3.1.1 Overview
This chapter begins our exploration of how to use observation and problem-solving skills to detect, report and address changes in clients’ health and wellbeing.
To start, you will learn about the general health of the body without disease or injury. Then, you will learn about come common illnesses that you are likely to encounter in your practice. Finally, you will begin to learn how to recognize differences in a client’s health and mental status.
Learning Objectives
At the end of this module, you will be able to:
- Measure health across multiple dimensions.
- Discuss the functions and parts of the major body systems.
- Link illnesses to a specific body system.
- Identify several common illnesses and how to spot them.
- Apply a checklist to identify key changes in clients’ health.
Key Terms
When learning about the essentials of observing your clients, it is essential to first look at the terminology to ensure that you understand everything clearly. These terms will be used throughout this chapter, so it is important to take the time to master them and practice your recall often.
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- Health
- Illness
- Mental health
- Physical health
- Spiritual health
- Social health
- Diabetes Mellitus
- Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
- High Blood Pressure
- Glaucoma
- Osteoarthritis
- Dementia
Whenever these terms are first introduced in this chapter, they are bolded. However, if you need additional information about a term than what is provided here, you can research it in The Free Dictionary: Medical Dictionary.
