Effects of Hospital Stay on Patients

Question 1

What are some of the health hazards of hospitalisation?

Answer 1

Bed rest - Deterioration in fitness, loss of muscle strength. This is a particular problem in the elderly

Healthcare associated infections - Incidence can be reduced by the adherence to hospital infection control guidelines

Question 2

Why can hospitalisation be stressful for patients?

Answer 2

• Privacy if often limited,
• Wards can be stressful places to stay
• Staff wear uniforms
• A patient can interact with up to 30 members of staff a day
• Many objects in environment are unfamiliar

Question 3

Describe how a person enters the patient role?

Answer 3

• Wear night-clothes during the day.
• Allowing parts of their body to be examined.
• Little control over timing of meals, visits or when the main lights go out.

Question 4

What is reactance??

Answer 4

Anger that patients feel when they believe they have been restricted

Question 5

What are the different types of control a patient has?

Answer 5

Behavioural control, cognitive control, decision control, information control

Question 6

What is depersonalisation?

Answer 6

When a patient is treated as though they were either not present or a person

Question 7

What are the reasons for depersonalisation?

Answer 7

• Way of distancing the doctor from the fact that the body they are treating is a person.
• Depersonalisation and distancing may help practitioners deal with patient deteriorating or dying.
• Overworked, stressed and tired doctors may lead to less personal care.

Question 8

What does it mean when patients become institutionalisation?

Answer 8

In normal life people adopt a variety of roles each day. IN hospital they variety of roles they adopt is reduced and they become used to the role. Therefore they come instituationalisation may occur if they have been in hospital for a long period of time.

Question 9

What are the three stages of separation anxiety?

Answer 9

• Protest,
• Despair
• Detachment

Question 10

What are difficulties children face when being hospitalised?

Answer 10

• They may believe illness is a punishment for being bad or that they are their disease

Question 11

What is the impact of hospitalisation on a child’s behaviour?

Answer 11

• May regress sharply.
• Nightmares.
• Irritable.

This may not occur until they have returned home

Question 12

How can we improve the experiance of a hospitalised child?

Answer 12

• Day surgery or outpatient treatment,
• Preparation for hospital,
• Unrestricted parental visits,
• Nursing staff supporting and educating parents,
• Reducing the number of different nursing staff treating a child.
• Communicate with the child as well as the patients.

Question 13

Describe the effects of hospitalisation on adults?

Answer 13

• Unfamiliar environment,
• Entering the role of a patient,
• Loss control,
• Depersonalisation,
• Institutionalisation