NRS-429V Topic 2: The Form and Function of Family

NRS-429V Topic 2: The Form and Function of Family

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The promotion of optimum health of families is imperative in healthcare. Nurses utilize their understanding of family structure and diversity in needs to develop care plans that promote the health, wellbeing, and recovery of family members. Family assessment enables nurses to provide holistic care that addresses both the actual and potential needs of the family members. The assessment provides insights into family strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities to be explored to achieve the desired health-related goals. Therefore, this paper examines an interview performed with a family to identify its health status and application of family systems theory to promote positive change in the family’s functions over time.

Description of the Family Structure

The interviewed family comprises seven members that include parents aged between 40 and 50 years, a grandparent aged 75 years, and two children aged between 10 and 20 years. The family is of African American ethnicity. It is a Christian family living in a family-owned home. The father is a nurse while the mother is a teacher. The grandfather is a retired army officer. The children are school-going. The family is of the middle class, living in a healthy environment. It engages in activities that contribute to the development of the community. For example, it assists the poor in achieving their health-related needs.

Overall Health Behaviors of the Family

The interview revealed the family to be of moderate health. Most of the family members were found healthy except the grandfather who is diabetic and suffers from depression. The family engages in activities that contribute to their positive health. They include engaging in active physical activities, eating healthy diets, and utilizing social support systems to achieve their health-related needs. The interview also showed the family to utilize screening services for health problems, including hypertension, cancer, and obesity. The interview showed some areas of weaknesses that threaten its health. They include high costs of care and access to specialized care. The family raised concerns about the increasing costs of addressing the care needs of the grandfather. In most cases, the family found it hard to access the specialized care he needed due to its geographical location in the region. Therefore, it was essential to assist the family to identify ways of addressing their health-related challenges.

Functional Health Pattern Strengths

The interview revealed some functional health pattern strengths in the family. One of the strengths relates to values/health perception patterns. The family was aware of its health needs and how to achieve them. It understood the unique health needs of each member of the family. It was also aware of the importance of engaging in health practices that promote its health. For example, its members utilize screening services to identify and manage health problems promptly. The family members also engage in active physical activity to prevent health problems, including obesity, overweight, diabetes, and hypertension. The second functional area of strength identified during the interview is coping. The family acknowledged experiencing stressors that affect its overall health. However, it uses effective coping strategies such as seeking support from each other and community members to overcome the stressors. It also seeks professional support from counselors and healthcare providers to overcome adversities. Effective coping with stressors has enabled the family to develop resilience to unforeseen events that may affect its members (Davey et al., 2020).

Areas of Health Problems or Barriers to Health

One of the barriers to health identified in the family is the high cost of care. The family members noted that achieving grandfather’s health needs has been costly for them. The grandfather needs frequent hospitalizations for depression and diabetes, which increases the costs incurred in the family. The costs incurred in seeking specialized carehave been rising, hence, the challenge. The other barrier identified from the interview is access to specialized care. The family noted challenges in accessing specialized care it needed due to its geographical location in the region (Huot et al., 2019). One of the health problems identified from the interview is the grandfather suffering from diabetes and depression. The children are also predisposed to lifestyle-related problems due to too much screen time and playing video games (Anderson & Durstine, 2019). Therefore, it was essential to educate the family about the importance of engaging consistently in activities that promote their health.

Application of Family Systems Theory

The family systems theory can be appliedto solicit changes in family members that, in turn, initiate positive change to the overall functions over time. The theory provides insights on how family members can be influenced to contribute to their optimal health (Bottorff et al., 2021). The analysis of theoretical concepts such as sibling behavior and family problems increases nurses’ understanding of family functioning and health. Therefore, they can use it to strengthen positive behaviors that will contribute to their optimal functioning and the health of the family (Bottorff et al., 2021). In addition, the theory can be used to increase the understanding of the family members of the interdependence in their roles and how to engage in activities contributing to their optimal health.

Conclusion

Overall, a family assessment is important in nursing practice. Nurses utilize it to understand the actual and potential family needs. The interview performed with the family revealed some strengths and weaknesses. It is important for nurses working with the family to empower the members to identify opportunities for minimizing their barriers to health. In addition, they should explore the incorporation of the family systems theory into the care given to the family to ensure its optimum health.

References

Anderson, E., & Durstine, J. L. (2019).Physical activity, exercise, and chronic diseases: A brief review.Sports Medicine and Health Science, 1(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.smhs.2019.08.006

Bottorff, J. L., Huisken, A., Hopkins, M., & Friesen, L. (2021).Scaling up a community-led health promotion initiative: Lessons learned and promising practices from the Healthy Weights for Children Project.Evaluation and Program Planning, 87, 101943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.101943

Davey, J., Herbst, J., Johns, R., Parkinson, J., Russell-Bennett, R., &Zainuddin, N. (2020). The role of health locus of control in value co-creation for standardized screening services. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 30(1), 31–55. https://doi.org/10.1108/JSTP-08-2018-0180

Huot, S., Ho, H., Ko, A., Lam, S., Tactay, P., MacLachlan, J., &Raanaas, R. K. (2019). Identifying barriers to healthcare delivery and access in the Circumpolar North: Important insights for health professionals.International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 78(1), 1571385. https://doi.org/10.1080/22423982.2019.1571385

Description

Objectives:

Discuss contemporary family structures.
Discuss the concepts related to family health promotion.
Apply family systems theory.
Develop strategies for family-centered health promotion.
Study Materials

Health Promotion: Health and Wellness Across the Continuum

Description:

Read Chapter 4 in Health Promotion: Health and Wellness Across the Continuum.

Calgary Family Intervention Model: One Way to Think About Change

Description:

Read “Calgary Family Intervention Model: One Way to Think About Change,” by Wright and Leahey, from Journal of Marital and Family Therapy(1994).

Calgary Model of Family Assessment: Experience in a Community Service Project

Description:

Read “Calgary Model of Family Assessment: Experience in a Community Service Project,” by Mantelo Cecilio, Sturiao dos Santos, and Silva Marcon, from Cogitare Enfermagem(2014).

Optional: Nurses and Families: A Guide to Family Assessment and Intervention

Description:

For additional information, the following is recommended:

Chapters 3 and 4 from the online eBook, Nurses and Families: A Guide to Family Assessment and Intervention, by Wright and Leahey (2012), available through ProQuest Ebook Central in the GCU Library.

Application of the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models: Reflections on the Reciprocity Between the Personal and the Professional

Description:

Read “Application of the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models: Reflections on the Reciprocity Between the Personal and the Professional,” by Leahey and Wright, from Journal of Family Nursing(2016).

Initial Course Survey

Description:

Tasks

Family Health Assessment Part I

Description:

Understanding family structure and style is essential to patient and family care. Conducting a family interview and needs assessment gathers information to identify strengths, as well as potential barriers to health. This information ultimately helps develop family-centered strategies for support and guidance.

This family health assessment is a two-part assignment. The information you gather in this initial assignment will be utilized for the second assignment in Topic 3.

Develop an interview questionnaire to be used in a family-focused functional assessment. The questionnaire must include three open-ended, family-focused questions to assess functional health patterns for each of the following:

Values/Health Perception
Nutrition
Sleep/Rest
Elimination
Activity/Exercise
Cognitive
Sensory-Perception
Self-Perception
Role Relationship
Sexuality
Coping

Select a family, other than your own, and seek permission from the family to conduct an interview. Utilize the interview questions complied in your interview questionnaire to conduct a family-focused functional assessment. Document the responses as you conduct the interview.

Upon completion of the interview, write a 750-1,000-word paper. Analyze your assessment findings. Submit your questionnaire as an appendix with your assignment.

Include the following in your paper:

Describe the family structure. Include individuals and any relevant attributes defining the family composition, race/ethnicity, social class, spirituality, and environment.
Summarize the overall health behaviors of the family. Describe the current health of the family.
Based on your findings, describe at least two of the functional health pattern strengths noted in the findings. Discuss three areas in which health problems or barriers to health were identified.
Describe how family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members that, in turn, initiate positive changes to the overall family functions over time.

Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You must proofread your paper. But do not strictly rely on your computer’s spell-checker and grammar-checker; failure to do so indicates a lack of effort on your part and you can expect your grade to suffer accordingly. Papers with numerous misspelled words and grammatical mistakes will be penalized. Read over your paper – in silence and then aloud – before handing it in and make corrections as necessary. Often it is advantageous to have a friend proofread your paper for obvious errors. Handwritten corrections are preferable to uncorrected mistakes.

Use a standard 10 to 12 point (10 to 12 characters per inch) typeface. Smaller or compressed type and papers with small margins or single-spacing are hard to read. It is better to let your essay run over the recommended number of pages than to try to compress it into fewer pages.

Likewise, large type, large margins, large indentations, triple-spacing, increased leading (space between lines), increased kerning (space between letters), and any other such attempts at “padding” to increase the length of a paper are unacceptable, wasteful of trees, and will not fool your professor.

The paper must be neatly formatted, double-spaced with a one-inch margin on the top, bottom, and sides of each page. When submitting hard copy, be sure to use white paper and print out using dark ink. If it is hard to read your essay, it will also be hard to follow your argument.