Human Growth and Development

• Human Growth and development is a process that begins at birth and ends at death

• During all the stages of growth individual needs that have to met.

• A healthcare worker must be aware of these needs in order to provide quality care

Life Stages

• Infancy: birth to 1 year old• Early Childhood: 1 – 6 years old• Late Childhood: 6 - 12 years old• Adolescence: 12 – 20 years old• Early Adulthood: 20 – 40 years old• Middle Adulthood: 40 – 65 years old• Late Adulthood: 65 and up

Types of Growth and Development

• As we pass through the various life stages four main types/areas of growth and development occur.

• Physical – body growth, height weight, muscles, nerves and body organs• Mental – mind, learning how to solve problems, make judgments and deal

with situations• Emotional – feelings, dealing with love, hate, joy, fear and excitement• Social – interactions and relationships with others

Stage of Development Basic Conflict Major Life Event Ways to Resolve Conflict

Infancy 

 Birth to 1

 Trust vs Mistrust  Feeding  Infant develops trust in self and others, when caregiver responds to basic needs

Toddler 

 1 – 3 years old

 Autonomy vs Shame and self doubt

 Toilet Training  Toddler learns control, while mastering skills of feeding, toilet training and getting dresses

Preschool 

  3 – 6 years old

 Initiative vs Guilt  Independence  Child begins to initiate activates rather than imitate, uses imagination, develops a conscious.

School-Age 

 6 – 12 years old

 Industry vs inferiority  School  Child becomes productive by mastering success, learns to deal with academics, group activates

Adolescence 

 12 – 18 years old

 Role vs Confusion  Peer Relationships  Adolescent searches for self-identity by making choices, occupation, sexual preferences, lifestyle. Depends on peers for reassurance

Young Adulthood 

 19 – 40 years old

 Intimacy vs Isolation  Love Relationships  Learn personal commitment to others, learn to share life events with others.

Middle Adulthood 

 40 – 65 years old

 Generativity vs Stagnation  Parenting  Adult seeks satisfaction, purpose and success using career, family and civic interests to provide for others.

Older Adulthood

 65 - death 

 Ego Integrity vs Despair  Reflection on and acceptance of Life

Adult reflects on life in positive manner, feels fulfillment with accomplishments, deals with losses and prepares for death.

Death and Dying

• Death is often referred to as the final stage of life.

• Experienced by everyone and can not be avoided.

• The young tend to ignore it, elderly who lost loved one or friends begin to think of own death.

• Mostly all people go through 5 stages of grieving that dying patients/family/friends may experience.

Five Stages of Grieving with death

• Stage 1 – Denial: No not me stage, patients may seek 2nd and 3rd opinions as they just can’t accept situation.• Stage 2 – Anger: Why me? Its your fault, patients may strike out at

anyone, become hostile, bitter, may blame themselves, family even healthcare workers.• Stage 3 – Bargaining: Accept death but turn to religion and spiritual

beliefs to try to buy more time. Will to live is strong, work hard to achieve goals.

5 Stages of Death

• Stage 4 – Depression: occurs when patients no death will come soon and they won’t be able to be with family or friends. Experience great sadness, express regret, become withdrawn and quiet. Healthcare worker should let them know its OK to be depressed.• Stage 5 – Acceptance: Patients understand and accept the fact that

they are going to die. May complete unfinished business, help others deal with their dying. Patients gradually separate from others and they are at peace and can die with dignity. Healthcare workers still need to provide support, with understanding words and gentle touch.

Care of Dying Patients

• Hospice plays an important role in meting the needs of the dying patient.• Hospice provides palliative care or care that provides support and

comfort.• Offered in Hospitals, medical centers, special facilities and most

frequently in the patients home.• Started after a doctor has determined a patients has six months or

less to live.

Right to Live

• Many healthcare workers are at conflict with a patients right to die.

• Many healthcare workers are ethically concerned with promoting life. Allowing a person to die can cause great conflict.

• Many states have Rights to Die Laws, Living wills, etc.

Human Needs

• Generally defined as “lack of something that is required or desired”

• From the moment of birth till death all humans have needs.

• Needs motivate individuals to behave in certain ways or to acts in order to have needs met.

• At times some needs can take priority over other needs, ie: will for food or survival over social norms or approval.

Human Needs

• Abraham Maslow (noted psychologist) developed the “Human Hierarchy of Needs”.

• According to Maslow: the lower needs should be met before an individual can try to meet the higher needs.

• Only when satisfaction is meet on one level will a person be motivated to move towards meeting needs of a higher level.

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Methods of Satisfying Human Needs

• Needs can be met in two Methods – Direct or IndirectDirect Method• Hard Work• Realistic Goals• Situational Awareness• Cooperation with others

Methods of Satisfying Needs

Indirect Methods of dealing with needs usually reduce the need and/or relieve tension but the needs are still unmet!

The need is still present but the intensity decreases

Defense Mechanism: unconscious act that helps the individual deal with unpleasant situations as their needs aren’t met.

Methods of Satisfying Needs

Indirect method : Defense Mechanism• Rationalization – make excuses or acceptable explanations: fear of lab

tests, I can’t take time off from my job.• Projection – Placing blame on someone else, I failed because the teacher

doesn’t like me.• Displacement – Transfer of feeling about someone to another person,

getting mad at spouse or kids rather than boss for fear of getting fired.• Compensation – Substituting one goal for another, person wanted to be a

doctor but couldn’t afford it/couldn’t do school work so became a nurse.

Methods of Satisfying needs

• Daydreaming – Dreamlike thought process while awake, provides a means of escape, if dreams provide a course for achieving goals than this is a good defense mechanism if it’s a substitute for reality than its bad.• Repression – Transfer of thoughts, painful feelings into unconscious

mind. If pain is so great than feelings and memory can be forgotten. They can however resurface in dreams or affect behavior.• Suppression – Similar to repression but individual is aware of feelings

and memories just refuses to deal with them.

Methods of Satisfying Human Needs

• Denial – involves disbelief of an event or idea that is too frightening or shocking for an individual to cope with.

• Withdrawal – Two mains ways withdrawal can occur:• Cease to communicate• Remove themselves physically from situation.Example: conflict with another student, choose not to talk to that person anymore or move, change schools.

Effective Communication

Communication is an exchange of information, thoughts, ideas and feelings

• Verbal – spoken words

• Non Verbal – facial expression, body language and touch

Communication Process

The communication process involves three things:

• Sender – individual who creates the message

• Message – information, thoughts or ideas

• Receiver – individual that receives the message

Effective Communication

• Message must be clear – both can understand• Message must be delivered in clear concise manner – good grammar,

no slang, or double meaning• Receiver must be able to hear and receive message – patients that

are heavily medicated or weak may nod head that they understand but in reality they don’t. • Receiver must be able to understand message – using unfamiliar

terminology, language differences• Interruptions and distractions need to avoided – can interfere with

any conversation

Listening

• Show interest and concern• Be alert and maintain eye contact• Avoid interrupting speaker• Pay attention• Avoid thinking of response till they are done speaking• Eliminate you own prejudices and see from someone else's view• Eliminate distractions• Watch speaker closely for actions that may contradict words• Reflect statements back to speaker knows you understand• Ask for clarification if you don’t understand• Keep your temper under control and maintain positive attitude

Barriers to Effective Communication

• Deafness

• Blindness or impaired vision

• Speech Impairments

• Psychological Barriers – prejudice, attitudes, personalities