Diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools and diagnostic tests in adults and children; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.
Not only do these diagnostic tests affect adults, body measurements can provide a general picture of whether a child is receiving adequate nutrition or is at risk for health issues. These data, however, are just one aspect to be considered. Lifestyle, family history, and culture—among other factors—are also relevant. That said, gathering and communicating this information can be a delicate process.
For this Assignment, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values. You will also consider examples of children with various weight issues. You will explore how you could effectively gather information and encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their children’s health and weight.
To Prepare
- Review this week’s Learning Resources and consider factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You also will review examples of pediatric patients and their families as it relates to BMI.
- By Day 1 of this week, you will be assigned to one of the following Assignment options by your Instructor: Adult Assessment Tools or Diagnostic Tests (option 1), or Child Health Case (Option 2). Note: Please see the “Course Announcements” section of the classroom for your assignments from your Instructor.
- Search the Walden Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you were assigned. What is its purpose, how is it conducted, and what information does it gather?
- Also, as you search the Walden library and credible sources, consider what the literature discusses regarding the validity, reliability, sensitivity, specificity, predictive values, ethical dilemmas, and controversies related to the test or tool.
- If you are assigned Assignment Option 2 (Child), consider what health issues and risks may be relevant to the child in the health example.
- Based on the risks you identified, consider what further information you would need to gain a full understanding of the child’s health. Think about how you could gather this information in a sensitive fashion.
- Consider how you could encourage parents or caregivers to be proactive toward the child’s health.
The Assignment
Assignment (3–4 pages, not including title and reference pages):
Assignment Option 2: Child Health Case:
Overweight 5-year-old black boy with overweight parents who work full-time and the boy spends his time after school with his grandmother
Include the following:
- An explanation of the health issues and risks that are relevant to the child you were assigned.
- Describe additional information you would need in order to further assess his or her weight-related health.
- Taking into account the parents’ and caregivers’ potential sensitivities, list at least three specific questions you would ask about the child to gather more information.
- Provide at least two strategies you could employ to encourage the parents or caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.
Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
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Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests in Adults and Children
Diverse Selection of Diagnostic Tests and Assessment Tools
Precise diagnosis and effectual treatments of health conditions in adults and children count exceptionally on using assessment implements and diagnostic tests. Assessment tools and diagnostic tests are vital in the appraisal and management of health status in both adults and children. These tools and tests enable healthcare providers to ascertain and diagnose disorders and conditions accurately, determine the condition’s seriousness and monitor the response to treatment (Hyman et al., 2020). Assessment tools can vary from manageable questionnaires and surveys to more complex diagnostic tests like blood, imaging, and biopsies. Assessment implementation and diagnostic tests may involve developmental screenings, cognitive tests, and behavioral assessments in children. The assessments enable healthcare providers to recognize developmental delays, and learning disabilities, among other statuses requiring early intervention (Guralnick & Bruder, 2019). The outcomes of the assessments are used in developing treatment plans and interventions customized to the individual’s needs. It is essential to understand that assessment implements and diagnostic tests must always be used cooperatively with an understandable clinical evaluation interpreted by a certified healthcare professional ensuring proper diagnosis and nessesally treatment. This paper will explore a case study on an underweight twelve-year-old girl with her parent being also underweight, looking at the health issues and risks that a healthcare provider should look out for pertaining to the child, additional information needed to assess further this case and the questions to be asked to the parents to get information on the child’s development and the sensitivity problems she may be having, and lastly develop two strategies to employ encouraging the patient or caregiver to be proactive about their child’s health and weight.
The Health Issues and Risks Relevant to the Child
When an individual is underweight, some health concern and problems can impact their overall health and life span. The patient is underweight, causing anxiety, poor nutrition impacting her growth and development, incapability to fight off infection and illnesses, high risk for heart attacks, and impended thinking like deceased concentration (Awuchi et al., 2020). Another worry is that her parents are underweight, which can suggest that their socioeconomic status is poor, that they cannot buy food, or that some genetic disorders affect the endocrine and alimentally canal. Another factor contributing to her underweight could be her mental health (Hong et al., 2018). This can be clear as she may have had a traumatic occasion where she is mortified for her body and directed her life through her weight and eating disease, or she may have been persecuted at school and may have been depressed. Such health issues were relevant to the assigned child, where early interventions and treatments can be appropriate to minimize such health issues.
Additional Information Needed in Order to Assess her Weight-Related Health
When obtaining the health concerns and issues, the information that was going to be required was the nutritional factors for the family. It would be essential to understand what they eat, how often they buy food and if they trust this is a healthy weight. The healthcare provider will be required to gather the body mass index of the patient, including her family, to measure if they are healthy or underweight (Haggerty et al., 2019). Body mass index is a conventional method of measuring obesity and an accepted quality measure in many health systems. However, little is known about how a patient’s comprehension of body mass index has progressed in the last several decades. In a prospective Danish cohort, the interrelation between body mass index and hospitalization or treatment for severe infection was investigated in 75 001 middle-aged women over a median period of 11.9 years. Because of the aging of the immune system, elderly patients are generally more susceptible to infections (Dobner & Kaser, 2018). The method for calculating body mass index is to take the individual’s weight and divide it by the height. When the number is under 19.5, the patient is said to have poor nutrition. Such information would be essential for a healthcare provider to further assess the patients weight-related health.
Questions to Ask the Patient in order to Gather More Information
Focusing on the case study and the information that is going to be required to further look into the patient’s health history, various questions will be required to question to the patient. Some of the questions the healthcare provider should ask the patient and the parent include the patient how she would describe her weight; this question would be essential as it allows the provider to evaluate her mental health status on how she sees herself. A second question a provider should ask the patient is if her family member is as slim as she is. This question will enable a healthcare provider to gather information on genetics being a possible factor in the patient’s health issue. A third question a healthcare provider should ask the patient would be what the patient typically eats within 24 hours. This question would enable a provider to gather information on the nutritional, whether the patient is taking the appropriate diet and whether this would be the cause of her health issue. Such kind of questions would be appropriate for a healthcare provider to ask the patient as it would enable one to gather information and understand the cause of the health issue the patient is going through, and it would also be essential when performing treatment as the root cause of the health issue.
Strategies to Employ to Encourage the Parents or Healthcare Caregivers to be Proactive about Their Child’s Health and Weight
To promote an individual’s health, some strategies would be appropriate to encourage parents and caregivers to be proactive about their child’s health. The first strategy to employ would be to educate the patient on their health management (Zhou et al., 2018). In this case, if the patient is not aware of the risk factors linked with their health record, family record and habits, they will not succeed in positive results demanding their health, and from the case study, there is a need for nutrition education. It can involve a nutrition consult and information about the plate, telling the provider the number of servings required for fruit, veggies, and meat, including what can happen when the body is not meeting the nutrition needs. To enhance education, the healthcare provider must understand the patient’s literacy as most people read at a third-grade level, so comprehending how the patient learns is vital in arranging a treatment or plan of care that the patient will adhere to and comprehend. Another strategy that would be appropriate to enhance a healthy diet would be to advocate for the patient supplying her with resources that can enable her to get food if she has a hard time meeting her need due to finances. According to Carlson & Neuberger. (2021), Most government offices have WIC programs that offer family vouchers to buy food required to maintain the body healthily and meet the plate recommendations for what amount of carbs, proteins, and fats for healthy growth. Such strategies would be appropriate as they can improve the patient’s health issues.
Conclusion
Assessment tools and diagnostic tests are vital in the appraisal and management of health status in adults and children, and these tools and tests enable healthcare providers to ascertain and diagnose disorders and conditions accurately, determine the condition’s seriousness and monitor the response to treatment. In order to enable a patient to have a healthy lifestyle and understand how to prevent health problems, the healthcare provider requires a detailed history and physical of the patient. Asking appropriate questions and comprehending the patient’s background can also enable the healthcare provider to distinguish the appropriate treatment and medication. Establishing an essential rapport with patients and their families is vital as they are open, honest, and will not fear judgment.
References
Awuchi, C. G., Igwe, V. S., & Amagwula, I. O. (2020). Nutritional diseases and nutrient toxicities: A systematic review of the diets and nutrition for prevention and treatment. International Journal of Advanced Academic Research, 6(1), 1-46.
Dobner, J., & Kaser, S. (2018). Body mass index and the risk of infection-from underweight to obesity. Clinical microbiology and infection, 24(1), 24-28. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmi.2017.02.013
Guralnick, M. J., & Bruder, M. B. (2019). Early intervention. Handbook of intellectual disabilities: Integrating theory, research, and practice, 717-741. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20843-1_39
Haggerty, T., Xiang, J., & King, D. (2019). Patient body mass index (BMI) knowledge in a rural primary care population. The Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine, 32(3), 413-417. https://doi.org/10.3122/jabfm.2019.03.180211
Hong, S. A., Peltzer, K., Lwin, K. T., & Aung, L. S. (2018). The prevalence of underweight, overweight and obesity and their related socio-demographic and lifestyle factors among adult women in Myanmar, 2015-16. PloS one, 13(3), e0194454. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0194454
Hyman, S. L., Levy, S. E., Myers, S. M., Kuo, D. Z., Apkon, S., Davidson, L. F., … & Bridgemohan, C. (2020). Identification, evaluation, and management of children with autism spectrum disorder. Pediatrics, 145(1).
Carlson, S., & Neuberger, Z. (2021). WIC Works: addressing the nutrition and health needs of low-income families for more than four decades. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Zhou, L., Zhang, D., Yang, C. C., & Wang, Y. (2018). Harnessing social media for health information management. Electronic commerce research and applications, 27, 139-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elerap.2017.12.003
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