John has returned to your ward after having his total knee replacement surgery and you are the nurse taking over his post-operative cares.
Choose ONE of the topics listed below Post op respiratory infection OR Post op deep vein thrombosis (DVT).
Search the literature for at least 10 recent [less than five years old] research journal articles or systematic review papers related to the topic you have selected.
Write an essay of 1500 words in length in response to the following essay criteria.
Use current evidence to support your discussion on the topic.
Refer to the marking criteria to see how many marks are allocated to each section
and to get further information on the assignment structure.
Use the APA 6 Referencing style and the Schools assignment formatting guidelines
Name: Sarah Smith
Essay Title: The Impact of Positive Predispositions on Quality of Life
Word Count: 1570 (excluding title page and reference list)
Regardless of who we are or where we come from, few situations in life are as stressful as living with a chronic, physical illness (Fitzgerald Miller, 2000). Chronic illness (CI), defined as an altered health state not curable through surgical or medical or procedures, often involves long-term, impaired functioning and multiple illness-related demands on an individual that are never completely eliminated (Fitzgerald Miller, 2000, p. 4). In Australia, the prevalence of CI has increased over the last decade, with as much as 15% of the population currently living with illnesses such as circulatory conditions (e.g. heart attack, stroke, angina and hypertension), cancer, arthritis, osteoporosis, asthma, and diabetes (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS], 2009). In addition to an increase in their prevalence, many of these chronic problems are now occurring at younger ages than ever before (Keyes, 2007). With increasing numbers of people getting sick at younger ages, the onus is on the health professions to investigate new ways to assist those living with chronic physical illness to live healthier and happier lives; to find ways to help them flourish amid adversity.
Research suggests that the ways in which individuals cope with illness have a direct effect on their future physical and psychological health and quality of life (Fitzgerald Miller, 2000). In the past, traditional treatment options available to people living with a CI (e.g. pharmacological therapy, physical rehabilitation, surgical treatment, psychological pain management programs, interventions to reduce fear, anger, depression and anxiety, and illness education programs) have focused on addressing the negative symptoms of the illness. Even the most comprehensive multidisciplinary treatment programs, aimed at both the physiological and psychological aspects of the illness, have mainly focused on treating the illness itself or helping individuals alter the way they think about or cope with the illness (Fitzgerald Miller, 2000; Newman, Steed, & Mulligan, 2004; Turk & Akiko, 2002). This past illness ideology has dictated, therefore, that health professionals concentrate on disorder, dysfunction, and disease rather than on health, strength, and wellbeing, thereby neglecting the consideration of the potential benefits that may be gained (by illness sufferers) from emphasising positive aspects of daily life (Maddux, 2008). In healthcare settings therefore, the approach to treatment has tended to be one-dimensional, focused mainly on treating the symptoms and negative outcomes associated with physical illness. This approach, although necessary, has two limitations: (i) working towards reducing negative factors associated with illness does not ensure that positive ones will be enhanced; and (ii) working to increase positive characteristics and behaviours may simultaneously reduce at least some of the negative aspects of illness that are the targets of treatment (Harris & Thoresen, 2006). Wood and Tarrier (2010) suggest that, focusing on the positive can: (i) enhance the prediction and understanding of clinical conditions; (ii) buffer the impact of negative events (such as living with illness); and (iii) be used to develop treatment options to enhance health and wellbeing. Further examination of the impact of positivity, especially among clinical illness populations, is therefore indicated. The research reported in this thesis aimed to achieve this by investigating the efficacy of newly emerging, positive-focused approaches to patient care and treatment, with a specific emphasis on evaluating their impact on the relationship between illness and quality of life (QoL) among Australians living with chronic physical illness.
