NRS 429V Assignment Family Health Assessment
NRS 429V Assignment Family Health Assessment
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.
Family Health Assessment is crucial in identifying the family’s strength and weakness in terms of access to quality and affordable care. The assessment also provides crucial information to the healthcare practitioners on the threats to achieving comprehensive health and general wellness for the whole population. Furthermore, the family assessment prepares nurses especially the Family Nurse Practitioners with the relevant skills required in the assessment of the family health patterns and be able to offer family-based solutions (Peterson-Burch, 2018). The concept has also proved to be instrumental in advancement of genetic interventions in some of the complex conditions.
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
Details:
Select a family to complete a family health assessment. (The family cannot be your own.)
Before interviewing the family, develop three open-ended, family-focused questions for each of the following health patterns:
1. Values, Health Perception
2. Nutrition
3. Sleep/Rest
4. Elimination
5. Activity/Exercise
6. Cognitive
7. Sensory-Perception
8. Self-Perception
9. Role Relationship
10. Sexuality
11. Coping
NOTE: Your list of questions must be submitted with your assignment as an attachment.
After interviewing the family, compile the data and analyze the responses.
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In 1,000-1,250 words, summarize the findings for each functional health pattern for the family you have selected.
Identify two or more wellness nursing diagnoses based on your family assessment. Wellness and family nursing diagnoses are
different than standard nursing diagnoses. A list of wellness and family nursing diagnoses, from J. R. Weber’s Nurses Handbook of Health Assessment (5th ed.), can be found at the following link
http://web.archiv.org…..
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 are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
Assess three families using the “Heritage Assessment Tool.” In 1,000-1,500 words discuss the usefulness of applying a heritage assessment to evaluate the needs of families and develop plans for health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration. Include the following:
1. Perform a heritage assessment on three families.
2. Complete the “Heritage Assessment Tool” for each of the three families interviewed. These must be included with your submission to LoudCloud.
3. Identify common health traditions based on cultural heritage. Evaluate and discuss how the families subscribe to these traditions and practices. Address health maintenance, health protection, and health restoration as they relate to your assessment.
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 are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
The promotion of family health is imperative in nursing and healthcare practice. The promotion of family health requires the provision of care that prioritizes the actual needs of the family members. Nurses and other healthcare providers work with families in assessing, planning, implementing, monitoring, and evaluating strategies used to achieve their care needs. They also work with the family members in exploring interventions that will promote their health and minimize their exposure to health problems. In doing this, nurses utilize their knowledge and skills on the different health patterns that influence the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and their communities. Therefore, this paper examines an interview that was conducted with a family to determine their functional health patterns. It also explores the use of family health systems theory to ensure that the needs of the family members are met for their optimal health and wellbeing.
Description of Family Structure
This interview was conducted with a family within my community. The husband of the family was the informant during the interview. The family is an extended family. It has the grandparents, parents, and three children. The ethnic background of the family is African Americans. The family members are Christians. The family rated themselves as a middle class family. The husband of the family works as a driver in a local construction industry while the wife is a nurse. The grandparents are retired nurses. The children are in the junior high school. The family resides in a moderately health environment, as evidenced by the adequate environmental hygiene and access to necessities such as health food and water.
Overall Health Behaviors of the Family
The assessment showed that the family’s health status is moderate, as seen from the various findings of the functional assessment interview. The husband of the family reported that the family practices healthy values. The values included minimizing their engagement in risky and unhealthy behaviors such as smoking and taking alcohol. He also reported that the traditional norms, values and beliefs such as eating healthy diets influence their lifestyle and behavioral decisions. The husband reported that the family members are active users of preventive healthcare services. They utilize services such as screening for hypertension, diabetes, and prostate cancer. The husband reported some health challenges being experienced in the family. They included his father being a diabetic and mother suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.
The assessment of nutrition pattern showed that the family had an adequate access to healthy diets. However, they found if expensive to afford healthy diets on a regular basis, which predisposes them to eating unhealthy junk diets in times of financial hardships. The family therefore strives to eat a three-meal balanced diet in a day. The husband also reported that some of his family members experience nutritional related challenges. Accordingly, he noted that his son is currently obese. He is predisposed to health problems such as diabetes and hypertension. The assessment of the sleep/rest pattern showed that the family members sleep an average of 7 hours a night. He reported sleeping problems such as insomnia among his grandparents, which have affected their quality of life. The family reported that they engage minimally in leisure activities due to their busy schedules.
The assessment of the elimination pattern showed that one of the family members suffers from urinary incontinence. The grandfather was recently diagnosed with urinary incontinence and is due for urologist review. The assessment of the activity exercise pattern showed that the family minimally engages in active physical activities. As a result, they are predisposed to obesity and cardiovascular health problems such as hypertension. The assessment of the cognitive pattern showed that the grandmother currently suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. The family understands her health needs and ensures they are met. The husband reported that his grandfather has low vision problem and currently uses corrective lenses. He denied any health issues in the sensory perception pattern.
The assessment of role relationship pattern showed that the family plays an active role in community activities such as assisting the needy. The family also has defined roles such as the husband being the head of the family while wife ensures the needs of the members such as food are met. The husband denied any sexual-related problems in the family. He noted that the family members support the use of contraceptives and screening services for reproductive health problems. The assessment of the coping pattern showed that the family has effective coping strategies for stress. They rely on each other’s support to manager adversities. They also utilize support from friends, relatives and the church to overcome their stressors.
Functional Health Pattern Strengths
One of the functional health pattern strengths that were identified from the interview is the high level of awareness among the family about health promotion and prevention. The husband reported that the family actively utilizes screening services for health problems such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, and hypertension. Screening for health problems enables early identification and management. It also prevents the progression of non-communicable diseases such as cancer and hypertension (Alrushud et al., 2017). The active utilization of screening services by the family promotes their optimum health and wellbeing. The other functional health pattern strength that was identified in the family is their use of effective coping with adversities. The husband reported that the family relies on each other and the community members in coping with stressful experiences. Effective coping is important, as it eliminates adverse events due to maladaptive responses such as depression among family members (Silva et al., 2017).
Problems or Barriers
One of the areas where health problems were identified was the minimal engagement of the family members in active physical activities and leisure. Minimal engagement in active physical activity is a critical predictor of lifestyle and behavioral problems such as obesity and hypertension. Inadequate leisure activities also predispose the family members to poor coping with stress (Magnavita, 2018). The second health problem identified from the interview is poor dietary habits. The husband reported occasional intake of unhealthy diets in the family due to the high cost of healthy diets. As a result, they are predisposed to poor health outcomes such as obesity, malnutrition and overweight (Cherfan et al., 2020). The last health problem identified is high rate of dependence in the family. The other family members are not working apart from the husband and wife. A high rate of dependence has resulted in financial constraints and minimal engagement of the family in healthy habits such as physical activity.
Application of Family Systems Theory
The family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members that can initiate positive changes to the overall family functions. One of the ways is by encouraging them to work together in addressing the health-related needs. Since families are interconnected entities, they can work together in ensuring that the diverse needs of the members can be met. The other way in which the theory can be applied is through health education (Jakimowicz et al., 2021). The family members can be educated on ways of achieving their optimum health and resources that they need.
Conclusion
Overall, family functional assessment is important in nursing. It facilitates the identification of health needs in families and ways of addressing them. Family systems theory can be applied to enhance the realization of the diverse needs of the families. Therefore, nurses should develop competencies on addressing the actual and potential needs of the families they serve in their practice.
References
Alrushud, A. S., Rushton, A. B., Kanavaki, A. M., & Greig, C. A. (2017). Effect of physical activity and dietary restriction interventions on weight loss and the musculoskeletal function of overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: A systematic review and mixed method data synthesis. BMJ Open, 7(6), e014537. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-014537
Cherfan, M., Vallée, A., Kab, S., Salameh, P., Goldberg, M., Zins, M., & Blacher, J. (2020). Unhealthy behaviors and risk of uncontrolled hypertension among treated individuals-The CONSTANCES population-based study. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 1925. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58685-1
Jakimowicz, S., Perry, L., & Lewis, J. (2021). Bowen Family Systems Theory: Mapping a framework to support critical care nurses’ well-being and care quality. Nursing Philosophy, 22(2), e12320. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12320
Magnavita, N. (2018). Obstacles and Future Prospects: Considerations on Health Promotion Activities for Older Workers in Europe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(6), 1096. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15061096
Silva, N. D., Dillon, F. R., Verdejo, T. R., Sanchez, M., & De La Rosa, M. (2017). Acculturative Stress, Psychological Distress, and Religious Coping Among Latina Young Adult Immigrants. The Counseling Psychologist, 45(2), 213–236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000017692111