Running head: CARE PLAN 1

Health Assessment and Care Plan Development

Melissa Towe

Delaware Technical Community College

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Health Assessment and Care Plan Development

The patient I assessed, Sabrina, identified obesity, hypertension (HTN), and sleep

disturbances as her only current health care concerns. I spent the most time developing

obesity referrals and interventions as obesity commonly contributes to hypertension and many

other health problems. I felt that by targeting this as the priority, her other conditions may

improve as a result. Obesity is also Sabrina’s primary health concern. She reports her blood

pressure is elevated at times, and also reports that her sleep pattern is disturbed secondary to

her night shift job. Sleep disturbances and sporadic high blood pressures may resolve on their

own, and even more likely, be improved by treatments geared toward weight loss.

“The National Institutes of Health have defined 30 kg/m2 as the limit over which an

individual is qualified as obese” (Jiang, Lu, Zong, Ruan, & Liu, 2016, para. 1). Sabrina’s BMI

was greater than 30 and she verbalized desire to not only lose weight, but to improve her

overall health status. Obesity has several contributing factors including: genetics, diet,

sedentary lifestyle, psychosocial factors such as depression, lack of night sleep, and low

esteem (Jiang et al., 2016). Sabrina has several of these factors as she has family members

with obesity, she works a night shift job, reports poor sleep, and nutritional concerns.

Obesity is the priority health concern for Sabrina because it contributes to several

other pathologies. “Cardiovascular diseases, the leading cause of mortality worldwide,

particularly hypertension and diabetes, are the main illnesses associated with obesity” (Jiang

et al., 2016, para 1). Sabrina already reports high blood pressure and is therefore already high

risk for cardiovascular complications. She maintains that her diet is an area that she struggles

with, and these dietary concerns also put her at an increased risk for diabetes.
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By addressing the obesity issue, it’s possible to simultaneously impact her

hypertension. In order to effectively address obesity, a holistic approach must be utilized.

Dietary means such as reducing salt, saturated fats, and cholesterol while increasing

vegetables, fish, whole grains, and lean meats are a good place to start making modifications

(Jiang et al., 2016). These dietary modifications will also positively impact her blood

pressure. But diet alone is not enough, physical activity as well as an adequate amount of

sleep are crucial factors as well (Jiang et al., 2016).

Sabrina verbalized desire to increase her physical activity level this year, which is why

I referred her to a weight management program. The program is offered by Christiana Care

and offers a dietician and an exercise physiologist to customize a plan for Sabrina over the

course of 12 weeks. After those 12 weeks, Christiana Care offers yet another program for an

addition 10 weeks, with weekly weigh-ins and small group sessions. Support from peers and

other people who are going through similar situations can be helpful in forming a support

system. Forming a support system provides accountability, it allows for individuals to build

relationships and hold each other accountable; thus improving the likelihood that they stick to

the program and achieve their best results.

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References

Jiang, S., Lu, W., Zong, X., Ruan, H., & Liu, Y. (2016, October). Obesity and hypertension.

Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5038894/