Category: Home

Introduction

Home care is a phenomenon that is fast gaining popularity in the health care sector. The main focus is usually to provide health care services to the aging population of clients who do not want to be hospitalized and prefer to recuperate from the comfort of their homes with a limited number of visits to the hospital.

Literature Review

Various people had written on the topic of health care addressing different issues. This section looks at what has been said by others about health care system in Canada.

Soroka (2007) did a research to establish how the Canadian people felt about their health care system after the recommendations that were made by Romanows Commission. In the end, it turned out that Canadians had varying thoughts about their health care system. Although the system is acceptable by a good percentage of the Canadian people, the research points out that some Canadians are totally unhappy with the health care system and would like to see changes (Soroka, 2007).

Botz, Bestard, Demaray and Molloy (1993), did a study to evaluate Resource Utilization Group (RUG) as a uniform way of categorizing different types of patients; residential, chronic care and rehabilitation patients at St. Josephs Health Center in Ontario and other places (Botz et. al, 1993). They also needed to make a comparison of the funding requirements for RUGs against other two classifications; Alberta Long Term Care Classification System and the Medicus Long Term Care System (Botz et. al, 1993).

Their study revealed a considerable difference in resource requirements among the three categories of clients with each of one having a bias towards a particular group of patients. Unlike the other two classifications, RUGs turned out to be inclined more towards the moderately severe type of medical conditions.

Masotti, McColl and Green (2010) did a study to help provide a better understanding of the adverse events associated with home care services. They managed to come up with eight different categories of adverse events that home care patients are subjected to. Their study also revealed that very few interventions existed to address home care patients problems and hence saw a need to create awareness through education.

They suggested that assessments improve and an aspect of monitoring and recording should be incorporated while considering home care services. They discovered a lack of understanding of what adverse events in home care are and recommended that clear definitions should be provided. Another suggestion was to come up with interventions that will help reduce the difficulties faced by patients being attended to under home care programs (Masotti, McColl & Green, 2010).

Although so much has been recorded and is known on the subject of patient safety in hospitals, very little has been documented regarding similar situations faced by patients receiving health care at home. This was identified by Doran, Hirdes, Poss, Jantzi, Blais, Baker & Pickard (2009) in their research.

A key focus of their study was to establish the safety requirements of home care patients in Canada and to discover how age and patient safety contribute to variations in adverse outcomes with a focus on emergency room visits (Doran et. al, 2009). Their study brought to the fore a need to change the health system policy as well as behaviour change among both health care givers and patients. A suggestion is made to develop policies that reinforce the need for best practices to mitigate client risk (Doran et. al, 2009).

Romanows Commission: Report Summary

The Romanow Commission was formed to evaluate Canadas health care system and come up with suggestions to make the system more sustainable. On completion of its work, the commission made 47 recommendations touching on various health care issues. In a study done by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, CUPE (2002), Romanows report is considered very critical to the advancement of Canadas health care system.

Romanow and his team made it clear that a publicly funded health care system should be sustained. This is a view shared by many other Canadians. The commission also noted that the health care system can be split into two broad categories; direct health care and secondary support services. Their recommendation was that direct patient care should be provided by public health care givers while auxiliary services can be sub-contracted (CUPE, 2002).

To ensure that private clinics offered services according to set standards, the team recommended that all diagnostic services should be made part of Canadas Health Act (CHA). However, when it comes to long term and chronic care, the commission makes no recommendations at all. According to experts, this is a serious oversight in the commissions report (CUPE, 2002). Another recommendation by the commission is to include the diagnosis and subsequent treatment of workers in the CHA.

Previously, this group of people had to seek treatment in private clinics. Some questions, however, arise regarding funding and what happens to employers who fail to comply with requirements as stated. Other recommendations as indicated by CUPE (2002) include; coming up with a new way of holding the CHA accountable, expanding CHA coverage to include home care and integrating Canada Health Transfer as part of CHA.

Another key recommendation of the report is to establish Health Council of Canada to be charged with the responsibility of gathering critical data and among other things, evaluate the performance of the health care system in Canada. This is seen by many as one of the most important foundations for effective restructuring of Canadas health care system. As far as home care is concerned, the Commissions proposal is to incorporate home care into Canadas Health Act (CUPE, 2002).

There are, however, certain aspects of the home care program that have been left out. Other recommendations have also been made in the area of drugs prescription so as to regulate prices and ensure that health care providers do not take advantage of patients. To ensure a smooth flow of information, the commission suggests that an electronic health records system be set up.

The Commissions report also identified a number of health issues faced by the Aborigines. One of the recommendations was to consolidate health funding for Aborigines into one single pool while the other one was to create Aboriginal Health Partnerships to work on improving health care services for the Aboriginal Canadians. According to CUPE (2002), more funding should be set aside for the Aborigines health care requirements.

Romanows commission further recommended that employment insurance programs be given the onus to manage caregivers needs to take leave. A general feeling though, is that the report did not make recommendations that favor women.

Outcome of the Accord on Health Care Renewal: Summary

Following the meeting by the First Ministers, several directives were issued to be implemented by Health Ministers. Specifically, the health ministers were required to address issues of patient safety, human resources in the health sector, use of technology, health of Canadians, innovation and research.

The First Ministers also came to a realization that problems faced by the Aboriginal Canadians demanded greater efforts and the government had to collaborate with other stakeholders to provide the necessary support. Regarding home care services, health ministers were given a task to establish the requisite minimum health care services (Health Canada, 2003).

First Ministers Meeting on the Future of Health in Canada

Considering the fact that hospitals are understaffed, and that there are fewer beds at hospitals than are required, home care services are certainly a welcome solution. Proper implementation of home care will lead to huge reductions in medical expenses. During this particular meeting, the First Ministers resolved to support some home care services as identified based on a needs analysis. These include; short-term acute home care, short-term acute community health home care and end-of-life care (Health Canada, 2004).

The Accords and Romanow Recommendations

The two accords have given a critical look at most recommendations made by Romanows commission. There is, however, an indication that Romanows recommendations were surpassed to some degree. The 2003 accord for example gives performance indicators to gauge the work done by health care providers (Health Canada, 2003).

In line with Romanows recommendations, both accords have looked at and given importance to the integration of home care into Canadas Health Act (Health Canada, 2003). They both made resolutions to expand funding to cater for certain home care demands but based on a needs analysis done (Health Canada, 2004).

Health care requirements of the Aboriginal Canadians was also considered in the 2003 accord and just as seen in Romanows recommendations, more funding was to be allocated to this area (Health Canada, 2003).

The 2004 accord also took time to reinforce the aspect of accountability as pointed out by Romanows Commission (Health Canada, 2004). Unlike in Romanows case where recommendations are made to extend the cover of employees to be incorporated into CHA, the plight of employees has been overlooked and is not addressed in any of the accords.

Ontario after Romanows Commission Report

A number of things have happened in Ontario as a result of the work done by Romanows Commission. Canadians have had different views on their health system following the recommendation of the commission and the accords. In his work, Soroka (2007) provides an analysis of opinions that have been aired by several people. The study indicates that Canadian people are very much concerned about their health care system.

In general, the health care system has received a good rating. However, the study also points out the fact that a good percentage of the population is yet to be convinced about the sustainability of Canadas health care system. Many are unsatisfied and certainly would like to see a change. The research also shows that support for home care services has gone up and many people now want to see more funding in that direction.

Romanows Commission: Success or Failure

Soroka (2007) established that the health care system is not appealing to all Canadians. There is an unhappy lot who want to see nothing but change. At the same time, there are those who are happy with what the government is doing to transform the health care system and hail their efforts.

A study by Health Canada (2004) shows that the federal government is highly committed to investing in the health care industry so as to ensure sustainability of the health care system. Growth is support for the home care services has also been realized as a result of the recommendations made by Romanows team (Soroka, 2007). To a great extent therefore, the recommendations by Romanows Commission have inspired improvements to Canadas health care system.

Conclusion

Based on the above discussion, so much good has been seen coming from the work of Romanows Commission. There is, however, a need to perform even better. Provision of home care services is now a priority for the government unlike in the past. With renewed energy, the federal government is now more positive about working towards ensuring that a reliable health care system is in place to meet the needs of its people.

References

Botz, C.K., Bestard, S., Demaray, M, Molloy, G. (1993). Resource Utilization Groups (RUGS): Defining Chronic Care, Rehabilitation and Nursing Home Case Mix in Canada. Healthcare Management Forum, winter, 6 (4), p. 5-11. Web.

Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE). (2002). The Report of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada (The Romanow Commission): A Summary and Assessment. Web.

Doran, D. M., Hirdes, J., Poss, J., Jantzi, M., Blais, R., Baker, G. R. & Pickard, J. (2009). Identification of Safety Outcomes for Canadian Home Care Clients: Evidence from the Resident Assessment Instrument  Home Care reporting system concerning emergency room visits. Healthcare Quarterly, Vol.12.

Health Canada. (2003). 2003 First Ministers Accord on Health Care Renewal. Web.

Health Canada. (2004). First Ministers Meeting on the Future of Health Care 2004. Web.

Masotti, P., McColl, M. A. & Green, M. (2010). Adverse Events Experienced by Homecare Patients: A Scoping Review of the Literature. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 22 (2):115-125.

Soroka, S. N. (2007). A report to the Health Council of Canada: Canadian Perceptions of the Health Care System. Web.

Problem Description

With 2.8% of children in the United States being homeschooled (Number of homeschoolers in US 2015-2016, 2016), the choice between a public school and home studies still remains an issue. Although homeschooling incorporates a range of positive features, such as the possibility to create a unique program addressing the learners needs, the lack of distraction, etc., homeschooling has a range of effects that can be viewed as negative through the lens of nursing. The lack of agreement on the subject matter requires that a solution should be suggested.

Dilemma

From the perspective of nursing, homeschooling is a rather ambiguous issue. On the one hand, the environment in question prevents instances of bullying, which remains a prime concern for school psychologists in the U.S. (Rolstad & Kesson, 2013). Moreover, homeschooling creates premises for a child to bond with the parents, who are most likely to be involved in the learning process directly, being either mentors or the learners support. Therefore, the student is likely to develop strong positive academic qualities that may prompt the further process of metacognition and lifelong learning (Kaplan, Silver, & LaVaque-Manty, 2013). On the other hand, homeschooling blocks the process of interpersonal communication between a child and their peers. As a result, a homeschooled student is likely to suffer from a lack of social skills in the future. Therefore, when facing the need to confront a specific conflict in a hostile environment, a learner is likely to fail to develop the required problem-solving patterns and communication skills.

Ethics

Much to the credit of both sides, one must admit that the proponents of homeschooling and the supporters of the traditional teaching approach act on behalf of the child and in the latters interests (Walker, 2014). In other words, the people supporting homeschooling and those against it adopt the principles of utilitarianism. Traditionally defined as the philosophy based on the evaluation of the possible consequences, the specified approach requires that both sides should weigh each others arguments with due diligence.

Resolution

To address the issue under analysis, one must consider what is in the childs best interests at present. There is no need to stress that homeschooling can be viewed as an option for children suffering from health issues that do not allow them to attend public schools. In the specified scenario, the choice of the alternate option is the only possible decision to make. In case the student is psychologically fit, though, one must consider the option of letting the learner attend the traditional school due to the need to socialize.

Thus, the environment that involves a combination of the factors that will help learners develop both academic and social skills has to be created. The cognitive process must be followed by the process of socializing with peers. Moreover, the students must be provided with an opportunity to resolve the emergent conflicts independently.

ANA

The solution provided above aligns with the foundations of the nursing ethics. Particularly, it complies with the ANA Code of Ethics, which says that it is the nurses duty to in the best interest of their patient (Lyons, 2013, par. 12). Once applied to practice, the strategy is bound to affect the quality of the learning process. Therefore, it is imperative to consider shaping the current approach toward public education so that students should feel comfortable in the educational setting.

Reference List

Kaplan, M., Silver, N., & LaVaque-Manty, D. D. (2013). Using reflection and metacognition to improve student learning: Across the disciplines, across the academy. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Lyons, J. A. (2013). Code of ethics for nurses. Web.

Number of homeschoolers in US 2015-2016. (2016).

Rolstad, K., & Kesson, K., (2013). Unschooling, then and now. Journal of Unschooling and Alternative Learning, 7(14), 2871.

Walker, B. J. (2014). Ethics and the autonomy of philosophy: Breaking ties with traditional Christian praxis and theory. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers.

Ireland is among the nations that have a rapidly growing aging population as people live longer today. While walking down the streets in main cities of the country one can easily notice more elderly people in comparison with previous times. When the number of older people increases in an area, it brings challenges to the nursing homes, as there is a rise in demand for quality care. Working in nursing homes has its opportunities and challenges; therefore, the paper will cover the multidisciplinary teams working scenario, their interaction and diversity, communication in client care, and support accorded to clients considering their family, culture, and diversity.

Events and Interactions with Members of the Multidisciplinary Team

A multidisciplinary team (MDT) comprises a group of health care personnel belonging to different disciplines such as psychiatric nurses, social workers, psychiatrists, and occupational therapists, among many others. Each team member provides particular services to the patient, and they independently intervene in numerous issues a client may have (Health Service Executive, 2020). The teams actions are usually brought together using a care plan that coordinates services accorded to nursing home residents. In some instances, a patient has a key worker who manages all their needs and contacts.

Professionals from multidisciplinary teamwork in different areas of expertise combine their knowledge sets necessary to confront challenging and complex conditions. This team frequently meets to deliberate their work, so each patient has a befitting care plan according to their requirements. Some of the duties and roles performed by MDT include:

• A social worker who offers support to patients by providing talking therapies
• A psychiatrist who prescribes medication and examines physical illness
• Psychiatric Nurse (PMHN), who administers drugs, monitors medication and examines challenges.
• An occupational therapist whose main task is to formulate rehabilitation plans both for group or individual patients.

Review of the Interaction in Respecting Diversity and Individuality of Coworkers

Workplace diversity has become increasingly essential in the Ireland health care settings. As the nursing and other health workforce and demographics change, it is significant for the nursing home administrators to influence and understand personnel with multiple values. Globalization provides more cultural diversity between clients and staff in aged care settings, with a substantial number being born overseas. It is not only the nursing home residents who outline multiculturalism but even their employees due to inward and outward doctors and nurses migration (Wals, Matthews and Brugh, 2018). The experience calls for tolerance among different cultures.

Linguistic and cultural interaction between residents and home employees are viewed as enabling the building of relationships and a favorable working environment. Increased diversity in the nursing home workers has some implications for the facilities managers concerning managing the diversity and harnessing its opportunities. Furthermore, divergent employees may act differently as a result of their cultural beliefs.

Arising Conflicts and Challenges

Cultural, demographics, education, language, generation differences, race, and gender increase challenges and conflicts within nursing home teams. Some conflicts occur due to decreased job satisfaction and burnout among staff, which leads to misinterpretations, and misunderstanding linked to generational and cultural variances. In performing daily duties in a nursing home, people with different professional and personal backgrounds will mostly have diverse opinions on best care functioning. Misunderstanding, particularly in busy health, will always occur, adding stress inherent between professionals in their working stations (Trusted, 2019). In some instances, issues will just arise, while in other moments, it results from accumulated tensions.

Since disharmony and conflicts are not inevitable in the working place, the best strategies to de-escalate and deal with conflict situations include: being respectful to the coworkers and residents in the facility, staying in ones lane whereby the main role is helping clients, and honoring other peoples decision, being approachable and friendly to build relationships with clients and other team members, communicating openly, and assuming the best from coworkers.

Importance of Communication in Client Care

In most nursing homes, clients suffer from complicated conditions, including dementia, which makes proper communication in advance care planning (ACP) important. The key purpose of effecting ACP intervention and communication among facility workers, family, and patients is to allow the facilitys smooth running (Aasmul et al., 2018). A facility with robust communication strategies enriches their clients health and ensures the workflow and deliberations are smooth.

Health care institutions and personnel have a duty of revamping their communication policies for the best patient outcome. It is noteworthy that poor communication is responsible for several patients morbidity and mortality as important interventions are not communicated. Furthermore, malpractice resulting from ineffective communication costs billions of Euros in Ireland, which is detrimental for facilities, patients, and employees. The main focus of adequate communication in a nursing home is to improve patient safety; therefore, effective communication channels are paramount.

Supporting the Client Needs by Considering their Cultural, Family, and Individual Aspects

The number of culturally and ethnically diverse groups in Ireland is growing, and each has different cultural traits. Moreover, some ethnic groups show some unique health problems specific to them. From triage to discharge, health workers spend considerable time with a client, which calls for cultural competencies in the care. Courts in Ireland have recognized advance healthcare directives, thereby establishing that an individual with capacity has a constitutional right to refuse treatment (NMBI, 2021). As a worker in a nursing home, one needs to:

• Respect every individual as a unique person
• The dignity of every phase in life should be maintained and respected
• Support clients who are in end-of-life care to dying in dignity while taking into account the family cultural values and norms
• There should be promotion and protection of the patients autonomy: respecting their choices, beliefs, priorities, and values
• The decisions to decline treatment or care should open up further debate and be appreciated in contexts of an individuals capacity.

Reflection on Professional and Personal Performance, Strengths, and Weaknesses

On the professional front, there is a need of possessing all the necessary education and skills needed to work as a social worker in a nursing home. Moreover, having a good communication skills and the capability to embrace people of all ages, gender, race, and ethnic group is essential. My strengths include being flexible while working in a dynamic organization and am a team player. On the other hand, my weakness is that I have too much compassion and empathy while assisting aged people nearing their end-of-life, to the extent of breaking down due to their plight. Working in a nursing home is also fulfilling, as it offers an opportunity to serve communities, especially the most vulnerable in society. When treated in dignity, order people feel respected, and they cooperate better.

Reference list

Aasmul, et al. (2018). Advance care planning in nursing homes  improving the communication among patient, family, and staff: Results from a cluster randomized controlled trial (COSMOS). Frontiers in Psychology, 9.

Health Service Executive (HSE), 2020. Multi-disciplinary team  HSE.ie. [online] HSE.ie. Web.

Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland (NMBI).NMBI, 2021. NMBI  The Code  Principle 1: Respect & dignity. [online] Nmbi.ie. Web.

Trusted, 2019. Conflict in Nursing: types, strategies, and resolutions  Trusted Health. [online] Trustedhealth.com. Web.

Wals, A., Matthews, A. and Brugh, R., 2018. From brain drain to brain gain: Irelands nursing and midwifery workforce. [online] Healthworkforceireland.com. Web.

Introduction

• HHHA provides home-based medical care.
• Targets adults and the aged in New Mexico and Arizona.
• Aims to restore health and reduce adverse effects.
• Services include Tele-health, go steady, speech therapy etc. Marketed through advertisement.
• Services are provided occasionally and continuously.
• Comprised of highly skilled registered practitioners (Heritage Home Healthcare and Hospice, 2013).

Heritage Home Healthcare Agency provides home based care to adults and the aged people in New Mexico and Arizona with the aim of restoring and reducing the adverse effects of diseases or disabilities. It offers services such as tele-health, go steady, speech therapy, physical therapy which is marketed through advertisement.

Strategic Plan

Help the organization meet its objectives:

• To improve the quality of its services.
• To expand its market share.
• To improve the productivity of its employees.
• To reduce the cost of its services.
• To achieve the organizations financial stability.

The strategic plan of an organization is of vital significance in meeting its objectives. The HHHA strategic plan serves to improve service quality, employee productivity, expand market share, reduce service cost and to maintain its financial stability.

Vision

• To be the leading regional provider of quality home health services, recognized for uncompromising dedication to the provision of comprehensive, professional, and compassionate care (Heritage Home Healthcare and Hospice, 2013).
• Describes desired future of the organization.
• Describes community expectation of the organization.
• Specifies organizations long term objectives.
• Inspires staff and community support to the organization.

The vision of an organization helps in formulating and implementing its strategic plan. This is because it specifies the long term objectives and the desired future of the organization. Additionally, it specifies the expectation of the community as well as inspires the community to support the organization.

Mission

• To be creative, innovative, and a trendsetter in health care delivery, offering challenging and dynamic employment opportunities, encouraging and supporting the talents and energies of our staff and managing the company in a profitable manner (Heritage Home Healthcare and Hospice, 2013, p. 1).
• Describes the purpose of an organization.
• Indicates organizations stand to achieve its mandate.
• Indicates organizations current operations in its mandate.
• Specifies organizations activities necessary to achieve its vision.

Likewise the vision, the organizations mission is instrumental in coming up with its strategic plan. The HHHA mission elaborates organizations purpose, current operations and activities as well as its stand in achieving its mandate and vision.

Values

• Core values: creativity, excellence, integrity, and respect
• Describes organizations core ideology in its operations.
• Guides execution process of the organizations mission.
• Guides the organizations operational culture.

Core values of an organization are another relevant factor in creating the strategic plan. HHHA core values are creativity, excellence, integrity and respect. This helps to describe its operations ideology, guide the execution of its mission process and its operational culture at large.

Environmental scanning

• Strengths:
  • Professionally skilled registered nurses.
  • Effective human resource management.
  • Effective information and communication technology.
  • Cost-effective and high quality services.
• Opportunities:
  • Developed technology and ICT systems.
• Threat:
  • Competition from other home based health care providers.

Furthermore, environment scanning can not be ignored in creating an organizations strategic plan. It stipulates the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of an organization. HHHA boosts of a professionally skilled workforce, effective human resource and ICT system, and quality and cost-effective services. The developed technology and ICT system opens its doors to expansion. Besides this, there is high competition in home-based care provision.

Strategy Plan Setting

• Developed using alignment and Kotters 8-step change models (Sadler, 2003, p. 78).
• Creating an agency for change.
• Developing a vision for change.
• Communicating the vision to members of the organization.
• Eliminating obstacles and creating short-term wins.
• Building on the change and incorporating the change in the organizational culture (Hill & Jones, 2009).

This slide elaborates the setting of HHHA strategic plan. The plan is developed using two models; alignment and Kotters 8-step change models. This aims to create an agency for change; develop a vision and communicate it to members; eliminate obstacles by creating short-term wins; and building on the change as well as incorporating it in HHHA.

Budget

• Considerations:
  • Increase in the number of customers.
  • Changes in the regulatory charges.
  • The cost regime of the organization.
• Elements:
  • Revenues sources mainly from services fees.
  • Cost inherent for staff salaries.
  • Miscellaneous and contingencies (Hansen, Mowen & Guan, 2007).

Budget is usually crucial in the strategic planning of an organization. The considerations which HHHA makes its budget planning is about the increase in customers, changes in regulatory charges and its cost regime. Moreover, the budget elements are also considered, that is, the revenue sources, staff salaries and the miscellaneous.

Feedback

• The quality of products and services.
• The billing for the services per visit.
• The qualification of its staff.
• Provision and monitoring of services.
• Number of visitations.
• The outcome of the care provided.

Finally, customer feedback is essential in strategic planning. The HHHA feedback is based on the quality of its services, billing of its services, qualification of its staff, provision, monitoring and delivery of its services, and ultimately its outcome.

Conclusion

• Strategic planning is of vital importance.
• It aligns the organizations objectives to its vision and mission.
• HHHA extensively relied on strategic planning.

References

Hansen, D. Mowen, M. & Guan, L. (2007). Cost Management: Accounting & Control. New York: South-Western Pub.

Heritage Home Healthcare and Hospice. (2013). About Us. Web.

Hill, C. & Jones, G. (2009). Strategic Management Theory: An Integrated Approach. Florence, KY: Cengage Learning.

Sadler, P. (2003). Strategic Management. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Introduction

The process of controlling the intake of the required medications is especially challenging in outpatients. For numerous reasons, ranging from memory issues to the failure to understand the importance of regular medication intake multiple patients fail to adhere to the prescribed framework (Amico et al., 2018). Therefore, tools for monitoring compliance with the established and prescribed standards for drug use must be introduced. Among the frameworks that provide the best patient outcomes, one must mention the Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS). Due to the extensive understanding of psychological and physiological factors that shape patients ability and willingness to comply with the prescribed standards for medicine intake, MEMS should be incorporated into most clinical and nursing contexts to establish tighter control over the patients ability to meet the provided health management guidelines, thus, promoting self-care habits among the target audiences.

Mems and Key Factors

The concept of MEMS is fairly simple since it implies the presence of a cap on medication packages, which records the amount and time of medicine intake (Gast & Mathes, 2019). When dissecting the effectiveness of MEMS, one must examine how the data that MEMS collects and analyzes is defined by the presence of psychological and physiological factors. Thus, the mechanism of MEMS functioning becomes explicitly evident, and its ability to capture the psychological and physiological characteristics in question to produce the expected results turns apparent. To evaluate MEMS capacities and the extent of its efficacy with the target demographic, namely, outpatients with medicine intake issues, one must study both physiological and psychological drivers of the tools performance, as well as their connection to the relevant concepts and theories. For this purpose, the Health Belief Theory and the Medication Adherence Model have been used as the core theoretical foundations for the analysis (Amico et al., 2018).

Psychological Factors: Personal Beliefs

When examining the physiological factors that define the performance of MEMS, one must mention personal beliefs about medicine. Despite the active emphasis on the tremendous role that health literacy plays in the management of public health issues, multiple health-related myths, as well as the lack of essential health-related issues, persist in modern society (Gast & Mathes, 2019). Particularly, the ability to recognize the importance of proper medication dosage and align with the prescriptions appears to be a problem among a range of outpatients (Gast & Mathes, 2019). In turn, the MEMS system allows for mitigating the threat of a patient mismanaging the prescribed instructions by introducing a mechanism preventing a patient from consuming an unreasonably large amount of medication of using it excessively frequently. Remarkably, the absence of a mechanism that encourages a patient to take medications in case a patient rejects them represents a major flaw of the MEMS tool. Nevertheless, the designed approach still sheds important information on the number of attempts of drug misuse in patients, supplying the relevant information to nursing experts and, therefore, defining the further course of therapy and patient education.

Psychological Factors: Mental Health

The presence of mental health issues exacerbated by the presence of a severe health condition for which the medication is prescribed serves as another psychological factor that may encourage a patient to break the rules for consuming a specific medication. Specifically, studies have indicated that anxiety as a major mental health issue often encourages a patient to neglect the prescriptions regarding the dosage of medicine and consume the drug too frequently or in too large an amount (Gast & Mathes, 2019). The specified factor is also integrated into the MEMS system, which, while being quite simple, introduces rather accurate information concerning the number of attempts made by the patient to increase the dosage of the drug or the frequency of its use.

Psychological Factors: PTSD

Another issue related directly to a patients mental health, the presence of PTSD and the related issues that may impede the development of the necessary habits must be mentioned as one of the major drivers in the collection of the data in the MEMS tool. Namely, when being affected by the presence of PTSD, a patient is likely to develop anxiety-related issues that will encourage the misuse of medications. In turn, the MEMS design and framework allow controlling the specified issues, therefore, contributing to the patients well-being. As a result, the data collected by MEMS illustrates the number of instances when a patient attempted at using an overly large amount of the medicine or tried to increase the frequency of the drug consumption.

Depression

The phenomenon of depression also constitutes an important psychological concern that is likely to affect the accuracy of data collection with the help of MEMS. Namely, the increase in vital signs coupled with the increased intake of medications and the rise in the frequency of their use will cloud the data, therefore, delivering unsatisfactory results. For this reason, the necessity to address mental health issues along with the application of MEMS to the management of relevant health concerns must be viewed as necessary. With the help of the specified change, the opportunity to receive more accurate data or to analyze it more precisely based on the changes in a patients depression levels will rise exponentially.

Motivation

However, not all psychological factors taken into account when designing MEMS are conducive to the misuse of medications. In addition to the issues listed above, psychological factors such as the presence of responsibility and the willingness to overcome the barriers to the patients well-being should be mentioned as the primary drivers in the data collection facilitated by MEMS. Namely, the tool design informs the healthcare provider regarding the number of cases when a patient opened a bottle, as well as the frequency of the specified action. Consequently, the willingness to adhere to the prescribed schedule and, therefore, to follow the path to recovery informs the process of data collection, thus, providing a nurse with critical information about positive changes in the patients habits.

Finally, the data collected by the MEMS tool is heavily influenced by psychological factors such as the effects of the psychological therapy that a patient may be undergoing. Having been exposed to specific experiences that can be described as strenuous or mentally and emotionally exhausting, a patient may experience the desire to increase the dosage of the medication or the frequency of its intake. In turn, the MEMS tool allows signaling about the instances in question, therefore, providing a nurse with the illustration of a behavior pattern displayed by the patient. As a result, essential changes in the approach to therapy, as well as modifications to the existing framework of patient-nurse and patient-therapist communication can be applied. Therefore, the data collected with the help of MEMS is largely determined by the specified factor.

Physiological Factors: Physical Impairments

In addition to psychological factors shaping the process of data collection and, thus, providing the nurse with the required information, physiological contributors to the process of gathering patient-related information must be considered. Specifically, the presence of physical disorders that prevent patients from taking the actions necessary to consume the required amount of medicine needs to be taken into consideration. Factors such as the patients physical inability to open the pill box are most likely to affect the outcomes of data collection, therefore, shaping the process of the analysis and informing a nurse about the physical constraints that impede the administering of medicine. Therefore, understanding the physiological contributors to the data collection process, particularly, the threats of obtaining correct information needed for the further management of outpatients health, is nonetheless important and must be assessed accordingly.

Physical Strength

Similarly, the presence of excessive physical strength may influence the process of data collection. Specifically, in case a patient possesses the amount of physical strength needed to break the MEMS device installed on the medication box cap, the data collected in the process will complicate the analysis, while also establishing that the patient lacks the awareness required for using the medicine in question properly. Therefore, while the MEMS device as the tool for administering medicine to outpatients in their home setting is not perfect and could be prone to specific impacts, particularly, physical ones, it can also supply vital data concerning how a patient utilizes the device and consumes the medicine.

Mobility

The presence of musculoskeletal issues, namely, related disorders, also represents the main driver in data collection in MEMS. Specifically, the study by Hope et al. (2016) concludes that disorders such as inflammatory arthritis, which determine a patients inability to move and, therefore, perform carefully coordinated movements such as opening a box of medication, represent a major obstacle to administering the required drugs at home. In turn, the MEMS device allows capturing the specified data by collecting the information regarding the extent of force that a patient has applied to open the box, the number of times that the specified action was attempted, the frequency of the action, and the number of instances in which it was successful. Therefore, the collection of data that MEMS helps supply will be significantly affected by the presence of musculoskeletal issues in patients.

Comorbidities

Furthermore, the presence of previously unknown comorbidities and side effects that may arise after the medication intake may prevent the collection of accurate data with the help of the MEMS system since the specified factor is likely to cause the patient to fail to adhere to the prescribed dosage and frequency of the medicine consumption. In turn, the specified effect is likely to skew the outcomes of data collection performed by MEMS, which will suggest that the tool in question will not serve its function properly. Therefore, it is vital to introduce the tests required to identify the presence of negative responses toward a specific medication in a patient carefully to void scenarios in which a combination of severe side effects combined with possible mental health issues prevents an outpatient from reporting the issue of taking medication.

Vital Signs

The opportunity to monitor the physiological factors such as heart rate and respiration also serves to shape the process of data collection as the specified factors determine the accuracy of the data collection process and, therefore, inform the further management of the patients case for a nurse or a healthcare provider. While some MEMS gadgets do not provide the function of BP or heart rate monitoring, a range of the specified devices offers the described option as well (Gast & Mathes, 2019). Therefore, the data collection process facilitated by MEMS is determined significantly by the extent of the patients BP rates and the related parameters, including the extent of the patients respiration. Indeed, when having an increased aspiration rate or a significant drop in blood pressure, a patient is likely to have significant challenges opening the cap of a medication bottle. Similarly, MEMS devices placed on a patients hand as a bracelet also serve to determine the extent of heart rate and blood pressure, thus, supplying even more accurate data concerning the patients state and the relevant changes in the patients condition.

Memory Impairment

Finally, among the physiological factors that shape the process of MEMS data collection to a notable extent and, therefore, are often seen as the focus of MEMS design updates, one must mention the factor of impaired memory as a critical contributing factor to the process of gathering patient-related data with the help of the MEMS device. Specifically, without the tool that could serve as a reminder of the patient to comply with the set standards for medicine intake, the MEMS tool will be useless, with little to no data being supplied. Remarkably, the factor under analysis represents a unique issue in MEMS application since it requires the integration of additional techniques likely to be unrelated to the patients condition for which MEMS has been integrated. Specifically, the problem of poor memory can be handled by the inclusion of techniques and tools for memory training. Similarly, digital tools for setting reminders about the need to take medications will need to be included to counteract the specified obstacle to proper data collection within the MEMs framework (Gast & Mathes, 2019).

Conclusion

Due to its ability to capture the psychological and physiological factors that may shape a patients willingness or ability to adhere to the prescribed medication intake model, the MEMS tool can be considered an essential advancement in managing outpatients well-being. Furthermore, due to the ample focus on the factors in question, the MEMS tool allows the prevention of aggravation of a patients condition and identifying the signs of a possible health crisis. As a result, a relevant support framework can be implemented, and the necessary measures can be applied to manage a health issue and ensure a patients well-being. Due to its ability to encompass the data defined both by psychological and physiological factors in a patients decision-making concerning the intake of medications, the MEMS tool represents an excellent opportunity for effective health management.

References

Amico, K. R., Mugavero, M., Krousel-Wood, M. A., Bosworth, H. B., & Merlin, J. S. (2018). Advantages to using social-behavioral models of medication adherence in research and practice. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 33(2), 207-215. Web.

Gast, A., & Mathes, T. (2019). Medication adherence influencing factorsan (updated) overview of systematic reviews. Systematic Reviews, 8(1), 1-17. Web.

Hope, H. F., Bluett, J., Barton, A., Hyrich, K. L., Cordingley, L., & Verstappen, S. M. (2016). Psychological factors predict adherence to methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis; findings from a systematic review of rates, predictors and associations with patient-reported and clinical outcomes. RMD Open, 2(1),1-15. Web.

Abstract

Smart Homes (SH) technology, as an example of ambient, assisted living technologies, is designed to aid house inhabitants in carrying out their everyday living tasks, resulting in a higher quality of life while maintaining their privacy. A SH system is often outfitted with a combination of interconnected software and hardware components to monitor the living area by capturing and interpreting the residents behavior. As a result, the system may notify the resident of potentially hazardous conditions and take steps on his behalf to ensure his pleasure. The current study will focus on healthcare gadgets in smart homes and how they are employed in telemedicine. In particular, the paper will investigate the benefits and significance of technology, as well as provide instances of how the technologies have been applied. It will rely on essential technological factors such as efficiency, equality, and safety. Finally, it will investigate the limitations and issues connected with data management, as well as future developments.

Summary

Connected technology has become less mysterious and more prevalent. According to Wang (2018), an average smart house will have roughly 500 smart gadgets by 2022, ranging from smart lighting and smart bins to integrated healthcare devices. Smart home health monitoring solutions, in particular, provide several options. Some say that nine-to-five health care may soon be obsolete. Individual smart health devices, such as smartwatches and activity trackers, are not yet capable of monitoring our health holistically (Thapliyal, Khalus & Labrado, 2017). New solutions are needed, and several are being developed right now. Experts believe that these solutions should be built on interoperability, which allows devices to interact with one another.

Benefits and Importance of Smart Home Devices in Telemedicine

The growth of the older part of the population has resulted in a massive increase in demand for home care, especially among those with chronic illnesses. As a result, healthcare costs continue to climb, putting financial strain on medical systems (Wimo et al., 2017). Shifting the focus from formal care in hospitals to informal care in private homes is a rather efficient way to reduce these expenditures. According to Skilbeck et al., 2018, the majority of persons in need of care choose less invasive informal care. The prevailing consensus is that informal home care is low-cost. However, statistics show that traditional informal care for many chronic diseases is not always less expensive than alternative forms of care offered in hospitals or care homes.

Smart Home (SH) technology seeks to improve peoples quality of life and guarantee that people can live comfortably and independently. SH technology is viewed as a means to lower living and care expenses while improving the quality of life for persons who require assistance. It has been used for a variety of applications, including energy conservation, security and safety, fall detection, light control, smoke and fire detection, and more, employing a variety of technologies, including video monitoring and smart planners (Malwade et al., 2018). SHs, which are outfitted with sensors, actuators, and ultimately cameras to capture various forms of data about the house and the people, can enable automatic systems or caregivers to regulate the environment on the residents behalf, forecast their activities, and follow their health state.

A Super Smart Home for the Aging Population

Aging in place is frequently considered in connection with smart homes. Technology can assist older persons in remaining independent and protected, therefore avoiding the arduous transition to formal care. Cox Communications launched its latest smart house in which every gadget is smart (Datta et al., 2018). A reliable internet connection is essential for their offering, and the firm also operates a network for other service providers. Not only is the equipment managed remotely, but also this Home Life has direct links to family members and health specialists. A person, for example, can do their therapy session remotely while receiving online live coaching from a physiotherapist (Malwade et al., 2018). Alternatively, the family who resides in another state can check in and out via their smartphone or tablet, ensuring that loved ones are always available if needed.

This super-smart home also includes a smart pill dispenser, a smart pot to water your plants, motion sensors for indoors and outdoors, and an automatic barcode scanner GeniCan that is attached to the trash can to scan discarded packaging and add the consumed items to the users shopping list. Many actions critical to independent living may be monitored in a contemporary smart home, and support is offered on an as-needed basis. If something is wrong, such as a person falling or failing to take their prescription, family members can be contacted right away. The individual living in the smart house, on the other hand, retains his or her liberty and sense of independence.

Chronic Disease Management at Home

New services are increasingly replacing the conventional healthcare paradigm, which depends on home visits by nurses, physicians, and therapists. Trapollo, a Cox Communications acquisition, has been exploring several remote healthcare solutions (Datta et al., 2018). The organization provides a variety of telehealth packages that use technology to link consumers with their healthcare team. If patients can manage their chronic diseases at home, there are several advantagesas long as it is done correctly. From a commercial standpoint, home care is far less expensive than hospital stays and relieves some of the strain on the United States already overburdened healthcare system.

Telemonitoring has greatly improved with the development of smart telehealth devices. The Scripps Translational Science Institute in La Jolla, California, reports on a 2017 study that found that telemonitoring of oxygen saturation, blood pressure, body temperature, and respiratory biometrics can considerably minimize re-admissions of persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (Wimo et al., 2017). Telemonitoring of fragile patients with numerous illnesses, on the other hand, may be more difficult and will almost certainly necessitate the use of appropriate support systems and protocols (Baillargeon et al., 2019). So far, technology targeting specific chronic diseases has gotten better reviews and has greater scientific backing.

Home technology, for example, has proven effective in the care of patients suffering from dementia. It is used for dementia reminders and to aid persons suffering from dementia through their everyday tasks (Wimo et al., 2017). COACH, a computerized device, may autonomously lead an older person with dementia through actions (such as hand washing) using voice and/or audio-video cues, decreasing the need for help. COACH may assess the condition of the work and determine whether a person requires a reminder and, if so, which one.

Barriers and Data Management Challenges

Limitations in doing full physical tests, technical issues, security breaches, and legislative impediments are examples of barriers and management challenges. Some detractors of telehealth worry that it would harm the continuity of care, claiming that online interactions are impersonal and unsafe since the virtual physician lacks the advantage of a thorough history and physical examination to help in diagnosis and treatment. Furthermore, it confronts several legal and regulatory challenges, including wide variances in laws, regulations, and practice norms.

Future Trends

According to Gurgu et al., 2019, the Smart Home Healthcare Market is estimated to grow at a 26.5 percent CAGR between 2020 and 2025. Because Internet of Things (IoT) devices are becoming more popular, smart home healthcare market companies are progressively releasing such goods. Along with this development is the possibility of providing healthcare services in a smart home. Improvements in AI and technology enable advances like videoconferencing physicians and online over-the-counter medicine shopping not only conceivable but also a realistic foundation for a self-care revolution. Smart homes will be primary care in the near future.

However, the ultimate promise of a smart home that provides care rests in detecting the specific health requirements of each resident in a house, from newborns to the elderly, and concurrently meeting those needs. Originally designed to warn homeowners of suspicious activities, linked home security technology has swiftly expanded to protect both family and professional caregivers connected to aging seniors from rising health risks.

References

Baillargeon, P., Fernandez-Vega, V., Sridharan, B. P., Brown, S., Griffin, P. R., Rosen, H.,& & Spicer, T. P. (2019). The Scripps molecular screening center and translational research institute. Slas Discovery: Advancing Life Sciences R&D, 24(3), 386-397.

Datta, T., Apthorpe, N., & Feamster, N. (2018, August). A developer-friendly library for smart home IoT privacy-preserving traffic obfuscation. In Proceedings of the 2018 Workshop on IoT Security and Privacy (pp. 43-48).

Gurgu, E., Andronie, M., Andronie, M., & Dijmarescu, I. (2019, November). Do the convergence of the Blockchain, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence changing our lives, education, and the known world of the Internet?! Some changes and perspectives for the international economy. International Conference On Economic Sciences and Business Administration (Vol. 5, No. 1, pp. 69-88). Spiru Haret University.

Malware, S., Abdul, S. S., Uddin, M., Nursetyo, A. A., Fernandez-Luque, L., Zhu, X. K.,& & Li, Y. C. J. (2018). Mobile and wearable technologies in healthcare for the aging population. Computer Methods and Programs in Biomedicine, 161, 233-237.

Skilbeck, J. K., Arthur, A., & Seymour, J. (2018). Making sense of frailty: An ethnographic study of the experience of older people living with complex health problems. International Journal of Older People Nursing, 13(1), e12172.

Thapliyal, H., Khalus, V., & Labrado, C. (2017). Stress detection and management: A survey of wearable smart health devices. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, 6(4), 64-69.

Wang, N. N. (2018). Transactive control for connected homes and neighborhoods. Nature Energy, 3(11), 907-909.

Wimo, A., Guerchet, M., Ali, G. C., Wu, Y. T., Prina, A. M., Winblad, B.,& & Prince, M. (2017). The worldwide costs of dementia 2015 and comparisons with 2010. Alzheimers & Dementia, 13(1), 1-7.

Introduction

I completed an internship program at First Home Care in Portsmouth, Virginia. I worked in Day Support Treatment for Autism Adults. During the program, I trained to work with professional psychologists and participate in assessment processes. They guide people with autism and implement assessments. I participated in weekly seminars in which lectors presented theoretical, historical, and medical aspects of the disorder. The program gave me opportunities to put theoretical knowledge into practice and enhance my professional skills. The lectures were combined with the examination of different developmental abilities and focused on neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and other fields.

Main body

The term autism has gotten more attention in recent years. However, this phenomenon has a long history. The term was used for the first time at the beginning of the twentieth century. At the time, psychiatrists believed that autism was a type of schizophrenia. Afterward, it was described as a separate disorder. In the 1950s, researchers conducted studies to find the underlying cause for this medical condition. Initially, they concluded that the problem might be caused by the childs mothers behaviors, though subsequently, this theory was refuted. In the 1960s and 1970s, medical specialists began to apply aversion therapy. The therapy was focused on behavioral patterns and trained people with autism to act appropriately by means of different punishments. Also, some other therapies involved the use of LSD as a treatment for the disorder. In the 1980s, autism became a completely separate disease and got its own category for diagnosis.

I also learned about characteristics that might be seen in people with autism while completing the internship program. The disorder is characterized by specific behavioral patterns, problems related to social interaction, and sensory sensitivities. Some characteristics are common among all artists, but others are seen less frequently. People on the spectrum have difficulties with responding to their environment, which manifests itself in socially odd behaviors. Such individuals cannot effectively communicate their feelings and handle problematic situations. One of the most effective methods to help autists is to occupy their time with routines so they can learn some repetitive behaviors. It reduces uncertainty and promotes the predictability of their environments. Another problem related to people on the spectrum is their inability to build and maintain relationships. The lectures brought to light a new insight that confirmed that people with autism cannot properly respond to different forms of communication, for example, facial expressions, gestures, or eye contact. This problem takes place because autists are unable to comprehend other peoples needs and wants. Therefore, they often cannot participate in various activities with others. That is why people on the spectrum might look unfriendly and avoid the interaction. In addition, some of the people with autism exhibit seriously impaired speech or are unable to speak at all. For this reason, they might repeat phrases after their communication partners or ask similar questions several times.

Conclusion

There are several core values that the program helped to develop. The theoretical basis that I acquired during the internship promoted personal development and excellence in caring for people on the spectrum. Also, I assisted in developing social skills in people with autism. For example, I taught them how to make a purchase at a store. This experience revealed the importance of such values as responsible stewardship, respect, and community. Finally, the program itself cultivated moral principles that enhanced integrity. Therefore, the internship was a highly important experience that helped me improve my personal and vocational skills.

There are times where some people will be prevented from working in a particular company because they could not leave the house. For example, a mom of two or more kids will really find it hard to manage the time of working while taking care of the needs of her children. This is the very reason why home sourcing or work-from-home schemes are becoming really popular. In fact, it was found out that in America alone, there is a continuously growing number of Americans, some 20 million right now, who do at least some of their work at home.

Were not just talking about telecommuters who work for companies that give them the flexibility to work from home (Brooks, 2005). Were also talking about a new, un-tethered workforce, made of contract workers, consultants, and freelancers. Thanks to cell phones and broadband, they have flexible schedules and their homes are also their offices.

But there are a number of advantages and disadvantages when one prefers to work from home. As for the pros or the advantages, the list includes (Bostick, 2004):

1. Travel to and from work is eliminated. This produces a domino effect because, with the need to commute to and from work, the person himself can save money for gas, car maintenance, and other utilities. It can also save him time and energy as he does not need to wake earlier to prepare himself (take a bath, change clothes, etc.)
2. No need to worry about dress codes. Most people who are now working from home have admitted that they normally work wearing their pajamas and they do not worry about what their boss or co-workers might think about their looks (as there is no one that can see him/her while working).
3. Flexible time and work pace. People who work from home are normally given deadlines and it doesnt matter when or how they do it, what is important is that they will be able to provide the needed output in the set schedule.
4. Better health. People who work from home need not worry about pollution and other work hazards and stress. In fact, most of them revealed that they become healthier when they started their home sourcing jobs. They have more control of their time and of themselves. They have lesser worries.

Indeed, it can be summarized that those who can work this way and can afford to work this way often lead pretty comfortable lives. But there are still some negative sides to working from home. For many others, health insurance is expensive, retirement benefits non-existent, which can make life precarious (Brooks, 2005). Other disadvantages include:

1. Lack of social interaction. When one works from home, he just normally work in front of his computer or through the phone. He will not have the chance to talk eye-to-eye with his colleagues. Working from home is almost synonymous with becoming isolated in ones house.
2. Presence of temptations and distractions. The house or home provides comfort. There are TVs, beds, radios, kids, and other family members which can be a form of distraction to work. One could not really focus when the TVs volume is too high. If the kids are asking for attention, it is just expected that the mom or the dad will be looking after them instead of finishing the work assigned.
3. Irregular paycheck. Working from home does not count the number of hours one has worked. The pay is normally dependent on the output given. Hence, there are days when a paycheck can be good and there are days when it can be utterly disappointing.

There are pros and cons to every decision made. If one decides to work from home instead of the normal office job, then one has to face the disadvantages and disadvantages it may bring. But the beauty of this work from home is that it provides an additional option to aspiring workers. Now they can choose to work inside the comforts of their house or inside an office building that hired them.

References

Bostick, Fran. March 2004. Several pros and cons to working from home. Birmingham Business Journal.

Brooks, Anthony. 2005 More Americans Choosing to Work from Home. National Public Radio, Inc.

For centuries, home gardens have been used in many urban homes for aesthetic value. According to Anderson (1998), many urban homes have home gardens that are strategically located within the compound to create the feeling of being close to nature. In most of the urban settings, it is rare to find forests in settlement areas. However, people value the green environment, and the beauty that comes with it. This can only be obtained from home gardens.

According to Lindenmayer and Burgman (2005), when developing the home gardens, people always do not have even the faintest of the ideas that such gardens would be of any significance to other animals staying within these homes. However, the truth is that some of the mammals within these homes find the gardens more valuable to them than they are to the people who plant them. While people may only enjoy shade and other aesthetic value from them, some mammals rely on these gardens for their survival. They get their food and shelter from these gardens. It is important to evaluate how individual mammals may find these gardens important for their normal life. Dogs are the most common pets in most of the Australian homes. According to Kaplan and Blume, (2011, p. 56), they are the first mammals to be kept by the human beings. Figure 2 below shows the level of importance of the small mammals to the home gardens.

Domesticated rabbits may also benefit a lot from these gardens because of a number of reasons. Sometimes they may be released out of their cages once in a while. The gardens offer the best alternative within the compounds where they can rest in the cool shades. While in the gardens, the rabbits may find some plants which they can eat to supplement what they are given by their keepers. Staying outside their cages in an open space may be dangerous to them, especially if there are dogs around the place. The gardens offer some form of security to them because they can easily hide from these dangerous predators. As mentioned before, it is not common to find goats in the Australian urban homes because of their size, and the amount of food they need to survive. In such cases, the home garden will offer goats the much needed food. The figure below shows a goat grazing in a garden

Although these are animals which are not desirable within the settings where people live, sometimes it may not be easy to eliminate them. The home gardens are always of great benefit to them. Rabbits also benefits from such gardens. Below figure shows a rabbit in a garden.

These gardens offer a perfect resting place for dogs as shown in the figure below.

Introduction

As human beings, our lives are mostly crowded by work and we are left with little time to spare for ourselves. Making the best use of the free time we get is therefore very important. Hobbies which are activities that we engage in for pleasure present the best way to use our free time. As a matter of fact, few people spend their free time pursuing hobbies despite the importance attributed to leisure activity. The reason for this is mostly lack of a suitable hobby.

With this in mind, I shall propose home brewing beer as a hobby of choice to you my friend. Through this paper, I shall demonstrate that home brewing beer is a fascinating and rewarding hobby that many people could enjoy over a lifetime. I hope that by the end of this, I shall have positively influenced you to take up this most engaging hobby.

Home Brewing Beer

Home brewing beer is the process of producing small amounts of beer through fermentation for personal use. This activity is mostly carried out by people as a hobby. Home brewing has a rich history spanning thousands of years and it far precedes the mass production of beer that we are currently used to. Before undertaking home brewing, one needs to have a firm grasp of the overall process of brewing.

The brewing process can be broken down into a number of major steps which are; malting, boiling and fermenting. After fermenting, one may proceed to filter and package the drink appropriately. While the procedure may vary, the basic steps are as follows. One crushes the malt into a hop bag and lets it steep into water. The grain infused water is then let to boil and after it has started boiling, the bag is removed and the malt extracted into the brew pot.

This procedure results the formation of the wort from the grains. If desired, one can use hops to flavor the beer. The next step involves the preparation of yeast and then mixing it with the wort in a fermenter. Fermentation is the scientific process which makes the brew alcoholic. It occurs as a result of the chemical changes that result from yeast converting sugar into alcohol. The fermentation process requires a large sealable plastic container to act as a fermenter.

However, the fermenter will require a fermentation lock to allow the carbon dioxide produced by the process to escape while keeping gas from getting into the beer. The fermentation process will try your patience since you will be required to wait for a varying number of days depending on your specific recipe.

There are a myriad of advantages that you can gain from taking up home brewing. To begin with, home brewing is that it involves various facets which ensure that it does not become boring. To begin with, one has to go to the home brew supply store to obtain the necessary ingredients. The basic ingredients that you will need are grains, yeast, flavoring of your choice and water.

The mere obtaining of the ingredients is a fascinating experience even as you see and smell all kinds of grains before deciding on your choice grain. One you begin home brewing, you will be constantly searching and learning so as to perfect your craft. This dynamic nature of brewing is what makes it most desirable as a hobby.

This hobby will also enable you to save a significant amount of money. Commercially available beer is expensive to purchase as a result of various taxes and the need of profits by the beer makers. By taking up home brewing, you will be able to save big costs since home made beer is significantly cheaper. In addition to this, home brewing will enable you to create a wide variety of beer flavors for yourself.

There is an endless possibility on what one can brew and in addition to the recipes available in home brew supply stores; one can come up with their own unique recipes. As such, home brewing has the makings of a good hobby since ideally; a good hobby should be involving and not monotonous so as to keep the person interested.

As a matter of fact, worthwhile hobbies demand an investment of interest and energy. The same applies to home brewing hobby and I should forewarn you that this hobby shall require you to make use of math and science and your problem solving skills. Your attention to details shall also be honed as you go through the various brewing stages.

You shall also be required to demonstrate good project management skills as you go through the detailed steps of beer making. These skills that you gain from home brewing will make you more productive even as you engage in work and other activities in your life.

Conclusion

As you can see, hobbies do not just happen and one has to plan and execute them. The home brewing beer hobby that I propose will be involving since the brewing process will involve time and effort on your part. I must admit that it will take some time before you perfect home brewing but I assure you that you shall find pleasure in every effort you invest to gain competence in this activity. The rewarding sense of satisfaction that you shall have when you pour and drink the beer you made by yourself will make every effort worthwhile.