A nurse is assessing cognitive functioning of a patient. Which action will the nurse take?

Choice A reason: Holistic care for chronic anxiety involves assessing how worry impacts physical, emotional, and social functioning. This approach considers the patient’s lifestyle, coping mechanisms, and overall well-being, fostering tailored interventions like cognitive-behavioral therapy or relaxation techniques. Understanding functional impairment ensures comprehensive care, addressing root causes and promoting long-term management of anxiety.

Choice B reason: Focusing on quick remedies prioritizes short-term symptom relief over holistic care. Chronic anxiety requires sustained strategies, like therapy or lifestyle changes, rather than temporary fixes like medication alone. This approach neglects emotional and social factors, limiting effectiveness and failing to address the multifaceted nature of the patient’s condition.

Choice C reason: Assuming the patient’s only goal is anxiety relief oversimplifies their needs. Holistic care recognizes diverse goals, such as improving relationships or daily functioning. This narrow focus ignores emotional, spiritual, or social aspects, reducing care quality and failing to align with the comprehensive, patient-centered approach required for chronic anxiety.

Choice D reason: Suggesting little hope for relief is counterproductive and dismissive. Holistic care empowers patients with hope through education, coping strategies, and support. This approach risks worsening anxiety by fostering despair, contradicting the nurse’s role in promoting resilience and well-being, and failing to address the patient’s potential for improvement.

Choice A reason: Culture and ethnicity influence pain perception but are not easily modifiable. They shape attitudes toward pain expression, not pain itself. Focusing on these risks overlooking modifiable factors like anxiety, which directly amplify pain. Interventions targeting modifiable psychological factors are more effective in reducing pain intensity and improving patient coping strategies.

Choice B reason: Previous pain experiences and cognitive abilities are relatively fixed, shaping pain perception but not easily altered. Modifiable factors like anxiety have a greater immediate impact on pain. Focusing on these risks delaying interventions like relaxation techniques, which directly reduce pain amplification, improving outcomes in acute or chronic pain management.

Choice C reason: Age and gender are non-modifiable factors influencing pain sensitivity but not amenable to change. Anxiety and fear, which exacerbate pain through stress responses, are modifiable and more relevant for intervention. Prioritizing age or gender misdirects focus, delaying strategies like cognitive therapy that effectively mitigate pain in clinical settings.

Choice D reason: Anxiety and fear are modifiable factors that amplify pain via heightened stress responses, increasing muscle tension and pain perception. Interventions like relaxation, mindfulness, or counseling can reduce these, lowering pain intensity. Focusing on these targets psychological contributors, improving pain management and patient comfort, especially in acute or chronic pain scenarios.