UNDERSTANDING ISSUES AND CONCEPTS IN HEALTHCARE

Module 2
 Objectives
1. Outline concepts of health and illness and other
relevant terms and concepts
2. State relevant legislations/regulations and
agreements that govern work requirements
3. Define care giving activities and the roles and
responsibilities of healthcare team members
4. Give examples of different types of healthcare
settings and work contexts
5. Discuss personal health and hygiene practices
6. Describe the care-giver and care-recipient
relationship
 What is Health?
1. Health may be defined as:
- physical well-being
- social well-being
- emotional well-being
 What is Health Contd?
• The World Health Organization (WHO) defined
health as a state of complete physical, mental,
and social well-being, and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.
 What is Health Contd?
• Some person define and describe health as
the following:
- Being free from symptoms of disease and pain
as much as possible.
- Being able to be active and to do what they
want or must.
- Being in good spirits most of the time.
 Health vs Illness
• Health and illness concepts:
- health and illness continuum
- adaptation to stress
- concept of illness
 Health vs Illness Contd.
• implications for care giving:
- prevention of health problems
- satisfying basic needs
- increase adaptability
- transfer dependence
- support family members
 Wellness & Well-Being
• Wellness further describes health status. It
allows health to be placed on a continuum
from one’s optimal level (“wellness”) to a
maladaptive state (“illness”)
 What is Illness?
• Illness is usually associated with disease but
may occur independently of it. Illness is a
highly personal state in which the person feels
unhealthy or ill.
• Illnesses may be:
- acute
- chronic
- terminal
 What is Illness Contd?
Impact of illness on the Client:
- Behavioral and emotional changes
- Loss of autonomy
- Self-concept and body image changes
- Lifestyle changes
ACUTE VS CHRONIC ILLNESS
 What is Disease?
• Disease can be described as an alteration in
body functions resulting in a reduction of
capacities or shortening of the normal life
span.
 Legislations /regulations
• Statutory legislation and national standards
may include:
- relevant legislation from all government
agencies that affect community and private
health facility, especially in regard to labour
laws (industrial relations and
antidiscrimination), Occupational Health and
Safety (OH&S) and environmental issues.
 Legislations /regulations Contd.
• hazard reporting procedures
- job procedures and safe work instructions and
allocation of responsibilities
- emergency procedures
- accident and ‘near miss’ reporting and
recording procedures
 Legislations /regulations Contd.
- consultation on policies, procedures and
codes
- correct selection, use, storage and
maintenance procedures for use of personal
protective equipment (PPE)
- identification and control of risks
 Legislations /regulations Contd.
• Policies, procedures and codes:
- telephone protocol
- equal opportunity
- confidentiality
- code of ethics
 Legislations /regulations Contd.
- conflict management
- universal precautions
- office practice manual
- emergency procedures
- code of practice for the management of health
information in general practice
UNIVERSAL PRECAUTIONS
HAND HYGIENE
 Health Institution
• Health care institutions/settings where HCAs
can work:
- hospitals
- health centres/clinics
- hospices
- rehabilitation centres
- mental health care facilities
- home health care agencies
 Health Institution Contd.
• Purposes of health care institutions:
- health care
- health education
- health promotion
- health preservation
- disease prevention
 Team Members
• Health care team includes:
- physician
- public health nurse
- registered nurse
- health educator
- registered midwife
 Team Members Contd.
- medical record clerk
- mental health officer
- contact investigator
- nutritionist/nutrition assistant
- nurse practitioner
- environmental health inspector
- epidemiologist
 Team Members Contd.
- psychologist
- psychiatrist
- enrolled assistant nurse
- health care assistant
- orderlies
- technicians e.g. laboratory
 Team Members Contd.
• pharmacist
- community health aide
- therapists e.g. dietary, physical, recreation
- social worker
- chaplain
- surveillance officer
 Medical Terminology
• Health care workers use medical terminology
and abbreviations in their work every day.
• It is divided into three main categories:
1. Basic
2. Specific
3. Advance
 Medical Terminology
1. Basic medical terminology may include:
- knowledge of the fundamental word structure
used in medical terms
- basic systems of the body
- parts of the body
- interrelated functions of the body, locations
and diseases
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- common medical conditions
- medical investigations and procedures
- injuries
- common abbreviations for medical and
pharmacological terms
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- commonly used medical equipment and
instruments
- departments/sections of the hospital
- common medications
- medico-legal terminology at basic level
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- job description - law
- health care - rights
- chronic - record
- health promotion - patient
- code - workplace
- ethics
- disease
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- privacy - treatment
- risk factor - assessment
- acute - care giver
- epidemiology - care plan
- surveillance - communication -
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- abbreviation - dependability
- health - accuracy
- illness - honesty
- role - empathy
- Caring - confidentiality
- security - commitment
Basic Medical Terminology Contd.
2. Specific medical terminology may include:
- case taking
- prescriptions
- labeling
- Practice
- specific language and nomenclature
- medical conditions and disease processes
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- medical equipment and instruments
- departments/sections in a hospital
- other health care specialists
- health insurance
- work cover
- referrals
 Medical Terminology Contd.
3. Advance terms:
- care coordination
- case management
- chronic disease self management
- community
- community health
 Medical Terminology Contd.
- alliance - primary health care
- health expectancy - disease prevention
- health indicator - health education
- health literacy - health professional
- living conditions - primary prevention
- public health - secondary prevention
- tertiary prevention
 Medical Terminology/conditions Contd.
• Gastritis • Gastralgia
• Hepatitis • Ileitis
• Appendicitis • Colitis
• Pancreatitis • Diverticulitis
• Osteoarthritis • Stomatitis
• Arthralgia • Gingivitis
• Pneumonitis • Meningitis
• Cystitis • Bradycardia
• Dyspnea • Tachycardia
 Communication in Health
• Written communication with team members
may include:
- memoranda
- letters
- minutes
- forms
- client/patient records
 Communication in Health
- appointment diaries/cards
- telephone messages
- client/patient histories
- case reports
- client/patient history questionnaires
- correspondence with a range of health care
professionals
• Following the presentation, facilitate
discussion on actual issues in healthcare such
as abuse, informed consent, the right to
refuse care, respect for privacy and
confidentiality and using medical terminology
appropriately to report and record
information.
 Active listening techniques

• Building trust and establishing rapport

• Demonstrating concern
• Paraphrasing to show understanding
• Using nonverbal cues which show
understanding such as nodding, eye contact,
and leaning forward
 Active listening techniques

• Brief verbal affirmations like “I see,” “I know,”

“Sure,” “Thank you,” or “I understand”
• Asking open-ended questions
• Asking specific questions to seek clarification
• Waiting to disclose your opinion
• Disclosing similar experiences to show
understanding
 Examples of Active Listening Responses
• Building trust and establishing rapport: “Tell
me what I can do to help.” “I was really
impressed to read on your website how you
donate 5% of each sale to charity.”
• Demonstrating concern: “I'm eager to help; I
know you're going through some tough
challenges.” “I know how hard a corporate
restructuring can be. How is staff morale at
this point?” 
 Examples of Active Listening Responses
• Paraphrasing: “So, you're saying that the
uncertainty about who will be your new
supervisor is creating stress for you.” “So, you
think that we need to build up our social
media marketing efforts.” 
• Brief verbal affirmation: “I understand that
you'd like more frequent feedback about your
performance.” “Thank you. I appreciate your
time in speaking to me.”
 Examples of Active Listening Responses

• Asking open-ended questions: “I can see that

John's criticism was very upsetting to you.
Which aspect of his critique was most
disturbing?” “It’s clear that the current
situation is intolerable for you. What changes
would you like to see?”
• Asking specific questions: “How long do you
expect your hiring process to last?” “What is
your average rate of staff turnover?”
 Examples of Active Listening Responses

• Waiting to disclose your opinion: “Tell me

more about your proposal to reorganize the
department.” “Can you please provide some
history for me regarding your relationship with
your former business partner?” 
 Examples of Active Listening Responses

• Disclosing similar situations: “I was also

conflicted about returning to work after the
birth of my son.” “I had the responsibility of
terminating some of my personnel, due to
downsizing, over the last two years. Even if it’s
necessary, it never gets easier.” 
 Role Play
• Ask learners to role-play scenarios involving:
1. The receipt of instructions from a supervisor
and/or other relevant personnel.
2. Remind learners that they will be assessed
based on demonstration of active listening
and use of questioning techniques e.g open
and close ended questioning.
 Role Play Contd.
2. Create scenarios/case studies involving
healthcare assistants in written
communication with fellow workers and other
healthcare professionals
 The End

Thank You