Client’s Response to Illness

 Client’s Response to Illness

NURSING PHILOSOPHIES OFTEN describe the person or individual as a biopsycho-social being who possesses unique characteristics and responds to others and the world in various and diverse ways. This view of the individual as unique requires nurses to assess each person and his or her responses to plan and provide nursing care that is personally meaningful. This uniqueness of response may partially explain why some people become ill and others do not. Understanding why two people raised in a stressful environment (e.g., one with neglect or abuse) turn out differently is difficult: one person becomes reasonably successful and maintains a satisfying marriage and family, whereas the other feels isolated, depressed, and lonely; is divorced; and abuses alcohol. Although we do not know exactly what makes the dif-ference, studies have begun to show that certain personal, interpersonal, and cultural factors influence a person’s response.

 

Culture is all the socially learned behaviors, values, beliefs, customs, and ways of thinking of a population that guide its members’ views ofthemselves and the world. This view affects all aspects of the person’s being, including health, illness, and treatment. Cultural diversity refers to the vast array of differences that exist among populations.

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