structure, for order, for limits

Becoming concerned with your fears and anxieties

Have a home in a safe neighborhood, nest egg, job security, good retirement, medical insurance

Safety and Security Needs

Feel the need for a friend, a lover, children, a sense of community, a need to belong

Become vulnerable to loneliness and social anxieties

Exhibited through our need to marry, have a family, be part of a gang or softball team, a church, a community

Love and Belonging Needs

“Belonging” the need to feel important

Internal esteem = self respect & achievement

confidence, independence, freedom, mastery

External esteem = social status & recognition

fame, glory, recognition, attention, reputation

Self-Esteem Needs

Growth motivation, being needed, self actualization

These things do not involve balance

Will become stronger as we “feed” them

Fulfill potentials - - “be all that you can be”

YOU

Self – Actualization = having your lower needs met

If lower needs are not met = cannot devote yourself to your full potential

Self-Actualization

Truth Goodness Beauty

Unity Wholeness Aliveness

Uniqueness Perfection Completion

Justice Order Simplicity

Richness Playfulness Meaningfulness

The Needs of Self-Actualizers

Describe the needs of clients across the lifespan and how those needs can affect behaviors and attitudes.

• Describe the 3 different types of needs that humans have across the life span.

• List the basic needs of infants, children and adolescents.• List the developmental needs of young adults and older

adults

Competency 2

1. Physical

2. Emotional

3. Spiritual(in some cultures these needs are described as Body/Mind/Spirit)

Age of child determines rate of development in each area.

Three types of needs include:

• Infants• Children• Young Adults• Older Adults

Basic Needs by Age Groups

Needs across Lifespan

Physical Body

Emotional Mind

Spiritual Spirit

Infant/Children/Teens

Physical, emotional, spiritual

AGE DETERMINES

Ex: small children prioritize food, warmth, rest, emotional comfort

Age Group Needs

Describe the types of emotional, spiritual, mental health and social needs of clients and their families.

• Define family.• List five functions of families• Describe family influence on healthcare • Describe emotional needs of clients and their families. • Describe spiritual needs of clients and their families. • Describe mental health issues of clients and their families. • Describe social needs of clients and their families.

Competency 3

The family is a haven in a heartless world.

~Christopher Lasch

Families are like fudge – mostly sweet with a few nuts

~Author Unknown

Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

~Jane Howard

Family Quotes to Ponder

Two or more people who have chosen to live together and share their interests, roles, and resources

Types of families

Family

1. Growth and development of its members

2. Protection

3. Nurturance

4. Reproduction

5. Recreation

6. Socialization and Education

6 Functions of Family

First to recognize illness in its members

Families determine:

• Whether or not to seek treatment• What type of treatment is appropriate• Who should provide the treatment• Where should the treatment be provided

Family Influence on Healthcare

• Available support from team members

• Conversations appropriate to situation

• Accurate information

• Acceptance of array of emotions

Emotional Needs of Clients and Families

Respect religious needs/values

Make available proper religious clergy• Rabbi• Priest• Imam• Native American Tribal Elder• Chaplain• Pastor

Spiritual Needs of Clients and Families

• Depression• Avoidance• Anger• Fear• Isolation

Mental Health Issues

• Denial• Projection• Enable• Suppression• Rationalization

Defense Mechanisms

• Relaxation techniques• Prioritization• Time Management• Self-Care

Successful Coping Strategies

• Activity inclusion• Active role in care• Care Conference participation• Support Group availability

Societal Needs of Clients and Families

Explain how different diseases can influence the functioning, behaviors, and attitudes of individuals including dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease.

• Describe how chronic illness affects individual coping and behaviors.

• Describe how acute illness affects coping and behaviors.

Competency 4

Chronic Illness – health problem of long duration in which the disease condition shows little change or slowly gets worse

• Chronic illness affects the person’s ability to meet their needs for self actualization.

• Chronic illness includes stressors that impact the client and family over time.

Diseases – Chronic Illness

• Emotional – depression• Physical – chronic pain, limited mobility• Social – isolation• Financial – healthcare costs• Family dynamics – not able to fulfill family role

Stressors

• The type of illness• The duration of the illness• Clients ability to fulfill the family role

Family Dynamic that Might Be Affected

Acute Illness – a health problem of short duration in which the condition improves or resolves• Stress is still present• Crisis = people act differently – anger• Hospitalization• Chronic illness stressors are present

Diseases – Acute Illness

Chronic illness:• Impact on loved ones• Behavior modification• Personal feelings providing care to clients with

dementia/Alzheimer’s

Dementia/Alzheimer’s

Describe selected client service strategies, including customer service their impact on quality client care and the importance of client participation in group/family activities.

• Identify ways that healthcare workers can promote client services.

• Discuss ways that quality client care can be enhanced in the health care setting.

• List common expectations for service.• Discuss importance of client/family inclusion group activities

Competency 5

Healthcare workers promote client services• Stay focused on their needs• Avoid personal feelings• Recognize stage development• Recognize impact of family

CLIENTS ARE………….

Internal customers = work in healthcare

External customers = come to care

Service Strategies

How to bring quality care to setting:• Focus on the client• Care for self• Leave personal problems at home• Seek professional development to assist in developing

your own service strategies• Remember patient/client’s vulnerability and maybe in a

crisis

Service Strategies

Service is……..• Timely• Patient centered• Compassionate

Expectations for Service

• May reduce loneliness• Provide socialization• Increases self-worth• Refocus negative thoughts to positive• Promotes feeling of acceptance

Importance of Inclusion Group Activities

Define the stages and processes of death and dying and the influences those stages have on clients and their families.

• List the emotional stages of grief that occurs in death and dying.

• List the needs of the dying client and their family• List the different causes of death and describe how this

may affect the client and families ability to progress through the stages of death.

Competency 6

5 Stages of Grief (Kubler-Ross)

1. Denial

2. Anger

3. Bargaining

4. Depression

5. Acceptance

Death

NEEDS of dying client/patient• Spiritual• Family Support• Learning needs• Physiological• Hospice• Home care

Death

Unexpected = shock

Anticipated = family is tired, prolonged grieving

Traumatic = Homicide, suicide

Causes of Death and the Affect on Families

Describe how to care for the clients’ environment

• Discuss importance of clean environment• Describe proper care of clients’ personal items

Competency 7

• Clean surface items appropriately• Reduce allergens• Promote infection control

Avoid Clutter

Do not move personal items to new location• Cause or increase confusion• Precipitate anxiety that item is lost

Ask client for cleaning suggestions• Promotes feeling of inclusion • Encourages pride in surroundings

Care of Personal Items

Using a problem solving process applied to healthcare situations; describe how healthcare workers can be aware and sensitive to their clients’ needs/ behaviors.

Discuss the problem solving process as applied to awareness and sensitivity to clients utilizing a team approach.

Competency 8

• Identify the problem• Gather information• Create solutions• Select a solution• Act/evaluate/revise

Problem Solve

Author: Dede Carr, BS, LDA

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