biopsychosocial-needs-assssment-of-already-interviewed-senior

Interview of a senior will be attached , this individual may not show any needs in an interview so please predict what kind of problems she may have in future and make a report based on it.

The objectives of this assignment are to understand biopsychosocial needs assessment and practice basic skills with assessment; develop the information of existing programs, services, and other resources in the community that are relevant to needs of the target senior; evaluate gaps between the community resources and needs of the targeted senior; identify possible actions to better address the unmet needs of the target.

What is Community Resources Mapping?

Community resources mapping is a useful tool provides information about the strengths and resources of a community and can uncover solutions and help identify the “deficit” of community resources in meeting the needs of a specific group such as older adults with mental health concerns. Once an inventory of community strengths and resources are depicted on a map, then recommendations can be made to address needs and improve the health of a targeted population in the community.

Identifying and mapping community resources can be made easier by using the following steps:

Step 1: Identify the top three needs of the older adult. Using the assessment tools provided by the instructor, student will conduct an initial assessment with the senior before the life history interview. A post-assessment will also be conducted with the senior after the completion of the digital storytelling (see Assignment folder in the Blackboard) . Students are also encouraged to review the questions suggested for the Biopsychosocial Needs Assessment and ask additional information to get a better understanding of their needs. In the assessment of the older adult you interview, make sure that your assessment covers all aspects of a senior’s health: psychological, psycho-emotional, social, spiritual and environmental health. The following questions are examples for you to observe, report and assess biopsychosocial needs of an older adult. But they are not exclusive. I encourage you to develop a new question guide for the assessment interview by adding new and adapting these questions in a way that you are more comfortable with.

• Physical and Functional Status
• Psycho-Emotional Functioning
• Social Assessment
• Culture, Religion, and Spirituality Assessment
• Environmental Safety Assessment
• Knowledge and awareness of community resources

• How does the older adult rate his/her own health?
• What major health concerns does he/she have?
• How his/her health conditions prevent him/her from doing things he/she would like to do?
• Does he/she see a healthcare provider on a regular basis (and for what)？
• Past medical history
• Competence in activities of daily living
• Nutritional intake
• Mobility
• BMI
• Drug and alcohol use
• Vision
• Healing

• What have been the greatest joys or disappointments in life?
• How has the older adult handled stress in his or her life?
• Does the older adult feel he or she has changed much in coping with stress?
• How does he or she stay mentally active?
• How well does the individual feel he or she handles problem solving?
• Does the older adult feel memory loss is more of a problem recently than it was in the past?
• Does the older adult repeat stories or facts without an awareness of having said something?
• Does the older adult appear to be sad or have a flat affect?
• Does his or her language reflect self-deprecating remarks or a negative self-image?
• Does the older adult appear openly anxious or depressed?
• Has the older adult ever considered suicide in a difficult emotional time?
• What are the strengths for the older adult in psycho-emotional functioning?

The purpose of assessing social functioning is to determine what, if any, social activities the older adult participates in or would like to and to determine whether there are social supports that can be mobilized to meet social needs.

• Living arrangements of the older adults (living alone, living with couple, living with others)
• Family structure
• Does the older adult feel lonely or feel alone?
• Do the older adult have productive or meaningful activities to do?
• Would he or she like more (or less) social interaction? With who?
• How does the old adult perceive his social support from family, friends, and community?
• How is the older adult satisfied family relationship? Any family conflict?
• How is the older adult satisfied with his/her employment status?
• How is the older adult satisfied with his/her financial circumstances (adequate or not?)

• What level of involvement does the older adult have with a faith tradition?
• Does he or she want a stronger connection to a faith community?
• How does the older adult express that spirituality?
• How does the older adult’s sense of spirituality act as a support in difficult times?
• What culture or ethnic group is the older adults is belonging to?
• How does the older adults practice his/her culture tradition?
• How does the older adults evaluate his/her life purpose and satisfaction?

• Do stairs have handrails?
• Falling or injuring themselves in his/her home?
• Is the home equipped with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors?
• Does the older adult have an emergency alert device that connects with the local police or fire departments or a hospital if assistance is needed?
• Does the older adult appear to “hoard” items such as trash, food, or pets?
• Can the older adult maintain his/her home?
• Does the older adult feel safe in the neighbourhood?
• Does the older adult feel friendly in the neighbourhood?

• How does the older adult know what services are available to him/her in Edmonton/Alberta? And in the local neighbourhood?
• How does the older adult feel being informed about services available?
• How does the older adult currently get information on programs and services for older adults?
• What resources are needed by the older adult?

After your assessment with older adult, please write a biopsychosocial assessment for them based on the interviews and what you have observed. Then, prioritize three top needs that should be addressed.

Step 2: Define community boundaries

The next step is to select a community or area for your analysis of the senior’s perception of community; this can be a neighborhood or a town/city where the senior is residing. Then, decide what streets or landmarks define the geographic boundaries for your study. Find a map that contains the identified area or area that you identify. Maps of the identified community can be found at the following websites http :// www.ma pquest.com, , or . Use the function of “zoom in” and “zoom out,” and print out an area map of the identified community. The area map should be specific enough that it clearly shows your defined community boundaries. Enlarge the map if needed. Leave a border around the map with enough room to add a map legend and title.

Step 3: Identify available services for each need

There are different types of services in one community or area. You need to identify available services that are needed for the specific three needs you identified. For example, if you find one of the top three needs are that the older adult needs more social interactions with others because she/he is living alone and feeling lonely. To address this need, identify what types of services or programs might be helpful, including location and target population. If the needed services are not available in the area that has been identified, what programs or services are available outside the community? Is this older adult able to access these services? What barriers might prevent access? Make a list of all the available resources in your community for the top three needs. Depending on the specific needs you find, the community resources could include health services, housing, community organizations, associations, interest groups, senior centers, day care programs, care facilities, parks and recreation facilities, institutions, businesses, clinics, and transportation facilities, etc.

Step 4: Organizing community resources on a map

Maps are important visual aids that help highlight available resources. For example, maps show gaps in services, areas where services are needed, or where a cluster of services exists in only one geographic area. Once community resources are listed, include the associations, organizations, programs, and interest groups for the needs you want to focus on. Further identification of needs must be made using the following process: 1. purchase color dot stickers or create icons by hand or on the computer; 2. Be sure to use three different colors to represent the three top needs; 3. Then, place color dot strikers or paste created icons on the map to indicate where the services, locations, and the concentration of the available services are in the specific community.

Step 5: Reflection

Mapping community resources on specific needs allows us to see if there is a concentration of available programs, service overlaps, gaps in services, and unmet needs. After reviewing the community resources map, answer the following questions: How well are the top priority needs being addressed? Why are they well-addressed? What barriers exist that prevent meeting the need? What are the service gaps in the community for the specific group of older adults such as the older adult?

Step 6: Suggestions for improving

Based on the service gaps you identified, you need to consider how these service gaps might be filled and provide suggestions for improving from micro, mezzo, and macro level.

Unlike the assignment of life history report, this assessment is more of your thinking and conceptualization of the seniors’ needs and mapping out community resources for the older adults’ top three needs, and existing service gaps in address those needs. Students will use the worksheet attached below as a tool to complete this assignment. The worksheet will be handed out in class and the electric version could be downloaded in the blackboard. For this assignment, you will submit:

1) an need assessment and community resources mapping report, which will summarize and elaborate each step in the work sheet. The length of this report should be

7-8 pages, double spaced, 1inch margins, using Times New Roman, 12 font size.,

2) a completed worksheet (you can use bullet points to highlight key thoughts and reflections for Step 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6, the space could be changed. It could be attached to the need assessment and community resources mapping report, or submitted to the Blackboard in a separate document ); and

3) a community research resource map (you can hand it in during the class