Patient Profile:
“I’ve always had a problem with language. I didn’t even talk until the age of four. I’ve had to see a therapist my entire life. And even now, people don’t understand me when I speak. Growing up was very difficult. It didn’t help that I was already shy. I was so timid. I had so many complexes. And my problem just made everything worse. People didn’t include me in things. I had very few friends. All I did were solitary things: read, watch TV, look out the window. My grades suffered, and my parents were so disappointed. They wanted me to go to university and get a real job. They were Haitian. They knew poverty. And they didn’t want the same thing to happen to their kids. Now I’m working in a hotel as a cleaning lady. I feel like I’m invisible. Like nobody sees me. I’m so scared of disappearing. If it wasn’t for my family, nobody would even know I exist. It’s like I’m just dust in life. My father says I’m good for nothing. I’ve heard it so many times that I carry it inside of me. And one day it’s going to come out. Sometimes I want to scream. I want to explode. I want people to feel that I’m here.”
Based on this brief statement from the patient, what are some assumptions we can make? Here are some starting questions.
1. What is their socioeconomic background?
2. Where do you think they live?
3. Based on the type of work that they do, what kind of health concerns might they have?
What research question could we ask based on how we answered the questions above?
Places to search for more information:
1. Opposing Viewpoints - for background information
2. Newspaper Source - for background information and media representation
3. Academic Search Premier - for scholarly content (articles)
4. CINAHL - for medical/nursing perspectives
5. Ted Talks - for personal perspectives, primary sources
6. Zines - for personal perspectives, primary sources
7. Library Books, Media, and More - for books