Eating Disorders Case Study:
Eating disorders are the psychologically based behavioral syndromes, which are connected with the problematic consumption of food. Among the great number of the eating disorders there are anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Eating disorders are closely connected with psychological disorders and depend on the condition of the human psychics.
Generally, all types of eating disorders are the results of stress or depression. For example, speaking about anorexia nervosa (that the enormous decrease of the body weight, caused by poor consumption of food), the disorder is widespread among the young women who try to look slim and nice and have the image of an extremely thin girl in their heads as an idol. They try to reach the image of this model and stop eating regularly or reduce the quantity and quality of food products considerably.
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As a result, the body weight is lost and very seldom the process of further loss of weight can be stopped. Naturally, such a person dies very soon. Bulimia nervosa is also connected with the constant care about the body weight, but the result is opposite to anorexia nervosa because the patient eats heavily trying to make the body weight ‘regular’. Binge eating disorder is the most widespread eating disorder and is characterized with heavy eating caused by depression.
Being under the effect of stress (the lost of a close person, divorce, loss of job or money, etc) the patient tries to fill the psychological emptiness inside with food. The people who are predisposed to obesity can become the victims of binge eating disorder after the experience of strong stress.
An eating disorder is a big problem which should be cured; otherwise, the person can ruin her health and die. Both loss and gaining of body weight are harmful to the organism and a great number of the related diseases and disorders appear on their basis. In order to cope with eating disorders case study successfully, a student should increase his knowledge on the topic and become an expert in it. Only then it will be easy for him to analyze the suggested case successfully. a student should learn as much as possible about the problem of the case, its cause and effect and provide the professor with the effective solutions to the problem of the suggested eating disorders.
With the high-quality writing assistance found on the Internet, one will be able to create a good case study himself. A good example case study on eating disorders in the web is one of the best helpers with writing because such papers are written by the professionals in this field. Having read a free sample case study on eating disorders a student learns about formatting, analysis, and organization of the paper.
SAMPLE CASE STUDY:
Scharer, K. (1999). “Case study: eating disorder in a 10-year-old girl.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 12(2): 79-86.
Introduction
The article describes the case of Lisa, a 10-year-old girl from a mixed Caucasian and Native American background who is suspected to have an eating disorder. Lisa is an excellent student raised by her mother who works as an evening nurse. When the mother is not at home, Lisa is taken care of by a neighbor. Her fourth-grade teacher noticed that she lost a lot of weight over a short period of time, started falling asleep in class, reduced contact with female peers, and her grades slipped slightly.
Method
The research method used in the article is a case study, i.e. “a form of qualitative descriptive research that is used to look at individuals, a small group of participants, or a group as a whole” (Colorado State University, 2009, “Case Studies”). In nursing research, a case study is an in-depth discussion of a specific nursing care problem and subsequent intervention. It is preceded by case discussion, or a review of literature relevant to the case, which is a way to “enhance the depth of the analysis and lend a theoretical spin to the clinical intervention” (Scharer, 1999, p. 79). The use of such method is effective and appropriate in some situations, for example, if a case is so special it cannot be meaningfully grouped with other for the purposes of statistical analysis or if a close look at the situation is needed to consider all the relevant factors.
Results
Theoretical discussion focuses on the following issues: definition of eating disorders, criteria for their diagnosis, difference between bulimia and anorexia nervosa, etiology of diseases (psychological factors such as self-punishment or striving for self-control; biological factors such as genetics and neuroendocrine and metabolic abnormalities; cultural factors; family factors), and relationship to other psychiatric disorders.
Discussion
The article suggests that in case of Lisa, other diseases that might lead to weight loss – such as AIDS, Crohn’s, or cancer – should be ruled out first. Then, a meeting should be arranged between Lisa’s mother and her teacher to discuss the issue; ideally, a nurse should be available during the meeting. Talking to the neighbor who takes care of Lisa is necessary to ascertain there is no abuse and control Lisa’s consumption of food at dinner.
Meta-analysis is a way to combine the results of several studies which test the same or very similar hypothesis. The aim of meta-analysis is to overcome the research limitation posed by small sample sizes. However, most studies use their own variables and criteria for measuring certain phenomena. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to find a common denominator that can be consistently compared across studies. There are special software packages for meta-analysis.
The article “Meta-Analysis: Acupuncture for Low Back Pain” compares the results of 33 randomized, controlled trials comparing needle acupuncture with sham acupuncture, other sham treatments, no additional treatment, or another treatment for low back pain. Studies were subgrouped according to acute or chronic pain, style of acupuncture, and type of control group used. By measuring the standardized mean difference, it was concluded that “acupuncture is more effective than sham acupuncture and no additional treatment for providing short-term relief of chronic low back pain” (Manheimer et al., 2005, p. 661). Its effectiveness, however, could be ascertained only in the short-term.
The two main limitation of the study is that trials differ a lot in term of quantity and quality and that sham needles may unintentionally cause a physiologic response and therefore sham acupuncture, which is considered the most rigorous control, can some analgesic effects. Data for patients with acute low back pain was inconclusive. These findings are in line with some extent research yet in contradiction with studies which argue acupuncture is not effective.
Bibliography
Colorado State University. (2009). “Writing@CSU.” Retrieved December 4, 2009, from http://writing.colostate.edu/index.cfm
Manheimer, E., White, A., Berman, B., Forys, K. and Ernst, E. (2005). “Meta-Analysis: Acupuncture for Low Back Pain.” Annals of Internal Medicine, 142(8): 651 – 663.
Scharer, K. (1999). “Case study: eating disorder in a 10-year-old girl.” Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 12(2): 79-86.
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