The goal of family assessment is to improve the health and control or prevent disease in the family. The nurse will be able to assess the family’s general health, interpersonal relationships among members, and any chronilogical issues in the family during this process. Identifying familial risk factors can help nurses plan how to address these concerns.
The assessment of family health includes six main domains: family structure, functional health patterns, cultural and spiritual beliefs, stressors and resilience, coping strategies, and support systems. Data for the assessment can be gathered through interviews with the family members, observation of their interactions, and review of available records.
When assessing the family’s health, the nurse should consider the following:
– The family’s strengths and weaknesses
– The health status of each individual member
– How well the family functions as a unit
– The family’s ability to cope with stressors
– The support systems available to the family
The goal of family assessment is to promote health and prevent or control diseases affecting the family. By identifying risk factors and areas of need, the nurse can develop a plan of care to improve the family’s health.
“The major aims of family health promotion evaluations are to promote family health, strengthen family unity, and enhance quality of life. Family is defined as “any group of people related either biologically, emotionally, or legally.” Religious, spiritual, and traditional ideas influence family values.” (McDaniel et al., 2005 p2) Affection, responsibility, care for others, or dependence are all essential qualities in a family. The importance of the family is reflected in its name.
The family assessment is a significant nursing intervention that can be used to promote health and prevent illness. It provides information about the family structure, function, roles, relationships, and resources. The assessment also identifies the family’s strengths and weaknesses. The nurse can use this information to develop a plan of care that will help the family maintain or improve their health.
There are many different ways to assess families. One way is to use the Genogram. This is a graphical representation of the family tree that shows the relationships between family members. The Genogram can be used to identify patterns of behavior within the family that may be contributing to health problems.
Another way to assess families is through interviews. This gives the nurse an opportunity to ask questions and get to know the family members. The interviews can be conducted individually or in a group setting.
The Family Health Assessment is an important tool that can be used to promote family health and prevent illness. By using this assessment, the nurse can develop a plan of care that will help the family maintain or improve their health.
When I selected my family for each functional health pattern’s health assessment, I was able to obtain an impression of the family member’s health perspective and lifestyle or life processes. For each of the eleven functional health patterns, I began the interview with open-ended questions. We continue to hold certain values that have been handed down through generation after generation by my parents, and we attempt to instill them in our children from an early age.
The family eats meals together whenever possible. The family health assessment consists of eleven different functional health patterns. The first one is values and beliefs. In our family, we uphold certain values that have been passed down from my parents and we pass them through to our children from an early age and try to develop those important values while they are growing. The second is nutrition. The family eats meals together whenever possible.
The third is elimination. There have been no concerns with any family member in this pattern. The fourth is activity/exercise. Everyone in the family tries to get some form of exercise every day, whether it’s going for a walk, playing a sport, or working out at the gym. The fifth is sleep/rest. Everyone in the family gets a good night’s sleep on most nights and feels rested during the day.
The sixth is cognitive abilities. There have been no concerns with any family member in this pattern. The seventh is self-perception. Everyone in the family has a positive self-image and feels good about themselves. The eighth is role relationships. Everyone in the family has healthy relationships with each other and there is a lot of support within the family.
The ninth is sexuality/reproduction. There have been no concerns with any family member in this pattern. The tenth is coping/stress tolerance. Everyone in the family copes well with stress and has healthy coping mechanisms in place. The eleventh is health perception. Everyone in the family has a positive view of their health and takes steps to maintain their health.
After interviewing each family member and completing the family health assessment, it was evident that the family is overall healthy and functioning well. There are no major concerns with any of the functional health patterns. The family has a good support system in place and they are all able to cope well with stress. They have healthy relationships with each other and they all take steps to maintain their health.
My family’s most important values are faith in God, honesty, family togetherness, respect for others and superiors, treating everyone with respect and politeness. My family is aware of health-boosting behaviors and methods for maintaining a good quality of life such as nutritious diets, immunization, safety precautions, and so on. We place a high value on nutritious meals that are generally home-cooked but my daughter has to rely on fast food because she is away from home the majority of the time and resides on a college campus.
The eating habits of my family are good and we have regular meals, but again my daughter has irregular eating habits. We do not have any genetic disorders in our family.
My father is a retired government employee and my mother is a homemaker. I have an elder sister who is married and settled in the USA with her family and a younger brother who is studying engineering. My husband is working in a private sector and I am a homemaker. We have a daughter who is studying medicine.
As far as physical health is concerned, all of us are relatively healthy except for my mother who has diabetes and hypertension. My father had a heart attack 10 years ago but he has recovered well and leads a relatively active life. My sister also has some health issues but she is managing them well.
As far as mental health is concerned, all of us are relatively happy and stress-free except for my mother who often gets stressed about her health condition. My sister also has some mental health issues but she is managing them well.
I think the overall health of my family is good, but there is always room for improvement. I would like to see my family members eating more healthy foods and getting more exercise. I would also like to see my family members getting more regular checkups and screenings so that we can catch any potential problems early on.
Due to this, we see that she is gaining more time! We as a family have standard bowel, bladder, and skin cleanings aside from my daughter who has constipation due to her current living circumstances. We make sure our family members get enough hours of sleep and rest, although I myself do not because of the nature of my work shift. I compensate for this by taking extra and adequate hours of sleep during my off days. However, insufficient sleep does not have an impact on my cognitive capabilities.
We do not have any mental health or substance abuse issues within our family. I would like to say that we have a strong social support system, because we are always there for each other in good and bad times. My husband is the one who provides us with financial support, while I take care of the house and children.
I would say that our family is doing well in terms of physical health, but we could improve on our eating habits by including more fruits and vegetables in our diet. We should also try to get more exercise, even if it means going for a walk every day. In terms of mental health, we are doing well, but we could always be better at communicating with each other. We should make sure that we are always there for each other, no matter what.
