Chronic Care Patient Education:  Hypertension in Corrections

1.5 Continuing Education Hours

As healthcare professionals, we are constantly providing patient education as we go about our assessments and treatments.  In corrections, our practice is an extension of Community Health. We assess and treat many of the same illnesses that are prevalent in our community; often, however, their prevalence is higher in the incarcerated population.  We often treat individuals who traditionally do not access medical care routinely on the outside, either because of economics, or because their health is not a priority to them.  If they have a chronic illness, their condition is often deteriorated because of this lack of care on the outside.  Don’t be surprised to discover that your patients do not know even the basics about their own bodies or don’t know the names and dosages of the medication they take every day! (How many times have we heard “I take a green pill and a white pill every day…for my pressure and nerves…but the pink pill makes me sick.”?)   Thus, the time when a person is incarcerated provides a great opportunity to educate them with regard to their health in general, and their specific disease process, if applicable.

This class is a patient education curriculum for patients with Hypertension.