Cultural sensitivity tends to act as a vital aspect in the process of treatment and psychiatric patients due to the various cultural considerations arising from our different backgrounds. There is a need to understand the patient’s family’s view concerning the problem. All cultures seem to have their health belief systems that they believe to be the cause of illness and how they handle the problem.
Assessment
The client’s culture is based on their Asian ethnicity, among the largest group within the United States. The Asian ethnic group remains among the largest ethnic groups in America that still hold on to their culture and traditions. The Asian group still believes in staying together as an extended family, and the oldest male is always the family decision-maker and spokesperson (Foster et al., 2019). The family honors and interests seem to be superior to those of an individual member of the family. In Asian cultures, harmony is considered an important value that avoids conflicts among family members. The Asian community is based on strong family obligations as one of their cultural values. On self-value is compared to his ability to take care of his family and community. The strong notions on the ability to care for your own family and community make people with mental illness not meet the obligations and see themselves as failures and valueless. Their attitude toward mental health also makes it difficult for them to seek medical attention due to fear of embarrassing themselves or the community and even family ( Zolezzi et al., 2018).
Diagnosis
The nursing diagnosis of the patient’s mental health settles on the bipolar state diagnosed through general Psychiatric assessment, which meets various criteria set by the DSM-V. The physical psychiatrist assessments include rapid cycling, seasonal patterns, anxious distress, mixed features, and psychotic feature. Bipolar disorder is a chronic mental disorder often characterized by mood change, concentration, and activity fluctuations. An individual might feel delighted, and racing thoughts might trouble one in making decisions. It often sometimes makes individuals unable to do even the simple things and causes a mixture of feelings of worthless, suicide, or even death. The cultural diagnosis of mental illness is viewed as caused by a lack of harmony within the family that arises from evil spirits and is thought not to be a real illness (Subramaniam et al., 2017).
Planning
There is a need to regularly monitor the patients’ manic episodes manifest through hyperactivity and increase agitation. The is a need to educate the family members on how to handle the mentally ill within the community. Supports the concept that physical and mental illness are equal by communicating openly with family, friends, or on social media and avoiding the use of harsh or discriminatory language (Kelly et al., 2017). Compassion and empathy for those who are suffering from mental illness. Getting help and being upfront and honest about it with others attempting to avoid self-shame and preferring empowerment over shame.
Implementation
Various interventions need to be considered to implement the strategies that would ensure the safety of the patients. There is a need to consider proper community sensitization on issues about mental health, treatment, and perceptions. There is a need to inform and educate friends and family members on mental illness. It is critical to check credible sources of information about mental health disorders and become more knowledgeable. Another intervention is ensuring that there is free and proper consultation within public hospitals on a matter dealing with mental health. The health organizations can decide to carry out campaigns on social media platforms, religious centers, and schools to give information on the looming mental disorders and the need to seek medical support.
Evaluation
The evaluation will entail various parameters such as the impact or the difference the interventions have caused to the mentally ill patients and the community. The evaluation objective is to consider whether there are changed perceptions of mental health within the community. Another objective is to consider whether the medications have created change or been reliable to the patients and the community. The impact is to see whether the patients are improving compared to their previous status of not using medications. The impact is to assess whether medication use is effective and efficient. The other parameter is to consider whether the medications or information given to the people is coherent and reliable. The coherence parameter is to identify how well the intervention fits with the patients and creates change in the patient’s behavior and the community’s gradual change in the mental perception of the patients.
Summary
The community sensitization on mental health proves its success by the increasing number of community members opting to visit the health institutions to seek medical attention compared to before when it was considered a curse. The public campaigns and community members’ education on mental disorders have also proven successful due to the increased awareness of individuals with mental health coming out publicly and declaring their status. To ensure the sustainability of mental health awareness, there is a need to commit to continual health sensitization to eradicate fears and myths associated with mental health. There is a need to also hold free medical camps and consultations to reach out to more people with mental disorders in the future.
References
Foster, K., Roche, M., Delgado, C., Cuzzillo, C., Giandinoto, J. A., & Furness, T. (2019). Resilience and mental health nursing: An integrative review of international literature. International journal of mental health nursing, 28(1), 71-85.
Kelly, C. M., Jorm, A. F., & Wright, A. (2017). Improving mental health literacy as a strategy to facilitate early intervention for mental disorders. Medical Journal of Australia, 187(S7), S26-S30.
Subramaniam, M., Abdin, E., Picco, L., Shahwan, S., Jeyagurunathan, A., Vaingankar, J. A., & Chong, S. A. (2017). Continuum beliefs and stigmatizing beliefs about mental illness: results from an Asian community survey. BMJ Open, 7(4), e014993.
Zolezzi, M., Alamri, M., Shaar, S., & Rainkie, D. (2018). A systematic review of the stigma associated with mental illness and its treatment in the Arab culture. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 64(6), 597-609.
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