A client with depression assigned a 1:1 staff for close observation related to self-harm was found to have harmed themselves and sustained an injury. The nurse did not document that the client was assessed every hour as prescribed. Which issue will the nursing staff and hospital potentially have to defend against?

Choice A reason: Neighborhood watch programs enhance community safety but do not directly address mental health needs. They lack therapeutic components to manage symptoms or prevent decompensation, which are critical for preventing readmission in clients with mental health disorders, making this factor less relevant to sustained community stability.

Choice B reason: Taking meals at a food bank addresses nutritional needs but does not directly support mental health stability. While nutrition is important, it does not provide the therapeutic interventions or coping strategies needed to manage mental health disorders and prevent relapse or hospital readmission.

Choice C reason: Participation in treatment, such as therapy or medication adherence, directly addresses mental health symptoms, improving coping skills and emotional regulation. Consistent treatment reduces relapse risk, enhances stability, and supports community integration, making it the most effective factor for preventing readmission in clients with mental health disorders.

Choice D reason: A safe living environment reduces stress and safety risks but is secondary to active treatment. Without ongoing therapy or medication, environmental safety alone cannot manage symptoms or prevent decompensation, making it less critical than treatment participation for maintaining community stability and avoiding readmission.

Choice A reason: Hypoglycemia involves low blood glucose, causing symptoms like shakiness or confusion, not muscle weakness or arrhythmias. Hypertonic glucose and insulin would worsen hypoglycemia by increasing glucose uptake, and sodium bicarbonate is irrelevant. These symptoms and treatments align with hyperkalemia, not low glucose levels, in renal failure.

Choice B reason: Hyperkalemia, common in acute renal failure due to impaired potassium excretion, causes muscle weakness and cardiac arrhythmias by altering membrane potentials. Hypertonic glucose and insulin drive potassium into cells, while sodium bicarbonate corrects acidosis, stabilizing cardiac membranes, making this the targeted complication for the prescribed treatment.

Choice C reason: Hypernatremia (high sodium) causes neurological symptoms like confusion, not muscle weakness or arrhythmias. The prescribed treatments do not address sodium levels; insulin and glucose manage potassium, and bicarbonate corrects acidosis. Hypernatremia is not a primary concern in acute renal failure with these symptoms.

Choice D reason: Hypokalemia (low potassium) causes muscle weakness and arrhythmias but is rare in acute renal failure, where hyperkalemia is typical due to reduced excretion. The prescribed treatments aim to lower potassium, not increase it, making hypokalemia an incorrect target for this therapy in the context of renal failure.