Communicating Health: Jane and Holly Henwood

Communicating Health: Jane and Holly Henwood
Jane and Mark head the Henwood family who live in Lowestoft. They have two children, Holly aged 12 and Thomas aged 8. Jane has been overweight much of her life and fears her daughter Holly will suffer the same fate at 12, Holly is already over weight.
Although Jane is a great mother and housewife, she hates the kitchen and cooking, preferring quick and easy options. Consequently family meal times consist mainly of ready meals and takeaways.
Away from home, things are no better. At school Holly snacks on cheesy buns, crisps, chips, chocolate and fizzy drinks. She rarely eats fruit or fresh vegetables, and skips breakfast, filling up on cola and crisps at break time instead.
Gillian is shocked by the amount of ready meals in Janes fridge, and observes that it contains no living food. She is not surprised to hear that both Jane and Holly suffer from headaches and tells them that they could be a result of dehydration caused by too many fizzy drinks, high in sugar and caffeine.
Jane and Holly are shocked when Gillian presents them with Hollys bad food table. Jane is amazed at the amount of rubbish laid out before her. Gillian tells Jane that she needs to start leading her daughter by example. Jane is shocked and upset, and blames herself for Hollys bad habits. As Gillian is particularly concerned about the amount of fizzy drink Holly drinks, Gillian shows it to them in the equivalent of sugar - a shocking 82 teaspoons, or 20 candyfloss.
Next Gillian gives Jane and Holly a holistic once-over, looking for signs of any ill effects caused by their diet. She notices slight cracks at the side of Hollys mouth and thinks this may be due to a lack of vitamin B2. When Dr Sanjiv Patel looks at the results of Hollys blood test, he confirms Gillians suspicions of a vitamin B2 deficiency.
Now the truth has hit home, Gillian is faced with the challenge of weaning the family off instant foods and sugary drinks, and on to fresh fruit, vegetables, white meat, fish and whole grains. Before beginning the new eating plan, the family visit their doctor to ensure they are all fit enough to complete the programme.
Gillian shows the Henwoods the new foods she wants them to eat. Although suitable for them all, Gillian has devised a balanced food plan with Holly in mind, full of the vitamins and minerals need by a 12-year-old. From now on breakfast will be a smoothie, lunch a healthy stuffed pitta, and dinner the likes of healthy steamed chicken and vegetables. Gillian also suggests toasted nori as new snack for Holly. The Henwoods say that it will be a big change, but they are determined to give it their best shot.
Two weeks on, and the whole family are trying to get on with the new foods. The cucumber, carrot and celery juice does not go down well but tuna salad is a hit once Gillian has made an emergency visit to show them how to make a tasty dressing.
Four weeks on and Holly and Jane are sticking to the plan. They have introduced some gentle exercise into their routine, having joined an acquacise class, and the whole family is also enjoying using the trampette at home.
After the eight weeks Gillian is overwhelmed by Jane and Hollys progress - both mum and daughter look fantastic and are brimming with pride. Holly has lost almost a stone, while Jane has lost 1 0.5 stone. Both no longer suffer from headaches and feel much more energetic. Jane has even ditched her fear of the kitchen and is starting to enjoy preparing healthy meals for the family. Gillian says she is an inspiration, and Holly declares that she will never go back to her old eating ways now she can see results. The program ended with a clip showing Jane and Holly walking on the Beach.
write an essay based on these notes, using the literature to support the discussion. You may find it helpful to structure the essay in the following five sections: (2,500 words)
1. Identify the intended goal of the interaction from the health professionals point of view.
2. Critically discuss the communication skills used by the health professional. One section should be devoted to verbal communication, including the way the HP introduces herself, the type of questions used, the use of communication skills such as listening, reflecting back, summarizing, the use of empathy.
Another section should be devoted to aspects of non-verbal communication such as facial expression, eye-contact, body language etc.
3. Discuss relevant models and methods of communication.
4. Where there are issues of distress or conflict, suggest other alternative or additional skills and strategies that might be adopted.
5. The conclusion could summarise the appropriateness and effectiveness of the approach to communication taken by the health professional.