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Obesity as a nursing problem
MATYÁŠOVÁ, Jolana
Theoretical framework Nowadays, obesity is an important problem of contemporary civilization. Number of patients with obesity still increases among children and adults respectively. A number of patients suffering from obesity grows also in hospitals, equally in every hospital department. Obesity is a severe metabolic disease influencing life and health of a human. Obesity triggers many health-threatening complications, e.g. cardiovascular, orthopedic, tumor or gastrointestinal diseases, extending a stay of the patient in hospital. First part of the thesis is focused on the medical aspect of the obesity. This chapter involves prevention of obesity, risk factors influencing obesity, complications of obesity and its treatment. The part dealing with theoretical obesity treatment is divided into surgical treatment, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment. The second part of the thesis concentrates on the issue of nursing care in the treatment of obese patient. This chapter involves the procedure of diagnostic examination by nurse, complications in communication, in self-sufficiency, in hygiene, in skin and nail care, wound treatment and complication in secretion and nourishment of the patient. Aim of the thesis To investigate problems related to nursing care provided to obese patients Research questions Research question #1: Which problems are the most common for nursing staff while providing care to obese patients? Research question #2: Which problems are the most common for obese patients while admitted to hospital? Methodology: In this bachelor thesis, qualitative form of investigation has been used based on semi-structured dialogues with 10 respondents in total. In order to contact patients in hospital, formal application to execute a research survey has been sent to chosen hospital. The application was approved by the head nurse of the hospital as well as by the head nurse of the surgical, orthopedic and internal department. Five out of all respondents were nurses of surgical and internal departments and 5 respondents were patients hospitalized in the orthopedic department. General Nurses were asked to answer 11 questions focused on most common problems related to care of obese patients. Interrogated patients were asked to answer 9 questions focused on complications related to their hospitalization and obesity. Answers have been voice recorded and then categorized. Results It results from the conclusions of the first research question, that the patients are aware of problems connected to the nursing care and they wish to reform it namely in the area of improved facilities in hospital which would be more convenient for obese patients. Patients consider transfer beds, bathrooms, hospital clothes and bed linen to be unsatisfactory. The answer to the second research question "Which problems are the most common for obese patients while admitted to hospital?" is that nurses have the most severe problems with the transfer of patients from their bed. When taking venous blood, nurses have problems to find a suitable vein to drain blood. When providing help or assisting to the hygienic care, nurses face problems associated to the laboriously accessible body parts of an obese patient. When dealing with nutrition, nurses usually have problems with the non-observance of diet measures prescribed by doctor, and while assisting to the bowel movement, they face difficult manipulation with obese patients. Moreover, I found out that nurses require the assistance of other staff members when providing particularly demanding nursing care to the obese patient (e.g. hygiene, bowel movement, setting into position). Horizontal bar and placemats show to be the most used tool for nurses to manipulate with the obese patient.
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