Risk Reduction paper Bennett 1

Risk Reduction Paper

Adam Bennett
Ferris State University







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Abstract:
Health is a very important aspect in a persons life. Health can be defined both mentally and
physically. There are many ways to measure health. One way to measure health is by a real age
test. The real age test combines many things such as feelings, health, diet, and fitness to find a
persons real age. This essay talks about a recent person who completed the real age test and
some of his results. It explores his assessment, wellness diagnosis, planning, the transtheoretical
model, and his evaluation in regards to his assessment. This essay also shows some of the stress
test and the stress log that CK has filled out in order to help him with some of his problems.











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Partner Health Promotion:
Health can be defined as the condition of a person both mentally and physically. There are many
aspects in a persons life that can affect their health. These include blood pressure, the amount
of sleep a person gets at night, diet, and exercise. Each of these aspects can have a different
effect on a persons health. For example, if a person has a poor diet there is a better chance of
them becoming obese. Obesity can lead to many other health problems such as high blood
pressure, heart disease, and blood clots. This is just one example of how certain aspects can
affect a persons health. Recently one of my classes took a real age test. This test involved a
series of questions that asked about ones health and some of their everyday practices. After
receiving this information, the test took in all of these factors and gave the person taking the test
and gives a number. This number is the persons real age. The real age is the age of the
person based on these factors. If a person is in control of these factors it will lower the age. An
example of this daily exercise. There are also factors that would make a person older. An
example of this would be eating fast food at least once a day. This essay is about the results that
I received from my partner and the goals that I have planned for them.
Assessment:
My partner is age 22 and received an age of 21.4. This is seen as positive because it means that
he is doing things to help maintain a healthy body both mentally and physically. The areas of
focus for the client to focus on are feelings, health, diet, and fitness. In health, diet, and fitness
my partner had almost all scores that would lower his real age. In feelings, the test found that he
was having some troubles in the stress category. All of the categories have many different
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subcategories that help to determine a persons real age. A positive subcategory is one that
would lower a persons age. A negative subcategory is one that would raise a persons age.
There were many subcategories that helped to lower my partners real age. One subcategory that
was seen as a positive for my client is their blood pressure. In the real age quiz my clients blood
pressure was listed as average or just below average. This made their real age score lower.
Blood pressure is the pressure of blood against the arterial walls. According to the Mayo Clinic,
there are many problems associated with high blood pressure. These problems include: artery
damage, aneurisms, coronary artery disease, and heart failure. (mayoclinic, 2014) Since my
client has a lower blood pressure, they are at a lower risk of developing one of these diseases.
Another positive portion of the assessment that was a positive for my partner is that he avoids
sunburns. According to John Cuhana sunburns are an inflammation of the skin caused by
overexposure to UV radiation from the sun. (Cuhuna, 2012) It is important to avoid getting
sunburns because they have been known to cause cancer. There are many ways to avoid
sunburns. This includes wearing sunscreen or protective clothing and not staying out in the sun
for long periods of time. Finally, my partner had a good sleep schedule according to the real age
test. Sleep is one of the most important processes in the body. While a person is sleeping, the
body is making many corrections. Some of these include correcting chemical imbalances,
assuring proper blood glucose levels, and maintaining memory. (Stroll, 2008)
One negative portion of the assessment that my partner had is that they not know his cholesterol
level. What a cholesterol level tells people is the amount of fat in the blood. There are many
problems that can occur if a person has too much cholesterol on their blood. These problems
include blood clots, heart problems, and liver problems. There are many benefits to having a
low cholesterol level such as an increased amount of energy, and having good blood pressure.
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Another negative subcategory that my partner had was worrying. In his assessment it said
Don't let persistent worries undermine your life or your health. This worrying is related to
stress. Stress can cause a lot of problems for humans both mentally and physically. Physically,
stress can lead to weight gain, chest pain, and an impaired immune system. Mentally, stress can
cause memory problems, agitation, and behavioral problems. Due to the fact that my partners
age was lowered
Wellness diagnosis
The wellness diagnosis I would use for my partner is readiness for enhanced stress relieving
techniques. There are many techniques one can use to relieve stress. These include: exercise,
meditation, yoga, and imagery. In a recent article, Ellen Serber mentions the beneficial aspects
yoga has for people who suffer from severe stress. In the article she mentions how yoga is
beneficial in relieving stress by its relaxing qualities and because of the exercise that is promoted
during it. (Serber 2009) Exercise is also one of the easiest ways to relieve stress. In a recent
study conducted in Switzerland, it was proven that exercise helps to relieve stress. The exercise
involved people who were under severe stress coming to a park and engaging in some physical
activity while there. It was shown that a persons stress level after exercise was reduced by 87%
after they were done exercising.(Hansmann, 2007) Meditation has also been proven to help with
stress. This is a way for a patient to totally clear their mind and focus on breathing and
relaxation. There are many different types of meditation that can be used to help relieve stress.
Some people prefer to meditate in complete silence where others will listen to some form of
music to try to help calm them down. Imagery is also a very good stress reliever. This allows
the person to use their imagination and escape from reality for a little while. This is where a
person will imagine they are in a different place where they are then able to relax.
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Planning:
There are many SMART goals that CK can use to help him with his stress. One smart goal for
him would be to write down some of his stressors and what calms him down with certain types
of stress. This is a way for him to know what stresses him out and it is a way for him to realize
what he has to do in order to help relax. This will also help him to group the best stress reliever
with the stress that affects him most. A recent article by Brown University health education
department talks about how important a stress log can be for a stressed individual. The article
mentions how keeping a log is a good way to modify or eliminate a stressful activity.(Brown
n.d.) CK will to start this on April 1
st
. The way that he will do this is by simply keeping a log
of the stressors that he has been having in a certain month. The stress log that CK will fill out is
like the one seen in appendix A.
Another SMART goal I would set for my partner is to complete a stress test on the first of each
month basis. This would be a way of comparing his level of stress from month to month. This
will also let him know if he is effectively managing his stress through relaxation techniques.
There are many stress tests that he could complete. The stress test is attached in appendix B.
(webber, 2012) This stress test is an easy way to measure if CK is making progress with his
stress. This will also help CK with his stress log. With both of the log and the stress test being
used, he will be able to tell what kind of stressors led to a more stressful month.
Transtheoretical model:
The transtheoretical model of behavior has many different stages. These stages explain the
process of intentional behavior change.(Berens 2013) The stages of the Transtheoretical model
include precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. (Berens 2013)
CK seems to be in the action stage or stage four of the transtheoretical model. This is the stage
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where the individual is taking steps towards the behavior change. It is evident that CK is in this
stage because of the steps he is taking towards lowering his stress level. In the conversations that
we have had, CK has told me that he has started to fill out his stress log and took his first stress
test. This means that he is taking the appropriate action in order to reach his goal. There are a
few reasons why he is not yet in the maintenance stage. The maintenance stage is when an
individual has reached their behavioral change and is just doing upkeep on the behavior. (Berens
2013) Due to the lack of time CK has been working on his stress, he has not had enough time to
enter the maintenance stage. He also has said that he has some high stress levels in the past
month so he has to work on some of the stressors not bothering him.
Evaluation:
CK has already begun the process of relieving his stress. In appendix A, it is seen that CK has
started to write down his stressors and what was able to calm him down. This is good to see but
he needs to make sure that he continues with the log. He admitted to me that he has tried
something like this in the past for his nutrition and it did not work out well. By simply filing out
the log it shows that he is serious about taking the necessary steps in getting in control of his
stress.
Appendix B shows CKs first stress test. There were both positives and negatives in this stress
test. It shows that some positives are him being able to control things that have been irritating
him in the last month. There were also some negatives that can be noted in the stress test. For
example, this test showed that he did feel nervous and over stressed fairly often and he said that
there were some times where he felt like his stress was piling up on him. CK is making a lot of
progress towards his goal of effectively being able to control his stress.

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Appendix A
Stress Log: April.
Stressor Way of relieving stress
Classes Exercise, music, television.
Work Exercise, days off
























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Appendix B
For each question choose from the following alternatives:
0 - never
1 - almost never
2 - sometimes
3 - fairly often
4 - very often
__2__ 1. In the last month, how often have you been upset because of something that happened
unexpectedly?
___1__ 2. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were unable to control the
important things in your life?
___3__ 3. In the last month, how often have you felt nervous and stressed?
__2___ 4. In the last month, how often have you felt confident about your ability to handle your
personal problems?
___2__ 5. In the last month, how often have you felt that things were going your way?
___2__ 6. In the last month, how often have you found that you could not cope with all the
things that you had to do?
___3__ 7. In the last month, how often have you been able to control irritations in your life?
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___2__ 8. In the last month, how often have you felt that you were on top of things?
___2__ 9. In the last month, how often have you been angered because of things that happened
that were outside of your control?
___2__ 10. In the last month, how often have you felt difficulties were piling up so high that you
could not overcome them?

















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Reference Page
Berens, T. (2013). The transtheoretical model of behavior change. The Habits Lab at UMBC
Brown. (n.d.). Stress.
clinic, M. (2014). High blood pressure dangers: Hypertension's effects on your body. Diseases
and Conditions (mayoclinic, 2014).
Cuhuna, J. (2012, 07 12). Sunburn (sun poisoning).
Hansmann, R. (2007). Restoration and stress relief through physical activities in forests and
parks. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 6(4), 213-325.
Serber, E. (2009). Stress management through yoga. International journal of yoga therapy.
10(1). (Serber 2009)
Stroll, M. (2008). Sleep: It does a lot more than you think. 2, (Stroll, 2008)
webber. (2012). Stress.








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Rubric

Assessment and Diagnosis
Rubric
Total Possible Points =200 Points Earned
Assessment 60
Real age test completed,
results interpreted and
discussed in paper;
summarize both positive and
negative

Area of risk focus discussed in
depth

One Wellness diagnosis for
area of focus; supported by
data and research ; EBP


Planning and Intervention
Rubric
60 Points Earned
One SMART obtainable goals
should be able to measure
progress

Interventions based on EBP ~
includes one peer reviewed
journal article as a reference
for at the minimum two
interventions

Includes information re: TTM
and readiness for change


Evaluation and Reflection 50 Points Earned
Evaluate partners progress
toward SMART goals.

Reflect on any changes that
are necessary in order for
partner to reach goals; include
references/support for these
changes

APA 30
APA format and references
cited properly; scholarly
writing; spelling and grammar
accurate;

Total Points Earned: