The Primary Care Setting for Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)

Identifying a problem
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Identifying a problem
Problem description
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) in adult obese men aged 40 years and older is the identified problem. Obstructive Sleep Apnea is understood as a sleep disorder wherein the individual stops to breath for about ten seconds every hour as he or she is sleeping. The cause of this condition is relaxation of the muscles of the throat; the soft tissue located in the backside of the throat collapses and then closes, and in so doing they result in blocked airways (Gutierrez & Brady, 2013). OSA affects 1.5 percent of women and 3.5 percent of men who are middle-aged. Individuals who are aged 40 years and above have a higher chance of developing this condition although people of any age could be affected, including kids (Muñoz-Hernandez et al., 2015). People who are obese are especially at risk of developing obstructive sleep apnea thanks to the extra fat that pushes against the muscles of the throat.
Setting/context and impact of problem
The setting in which the identified problem is observed is the primary care setting. People who have OSA often experience a number of symptoms which include being unusually sleepy in daytime, snoring loudly during sleep, sleep is fidgety, and periods of no breathing/silence during sleep and then followed by gasps (Victor, 2009). Currently, patients who have Obstructive Sleep Apnea are provided with costly and rather cumbersome breathing equipment which provides continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) through a nasal mask. Adherence to this treatment might be influenced by the objective improvement in sleep apnea as well as by the patient’s subjective perception of the benefit, cost, side effects, family support or bed mate. All in all, most patients dislike CPAP therapy and adherence to it is often poor (Wolkove et al., 2008).
Gravity of the problem and its significance to nursing
At the moment, patients who present with Obstructive Sleep Apnea are treated with the use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). CPAP machines have a fan which blows air under pressure into the patient’s nostrils. In essence, the airflow serves as a pneumatic splint which keeps the pharyngeal airway open (Wolkove et al., 2008). The shortcomings with the current intervention are poor tolerance and ineffectiveness. Patient compliance to CPAP is generally poor. A lot of patients usually have difficulty tolerating the CPAP therapy. Patients often grumble about the rush of air pressure when using CPAP, particularly as they exhale. Researchers have reported lower rates of compliance. Long-term adherence to CPAP intervention might be challenging. Nearly 50 percent of patients would not wear the CPAP mask for a sufficient amount of time every night due to nocturnal awakenings (Victor, 2009). Other researchers have demonstrated that the use of continuous positive airway pressure was ineffective in resolving the symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea (Gu...