[ANSWER]NURS3001 Case Study – Addressing Behavioural and Psychological Responses to Acute Illness: A Case Study of a Delirium Patient and Her Family

[ANSWER PREVIEW]

Addressing Behavioural and Psychological Responses to Acute Illness

Different patients and family members respond differently to acute illness. Caroline’s response to her delirious encounter was characterised by a feeling of danger, a sense of fear, perception of strange noises and sounds, and lack of orientation to time. She felt as though someone was out to harm her and even after discharge from the hospital, she was overwhelmed by terror. Such behavioural and psychological responses are common in delirium patients (Ortega et al., 2020; Rompaey et al., 2016).

According to Ortega et al. (2020), the experience of delirium while in the ICU can cause the patient to experience an existential crisis characterised by a distorted sense of reality, a perceived disconnect from others, a feeling of hopelessness, and uncertainty about the future. This is likely the reason Caroline kept worrying about her life and reading the discharge summary in the first few weeks after discharge from the hospital. Despite recovering from delirium, getting constant reassurance from the ICU staff, and having a strong support system in her mother, she felt as though her life was in danger.

She behaved as if she had disconnected from those around her and felt like she was no longer in control of her own life. This existential crisis can be attributed to, among other factors, the severity of the acute condition, the characteristics of the ICU environment, and staying for long in this environment (Rompaey et al., 2016). It is likely that Caroline’s admission into the ICU triggered her feeling of being in…[Buy Full Answer for Just USD 9: 2505 WORDS]

[SOLUTION DESCRIPTION]

Type: Essay

Word Count: 2505

Grade/Mark: 87 (Distinction)

Graded Solution | Behavioural and Psychological Responses to Acute Illness