Running Head: SENIOR HEALTH PROMOTION

Senior Health Promotion Project

Delis Bediako
Bon Secours Memorial College of Nursing
November 18, 2014

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The purpose of this paper is to discuss the assessment and teaching plan created for an
older adult client. The client is a 67 year old male from Ghana who has been in America for 39
years, working as an accountant for an engineering company and owner of a small vending
machine service. His current medical issues include hypertension and back pain, both of which
are properly managed with medications and lifestyle modifications. The client reported a desire
to learn more about cancer, which is an important topic because he has several of the risk factors
for colon cancer identified by the American Cancer Society including race, gender, and age
(2014). Healthy People 2020 has provided evidence-based objectives for improving the overall
health of Americans (2014). By teaching about the risks of cancer and available screenings, the
Healthy People objectives of increasing the proportion of older adults who are up to date on a
core set of clinical preventive services, and increasing the proportion of older adults who were
counseled about cancer screening consistent with current guidelines are met.
Based on my assessment findings, the diagnosis chosen for this client is readiness to learn
regarding cancer risk factors and screenings, related to lack of exposure and recall, as evidenced
by the clients statement I would like to learn about cancer. The client should be aware of the
risk factors he may have and the importance of keeping up with the screening schedule. Knowing
what risk factors he has and what risk factors can be modified or reduced can impact the
prevention of potential disease. Also, knowing when to get screened promotes early detection of
disease which can positively influence outcomes. The short term outcomes expected are that the
client will identify common risk factors of colorectal cancer after a 45 minute teaching session,
and verbalize understanding of available screenings after a 45 minute teaching session. The long
term goals expected are that the client will continue lifestyle modifications to reduce risks for

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colorectal cancer, and utilize available resources recommended for detection and prevention of
colorectal cancer.
After completing the assessment, no finding required any further education so I asked the
client if there were any health concerns he would like to discuss or topics he would like more
information on. The clients response was I would like to know more about cancer. Based on
my assessment findings, I decided colorectal cancer would be the most relevant to discuss with
this client because of the risk factors he presented with. In order to reach the client goals, I chose
a combination of verbal and visual teaching approaches. The content of teaching included an
article on colorectal cancer published by the American Cancer Society (2014). The article
provided a brief overview of colorectal cancer, risk factors, and preventative screening tools.
According to this article, colorectal screenings are the most powerful weapons of preventing
colorectal cancer (2014), and with the information provided, the client will better understand
these preventative measures and how to best utilize the resources available to him. A study
conducted by Oliver et al., entitled Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Screening Behaviors
suggests that along with genetic factors, African Americans have a higher incidence of colorectal
cancer due to lack of access and use of recommended screenings (2012). Through this client
teaching, I will provide the client the necessary knowledge base to make informed decisions on
what preventative measure to take based on current recommendations.
In the teaching session, we reviewed colorectal cancer, common risk factors, preventative
screenings available, and how often to have them done. As visual content, I printed the article
from the American Cancer Society and reviewed the information with the client, highlighting the
key points on the page. I felt this was an appropriate tool because his educational level is
adequate for comprehending and applying the information provided in the article. The client also

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found it helpful to have the article as a reference to refer back to if he forgets any of the
information from our session. This teaching plan was also appropriate because it was performed
in accordance with the clients reported auditory/visual learning style.
In order to assess the effectiveness of the clients learning, I had the client answer
questions regarding the content discussed. The client was asked to verbalize some of the risk
factors related to colorectal cancer; name some of the screenings available; and to verbalize
which screenings should be done every 10 years, 5 years, and annually. My assessment is that the
teaching was effective based on the clients ability to answer all the questions correctly. To help
the client follow-up on long term goals I emphasized the recommended screening schedule to
ensure he knows when to get screenings done. Through discussion of his daily eating habits I
was able to encourage healthy eating that will help decrease dietary risk factors.
The nursing outcomes identified served as a means of both primary and secondary
prevention of colorectal cancer. In relation to primary prevention, the client is able to use the
information provided to make lifestyle changes to decrease the risk of colorectal cancer. The
screenings discussed in relation to secondary prevention will allow for a decreased mortality rate
through detection and removal of precancerous polyps. The client was very enthusiastic and
willing to listen to me talk on the topic. The effectiveness of the teaching was successful and no
major limitations were identified. The teaching and assessment was performed in the clients
home and there were distractions and interruptions throughout the session. In order to improve
the teaching strategy I could have ensured a teaching environment that was quiet and free of
distractions to better promote learning and therapeutic communication (Touhy & Jett, 2012)

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After sharing this experience with my client, I have a greater appreciation for the older
adult and the challenges they face. My client was a young older adult and had very minimal
challenges so I was able to easily teach him simple health prevention. Recognizing the ease of
this teaching plan I can appreciate how difficult it would be to teach a client with even the
slightest impairment. This has shed light on the importance of being patient and compassionate
when caring for older adult clients in order to promote a quality nurse-client relationship and
provide safe, efficient nursing care.

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References
American Cancer Society. (2014, October 24). Colorectal cancer prevention and early detection.
Retrieved from
http://www.cancer.org/cancer/colonandrectumcancer/overviewguide/colorectal-canceroverview-what-is-colorectal-cancer
Healthy People 2020. (2014, November 18). Retrieved from
http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/default
Oliver, J., Worley, C., DeCoster, J., Palardy, L., Kim, G., Reddy, A., Allen, R. (2012, March).
Disparities in colorectal cancer screenings behaviors: Implications for african american
men. Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, 35(2), 93-98.
Touhy, T., & Jett, K. (2012). Ebersole & Hess toward healthy aging: Human needs and nursing
response (8th ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier