According to the model of unpleasant symptoms, an assessment tool must contain the following. First, the instrumentmust have a provision for the signs, which are physiological, psychological and situational. Psychological factors include all those stimuli that affect the state of the mind example, mood,which is a critical sign in patients with bipolar disorder (Chatani et al., 2021). Moreover, patients could experience physiological symptoms that present secondary to an alteration of the normal physiological functions of the body, which include an increase in heartbeat secondary to adrenaline surge or a decrease due to the parasympathetic action of the vagus nerve supplying the heart. In addition, the other cluster contains situational symptoms resulting from experiencing a stimulus during specific periods and are short-term. The situational symptoms include loss of appetite and sadness (Chatani et al., 2021).
Secondly, after identifying the signs, the tool must give a provision for assessing the factors that influence the symptoms. Factors influencing symptoms include aggravating and relieving factors. Aggravating factors refer to those activities that when a patient engages in, they worsen the presenting symptoms; a good example is the pain that comes with a peptic ulcer patient staying hungry for a long. In this case, the hunger worsens the situation by the patient feeling much pain. Relieving factors, on the other hand, consists of activities that comfort the patient; a good example is the relief of headache by sleep. Often, patients have perceived relieving factors before coming to the hospital. Lastly, performance outcome is critical as it will determine health-seeking behaviors. Primarily, when symptoms impair the performance of patient routines, the result will be seeking care to restore performance capacity (Peterson & Bredow, 2020).
Treatment Recommendations for Major Depressive Disorder in Older Adults
Treatment Recommendations for Major Depressive Disorder in Older Adults Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in older adults presents unique challenges due to age-related physiological changes, comorbidities, and potential drug interactions. This paper examines evidence-based treatments for MDD in the geriatric population, including an FDA-approved drug, an off-label medication, and a nonpharmacological intervention. FDA-Approved Drug: Sertraline Sertraline, […]
