This week’s course content focuses on the meaning of health and the determinants of health. It is appropriate then, at the start of your program of study, to turn the lens on yourself. Building a better, healthier life is integral to your own well being, as well as to being a role model for others as you work within the health care field.

Throughout this course you will post entries to a health journal. The journal is designed to provide an opportunity for you to personalize course content and consider steps that you can take to improve your own health and well-being. You will submit your summary each week for your Instructor to review.

To begin, select an environmental, occupational, or behavioral change that you would like to make or focus on over the next six weeks.

Write a ½-1 page journal entry that addresses the following:

• After reviewing the readings about the Dimensions of Wellness, explain what dimension of your wellness do you feel is the most out of balance? How so?

• Construct a 1-sentence goal statement related to a health behavior that falls within this dimension of wellness or dimensions (if it overlaps).Example: “In order to improve my emotional and physical health, my behavioral goal is to get more sleep by going to bed an hour earlier each night.”

• What specific steps (2-3) will you take to work toward this health behavior goal by the end of this course?Example: “In order to get an additional hour of sleep each night, I will need to eat earlier in the evening and start my course work earlier. I also have a tendency to procrastinate, which means I don’t start my course work until 8 or 9 at night. I need to eat earlier, start on my home work by 6, and then I can get to bed no later than 10:00 pm.”

• What are the health benefits to changing this behavior?Example: “By getting more sleep, I’ll have more energy to get through the day, and my mood will likely improve. I think it will improve my emotional health, too, because I’ll be more rested to deal with stressful situations, and I won’t have to panic the night before my assignments are due because I won’t be procrastinating. I may actually do better in my classes, too, because I won’t be trying to write assignments with one eye!”
• Required ResourcesMedia
  • • Course Media: Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2012). Personal Health and Wellness: Dimensions of Health Wheel [Multimedia], Baltimore, MD: Author.

Final Paper

To complete this assignment, read through the scenario below and address the specific questions and issues indicated. Review the “Introduction to the Miller Family” document for specific information on each member of the family.

Grandmother Ella has been dealing with cancer for years now and has tried alternative remedies and juicing.  She went into remission for some time, but now the cancer has returned and she is in the hospital.  Her husband, of American Indian descent, has his ideas about what needs to be done as Ella comes to the end of her life.  Ella has her preferences, though she is now so weak that she has given up in many ways.  The family members are each experiencing their own fears and are grieving as they face the loss that will occur as Ella’s life comes to a close.  Ella prefers to die at home and has felt stressed by the discord and discomfort of family members since being hospitalized.

You are the social worker for this case.  You meet this family in the hospital setting as they are considering whether the patient will remain there for her final days or whether hospice and palliative care will be provided for her in her home.

Synthesize the current research that is relevant to this scenario.

1. Discuss the cultural or traditional issues that could arise at this time.  Consider how the integration of alternative and complementary medicine and beliefs, mainstream medical practices, and cultural/traditional rituals and practices might create issues and what they might include.
   • Describe how the family might react to the following possible scenarios:
     • Ella wishes to stick with alternative and complementary practices.
     • Ella is coerced into following mainstream medical advice.
     • Ella’s husband insists that, as father and husband, his family traditions should be adhered to.
   • Examine the biological basis for care and describe how the choices for care might affect the other family members with respect to their individual problems, if at all.
     • Son Sam, the alcoholic
     • Daughter Lila, with diabetes
     • Grandson Josh, starting to have drug problems
     • Granddaughter Lucy, bipolar with more entrenched drug problems
     • Daughter-in-law, Sarah’s stress related to her family’s medical issues (nephew with leukemia, brother with HIV, and her father’s perspective that they are all “crazy!”)
2. Discuss the micro, mezzo, and macro influences affecting both the patient and the diverse family members in this scenario as impacted by Ella’s medical condition and prognosis.
   • What are the pertinent and likely family (micro) conflicts and differences, and concerns that could be encountered?
   • How is the neighborhood and extended family (mezzo) reacting to the situation?
   • If she returns home, what considerations need to be taken into account as part of her discharge plan? Using your local area, research and present the needed or preferred community resources (macro) that would be available to them.  Critique the ability of these community resources to adequately meet the needs of this diverse family’s circumstances.
3. Discuss the relevant medical issues and the advantages and disadvantages of hospital versus home.  When discussing medical issues in this case, use appropriate medical terminology.
4. Discuss the psychological and social issues that are present and will possibly be more pronounced at this stressful time.  How has the fact that this illness has been ongoing (chronic) impacted the family?
5. Analyze the current scenario as it pertains to diversity, as well as to cultural, psychological, and social perspectives and influences, taking into account the stories that you have been discussing throughout the course.
6. Discuss the impact of lifespan development on the perspectives of the various members of the family (i.e., their intellect, cognitive abilities, insight, and judgment) as well as their sociocultural perspectives, preferences, understandings, and positions on the situation.

Writing the Final Paper

The Final Paper:

1. Must be eight to ten double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
2. Must include a title page with the following:
   1. Title of paper
   2. Student’s name
   3. Course name and number
   4. Instructor’s name
   5. Date submitted
3. Must begin with an introductory paragraph that has a succinct thesis statement.
4. Must address the topic of the paper with critical thought.
5. Must end with a conclusion that reaffirms your thesis.
6. Must use at least three scholarly sources.
7. Must document all sources in APA style, as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.
8. Must include a separate reference page, formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center.