Nursing Care Plan for Ineffective Individual Coping
The inability of individuals to act on stressful situations or events leading to failures in making sound judgments without using resources is known as ineffective coping. Stresses can lead to reduced coping mechanisms, which increases pressure and makes an individual fail to exercise skills that solve problems or manage situations at hand. Nurses play an important role in the care of patients who are struggling to cope with health problems or life events. The objective of this nursing care plan is to provide injured or ill persons with the necessary assistance and support to cope effectively with their current situations. Additionally, by providing patients with a supportive environment and interventions that promote positive coping skills, nurses can help them to regain a sense of control over their lives and improve their overall wellbeing.
NURSING DIAGNOSIS: Ineffective individual coping
The nursing diagnosis Ineffective individual coping can be related to various factors, including; Various losses example, close friends dying of illness, losing the ability of the body to function normally, loss of finances, support from family, and daily roles. Impaired functioning of some systems in the body can lead to changes in daily tasks and lifestyle permanently. Poor prognosis or diagnosis of some conditions that lead to anxiety, fear, and depression. Lack of knowledge on the progress of disease due to no improvement/ change lead to an individual feeling powerless. Inaccessible resources for dealing with outcomes of disease, i.e., disability or death. Chronic disease symptoms like excessive pain, fatigue, or paralysis in some individuals. Rejection from peers or other members of society due to ailments that can cause employment loss or financial strains.
Desired Outcomes
The individual will adjust to the social and health status currents with evidence of; Modified or eliminated ineffective coping behavior. Psychological insight into possible reasons for ineffective coping behaviors, cognitions, and/or feelings. Developed or enhanced effective coping skills/behaviors specific to the client’s identified needs. Identification of support resources when needed. Verbalized control over current situations or health status. Participation in the care plan process to meet the necessary basic needs.
Nursing Assessment
Assess for any present characteristics to have an idea of coping difficulty levels as responses to stress. Assess whether some myths, values, or norms on how the individual perceives coping effectively. Observe if the individual expresses situational factors like grief, poor self-concept, lack of skills to solve problems, or lack of support from family and friends. This will help the nurse understand the individual’s current situation. Look out for specific stressors that may exhaust the patient’s coping skills as some could not be directly related to their health status. Identify the individual’s understanding and knowledge of situations that can lead to stress. This will help caregivers determine the base of a care plan and interventions to achieve desired goals. Monitor the safety of the patient to avoid the risk of self-harm or others with appropriate interventions. Identify the support system and resources readily available to the patient as some may lack support in family settings.
Nursing Interventions
The therapeutic nursing interventions for individuals with ineffective coping include Building trust by creating a good working relationship with the individual throughout the caregiving period to establish trust, facilitate coping, and reduce isolation thoughts and feelings. Help the individual identify knowledge and skills and involve them in planning desired goals that are realistic to help them make decisions independently. Allow individuals to verbalize and communicate by expressing their expectations, feelings, concerns, and fears to enable them to be open and reduce anxiety. Be empathetic when communicating to create a free and supportive environment that will boost coping. Create an honest relationship without false reassurances to enhance coping and successful problem-solving. Help the patient by motivating them to be involved in care planning and making the right choices to increase their self-esteem and give them a feeling of control. Encourage the individual to list their abilities and strengths to create awareness and use them where necessary.
Encourage the patient to perform physical and mental consider mental activities within their ability (e.g., exercising, reading, watching movies, sports and games) to treat symptoms of anxiety or depression. Help individuals evaluate their situations and what they have accomplished, as this may lead to the rediscovery of a clear perspective. Educate the patients on their needs and answer their questions with guidance as they have reduced coping abilities to grasp information. Help the individuals solve problems in a constructive manner to promote autonomy and independence. If the client is physically able, encourage moderate aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise increases one’s ability to cope with acute stress (Anshel, 1996). Give relevant information regarding the treatment plan to enable the family members to understand the situation and prepare for positive or negative outcomes. The discussions will also help the individual be confident and be assured that they can trust the caregivers. Communicate about any changes that will be made with the patient before action plans to help the individuals and family members understand the plan of care.
Observe and identify any positive progress or changes as the individuals are unable to assess for any changes of effective coping. In cases of mental health, collect the individual’s history from family and friends and advocate for patient engagement in mental health care. Be an active listener and help individuals express their emotions. This gives the patient a nonjudgmental person that can listen to them and relieve any negative feelings. When they Acknowledge feelings, it shows that they can be heard and understood. Encourage the individual to use cognitive-behavioral relaxation like listening to music. These techniques help individuals to cope, relieve anxiety, and increase their sense of control. The relaxation that is used with guided imagery helps individuals control their responses to stressful situations and improve their performance.
Encourage the individual to describe the coping mechanisms that were used to manage previous stressors. A detailed description of the experiences will strengthen effective coping and helps eliminate poor mechanisms of coping. Be supportive of coping behaviors; allow the client time to relax. A supportive presence creates a supportive environment to enhance coping. Use distraction techniques during procedures that cause the client to be fearful. Distraction is used to direct attention toward a pleasurable experience and block the attention of the feared procedure (DuHamel, Redd, Johnson-Vickberg, 1999).
Use systematic desensitization when introducing new people, places, or procedures that may cause fear and altered coping. Fear of new things diminishes with repeated exposure (DuHamel, Redd, Johnson- Vickberg, 1999). Be aware of the client’s fear of illness. Identify and reinforce patterns the elderly client has previously used to respond to stress. Allow the client time to reminisce about past successes. The elderly client has had a lifetime of experience dealing with stressful events. A standard reminiscence interview and one that focused on successfully meeting challenges reduced state anxiety and enhanced coping self-efficacy when measured against both attention-placebo and no-intervention control groups (Rybarczyk, Auerbach, 1990).