This essay describes how some crucial happenings affect a person. A particular health and social care scenario has been used so that the role and significance of the support network can be understood. The role of the surrounding people is crucial during a turmoil situation and the introduction

In life, various events occur that have a significant impact on an individual and his way of living has been evaluated (Barker 2008). An individual needs to identify the available options that can help him to deal with a life-changing event.

The topic is an attempt to help identify the wide range of support that is available for individuals who are going through a significant life event. It has assessed the response to humans at an organizational level so that the person is supported in an effective way to sail through a difficult time. Thus the focus has been on both the internal and external environment that acts as a pivotal source of support and assistance (Ward, Lewis & Coleman 2007). A holistic picture of the situation has been given by providing suggestions that could further strengthen the health and social care system by offering the needed service. 

LO 1: Understanding how significant life events impact someone including their social networks

1.1 Effect of significant life events on individuals

As per Heim & Binder (2012), significant life events refer to some major occurrences that change a person’s situations and circumstances such as birth, death, etc. Humans experience such events throughout their life which define the direction of their life. Such events could be good or bad for an individual and they have the power to bring about behavioral change in someone. A positive event could be the marriage of a daughter, etc and a bad event could be dead in the family (Heim & Binder 2012).

The important life events that occur have an impact not just on the involved person but also on his social network. It is essential to tactfully handle the situation since it affects the social, behavioral and psychological aspects of a person. When a significant life event is negative, a person could be adversely affected by it. He could resort to some response mechanisms involving his emotional, social, cognitive aspects so that he could handle the event.

There is an impact on various social, psychological and emotional aspects of an individual due to a negative life event of immense magnitude. An affected individual might become reclusive due to a bad life event but the social aspects play a crucial role since adequate support from social networks could help him to deal with it (Cruse.org. 2013). Sometimes important psychological traits include personality, goals, and values get affected. The occurrence could have an emotional impact and he could show depression, aggression, etc.

The case “Dying and Bereavement” shows that George went through immense stress since he had to witness the loss of his mother due to bowel cancer. He was feeling guilty about several situation. The days preceding the death was very stressful and challenging for him since he did not understand how to support his dying mother and how to be there for his family. Due to the stress and lack of support in the initial stage he was getting distressed and the hospital staff was too busy to help him (Behrman & Field 2003).

1.2 Possible group responses to significant life events that occur to one of its members

When a member of a group experiences a significant life event the group response varies depending on the exact circumstance. The group includes various sections such as family, society, colleagues, etc who have some form of association with each other. During a bereavement life event, the role of associated groups is amplified since their response could provide support to the member that has experienced loss. 

The most important part of the group is the family and friends. Mostly they provide vital support to the individual so that he can handle the situation in a better way. In a grief situation, its role is most crucial. Friends also form a vital part of the family and their responses such as compassion, empathy could help the grieving individual to feel better. Society and colleagues represent the bigger group but they could offer emotional support by being there for the affected person (Tennant 2002). Thus different sections of the group respond slightly differently when a member goes through a loss but their response helps the affected individual to share his grief and rise above the situation.

In this case, when George was going through a very difficult time due to the health condition of his mother Mrs. Garry, he got support from his family including his wife and child since they let him spend sufficient time with his mother when she was lying on her deathbed. The hospital staff did not offer any help to him since they were very busy with their work to understand his mental condition. But during the time he took the wise decision and joined a particular support group of families who were experiencing similar situations. 

After his mother passed away, George had benefited from the support group and he took help from a palliative care team and visited the school where his mother previously was a teacher (Caspi et. al. 2003). This platform gave him a chance to interact with the school staff, pupils, and parents about his mother’s medical condition and treatment. Thus the role of group response is crucial during a significant life event of a member. 

1.3 Effect on health and social care when an individual experiences significant life events

There are a number of parties in health and social care that get impacted when individual experiences significant life events such as health and social care staff including caretakers, nurses, etc. Even though these people do not have a direct relationship with the individual but due to the care that they take, they form an association with him. The workers that operate in the healthcare scenario are responsible to tend to the needs of the people so they are the ones who are the most affected people (Parkes & Prigerson 2013). In certain cases the attending nurses and staff experience grief and sorrow for the loss of a patient. The longer they served the individual, the more affected they get by the loss.

When an individual experiences significant life events its impact on the people in health and social care can be observed in their emotional, social, and psychological aspects. The emotional impact includes grieving due to the loss or death. In extreme conditions, it can result in depression. The affected people in the healthcare scene reduce their interaction at the social level and this could lead to reclusion and affect their overall behavior. Due to the loss, they could experience a change in their psychological state and they could get distressed which could impact their work efficiency. Such impacts could negatively affect their work and treatment of the patients.

In the case, just before Mrs. Garry breathed her last breath, the nurse told George that it was not out of the blue and she would not make it. Instead of supporting him at the time, she passed an insensitive remark and left the room (Cruse.org. 2013). This shows that either the nurse was emotionally distant from the situation or she did not display her sad emotion.  

LO 2: Understanding of what kind of supports are available to those experiencing significant life events

2.1 Effectiveness of organizational policies and procedures in supporting individuals and their social networks affected by significant life events

Strong organizational policies, as well as procedures, play an important part in providing support and their social networks who are affected due to significant life events. There is a need for organizations to develop the most suitable policies and a supportive network that could assist individuals when they are experiencing loss or death (Boelen, van den Bout & van den Hout 2003). These mechanisms could help the entire situation and help them to handle their emotions, feelings, sorrow, stress, etc.

Based on the complexity of the situation different policies and procedures must be introduced at the organizational level so that people can get the needed support to handle the situation. There are a number of bodies that have been introduced to help people to deal with significant life events that have an adverse impact on a person.

The Bereavement Care Standards was introduced in the UK in 2001 as an initiative that would bridge the gap that is experienced by bereaved individuals in the health and social care sector (Canty 2013). The fundamental principles include confidentiality which makes the service respect the privacy of the bereaved individual. The respect element lays stress on the fact to respect the individuality of the affected person so that he can be treated compassionately. The focus on equality and diversity should make the service unbiased and non-discriminatory. The quality of the service is significant so that the best knowledge and skills would be used to improve the offering. Finally, emphasis is given to safety so that the bereaved people could be treated most ethically and safely.

In this case, George was not properly treated when he was his mother in the hospital. The nurse’s attitude was very casual when his mother was breathing her last. They also did not notice his delicate medical state and so did not provide any counseling which could support him (Caspi et. al. 2003).

2.2 Role of social networks members to provide support to individuals experiencing significant life events

When an individual is experiencing a significant life event, there are various members in social networks that can support him. These social networks members include family, friends, close associates, healthcare nurses that took an active part in the treatment process, etc.

These members form an integral part of the bereaved person’s environment and their approach could help him to come out of the situation and deal with the loss in a constructive manner. These participants offer support in form of financial assistance, emotional assistance, physical help, etc.

Since most people would be embarrassed to ask for financial help during challenging life-changing events (Canty 2013). The close members could offer financial support which could help him to perform the funeral rites properly. This form of support even though could not reduce the sorrow but it could minimize the financial constraint during difficult times.

People who suffer loss in form of the death of a family member need emotional support so that they can share their pain. The emotional support could be provided in form of guidance or counseling so he could deal with the circumstance without getting into depression (Boelen, van den Bout & van den Hout 2003). The communication model is crucial so that the message could be sent across effectively to The most common emotional assistance is in form of counseling.

Physical help could be in form of being with the affected person so that he could take time to eat, sleep and feel better. This help would make him feel at ease while dealing with the situation since he would have the physical strength and capability to tackle it.

In this case, George was able to overcome the loss of his mother since his family did not restrict him to spend quality time with her which helped him to remove his inner guilt. He also received aid from support groups so after his mother died he worked on making her wish come true (Cruse.org. 2013). With the help of a palliative care team, he visited his mother’s school where she was the teacher so that he could raise money for her requested charity.

2.3 Suitability of external sources of support for those affected by significant life events

The help of external sources of support can be taken to support those affected by significant life events if the individual is unable to deal with the circumstances. One of the biggest problems that arise due to negative significant life events is depression. While dealing with a stressful situation, only family and friends might not provide the necessary support. External support sources like counselors, consultants, or doctors can offer significant support to a bereaved person.

According to Glasby (2017), since these external supporters are thorough professionals they help the affected to deal with difficult mental impacts such as anxiety, depression, distress, etc. They perform relevant evaluations to study various conditions including mental state, physical conditions, etc so that suitable treatment can be provided to the person who has suffered some form of loss (Glasby 2017). Taking the help from external support experts helps in the complete assessment of the individual state so that all the emotional aspects, psychosocial aspects can be studied. Their exhaustive treatment model helps to offer maximum support to individuals.

In this case, George was initially stressed and did not know how to handle the situation. After he took help from a support group he was able to manage his stressful circumstances in an effective manner (Heim & Binder 2012). Then further interaction with Mrs. Garry’s colleagues, pupils helped him to come to terms with her disease and death. 

LO3: Ability to examine responses from health and social care services for providing support who are experiencing significant life events.

3.1 Possible responses from organizations for providing support to those who are experiencing a significant life event

The policies and regulations at the organizational level play a significant role to provide a solid framework that supports an individual experiencing a significant life event. The overall organizational response is crucial to help a person totally recover from a negative life event. Since life is uncertain, automatically its events are also uncertain (Heim & Binder 2012). Due to this, the organizational response concerning a significant life event is guided by certain principles including confidentiality, communication, respect, and dignity, etc.

Meyer et. al. (2006) says that organizations need to plan their services so that they address the exact needs of the people in the community. The quality of service must be reviewed regularly to ensure its effectiveness. The response must be such that it facilitates individual choice and clear information is shared about the support that is being offered to the bereaved individual (Meyer et. al. 2006). The support service must respond immediately to him either through phone or in-person so that waiting time is shortened. There is a need for a thorough assessment model so that the needs of bereaved people can be identified. Proper support and supervision activity must be conducted to ensure the safety aspects of the person.

In this case, George was able to spend time with his mother during her last stage and did not have to think of his work. This helped him to deal with the situation as and when it happened. 

3.2 Personal contributions to support individuals experiencing significant life events

My contributions to support an individual that was experiencing significant life events would include genuine concern to provide emotional and psychological assistance. Since there has been a significant life event in our distant family, the sensitivity of the situation and circumstances can be understood (Salleh 2008). There is a need to remain calm so that people in a particular situation can think logically and practically before being burdened by emotions that block their thinking ability.

The focus would be on lending emotional support so that the bereaved person could feel comfortable sharing his grief. There is a need to be with the affected person all the time so that he does not get into some kind of depression. Since I do not possess the technical skills to offer counseling, I would refrain from giving baseless advice but I would genuinely try to make the person be calm by lending a shoulder to lean on.

In the case, George’s incident shows that the hospital and its staff did not offer him any form of support nut he managed to deal with the challenging situation since he joined a support group whose members were experiencing similar emotional turmoil (Cruse.org. 2013).

3.3 Recommendations for enhancing available support in health and social care organizations for individuals and their social networks when affected by significant life events

There is scope for improvement in the current support model in the health and social care set up for the bereaved individuals and their social networks so that they can deal with the particular significant life event in a better way.

There is a need for support organizations to follow all the policies and regulations strictly so that all the fundamental principles relating to the quality of service, respect, confidentiality, and other aspects of the support service sincerely offer support to the affected party (Meyer et. al. 2006).

The staff must be given the best possible training so that they serve the people most effectively. Regular training and development programs must be conducted so that they can productively engage with patients to provide the best possible support promptly.

There is a need to adopt a family-centric approach so that the individuals and their families must be involved in the treatment and support mechanism (Glasby 2017). This model would help to focus on the exact needs, and preferences of the bereaved person. This approach would also help to minimize the burden on care and support service organizations.

The organizations need to adopt a strong assessment model so that the current state of the involved persons can be accurately assessed and they may be given a suitable kind of support to deal with the situation (Salleh 2008).

Thus by bringing about changes in all these aspects, a much better and effective support service could be offered in the health and social care domain to the affected individuals and their social networks when they are affected by some significant life event.

Conclusion

Significant life events must be handled sensitively so that the bereaved individual gets adequate support from different support networks to handle the loss. Losing a family member is one of the most difficult life events that have a severe impact on an individual. During the difficult time various support groups – family, friends, colleagues, community, etc. must come together (Parkes & Prigerson 2013). Thus there is a need for a solid support model so that the best treatment can be provided to individuals that get affected due to the nature and severity of the event.

George was able to recover from the death of this mother since he got support from his family, support group, and work-related people of Mrs. Garry. Thus the role of a support network is crucial to healing a person to handle a challenging life event.

References

Barker, P., 2008. Psychiatric and mental health nursing: the craft of caring. CRC Press.

Behrman, R.E. and Field, M.J. eds., 2003. When children die: Improving palliative and end-of-life care for children and their families. National Academies Press.

Boelen, P.A., van den Bout, J. and van den Hout, M.A., 2003. The role of negative interpretations of grief reactions in emotional problems after bereavement. Journal of behaviour therapy and experimental psychiatry, 34(3), pp.225-238.

Canty, J., 2013. Communication skills in health and social care.

Caspi, A., Sugden, K., Moffitt, T.E., Taylor, A., Craig, I.W., Harrington, H., McClay, J., Mill, J., Martin, J., Braithwaite, A. and Poulton, R., 2003. Influence of life stress on depression: moderation by a polymorphism in the 5-HTT gene. Science, 301(5631), pp.386-389.

Cruse.org. 2013. Bereavement Care Service Standards. [Online] Available at: https://www.cruse.org.uk/sites/default/files/default_images/pdf/Documents-and-fact-sheets/Bereavement_Care_Service_Standards.pdf [Accessed: 23rd July 2017]

Glasby, J., 2017. Understanding health and social care. Policy Press.

Heim, C. and Binder, E.B., 2012. Current research trends in early life stress and depression: Review of human studies on sensitive periods, gene-environment interactions, and epigenetics. Experimental neurology, 233(1), pp.102-111.

Meyer, E.C., Ritholz, M.D., Burns, J.P. and Truog, R.D., 2006. Improving the quality of end-of-life care in the pediatric intensive care unit: parents’ priorities and recommendations. Pediatrics, 117(3), pp.649-657.

Parkes, C.M. and Prigerson, H.G., 2013. Bereavement: Studies of grief in adult life. Routledge.

Salleh, M.R., 2008. Life event, stress and illness. The Malaysian journal of medical sciences: MJMS, 15(4), p.9.

Tennant, C., 2002. Life events, stress and depression: a review of recent findings. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 36(2), pp.173-182.

Ward, C., Lewis, S. and Coleman, T., 2007. Prevalence of maternal smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy and impact on birth weight: retrospective study using Millennium Cohort. BMC public health, 7(1), p.81.