Patient Hospitalization: Factors, Relationships, and Humanized Care
Hospitalization
A hospitalized patient becomes identified by a bed number, specific pathology, and hospital protocols, while experiencing a range of emotions.
Factors Affecting Hospitalization
- Nature of health problem
- Patient age (older patients and hospitalized children require special considerations)
Coping Strategies
- Problem-focused coping: Active effort to change the situation.
- Emotion-focused coping: Passivity, acceptance of treatment, seeking social support.
- Avoidant coping: Denial of the condition, isolation.
- Active coping: Patient participation, seeking information.
Factors Hindering Hospital Relationships
- Patient denial
- Use of technical terminology (jargon) – simple language is preferred.
Valued Aspects in the Hospital Setting
- Treat patients by name
- Maintain eye contact
- Listen more than talk
- Be sensitive and offer comfortable service
- Recognize the patient as an active participant
The “Good” and “Bad” Patient
- Good Patient: Passive, cooperative, accepts treatment without question.
- Bad Patient: Complains, requires extra attention, considered to exhibit unhealthy behavior.
Patient Rights During Hospitalization
Many patients lack understanding of their rights, including the right to be well-treated, have a guaranteed place, receive medication and guidance, and have an emotional/affective relationship.
Occupational Health and Patient Relationships
Core Elements
- Continuity of care
- Communication
- Quality of consultations
Professional Attributes
- Empathy: Understanding and sharing the patient’s suffering.
- Humility: Recognizing limitations and learning from others.
- Respect: Validating patient complaints.
- Curiosity: Staying updated on changes.
- Communication skills: Effective interaction and perception.
Factors Hindering the Relationship
- Difficulty conveying information
- Patient misunderstanding of guidelines
- Professional complaints about patient unpreparedness
- Biomedical model limitations
Biomedical Paradigm
Disease is defined by symptoms, with a focus on curing rather than overall well-being. It often excludes traditional practices and patient experiences.
Criticism: Disease is socially constructed; patient opinion and experience are crucial; doctors are not the sole source of knowledge; treatment can occur outside hospitals.
Biopsychosocial Model
Considers health conditions, living conditions, and education as key factors. It emphasizes multidisciplinary teamwork, reciprocal relationships, and valuing diverse professions.
Teamwork
Involves cooperation, collaboration, and problem-solving, moving beyond simply adding professionals to integrating knowledge and practice.
Interdisciplinarity in Health Education
Requires intense exchange among experts, working with shared knowledge, and reciprocity.
Humanization in Healthcare
Objective: To improve relationships among professionals, institutions, and the community. Humane care is essential for professional fulfillment.
Requirements for Humanization
- Sufficient staffing
- Interdisciplinary teams
- Acquisition of new medical equipment
- Expansion of services
- Improved wages and working conditions
- Better physical spaces
Challenges to Humanization
- Underdevelopment and establishment of interdisciplinary teams
- Individualism and division of labor
- Lack of professional preparedness for social and humanization issues
National Program for Hospital Humanization
Objectives: Improve relationships between professionals and users, hospitals and the community; disseminate the benefits of humane assistance; raise critical points for institutional improvement; and strengthen initiatives.
Humanization in Childbirth
WHO Recommendations
- Allow and respect the woman’s desire for a family companion during childbirth.
- Monitor the physical and emotional well-being of women during and after childbirth.
- Provide information and explanations as needed.
- Respect the woman’s right to privacy in the birthing place.
- Allow women freedom of movement and position during labor, avoiding the lithotomy position and encouraging vertical positions.
- Offer non-pharmacological pain relief methods such as massage, warm baths, and relaxation techniques.
- Provide oral fluids during labor.
- Allow skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately after birth.
- Carefully monitor labor progress.
- Offer comfortable accommodations.
Physiotherapy Actions
Promote shorter labor, reduce respiratory discomfort, enhance physical well-being, relieve lumbar pain, facilitate muscle relaxation, guide the woman during delivery, position and support her, reduce undesirable physical symptoms, and encourage breastfeeding.
Postpartum Physiotherapy
Includes breastfeeding guidance, restoration of musculoskeletal abnormalities, perineal strengthening, pain relief, and addressing abdominal diastasis.
Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC)
Benefits of KMC
- Improved health of low-birth-weight infants
- Reduced cost and length of stay
- Humanization of care
- Strengthening the parent-child bond
- Increased adherence to exclusive breastfeeding
Requirements for KMC Use
- Training of a multidisciplinary team
- Preparation of parents/family
- Guarantee of parental accommodation
- Outpatient follow-up structure after discharge