Introduction
Throughout their lifetime, about sixty percent of men and fifty percent of women in the United States experience some form of traumatic events. This predisposes them to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, a condition that results when the body remains alert to any other possible cause of trauma that may reoccur (Marion, 2010). This has resulted to a situation where about eight million people suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly known as PSTD. The disorder results when the body is too shaken to withstand the shock form the traumatic events, and instead of a person getting over the event, the body keeps all the systems ready for a possible re-occurrence and in other cases, the person grows number and shuts down feeling (Ford, 2009). This helps the person to forget anything whatsoever that may cause him or her to remember the trauma. In this research, I want to come up with an effect method that can be used for diagnosis and treatment of this condition.
Literature Review
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder can be triggered by various factors, most prominently by being near or witnessing any traumatic event. Such an event triggers production of adrenaline to aid a fight or flight reaction. However, when the danger is gone adrenaline in the body develops in response to the secretion of cortisol to suppress the production of adrenaline. However, in some cases, this is either not produced or it is produced in extremely low quantities, and the level of adrenaline remains high. The person therefore, remains in an alert mode for an unusually long time and responds quickly and overly to any small act of provocation or any predisposing factor. This is what we call Post-traumatic stress disorder (Vermetten & Melley, 2010).
The most visible syndrome for post-traumatic stress disorder is re-occurrence of trauma in the period long after the causative factor is gone. The person may keep on seeing or experiencing the same events in his mind or in their dreams, causing a similar reaction as the one experience in the face of the real danger. Another not so easily visible syndrome is the act of avoidance. This is where the victim tries to avoid all kinds of things or people that might remind him or her of the event, since such memories bring about some serious effects on the victim. Another symptom of this condition is hyperarousal. Hyperarousal is a situation whereby a person remains alert all through and experience trouble while sleeping, becomes exceedingly irritable, difficulty in concentration, and exaggerated startle response.
The disorder is more serious when it occurs in children than in adults. The traumatic event is more pronounced and symptoms will manifest themselves in various forms like repeated nightmares and antisocial behaviour. Whatever the type or age of patient, post-trauma stress disorder has far-reaching effects that leave a person as a slave to this disorder. An elaborate method to provide treatment is therefore particularly crucial. Besides, treatment should be offered as soon as possible to reduce the affliction that the disorders cause to its victim.
The big number of people experiencing or exposed to this disorder calls for a decisive action to deal with it. In the United States of America, about eight million people suffer from PTSD and more than half of the population experience some form of traumatic events at one point of their life (Vermetten & Melley, 2010). The implication of this is that they are directly at risk of suffering from PTSD. There is also a class of people who are at a higher risk than others are. These include the soldiers, who due to the nature of their work, tend to witness violent and traumatic disorders in the course of their work. This has been proven by a recent research carried out on soldiers who served in Iraq, where their chances of developing PTSD is slightly higher than for the normal citizen.
Owing to the nature of this disorder, there is a need to move away from the traditional concept of medicinal treatment and embrace a variety of things that are part of the patient’s environment. The treatment should aim at analysing the environment that the patient leaves and using it to induce a positive change to the patient, by making him or her to feel less endangered and more secure in the current environment (Heather & Callistta, 2008). This is the reason why I want to carry out a research on possible treatment using Sister Callista Roy’s model of Adaptation for treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Objective of the project
The success of this study will depend upon the identification of concise research question that will guarantee the collection of data in the easiest way possible. Concerning this, research will focus on determining the appropriateness and suitability of using Sister Callista Roy’s model of adaptation for treatment in an attempt to come up with an effective treatment method, different from the traditional methods of hospital medication. The research will involve working with various patients in order to ensure that the treatment course is tried on a varied number of patients.
Description of the study design
In this research, I am going to adopt a form of case control study, whereby there will be a number of patients with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder who have not undergone any form of medication. In the research, the main strategy will be to identify the patient who will thereafter be put under this form of therapeutic treatment for a given period. Once these are identified, a treatment therapy based on the Adaptation model will be used to formulate and implement a treatment programme, which will be undertaken on patients with the disorder, while dong a close monitoring on their responsiveness to the treatment.
As a control, these patients will be compared to the ones who are under medication for the same kind of disorder. The effectiveness of this form of treatment will be gauged not on just on the responsiveness of the patient to treatment, but also on the ability of patients to adapt to living with the condition that occurred since it is technically impossible to erase it from their mind. To gauge the effectiveness, we will try to compare the level of adaptiveness to living with the experience that the patient will adopt, to the one that patients who undergo conventional medication achieve. These two should be able to compare favourably with each other in the least case expectation, or the Adaptation model should be able to give a higher level of adaptation to living with the situation.
Recruitment methods
There are two categories of the patients who will be involved in the research. These are the patients who will undergo the therapeutic treatment based on adaptation model, and the ones who have undergone the conventional medication treatment programme. The earlier will be selected through direct advertisement, asking them to volunteer to be part of the program. This will be done through second party referrals, owing to the fact that a majority of these patients do not seek treatment on their own but are referred to the hospital or treatment facility by relatives and friends. A request will therefore be made for anyone willing to take part in the research to avail themselves. These will include people who have experienced a traumatic condition in the recent past and are willing to recover.
Another method of recruiting will include collaborating with hospitals and other treatment centres and counselling institutions in a bid to find patients who are interested in being part of the program. In this case, the consent for approval will be given through collaborating with a specific physician college who will refer the interested patients in their own will.
The other category of patients involves the ones who have undergone medication treatment in hospital in the recent past or currently. These will be recruited through a partnership with the treatment institution to give consent for an interview. The process will primarily involve interviewing them to gauge the degree and quality of recuperation that they have experienced. If the patients consents, a follow up can be organised further for their condition. In additional to this, the close relatives and friends can help to assess the situation of the patient since they have the ability to detect the change in a person who they are close to more than an unfamiliar assessor. Therefore, these will be included in the research to aid the accuracy and precision of the information to be obtained.
Description of the sample
The patients who will be selected for treatment are not necessarily a representative sample of any group, but are just people who have the disorder, irrespective of their age, race, gender or religious affiliation. The goal of the recruitment procedure is to identify any patient who has the disorder and then if possible recruit them. This can be taken to be a random sampling method because there is no specific order or target that will be pursued.
In addition, the hospitals or the treatment institution will recommend those selected for interviewing after they have undergone conventional medication treatment. In this case, the selection will therefore be a random sample. Those who will be followed up on after the interview will depend on their willingness accept someone to follow up on them. Basically, the most salient point in the selection of the sample is to ensure that patients are genuine victims of posttraumatic stress disorder, and not just any other form of mental or physical stress.
Instrumentation
In the carrying out the research, a questionnaire and a personal interview will be used to question and examine the patients who are just out of hospital. These patients will be expected to answer a few questions so that the interviewer can assess their level of recuperation and also how they have managed to live on after the traumatic event. The questionnaire will try to gather the relevant information to ascertain if this person has gone through his problem, and whether there is a possibility that the stress will reoccur.
Research methods
In the research, the first part will be use of questionnaires to determine the effectiveness of conventional medication treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder. In this part, the victims of this disorder who have undergone medication will be assessed to determine their condition and whether they have been totally healed. This will involve asking the relevant questions from the past victims themselves and also interviewing their close relatives and friends who of course can be able to give an informed point of view. Concerning this, a questionnaire is prepared to ensure that the questions to be administered are precise and meet their intention.
In the therapeutic treatment part using the model of adaptation, the selected patients will undergo the process to determine their responsiveness to the treatment. This will aim at identifying their own physiological and spiritual shortcomings that predispose them to stress, and how they can be in a position to alter these in order to achieve better health. In addition, the stress victims will be shown how to identify various stressors that are brought about by the environmental factors and other environmental factors.
In this model, focus will also be on the person’s ability to control his own individual factors and own perceptions. These are beneficial in relieving stress since an individual has a lot of influence on his feelings and perception of issues (Heather & Callistta, 2008). This is why a person will result to queer behaviour when experiencing posttraumatic stress disorder. The relationship with close relatives will also help to control the level of stress and reduce any factors that trigger posttraumatic stress disorder.
One the treatment and counselling is carried out, follow up will be done in order to determine the effectiveness of this model as a mode of treatment. This will investigate whether the symptoms will arise again and if the person is able to deal with the situation. This is an essential part of the research since it determines if the model of adaptation has been effective. Once this is done, the results from the two researches are compared in order to prove the theory that the model of adaptation is a better way to deal with posttraumatic stress disorder. This will confirm that as human beings, we have the power to deal with our own problems form our own means within us.
Discussion
The main purpose of this research is meant to show the effectiveness of using Sister Roy Callister’s model of adaptation as a means to deal with stressors. This involves studying the physical environment of a patient and using the adaptive nature of the variable environmental conditions to come up with a therapeutic solution to a problem. The environment comprises of all conditions, circumstances and influences that surround and affect the development and behaviour of the person (Kathryn & Zaccagnini, 2010).
Use of the adaptation model aims at affecting various aspects that relate to human life. This includes the physical or the physiological part of a being, which constitutes the physical and chemical processes involved in the function and activities of living organisms. The self-concept mode focuses on physiological and spiritual integrity, while the role function mode aims at positioning one in relation to other people in the society. The interdependence mode is about the close relationship of people and their purpose, structure and development.
Using this adaptation model, one can be able to show that the relationship that a person has and the comfort he derives from the environment determines the satisfaction that he or she derives from the environment. This is the reason why some variations in our body functions, the way we view ourselves, and the way we think or the way people relate with us determines how happy we are and how easy it is for us to cope with life. These factors can be altered to restore health or to relieve stress to a person who is suffering from chronic stress.
Since stress is primarily induced by environmental and other factors, the best approach to deal with it is by controlling the factors that affect or determine the level or existence of stress in the body (Friedman, 2010). There is always a tendency that people treat the symptoms that cause stress but fail to deal with the core sources of the illness. In addition, solving the problem of stress does not always involve removing the causative agent, but can involve changing the way we view and understand the problem, and in the process influence the way that our bodies and minds react to it. This is key to any stress relieve effort.
From the research, it is expected to show that posttraumatic stress disorder is easily dealt with through the steps outlined in the adaptation model approach. The results of this approach are also more effective and the risk or re-occurrence is significantly minimized. The key to dealing with stress is not on treating the symptoms as they arise, but getting into the depth of the problem and involving other external factors like the families and other social aspect of it. It is also a clear indication that we can always determine how happy, satisfied and stress free we are through how we relate to ourselves, our bodies, the environment and other people. Any attempt to modify of these would consequently result in modification of our livelihood and quality of life (Ford, 2009).
Conclusion
The research should be able to show the environmental factors that contribute to post-traumatic stress disorder, and how it affects our general life and our quality of life. It stresses on the need to focus on an internal solution to solve the condition, since we have the ability to use our existing skills and knowledge to affect our physical well being and our general status of health (Seaward, 2010). In fact, the best results are realised when we implement a healing process from factors than are within our control, rather than mere medication. In fact, the treatment from such a model provides a far lasting effect with lower risk of re-occurrence than when one undergoes the conventional medication. In my opinion, we should endeavour to produce a healing from the power within ourselves.
References
Ford, D.J. (2009). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Scientific and Professional Dimensions. London: Academic Press.
Friedman, M.J. (2010). Posttraumatic and Acute Stress Disorder. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.
Heather, A.A. & Callista R. (2008). The Roy adaptation model. New Jersy: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Kathryn,W.W. & Zaccagnini. (2010). The Doctor of Nursing Practice Essentials: A New Model for Advanced Practice Nursing. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Marion, E.W. (2010). Posttraumatic stress disorder: etiology, phenomenology, and treatment. New York: American Psychiatric Publishers.
Seaward, L.B. (2010). Essentials of Managing Stress. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
Vermeten, E. & Melly S.O. (2008). Stress hormones and post traumatic stress disorder: basic studies and clinical perspectives. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
