After reading Chapter 13, you learned that many in the medical and health care communities are shifting their treatment paradigms to include collaborative or integrated patient care. This innovative type of care emphasizes the multidisciplinary nature of health care and encourages increased communication and interaction among providers for a given patient (e.g., physicians, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and so on). Apply what you learned about modern health care to the following case study.
Tamara is a 15-year-old African American female whose family, which includes two younger siblings, lives in a middle-class neighborhood in the United States. Both her parents work in professional jobs. Tamara was rushed to the doctor after passing out at school and complaining about intermittent loss of vision. Tamara had been experiencing dizzy spells for several weeks, but did not discuss her health issues with her parents or teachers. She did not think her dizzy spells would be taken seriously by her parents or doctors. She was diagnosed with a tumor in her brain and has been admitted to the hospital for observation and treatment. She has begun to show signs of severe depression and anxiety.
Relate Tamara’s experience to the research discussed in the chapter specific to the roles age and gender play in health care and health disclosure, given her age and gender.
What potential health care issues does Tamara’s socioeconomic status help avoid?
Why do researchers theorize that medical conditions can sometimes be the result of social constructions?
Patients deal with the diagnosis of a medical condition differently, using a variety of different coping strategies. If Tamara identified as a repressor, how might she cope with her diagnosis?
Why might it be recommended that Tamara receive collaborative or integrative care? How would this be beneficial?