Case Study: Assessment and Diagnoses - Assignment Example

The family is being affected on all levels (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) as they attempt to deal with Peter’s illness. The Family and Healthcare Functions Affective Both parents are working but much of their money goes to support Peter. Currently, Maria is in trouble at work (she is a full-time teacher) because of the time she has had to take off work to care for Peter; her husband Jose is a mechanic. Maria and her husband do not have time to spend with each other because they have to work.

Katy seems to feel unloved and unattended to because she is acting out at school and at home. She appears to be angry at the attention going to Peter, because she refuses to go to the hospital to see him. Katy’s behavior changed since Peter’s illness was diagnosed. The case study says that there are no marital problems, but the family is having problems dealing with Peter, and cannot provide mutual nurturance to each other or to the other children. All of the children still live at home. The fact that everyone must focus on Peter, takes away from the children and their emotional needs.

One could say that this is a cohesive family that falls into the category of connected in moderate to high cohesion. However, the family is currently under stress because of Peter’s condition and there seems to be more anxiety, and Katy may be grieving the fact that her brother is not the way he used to be, which may be the reason she does not want to see him in the hospital. Socialization The only socialization that the family currently receives is through their church. The family is Catholic and active in their church.

Maria teaches Catechism classes, Jose is a lector and two of the children sing in the children’s choir. There is an extended family. Maria’s sister is organizing a charity event to help with Peter’s healthcare. Currently, there is no other information about the family’s social life. Reproductive Maria and Jose have four children, none of which are old enough to marry or bear children. Economic and Healthcare This area seems to be the most difficult for the family. They are already a month behind on their rent, and they are living paycheck to paycheck because of their financial challenges.

Their car broke down and needed to be fixed. Medical bills for Peter are mounting, though they hope that some of these bills will be paid by Medicaid. Maria may be in danger of losing her job, and she is the most stable income. Jose has also had to take time away from his job for family issues, which means that he is not bringing in much money. Maria must pay health insurance for her and for Jose as well. Developmental Stages of the Family Currently, the family is between stages. In many respects, although they have passed stage 1, Marriage and the Family, they will need to revisit it when health issues settle down for Peter.

They have accomplished the tasks of getting married, having a family, and creating the bonds, but they may have to revisit this stage when they have less time needed for Peter. They are also in stage 4, because their children are school age. At this stage, the tasks are to prepare their children to function well in the world and maintain their relationship in their marriage. The family is not able to complete this stage at this time because of stress factors and the fact that they need to put the most time and energy into Peter and his health.

The other family members are not receiving the