Read the Mental Health Case Study (Word) and complete the following tasks:
Examine current practice guidelines related to suicide screening and prevention and how they could pertain to John.
Choose one of the following questions to answer as part of your initial post.What events in John’s life created a “downward spiral” into homelessness and hopelessness? Which events were related to social needs, mental health needs, and medical needs, and which could health care have addressed?
What were some of the barriers John faced in accessing medical care and mental health care?
How does homelessness and mental illness intersect? Do you believe homelessness may develop because of a mental health issue, or do you believe those who become homeless eventually sink into psychological despair?
The tipping point for many people who live at the margins of society may be things that could have been managed given the right support. How can your role as an APRN help identify, alleviate, or support those who are in need like John?
In your own experience, have you encountered a homeless individual? What was that like? Do you recall what you were thinking?
Please include at least three scholarly sources within your initial post.
Reply Posts
Reply to at least TWO of your classmates who chose two different questions.
Do you agree with their post? Why or why not?
Find an online resource related to health promotion and disease prevention of mental health issues for families that you think would be helpful to those who are struggling. This resource should focus on families and their needs, not the person with mental illness.
Please reply to Kaleys post
What events in John’s life created a “downward spiral” into homelessness and hopelessness? Which events are related to social needs, mental health needs, medical needs and which could health care have addressed?There was a sequence of events that led to John’s overall “downward spiral.” This case study proves the fact that homelessness can happen to anyone and typically occurs when an individual is continuously knocked down to a point where they become stuck. In John’s case, it started with becoming laid off and his inability to get hired despite multiple applications and attempts. While John was in this low place in his life, he turned to unhealthy coping mechanisms and his history of problems with alcohol began to come back up. After getting back into heavy drinking, multiple problems arose that cost him his family and his home. It didn’t end there, as John began to ruin relationships with extended family members and friends until he found himself no longer with a support system. Substance abuse and homelessness are commonly interchangeable (Brown et al., 2019). Substance abuse and homelessness also commonly involves issues with mental health, whether it was the reason for abusing substances or as a result of becoming homeless (Brown et al., 2019). As mentioned in the case study, John was once healthy and barely needed to use his health insurance. Once put in a position where he no longer had a home, his need for medical care arose due to his living conditions and weakened immune system from excessive alcohol consumption. Health care could have picked up on the pattern, that John was never seeking treatment all of a sudden seeking treatment frequently. They also could have picked up on his general appearance, and assessed for signs and symptoms that John did not have a home. Typically, health care will ask if your address is current or if it needs to be updated. That is a time where his living condition could be directly confronted and his response, whether the truth or a lie, could reveal possible evidence that there is something going on with John. The case study mentions that John often had thoughts of ending his life. Health care could have performed a depression screening in addition to a homelessness and substance abuse screening if they saw signs that John was consuming too much alcohol, experiencing symptoms of depression or lacking proper hygiene (Denchev et al., 2018). Health care also could have explored the reason why John was beginning to seek health care frequently by asking him how he had gotten the injuries, etc. In regard to current practice guidelines related to suicide screening and prevention, assessing the risk of suicide is a critical first step to prevent possible suicide and requires further examination for treatment options that will lead to effective suicide prevention strategies (Ryan
