Culture and Health Nursing Case Study: Jeannette

Treating patients appropriately demands that providers foster an environment in which patients can be candid about their health conditions. It should be viewed as a positive first step that Jeanette and her mother disclosed the fact that they have been using a Haitian voodoo priestess (mambo) coming to the house to treat Jeanette. Unfortunately, many of the herbs used in such traditional practices are not only ineffective, but can be potentially dangerous, particularly if mixed with conventional medical treatments such as antidepressants (Kelak, Cheah, & Safii, 2018). Mental health issues such as posttraumatic stress disorder can be confusing and frightening for a family, and using traditional medicine may be comforting to people like Jeanette’s mother. It may also be less traumatic to think of her daughter as cursed rather than as suffering from a mental illness.

Clinicians must be culturally sensitive. Seeking spiritual comfort is a natural and accepted part of treatment. On the other hand, some spiritual practices (such as the aforementioned herbs) can be counterproductive and delay needed conventional medical treatment. Additionally, posttraumatic stress is a neurobiological issue as well as a mental health issue. Its symptoms can...

“PTSD was found to be associated with deficits in fear extinction, increased generalization of fear, and a negative bias of viewing threat from neutral stimuli and feeling danger in a safe environment” (Abdallah, et al. 2019, par.3). Unlearning the patterns of behavior that cause the individual to re-experience the trauma she has undergone requires treatment beyond the care Jeanette is...…previous mental health conditions, postpartum depression can be severe due to the biochemical and sociological changes initiated by pregnancy and delivery. In Julie’s case, a refusal to adhere to treatment may be seen as a cry for help. But it may also be that Julie is experiencing side effects from her medication that she finds unpleasant. Regardless, it is vital to speak to the patient and to gain a sense of how to make a treatment program useful and acceptable to her, combining what may need to be an adjusted medication schedule along with a form of therapy that is supported with evidence-based research to suit the needs of a bipolar patient. Involving Julie’s partner, with Julie’s consent, may also be useful to assume more of the burdens of childcare.
References

Abdallah, C. G., Averill,…