An elderly woman was being treated with medications for very high blood pressure. She was supposed to take 2 different pills, one in the morning and one in the evening. After 2 months she came to the clinic for a follow up assessment and it was noted that her blood pressure had not improved. When asked if she had been taking her meds as prescribed, she said she was not. The physician in this case described the woman as “noncompliant” and “resistant” to taking her blood pressure medication as she had been directed, and he was clearly exasperated about her seeming unwillingness to follow his directions. He was unsure if he should prescribe more medications because her blood pressure was still not under control, or if her blood pressure would improve if she would simply take her current meds as prescribed. The social worker, on the other hand, reacted to this woman’s situation very differently. She raised questions about whether the patient had sufficient money to be able to afford to take the medication as she had been directed. Additionally, she noted that the woman frequently missed medical appointments. When she asked the woman about the missed appointments, the woman told her sometimes she would forget about the appointment, and other times she remembered but had no transportation to get there. The woman's dietitian had a different take. She noted that the woman's daughter seemed very pushy and insistent that her mother could control her blood pressure if only she ate better. She was asking the dietitian for advice on organic and vegetarian recipes for her mother. She did not think that her mother should be taking chemical pills for something she could control naturally. Questions : Why did the health professionals, in this case, respond so differently to the problem? What factors may have influenced their perspectives on this matter?
An elderly woman was being treated with medications for very high blood pressure. She was supposed to take 2 different pills, one in the morning and one in the evening. After 2 months she came to the clinic for a follow up assessment and it was noted that her blood pressure had not improved. When asked if she had been taking her meds as prescribed, she said she was not. The physician in this case described the woman as “noncompliant” and “resistant” to taking her blood pressure medication as she had been directed, and he was clearly exasperated about her seeming unwillingness to follow his directions. He was unsure if he should prescribe more medications because her blood pressure was still not under control, or if her blood pressure would improve if she would simply take her current meds as prescribed. The social worker, on the other hand, reacted to this woman’s situation very differently. She raised questions about whether the patient had sufficient money to be able to afford to take the medication as she had been directed. Additionally, she noted that the woman frequently missed medical appointments. When she asked the woman about the missed appointments, the woman told her sometimes she would forget about the appointment, and other times she remembered but had no transportation to get there. The woman's dietitian had a different take. She noted that the woman's daughter seemed very pushy and insistent that her mother could control her blood pressure if only she ate better. She was asking the dietitian for advice on organic and vegetarian recipes for her mother. She did not think that her mother should be taking chemical pills for something she could control naturally.
Questions : Why did the health professionals, in this case, respond so differently to the problem? What factors may have influenced their perspectives on this matter?
Step by step
Solved in 2 steps
