Perceptions of health, disability, illness and behaviour

Perceptions of health, disability, illness and behaviour PERCEPTIONS OF HEALTH, DISABILITY, ILLNESS AND BEHAVIOUR How health and social care users relate to the concepts of impairment and challenging behaviours Users of health and social care are usually in need of social care depending on the nature and intensity of their illness. Disabled individuals like Mr. Holland Park are why the importance of the underlying relationships between health, disability and illnesses must be understood and further develop strategies that will ensure better quality of life for him and other users alike. Severe medical conditions can result in limited access to proper healthcare; even as many in the general public have the misconception about how healthcare is received by individuals with disabilities. Recent laws and policies by the government like the Disability Discrimination Act, which covers all community health care services and hospitals compels service providers to make specific adjustments to healthcare practices, and also to ascertain the practicality of these adjustments is directed towards users with specific needs as is the case with Mr. Holland Park. Impact of past and present policies and legislations on available healthcare services Mr. Holland Park is currently a member of a family that cares for him for very much hence it is typical for other members of his family to worry about his wellbeing in any care home he lives in. In the past, legislations and social policies are developed in general terms that encompasses every health and social sector with policies affecting the general public and everyone residing within the United Kingdom. However, changes that been made over the years to suit specific aspects of the community, and precise laws are developed and others redefined to guarantee that every individual regardless of their medical condition, race, social class, religion or ethnicity receives the best care available. Mr. Holland Park is over a certain age and may be worried about being subjected to any kind of abuse or neglect due to his health. This is because the society may sometimes be unwelcoming to behaviours exhibited by individuals with certain illness, as some exhibit behaviours that may view as strange and unusual. This is why the legislations are defined in such a way that people, especially workers of care homes must abandon the general negative perceptions about disabled users, and commit only to the provision of suitable and adequate health care services to such individuals. The family of Mr. Holland Park will have nothing to worry about as every kind of misconception about any kind of illness will be overlooked and the best care made available for him in this care home or whichever one as the policies are well monitored and regular unannounced checks are done to certify adherence to these legislations. The promotion and protection of disability rights has been improved majorly in the United Kingdom, making the United Kingdom a pioneer in liaison of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). Policies and Legislation in recent years Under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (DDA 1995), it is a violation of law to discriminate against disabled people in areas of including provision of services, employment, goods or facilities. Hence making it an obligation for service providers to ensure sensible modifications are made to engage disabled individuals in using their services. Consequent modifications were made via derivative legislations like Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Amendment) Regulations 2003 through principal legislation like the Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. These acts made provision for a Disability Equality Duty making it a responsibility for public authorities to take passive roles in the promotion of fairness in treatment of disabled people. The Human Rights Act 1998 calls for the need for every public authority to operate in a way which is attuned with the rights put in place in the European Convention on Human Rights. Should public authorities fall short, affected individuals and their families are permitted to seek a judicial remedy. Public authorities include central social and health care homes, National Health Service (NHS) and their trusts, Government, and most providers of public services. In recent times, there is a more direct approach to the UK anti-discrimination legislation via the Equality Act 2010 which annulled and replaced the DDA in Great Britain alone. This Act not only encompasses the protection of disabled individuals from any kind of segregation, but also applied modifications to certain responsibilities of the public authorities regarding the participation of disabled individuals in policy decisions. The Equality 2025 was created in 2006 as a government has a themed goal ‘Improving the Life Chances of Disabled People’ with a year 2025 target for disabled individual living in Britain to the treated as equal members of the society and have full access to develop their quality of life. It is particularly designed to assist disabled people attain independent living by moving gradually towards individual budgets that will bring together various services they will be entitled to and giving them various choices over diverse support from either direct provision of services and/or money. HOW HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE SERVICES SUPPORT INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS Available care needs for Mr. Holland Park Mr. Holland Park being an elderly man in the early stages of dementia and additional visual and hearing disabilities means he will be needing special attention as his behaviours might sometimes be queer, and at other serious times sporadic and violent. The care home will be focused on providing assistance that will uphold his independence and therefore enable his stability whilst receiving dependable services that will suit his individual needs. Provision of audio-visual equipment will assist Mr. Holland Park to make the best of his little sight. This will be after a proper assessment has been carried out by professionals to determine the seriousness of his blindness. As he is also hearing impaired, it will be best to make sure that he moves around the care home safely by having rotational care staff check on his whereabouts on a regular basis and a log kept to this effect. Also, he will need to participate in regular activities to keep him in good spirit. Being partially deaf-blind can be challenging for Mr. Holland Park as he may sometimes feel less capable, it is the duty of our care home to ensure that he feels less challenged by engaging him in peer group activities that involves other service users. This way, he feels more active and energetic and he can take his mind off any heavy thought of being a burden to others. The most important factor to providing the best care services to Mr. Holland Park is that the care staffs will never regard his challenging behaviours as a form of challenge, but will work towards providing him with a comfortable lifestyle by ensuring his hygiene is well taken care of. Also, his laundry will be done for him and meals and drinks will be prepared as he wants it on a timely basis and he will have a variety of menu of choose from. Should he be entitled to any benefits, we will make it our duty to assist him in claiming these benefits for him and the family and provide any necessary references or letters to state that he is under our care. Available local services to support Mr. Holland Park and his family Disabled individuals like Mr. Holland Park with dementia care are eligible for Special Rehabilitation Services that are provided by Disability Service Teams via direct referrals from health care providers. He and his family will benefit from this service as it will help to develop his independence and quality of life. A register for blind and partially blind are kept by the local authority, for provision of further assistance with the Eye Care Trust, and Mr. Holland Park is entitled to receive subsidised and mostly free consultation and treatment, and extra support should he choose to register. The Alzheimer’s Society is an organisation that assists individuals with dementia (as is the case with Mr. Holland Park) and is supported by the National Health Service (NHS) and Community Care 1990, to assess his needs and provide certain services as required. His family will benefit from subsequent aids and care that will not affect their budget heavily. Powers of Attorney It is possible sometime in the future when Mr. Holland Park’s symptoms become very serious and he is unable to decide on his finances or medical treatment. It is best to make arrangements for this by drawing up different Lasting Powers of Attorney- the first to take care of financial decisions and the other to handle health and welfare decisions. Mr. Holland Park will need to appoint a trusted member of the family to act on his behalf should his disability get to this extent. You can find out more information about this, you can call AGE UK or Carers Direct. APPROACHES AND INTERVENTION STRATEGIES FOR INDIVIDUALS WITH SPECIFIC NEEDS Intervention strategies for Mr. Holland Park who is the early stages of dementia focuses primarily on tackling the cognitive symptoms that can lead to erratic behaviours. The effectiveness of these interventions will help to enhance his individual functioning and reduce stress, depression or agitation which is common in individuals experiencing disability. The best therapy applied to Mr. Holland Park and other service users alike was to promote his independence and this boosted his confidence and willingness not just to survive but to live an active daily life and make the best of his body. The promotion of independence will delay or change the later stages of dementia which is usually much harder to manage. Independence in Mr. Holland Park was encouraged by engaging him in reasonable activities up to any level he can tolerate. Also, a balance of maintained for him across personal care and productive leisure, while monitoring his tolerance level. Potential impact of emerging developments on service users with specific needs It is critical to access the needs and strengths of service users with specific needs to determine the effectiveness of interventions implemented. The best strategies are accessed through initial stages and the environment was considered to determine the continuity and they include: Effective communication: Communication strategies applied involved using non-verbal cues and language and sentence structure to integrate high level of individual comprehension and enhanced sensory abilities. Effective communication is essential to the provision of high value health and social care. Without it there cannot be a significant coordination amongst service users and carers. Poor communication is frequently a considerable causative reason for complaint against Health and Social Care organisations and is the basis of numerous depressing user experiences. Involvement of individuals with challenging behaviours and their carers in the planning, delivery and monitoring of services ascertains that the care and support received meets their desires and objectives. Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Skills Training: ADL involved accessing users’ abilities, impairments and task performance to understand the psychological factors inhibiting their capabilities. Skills training are carefully assessed during activities that focus on empowering users to independently carry out ADL tasks. During the programmes, users are required to complete individual tasks with minimal assistance. Minimal assistance provided include: visual gestures, facial expressions, physical direction and partial physical assistance. The potential impact of the development of these strategies is the provision of vital support to effective improvement in health of service users, especially disabled users. There is improved strength through empowerment of independence and mobility and increased endurance levels. Also the physical performance of the users is improved significantly. Another essential benefit of these support systems is the maintenance of functional capabilities of users with physical or communication impairments. STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH CHALLENGING BEHAVIOURS Concepts of challenging behaviours The relationship that exists between challenging behaviours is mostly viewed as a disorder of some form. There is no such thing as an analytical meaning for challenging behaviour but it can be categorized in various forms including psychological disorder, learning disability, mental illness and many others. A functional disorder of some form generalises the concept of challenging behaviours but will never fully define it. Challenging behaviour is an expressive concept, which is mainly socially created, and its definition is dependent on changes in social norms and provision of service cross geological areas. The expression itself carries no analytical meaning, and no presumption about the aetiology of the behaviour is made. Challenging behaviour may not relate to psychiatric disorder, but can also be a major or resultant symptom of it. Challenging behaviour is a moderately objective phrase that has apparent phenomenon. However, this is not the case with most mental illnesses, many of which depends on self-report by the individual for proper analysis. The need of an established expression in individuals with challenging behaviours has caused problems concerning suitable expressions. Different terms like: ‘mental disorder’, ‘mental illness’, ‘emotional distress’ have been utilised inter-changeably e.g. ‘mental illness’. Potential impact of challenging behaviours on health and social care organisations Managing the potential impact of challenging behaviours does not lie on one organisation, but rather a collective responsibility of every member of the health and social care system. That is how much impact the challenging behaviours of individuals have affected the health and social sector. This is because different people exhibit various disorders at diverse stages and severity ; hence the effective reason why organisations must work much harder to ensure that every individual is well taken care of regardless of his or her disability. Organisations have been made to build larger and more effective workforce and research on increased skills and improved knowledge have been carried out. Cost impact The continuing occurrence of challenging behaviours in various individuals has had its impact on cost as the weekly care ranges from over  £200 to as much as  £1600 depending on the severity. In other words, the care services offer to individuals is relative to the features of the care settings and the cost implication. It will always cost more to take care of people with severe challenging behaviours and the greater levels implying that organisations will need to increase their budget on regular basis to adapt to new fiscal year. Eventually, these cost implications will mean that larger facilities must be built and the weekly expenses are likely to increase over the years. Strategies for working with challenging behaviours Managing challenging behaviours involves intervention strategies that must recognise and take note of individual’s past and present experiences and must also maintain a standard environment. One of the things that must be noted is that it is inappropriate to label any service user with the term ‘challenging behaviours’ as this is very derogatory and changed the perspective they are related with. Also, the mindset with which they feel about how they fit into the environment is changed should they get used to this label. Intervention strategies Depending on how serious the behavioural problem is, intervention strategies are in different categories: Biological intervention: This deals with analysis of the causes of the particular behaviour. This will mostly require professional assistance in order to source and prescribe proper medication and treatment. Social intervention: This elemental intervention involves encouraging communities to involve disabled people in social activities so as to make them feel welcomed within the society. Counselling: This is usually an intervention suitable for individuals with moderate disability. The counselling will involve different behavioural methods like anger-management and relaxation therapy, for possible effect. There is no clear indication as to whether direct or indirect counselling methods will work with individuals that show high level of challenging behaviours like aggression. Psychotherapy: For over 50 years, psychotherapy has been in practice as a form of management and treatment for people experiencing challenging behaviours. The effectiveness may sometimes vary depending on the level of aggression displayed by the person. There is a surprisingly long history of psychotherapy with Cognitive therapies: This kind of therapy is suitable for people whose behaviours are based on personal experiences. The therapist works on improving the behaviour of the individual by changing his/her insight and perception of life. SELF EVALUATION

Recruiting in the High Schools Essay

You see them everywhere dressed up head to toe in camouflage and shiny boots, with the image of a super hero. With the recent conflicts in the Middle East, parents across America have protested the military being inside of our children’s schools auctioning off a better life. Let’s face it, who can give a better life to you than your mother? In 2002 the government made a flagship program designed to help underprivileged kids called the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act†. â€Å"Since 2002 the â€Å"No Child Left Behind Act† has meant that US schools which receive government money must allow the military in to talk to students† (Act of Congress). So this poses a huge problem for the parents that are trying to fight to get the military out of the schools and to put a ban on recruiting from within the confines. The military shouldn’t be able to recruit in high schools for many reasons. The most important reasons why the military shouldn’t recruit inside of high schools is because the mind of a high school student isn’t developed enough to make the right decisions to join; the military gives false hope to kids of financial freedom, and the possibility of death isn’t realistically depicted by the recruiters to the high school students. Why are we recruiting in high schools instead of on college campuses? There could be a lot of reasons behind it, but first and foremost is that seventeen year olds aren’t ready to join. The mind of a seventeen year old isn’t fully developed until their in their twenties. So the judgment of a right and a wrong decision isn’t mindfully thought through. Yes, a seventeen year old only needs a high school diploma and parental consent but, how can they think they are ready for war when they can’t even drink alcohol or vote for their commander and chief? In high schools there are cliques and like any kid they want to be in these so called cliques. Robert Ayers discusses in his book how kids are looking for a clique or group to belong to, â€Å"High school kids are at an age when being a member of an identifiable group with a grand mission and a shared spirit — and never underestimate a distinctive uniform — is of exaggerated importance, something gang recruiters in big cities also note with interest and exploit with skill† (William Ayers). Ayers is depicting to us how easy it is to manipulate, and convince a young mind, seventeen years old, just wants to be part of a group with an image no matter what group it is. All someone has to do is depict an image of greatness and the young people are sold. The fact and bottom line is that our kids look up to a glorified image that the military and their commercials depict from a young age and they shouldn’t be capitalized on nor taken advantage of due to this overwhelming lopsided image. The military is currently under quota of manpower that they need to run a successful defense, so turning to seventeen year olds without the knowledge of military recruiting tactics is the logical and more efficient way to get people to join our depleted military. But this is not a reason to prey on sixteen and seventeen year olds who aren’t even old enough to vote nor drive, but they can make life and death decisions to join the military. But having the undeveloped brain, like we all went through, as they do they are not old enough to cypher through the presentations that the recruiter gives in order to make a valid and rational decision. Why do you see more recruiters in poverty stricken areas contrast to those in areas of good or well financial being? This is because the military is unethically targeting the vulnerable kids in our school system. Recruiters unethically target low income kids while promising them financial aid for school after these students serve in the military. Some of the students are promised is school fully paid for via the â€Å"Post 9/11 bill† and the â€Å"GI Bill†. But if you go www. va. gov website you will see the underlying criteria to actually get 100 percent free tuition. The Veteran Affairs website referenced these criteria’s; Active duty status, months and years served, months retired and a plethora of underlying circumstances. Getting high school students seem to be the plan for high school students, â€Å"The U. S. military’s practice of targeting low-income youth and students of color for recruitment, in combination with exaggerated promises of financial rewards for enlistment, undermines the voluntariness of their enlistment† (Soldiers of Misfortune). So why does the military seem to recruit people of color? Well according to www. census. gov the website tells us a lot about Caucasian children eighteen and under below the poverty line was seventeen percent and the children of the minority races were thirty five percent and higher. So this is actually the ideal place for a recruiter to so called â€Å"fill their quota†. Going back to the argument of recruiters promising false financing of school, this could be an advantage for the recruiters. Promising people who don’t have anything something is unethical and misleading. This is mostly unethical because the recruiters that are usually E-4 to E-6 have no pull to get you in different schooling programs nor give you the position that you could want, in terms of career and financing. â€Å"Many possible recruits are promised that they will receive tens of thousands of dollars in education when, in actuality, 57 percent of veterans who have applied for Government Issue (GI) benefits have not received any financial aid, according to the non-profit organization Finding Alternatives to Military Enlistment† (FAME). Promising financial benefits to kids that less than the majority of the military veterans receive is morally and ethically wrong. Also, the recruiters don’t tell you that in some circumstance you can’t attend school while in an â€Å"Active Duty Status†. Reason being is that you could get deployed and be called off to duty at any time and then the government would have to reimburse the institution for the incomplete credits. The recruiters also don’t tell recruits that if you are a reservist you are not eligible for the GI Bill, being in the reserve status it will be impossible to accumulate four years’ worth of active duty. The military also made it so that this could never be reached, it’s like a safe guard they have in place. The U. S. government also targets disadvantaged communities and areas. The philosophy of recruiters seem to be â€Å" The more in poverty a student is, the more likely they will look for a way out and join the ranks†. When the recruiters target these areas their showing that the more fortunate kids lives are more valuable and worth sparing more than others. It just isn’t right to exploit children from these backgrounds and hold their lives to a lesser status than other backgrounds. Why isn’t war realistically depicted to recruits before they join? Because, it’s nothing like what you see on the video games like â€Å"Call of Duty† or movies like â€Å"The Expendables or The ‘A’ Team†, when people shoot a plethora of bullets at you someone or something gets hit. â€Å"War is catastrophic for human beings, and, indeed, for the continuation of life on Earth. With over 120 military bases around the globe and the second largest military force ever assembled, the U. S.  government is engaged in a constant state of war, and American society is necessarily distorted and disfigured around the aims of war† (William Ayers). A good statistic that should be shared while a recruit is debating whether or not to join the military is, â€Å"During the last decade of that spectacular century, two million children were killed, 20 million displaced, six million disabled† (William Ayers). Now this is a statistic that should get shared with recruits along with the good statistics that are put in there to glorify military service. Another good fact that recruits probably don’t know about â€Å"108 million people were slaughtered in wars during the 20th century† (William Ayers). Now the recruiters should tell the recruits to put this into perspective. 108 million people like you and me were killed within 100 years due to war and military conflict. The kids in high school need to understand that those were kids their age and younger, on some continents that were getting killed over things not fully understood. Then when your contract is up and you are honorably discharged from your branch of service people are still left with images of war and relive it every day. â€Å"Vets suffer long-term health consequences including greater risk of depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, sleep disorders, and more. About one-third of Vietnam vets suffered full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder. Another 22% suffered partial post-traumatic stress disorder. This is the nature of the beast. Anyone who’s been there knows† (William Ayers). If kids the age of 18 and lower are allowed to see and experience these things, then when their brains are fully developed they will be brain washed and war could be instilled in them with no turning back. This could also be that kid’s brains are not fully developed so they don’t have a clear concept of death. Recruiting in the high schools is ethically wrong due to the lack of the recruits’ brain development to cypher through and make a decision based on facts instead of the image the recruiters portray of the military. Also, the recruiters promise tens of thousands of dollars to these kids when that is a very farfetched truth. The recruiters need to tell them what you actually have to do to earn and qualify for that money so it can actually be yours’. Military recruiters also don’t depict a clear picture of war and all that is lost during it. People’s sanity, lives and total way of living are altered forever. Recruiting in high schools should be closely monitored in schools if not done away with all together. Kids eighteen and younger just don’t have a grasp on what’s reality and what’s fabricated. Works Cited Ayers, William. â€Å"Hearts and Minds: Military Recruitment and the High School Battlefield. † Www. democraticdialogue. com. N. p. , 07 Apr. 2006. Web. Cave, Damien. â€Å"Growing Problem for Military Recruiters: Parents. † Editorial. New York Times [New York] 3 June 2005: B6. Www. newyorktimes. com. Web. â€Å"Census Bureau Homepage. † Census Bureau Homepage. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . â€Å"FAME Time Series. † FAME Time Series. N. p. , n. d. Web. 02 Nov. 2012. . Www. gibill. va. gov. N. p. , n. d. Web.

Fairness and Objectivity in Journalism

It is often touted that reporters should be objective and fair. Some news organizations even use these terms in their slogans, claiming they are more â€Å"fair and balanced† than their competitors. Objectivity Objectivity means that when covering hard news, reporters don’t convey their own feelings, biases or prejudices in their stories. They do this by writing stories using neutral language and by avoiding characterizing people or institutions either positively or negatively. This can be difficult for the beginning reporter accustomed to writing personal essays or journal entries. One trap beginning reporters fall into is the frequent use of adjectives which can easily convey one’s feelings about a subject. Example The intrepid protesters demonstrated against the unjust government policies. Just by using the words â€Å"intrepid† and â€Å"unjust† the writer has quickly conveyed their feelings on the story—the protesters are brave and just in their cause, and the government policies are wrong. For this reason, hard-news reporters usually avoid using adjectives in their stories. By sticking strictly to the facts a reporter can allow each reader to form their own opinion about the story. Fairness Fairness means that reporters covering a story must remember there are usually two sides—and often more—to most issues and that those differing viewpoints should be given roughly equal space in any news story. Let’s say the local school board is debating whether to ban certain books from school libraries. Many residents representing both sides of the issue are at the meeting. The reporter may have strong feelings about the subject. Nevertheless, they should interview people who support the ban and those who oppose it. And when they write their story, they should convey both arguments in neutral language, giving both sides equal space. A Reporter’s Conduct Objectivity and fairness apply not only to how a reporter writes about an issue but to how they conduct themselves in public. A reporter must not only be objective and fair but also convey an image of being objective and fair. At the school board forum, the reporter may do their best to interview people from both sides of the argument. But if in the middle of the meeting, they stand up and start spouting their own opinions on the book ban their credibility is shattered. No one will believe they can be fair and objective once they know where they stand. A Few Caveats There are a few caveats to remember when considering objectivity and fairness. First, such rules apply to reporters covering hard news, not to the columnist writing for the op-ed page or the movie critic working for the arts section. Second, remember that ultimately, reporters are in search of the truth. While objectivity and fairness are important, a reporter shouldn’t let them get in the way of finding the truth. Let’s say you’re a reporter covering the final days of World War II and are following the Allied forces as they liberate the concentration camps. You enter one such camp and witness hundreds of gaunt, emaciated people and piles of dead bodies. Do you, in an effort to be objective, interview an American soldier to talk about how horrific this is, then interview a Nazi official to get the other side of the story? Of course not. Clearly, this is a place where evil acts have been committed, and it’s your job as a reporter to convey that truth. In other words, use objectivity and fairness as tools to find the truth.