Reference no: EM133242746

Maria Canaris case study

Age, sex, domestic, social and vocational status:

Mrs Canaris is a 75 year old widowed woman who lives with her 48 year old single daughter, Angela, in Mrs Canaris' four bedroom Victorian terrace home in Stanmore. Mrs Canaris was born and grew up in Greece and migrated to Australia with their two daughters 45 years ago - Mrs Canaris' older daughter, Toula, is 50 and lives nearby with her husband and youngest child. Mrs Canaris has a long history of depression which has been very well managed for the last two years with maintenance ECT every three weeks.

Mrs Canaris has never held a paying job. She has been a housewife and mother.

Religion, culture and language:

Mrs Canaris is Greek Orthodox and used to go to church regularly, but she has lost interest in part because she has difficulty walking to the church. She also no longer goes to the Greek community social club at the church hall because of the distance. She misses the social contact. Mrs Canaris speaks both Greek and Italian very well, but her English is poor. Angela usually accompanies her mother to appointments and translates.

Health status:

Mrs Canaris is 156 cm tall and weighs 68 kg. She is spending more time at home because she dislikes walking for any distance, and she is less confident and grabs hold of furniture for support as she walks about the house. Angela now does all the shopping for the household. Mrs Canaris now uses a shower chair and has recently started to ask Angela to help her dry herself after she showers. Angela is now starting to worry about her mother's safety at home when she has to leave her alone to go to work.

Reason for Referral:

Mrs Canaris' GP has noted her physical decline and is concerned that this may be a risk factor in a relapse of her depressive disorder. The GP has made a referral for additional supports at home for Mrs Canaris using My Aged Care. She is seen by a social worker from the Aged Care Assessment Team and a level three package of care was approved. A local aged care service provider has been allocated to provide a package and they have arranged for an initial assessment later this week.

QUESTION:

Describe Strengths-based approach within the context of care of older persons. Explain why this approach is important by drawing an example from the selected case study.