Family Resiliency in Patients on Hemodialysis - Essay Example

Family Resiliency in Patients on Hemodialysis The article "Family Resiliency in Patients on Hemodialysis" is provides qualitative study dealing with families and patients suffering from dialysis. Therefore the article aims at providing understanding of the resiliency among caregivers and patients with chronic illnesses. Actually the chosen qualitative approach is the best suited, because it allows greater depth of understanding. The authors hope that the findings presented in the article will assist in guiding practice in relation to nursing care.

(White et al. 2004)Patients with dialysis and their family caregivers were examined in order to discover the terms of resiliency, because the patients are very vulnerable. Furthermore, the authors explore the very nature of resiliency and tend to find out whether resiliency is presented in families suffering from hemodialysis treatment. The apparent strength of the article is that it defines the operating terms and introduces examination of differences between patients on hemodialysis and their family caregivers.

The differences are found out between ethnic groups as well. The paper suggests potential research approaches to understanding family resiliency and provides resiliency model to be applied. (White et al. 2004) The discussion in the article touches the terms "resiliency" and "behavior". The authors define resiliency as "the positive behavioral patterns and functional competence individuals and the family unit demonstrate under stressful or adverse circumstances, which determine the family's ability to recover by maintaining its integrity as a unit while insuring, and where necessary restoring, the well-being of family members and the family unit as a whole".

(White et al. 2004)Moreover the authors state that behavior reflects the resiliency and thus can be easily taught, reinforced and identified. It would allow families to obtain relevant information how to cope with stressors caused by dialysis. It is suggested that successful management of dialysis must involve family-focused interventions. The current study is conducted with "a homogeneous group of white patients with ESRD" to compare resilience in families of different ethnicity. The next moment of the research is that it aims at working out effective intervention to improve resiliency in patients suffering from dialysis.

The article provides logical conclusion stating that differences between ethnical groups (White, Mexican American, and South Korean) are apparent in patients with dialysis. (White et al. 2004)Generally, white patients have the highest scores concerning well-being and coping, whereas South Koreans are reported to be the least resilient. The results of the research are statistically significant, though the comprehensive understanding of resiliency is lacked. Therefore the article tries to understand how to achieve resiliency and how to maintain it in patients with dialysis.

The authors agree that the functional model is required. (White et al. 2004) It is apparent that patients with dialysis and their family caregivers are faced with significant challenges. Therefore the research uses also naturalistic inquiry to find out how patients manage to live with dialysis. Thus the patients assist scientists in providing better understanding of the dialysis experience as well as resources and strategies to be used to support them. Furthermore, the families have to be taught how to maintain tactics aiming at restoring the well-being of the family and encompassing the positive view of life, because according to researchers the integrity of the family unit is en essential part of treatment.

The resiliency model provided is rather useful for future researches, because the families "family experiencing a chronic illness are exposed to an accumulation of demands created by the illness as well as the more routine daily stressors" and the resiliency model identifies the patterns of family functioning. Moreover, the model considers social support from relatives, friends and community. The authors conclude that successful application of resiliency model will help to explain the essential involving satisfaction with quality of life and therapeutic regimen.

(White et al. 2004)ReferencesWhite, N., Richter, J., Koeckeritz, J., Mucn, K., Walter, P. (2004). "Going Forward": Family Resiliency in Patients on Hemodialysis. Journal of Family Nursing, 10, 3, 357-378.