Needs Assessment Assignment

The two most significant areas where Mr. B needs to be assessed are psychological and medical areas. The primary needs for Mr. B in the psychological area are an assessment of mental health problems and effective treatment plans. After being discharged from the military Mr. B. may have suffered from the stress that put him at risk of mental health problems such as depression, social isolation, and substance abuse. Readjusting to life after the military may have been challenging to Mr. B leading to his marital problems (Kraemer et al., 2019). He may have lost his sense of purpose, identity, and self-worth and finds it challenging to reassess his goals in life. What Mr. B needs for him to cope with these psychological challenges is a therapist who will assess his mental health problems and guide him through the recovery process. The therapist should be involved with his family and provide them with a wide range of resources that will help Mr. B deal with his depression. Group therapy will also be effective for his substance use problem and social isolation.

In short term, the case manager should address is Mr. B’s social isolation. Social isolation is evident since Mr. B. does not want to be romantically involved with anyone, has no other active friendships, peer groups, or acquittances and he fears he might be negatively perceived due to his HIV status. To deal with this, a case manager needs to work with Mr. B in looking at his situation, establishing goals for working to eradicate the problem, look at the strategies needed to achieve this goal, coordinate with therapists who will help him and review his service plan (Kraemer et al., 2019). In long term, the most important aspects that the case manager needs to address are Mr. B’s substance abuse and depression problems. A case manager should carefully consider the long-term needs of Mr. B by evaluating and understanding the care options available for him based on his wishes, cultural beliefs, values, and interests. Resources that will be effective for Mr. B’s long-term needs include therapy and counseling, community support groups, spiritual-based recovery groups, and family care.

Another critical area that needs to be looked into is medical. Mr. B. has reported health problems including shortness of breath and chronic cough apart from his already diagnosed HIV/AIDS. First, there is a need for medical assessments to determine the health problems exhibited by Mr. B. Chronic cough and shortness of breath can be a sign of asthma a condition that affects the lungs leading to inflammation in the airways. It can also be a symptom of other respiratory illnesses or allergies (Frankel, Gelman & Pastor, 2019). The doctor needs to evaluate his problem and provide him with effective treatment. Also, there is a need for assessment of his HIV progression and if he is taking medications correctly.

The most important aspect that a case manager should address in the short term, is Mr. B’s HIV progress. The case manager should ensure that Mr. B is taking the right medications at the right time and ensure that he has an increased knowledge concerning his health problem. The case manager can also help him maintain and access critical services, providers, and activities related to HIV besides ensuring his timely coordination of medical services. The main resources for short-term needs include enhanced continuity of care, support groups, education on HIV, and supportive counseling (Frankel, Gelman & Pastor, 2019).  In long term, a case manager needs to assess other health problems like chronic cough and shortness of breath. He should ensure that the health professionals have effectively evaluated Mr. B’s problems, provide diagnosis and treatment. The resources for long-term needs include medications for diagnosed health issues, medical reassessments, regular clinical checkups, pharmacologic therapy, and education.

References

Frankel, A.J., Gelman, S.R., & Pastor, D.K. (2019). Case Management: An Introduction to Concepts and Skills. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN-13: 978-0190858889

Kraemer, K. L., McGinnis, K. A., Fiellin, D. A., Skanderson, M., Gordon, A. J., Robbins, J., … & Korthuis, P. T. (2019). Low levels of initiation, engagement, and retention in substance use disorder treatment including pharmacotherapy among HIV-infected and uninfected veterans. Journal of substance abuse treatment, 103(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsat.2019.05.007