Family Health Assessment
Family Health Assessment
Analysis of the Assessment Findings
In the United States, nuclear families correspond with several daily living stresses that undermine an attempt for a healthy focused living. Time concerns usually make such families satisfied but at the same time personally drained. For instance, lack of adequate self-care usually results in poor, healthy habits such as lack of sleep and poor diet which compromises the health of the family member (Park et al., 2018). As a result, the parents at some point experience short term benefits in terms of finances, but long term derailed as a result of poor health. A good example is of couples who are committed to their work and have less time attending to the health needs of their family. Such couples spend less time with their family members and hence fail to educate them on the benefits of healthy living such as a healthy diet and exercise in addition to preventive measures to avoid certain chronic diseases such as cancer or cardiovascular complications including high blood pressure (Russell, Beckmeyer, & Su-Russell, 2018). This paper, however, focuses on the analysis of a particular family health status in addition to addressing managerial issues that can be used to improve the health of the selected family.
Family Health Assessment
The needs of the pediatric patient differ depending on age, as do the stages of development and the expected assessment findings for each stage. In a 500-750-word paper, examine the needs of a school-aged child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old and discuss the following:
- Compare the physical assessments among school-aged children. Describe how you would modify assessment techniques to match the age and developmental stage of the child.
- Choose a child between the ages of 5 and 12 years old. Identify the age of the child and describe the typical developmental stages of children that age.
- Applying developmental theory based on Erickson, Piaget, or Kohlberg, explain how you would developmentally assess the child. Include how you would offer explanations during the assessment, strategies you would use to gain cooperation, and potential findings from the assessment.
Structural Assessment
A family structure is divided into two, internal and external structure. Focusing on the internal structure, I
Family Health Assessment
decided to interview a family comprising a wife, husband and two children – a son and a daughter. The husband, Redington, is 45 years old, while his wife, Elizabeth, is 40 years old. Their son, Brandon, is 18 years old while their daughter, Bridgit, is 13. Redington is originally a Mexican American while Elizabeth is Hispanic American. Elizabeth has been working at a local bank, and recently graduated with a masters degree in finance. Raddington, on the other hand, is self-employed and manages a family business downtown. Both of them have been working so hard to provide for their family, which can be socially classified as a middle class. Brandon is attending a community college while Bridgit is still in high school. The family members are strong Christian with their children taking active roles in a Catholic church within their neighboorhood.
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Family Health Behaviour
Elizabeth usually reports to work at 8: 00 AM after taking Bridgit to school. She usually wakes up quite early to prepare breakfast (mostly bagels, cheese and egg sandwich) and do some house chores since Radingtone usually leaves the house very early to open their business store downtown. Both their children usually participate in exercise activities mostly at school, with minimum activities at home given the tight schedule of their parents. They, however, eat their healthy lunch at school courtesy of their school catering unit. During the weekends, Brandon spends most of his time hanging out with his friends while Bridgit remains at home watching her favorite TV shows and movies. Elizabeth, on the other hand, had been attending college classes on the weekends, but now that she has recently graduated, she spends most of the time in book clubs and catching up with her friends. Redington is usually free only on Sundays, of which together with the family members, they go to church in the morning and spend most of the afternoon catching up on the academic and social life of their kids. They, however, have family clinicians whom they visit once a month for a medical checkup. Generally, the health habits of the family are poor, with limited control of their exercise and eating habits.
Functional Health Pattern Strengths and Limitations
In as much as the family parents are incredibly committed to their work, they always try to maintain a healthy lifestyle as recommended by their family clinician. The clinician usually advises the family on healthy habits that can help them avoid common lifestyle diseases. For instance, there is a time that Brandon was overweight in the 3rd grade and was put on a diet, which helped manage the situation. Consequently, the clinician usually performs a health examination on all the family members regularly to address social, emotional or health constraint issues if any (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, & Robinson, 2018). Redington, despite being busy, has provided health insurance to help cut down the medical cost of his family in case of any illnesses.
Despite the above advantages, several limitations have made the family vulnerable to several healthcare complications. For instance, failure to enhance the family activity and healthy eating habits led to Brandon becoming overweight, which is a high risk of becoming obese. Bridget’s sedentary life of watching movies on the weekend, instead of playing with other children, has also compromised her ability to socializing effectively even in school. She is usually self-withdrawn. Two years ago, Redington developed gout as a result of consuming too much meat while at work. However, these limitations can be avoided by the family if they adopt a healthy living lifestyle such as healthy eating, emotional support, exercise and social relations among others.
Application of the Family Systems Theory
The family system theory suggests that a family should function as a system with all members performing distinct roles of which adherence to specific rules is mandatory. For instance, in the above family setting, since the husband is mostly caught up maintaining the family business, the wife should take the imitative of taking most of the responsibilities during her free time to stabilize the social and health status of the family (Cianfrocca et al., 2018). However, this might create an equilibrium where the wife might feel overwhelmed and unable to perform her roles adequately. In such a case, engaging in a family system therapy seems like the only way forward such that the husband will be advised on how to balance between work and his duties as a father and husband, same to the wife, thus creating a sense of understanding and boosting their relationship. Consequently, the family members should look after each other and point out the wrongdoings that might undermine their health and social stability.
Conclusion
The health assessment of a particular family is integral in that it helps ensure that all the family members maintain a healthy lifestyle. The family clinicians will be able to point out the shortcomings of the family and recommend appropriate intervention to help the family maintain a healthy lifestyle based on the findings of the assessment (Peterson-Burch, 2018). Consequently, the clinicians will be able to identify the cultural and religious beliefs of the family that might help in formulating an appropriate treatment plan in future in case of any health complications. Generally, family health assessment should be encouraged regularly to enhance a healthy lifestyle which is the most appropriate preventive measure to avoid exposing the family member to risk factors that might undermine their health.
References
In Kaakinen, J. R., In Coehlo, D. P., In Steele, R., & In Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing: Theory, practice, and research. Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis.
Cianfrocca, C., Caponnetto, V., Donati, D., Lancia, L., Tartaglini, D., & Di, S. E. (December 01, 2018). The effects of a multidisciplinary education course on the burden, health literacy and needs of family caregivers. Applied Nursing Research, 44, 100-106.
Park, M., Giap, T.-T.-T., Lee, M., Jeong, H., Jeong, M., & Go, Y. (November 01, 2018). Patient- and family-centered care interventions for improving the quality of health care: A review of systematic reviews. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 87, 69-83.
Russell, L. T., Beckmeyer, J. J., & Su-Russell, C. (January 10, 2018). Family-Centered Care and Positive Developmental Outcomes for Youth With Special Health Care Needs Variations Across Family Structures. Journal of Family Nursing, 241, 29-59.
Peterson-Burch, F. M. (January 01, 2018). Family Matters: The Nurse’s Role in Assessing Family Health History in Ocular Disease. Insight (American Society of Ophthalmic Registered Nurses), 43(4), 23-25.