The Role of the Health Care Aide

Flashcards covering key vocabulary terms and definitions from Module 1: The Role of the Health Care Aide, including the evolution of Canada's healthcare system, principles of care, health dimensions, and ethical considerations.

Great Depression (1930s)

A period when many people who were ill or had disabilities depended on family members because they couldn't afford care.

Saskatchewan public insurance plan (1947)

The first public insurance plan in Canada, covering hospital services.

Inpatient hospital care agreement (1961)

An agreement among ten provinces and two territories to provide inpatient hospital care, with costs split between federal and provincial governments.

Medical services insurance extension (1972)

The year when insurance was extended to cover medical services outside the hospital.

Public health services

Health services generally delivered at the provincial, territorial, and municipal levels in Canada.

Public Health Agency of Canada

A federal agency that acts as a focal point for disease prevention and control and for emergency response to outbreaks of infectious diseases.

Canada Health Act (1984)

Legislation that establishes the principles of Medicare in Canada.

Comprehensiveness (Canada Health Act)

A principle stating that all insured health services provided by hospitals, medical practitioners, and dentists must be covered by the provincial or territorial health insurance plan.

Universality (Canada Health Act)

A principle stating that all insured persons in a province or territory are entitled to access insured health services.

Portability (Canada Health Act)

A principle stating that insured persons are covered for insured health services when they move to another province or territory within Canada or travel outside Canada.

Accessibility (Canada Health Act)

A principle stating that insured persons have reasonable access to insured hospital and medical services without financial barriers.

Public administration (Canada Health Act)

A principle stating that the provincial or territorial health insurance plan must be administered and operated on a non-profit basis by a public authority.

Federal Role (Health Care)

Administers the Canada Health Act, delivers health care to specific groups (e.g., First Nations, RCMP, veterans), develops policy, and transfers tax money to provinces/territories.

Primary Care

The first point of contact for acute medical problems, typically in the community, provided by doctors or nurse practitioners.

Secondary Care

Care involving a referral from a primary care provider to a specialist for more specific expertise, which may occur in the community or hospital.

Tertiary Care

A specialized, highly technical level of health care requiring specialized units (e.g., intensive care) and advanced treatment services, usually in large research and teaching hospitals.

Quaternary Care

An extension of tertiary care, even more specialized, dealing with experimental treatments.

Provincial or Territorial Role (Health Care)

Responsible for developing and administering its own health care insurance plan, financing, and planning health care services according to the Canada Health Act.

Health Care Challenges

Include worker shortages, an aging population, aging health care workers, long waiting lists for procedures, and increasing costs of care.

Health promotion

Strategies that improve or maintain health and independence.

Disease prevention

Strategies that prevent the occurrence of disease or injury.

Home care

Health care and support services provided to people in their places of residence, often to save money and due to technological advances.

Alternative health practices

Non-conventional health approaches that may be used alongside or instead of conventional medicine.

Health (WHO definition)

A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity; also includes the ability to lead a socially and economically productive life.

Holism

A concept that considers the whole person, including physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and spiritual parts, woven together and inseparable.

Physical health

Influenced by genetics and lifestyle, achieved when the body is strong, fit, and free of disease.

Emotional health

When people feel good about themselves, have strong self-esteem, self-control, and self-awareness, and accept/give help to others.

Social health

Achieved through stable and satisfying relationships, interacting with others with respect, warmth, openness, and trust.

Spiritual health

Believing in a purpose greater than the self, which may involve formal religion, and respecting others' spirituality.

Cognitive health

Keeping the mind active and creative, encouraging participation in activities to promote mental well-being.

Determinants of Health

Broad range of personal, social, economic, and environmental factors that influence individual and population health. Examples include income, education, physical environments, and access to health services.

Health Inequalities

Differences in the health status of individuals and groups, often influenced by social determinants of health.

Optimal Health (Wellness)

The achievement of wellness possible in all five dimensions: physical, emotional, social, cognitive, and spiritual.

Holistic approach to health care

An approach that considers the whole person and all their dimensions (physical, emotional, social, cognitive, spiritual) in their care.

Health is a continuum

The idea that health is not an 'either-or' state but rather a dynamic spectrum from optimal health to illness/disease.

Person-Centred Care

An approach where the Health Care Aide (HCA) supports the client as a whole person, focusing on enhancing quality of life, compassionate caring, responsive actions, and accurate observation.

Enhance Quality of Life (HCA Role)

A principle of person-centred care including ensuring comfort, promoting independence, providing support (communication, care plan, ADLs, family/social), and maintaining safety.

Compassionate Caring through Competence (HCA Role)

A principle of person-centred care involving compassion for the client's dignity, independence, preferences, privacy, safety, holistic needs, and applying required knowledge and skills.

Respond (HCA Role)

A principle of person-centred care involving recognizing priority situations, acting with necessary skills, reporting changes, recording actions, and reflecting for improvement.

Accurate Observation (HCA Role)

A principle of person-centred care involving observing the client's body systems and cognitive status including pain, behaviours, respirations, skin integrity, bowels, appetite, and mobility.

Support Worker's Role

To assist clients by providing care and assistance to accomplish tasks of everyday living, including personal care and support services.

Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)

Basic everyday tasks such as eating, bathing, grooming, dressing, toileting, and mobility.

Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs)

More complex tasks necessary for independent living, such as assisting with finances, medications, transportation, shopping, meal preparation, using communication devices, and housework.

Patient

A person receiving care in a hospital.

Resident

A person living in a residential facility.

Client

A person receiving care or support services in the community, used as a general term for all people receiving health care or support services.

Acute care

Short-term care for severe illness or injury, often in a hospital.

Subacute care

Care for patients who do not require acute hospital care but need more intensive skilled nursing care than is typically provided in a long-term care facility.

Long-term care

Ongoing care for people with chronic illnesses or disabilities who cannot care for themselves, often in residential facilities.

Respite care

Temporary care provided to give primary caregivers a break from their caregiving responsibilities.

Rehabilitation and restorative services

Programs designed to help individuals regain function, improve independence, and restore health after illness, injury, or surgery.

Palliative care

Care that aims to improve the quality of life for patients and their families facing life-limiting illness, focusing on relief of suffering.

Hospice

A type of palliative care specifically for individuals in the final phases of a terminal illness, often focused on comfort and dignity.

Mental health care services

Services that provide support and treatment for individuals experiencing mental health problems, aiming to improve their well-being.

Policy

A statement about how things should be done, guiding a support worker in their job.

Procedure

A set of detailed steps to ensure that the goal of a policy is reached.

Professionalism

Demonstrating respect for others, commitment, competence, and appropriate behaviour, including a positive attitude, responsibility, and professional appearance.

DIPPS

An acronym representing five key principles of person-centred care: Dignity, Independence, Preferences, Privacy, and Safety.

Dignity

The state of feeling worthy, valued, and respected.

Independence

Allowing clients to do what they want or can do for themselves, respecting their choices.

Preferences

Allowing clients to make choices about their care and lifestyle.

Privacy

Respecting clients' bodies and affairs as private, protecting their personal information.

Safety

Being free from hazards and feeling secure about the care provided.

Electronic Health Records (EHR)

Digital versions of a patient's paper chart, containing medical history, diagnoses, medications, and other health data.

Minimum Data Sets (MDS)

Standardized collection of resident assessment data, including mobility, diet, socialization, support systems, pain, medications, and elimination patterns.

Audits

Systematic reviews or examinations of records or practices to ensure compliance and quality.

Incident Reports

Official documents used to record details of an unexpected event that occurs in a healthcare setting.

Relationship

The connection between two or more people, shaped by roles, feelings, and interactions.

Professional Boundaries

Limitations on behaviour meant to protect vulnerable clients from caregivers who have access to private knowledge about them, ensuring an equal balance of power.

Independence (Healthcare Context)

A client's ability to achieve or maintain as much self-reliance as possible in their daily lives.

Dependence (Healthcare Context)

A state where a person requires assistance from another for daily tasks due to illness, disability, or other factors.

Interdependence (Healthcare Context)

A state where individuals rely on each other while also maintaining their own autonomy and contributions.

Family

A biological, legal, or social network of people who provide support for one another, as determined by the client.

Diversity

The state of different individuals and cultures coexisting within a society.

Ethnicity

Refers to groups of people who share a common history, language, geography, national origin, religion, or identity.

Culture

The characteristics of a group of people, including their language, values, beliefs, habits, ways of life, implied rules for behaviour, music, and traditions.

Prejudice

An attitude or opinion about a person based solely on their membership in a particular group.

Bias

Occurs when a person is unable to impartially judge issues because of a preformed point of view.

Stereotyping

An overly simple and generalized view of a group of people, often leading to inaccurate assumptions.

Cultural Conflict

Occurs when one person dictates what another's culture should be, or when an individual experiences internal conflict living within different cultures simultaneously.

Cultural Competence

The ability of a person to interact effectively with people from different cultures or socioeconomic backgrounds, providing respectful and responsive care.

Ethics

Principles or values that guide decisions about what is right or wrong and good or bad.

Morals

Fundamental principles of behaviour that an individual believes to be right or wrong for themselves.

Values

What an individual considers to be worthwhile qualities in a person or concept.

Belief

A conviction that something is true.

Code of Ethics

A set of ethical standards or guidelines developed by healthcare teams or governing bodies to guide professional interactions and behaviour.

Health care ethics

The philosophical study of what is morally right and wrong when providing health care services.

Ethical dilemma

A situation involving an apparent conflict between opposing moral choices, requiring careful consideration.

Autonomy (Health Care Ethics)

Also called self-determination, it is having free choice involving decisions that affect one's life, respecting a client's choices without judgment.

Justice (Health Care Ethics)

The principle that all people should be treated in a fair and equal manner, regardless of their conditions or temperaments.

Beneficence (Health Care Ethics)

The principle of doing or promoting good, ensuring a client's needs come before those of their family if there's a conflict.

Nonmaleficence (Health Care Ethics)

The principle of seeking to do no harm, meaning not performing tasks outside one's scope of practice or discussing confidential client information.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

A psychological theory proposing that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs, structured as a pyramid (Physiological, Safety, Love/Belonging, Esteem, Self-actualization).