Reference no: EM133365770

Case Study: a small rural clinic located 30 miles from its nearest affiliated hospital, the clinic team consists of a doctor, a physician assistant, a family nurse practitioner, two physical therapists, a pharmacist, a nutritionist, and ancillary personnel. The health professionals are increasingly frustrated that their patient education efforts seem wasted; the staff says that so many of the patients do not comply with their medical instructions. For example, the patients do not always fill prescriptions or do not take the medications as prescribed; in addition, they frequently ignore suggestions for daily exercise routines, often fail to consistently eat healthier diets when recommended, and do not always show up for scheduled appointments. Also, serious alcohol and drug abuse problems exist, which adversely affect the health of the people living in this isolated, economically depressed community. The staff feels demoralized, and their patients do not seem satisfied with the care they are receiving. A couple of the members of the professional health team decide to contact their regional academic hospital affiliate to request on-site consultation with health professionals who are knowledgeable about and experienced with psychosocial aspects of motivation, compliance, and non-compliance, as well as the principles of teaching and learning for the delivery of effective patient education. The clinic staff agrees to invite a few of these experts to conduct several in-service programs on how the clinic providers can better motivate patients to comply with their medical treatments and how they can improve their teaching skills to promote healthier behaviors in their patients.

Questions:

1 . When the consultants visit the clinic to provide these staff development programs, what information would be helpful for them to share with the health professional staff about getting patients to adhere to their medical instructions?

2 . Based on research, what techniques and advice might help the staff to be more effective in motivating their patients to take better care of their health, regardless of each patient's medical problem?

3 . Which theories and models might serve as useful frameworks to help the health professionals encourage their patients to change unhealthy behaviors, and which models might help the providers to promote healthier attitudes and behaviors in the community?"