Question

The Hearts in Hands Shelter is a halfway house for abused women who leave their husbands or partners. The shelter provides individual and group counseling, a job-finding service, and other programs designed to help women become independent. Women who are staying at the shelter must help with cooking, cleaning, and childcare if they are to continue living there.

Robin is the newly hired nurse practitioner at the shelter. She has experience working with vulnerable populations; however, this is her first experience working with abused and battered women. She sees clients for acute problems in the shelter's clinic and attends group counseling meetings with the mental health nurse who leads the meetings.

Use the above case study to answer the following questions:

1) As Robin prepares to assess the clients she encounters in the clinic and in the group meetings, what guidelines should she keep in mind?

2) How can Robin help empower the clients she sees at the shelter?

3) What community resources are available for this population in YOUR community?

Answer 1

Ans) 1) ANS: Nurse Robin should create a comfortable, nonthreatening environment. She should learn as much as she can about the culture of the clients she is about to work with, so she will understand the cultural practices and values that may influence their personal health care practices. She should be sensitive to the fact that the individual or family that she is assessing may have priorities that are more important to them than their health (e.g., financial or legal problems). She should collaborate with others as appropriate, making sure to connect the client with someone who can help her.

2) Nurse Robin can empower clients by

(1) ensuring that health-promoting strategies are culturally and linguistically appropriate, to show respect toward them;

(2) understanding that women are at the shelter for only a short time, so a wide range of services should be available in one location;

(3) advocating for client needs as necessary, especially in the policymaking arena; and

(4) building on the skills that a client already possesses.

3) ANS: Examples of resources found in most communities that could assist abused and battered women include health departments, community mental health centers, the American Red Cross and other voluntary organizations, food and clothing banks, missions and shelters, nurse-managed neighborhood clinics, social service agencies such as Travelers' Aid and the Salvation Army, and church-sponsored health and social services.