Evidencing Relating to a Family Issue - Literature review Example

Running Header:  Evidence relating to family issue Insert Your Name Here Subject: Diabetes Mellitus Title:  Evidence Relating To Family Issue Date: 25th October 2010 The Khalid family immigrated from Saudi Arabia to come and study in Australia the family consists of four members namely the Khalid, his wife Moneerah who Is 30 years and their two children Nasser who is 5 years old and Torky who is 3 years old. Mr. Khalid is a 34 year old man who is a diabetic person and is currently undertaking his masters of education degree in an Australian university. Diabetes is always considered a hereditary disease but the family of Khalid do not have traces of diabetes so they are healthy except him. According to Strojek et al. (1997) “Nephropathy of type II diabetes: Evidence for hereditary factors? Family studies point to an important genetic element in the genesis of diabetic nephropathy, but it is not known whether renal abnormalities are present prior to the onset of diabetes” With diagnosis of diabetes there are usually major changes affecting the family as a whole. This affects all the members of the society and it should appear trying to the spouse of Khalid since she has to contend with her husband’s disease and the changes which pertain to their relocation to a new environment, and taking care of the young children. The changes that accrued from Khalid’s illness have changed the life of this family in many ways this is starting from lifestyle, what they eat, how to communicate with each other and interact with each other. This literary review will analyze the issues affecting a family with a member suffering from diabetes Literature review The objective of this review is to highlight the problems faced by the families of a diabetic person. According to Ahmed, Kheir and Hamed (2001) There is a lot of evidence pointing to the fact that each families are affected by a couple of factors that all contributes to shape the family responsibilities and this usually vary from challenges in relations to the severity of the illness, the length of the illness, development, personal self- concept, social support, stressors, gender and coping strategy. Diabetes is a unique kind of chronic disease that affects the human population with the onset of diabetes most family go through major changes in life which may vary from the type of disease that the diabetic person is suffering from. According to Andrew J et al (2004) a diabetic person has to have changes in relations to lifestyle and dietary issues every member of the family is supposed to chip in and give a hand or assist or in some other case learn to give the sufferer a personal space. Diabetes affect people in different ways so the family of a sufferer especially a spouse has to contend with a lot of changes that happens The most common issues and problems facing a family whose member is suffering from diabetes is mostly the lack of clear communication among the members of the family with regards to everything. According to diabetic daily (2006) A diabetic person usually suffers from mood swings and infections which are mostly fungal. They also suffer from impotency if they are men or lack of enough energy to do any other duties in the house. Mood swing is the major issue affecting both men and women who suffer from diabetes. According to a BBC document which cited a nutrionist named Sam Graci “ notes that as men age their hormonal health changes dramatically as testosterone levels are depleted and oestrogen levels rise. This is known as Andropause, when these hormonal changes are also compounded with the blood sugar fluctuation of a diabetic some unusual pattern of mood and emotions can manifest in men. This might be true in Khalid case since their lives have changed since Khalid was diagnosed with diabetes. These changes have affected the whole family as a whole since they do now know in what mood Khalid would be in when he comes home. The family of a diabetic person needs to know how to cope with this issue in a sense that they should always know how to deal with the mood swing as it comes. There are also the changes in the diet aspect of it. In order for the sufferers to feel as one with the family most family have to adopt to changes concerning diet although most dietary foods are bland and not tasty they have to contend with that since it also helps the whole family at large while making them leave a healthy life. This is a positive aspect of a family whose member is suffering from diabetes The spouse of a diabetic man who in this case is Moneera suffers when the husband becomes impotent due to his diabetic status. She has to understand that since the man is unable to perform his marital duties so she has to tread carefully and not put him in situations where he feels cornered to have sex. Gabe (2002) says that “Most men suffering from impotence whether as a sign of diabetes or other ways find it difficult to talk about their sexual performance with their spouse since they have fears that they will be ridiculed of not understood for this situation” they are usually depressed. The keeping quiet makes them suffer much more than if they talked about it to their spouse. Most men need to go beyond the fact that they have to provide sex in the family. They should know that they are not alone but are part of a family hence what affects one person affects both of them at the same time so if a man has a problem the woman has to know about it. They have to deal with it together. “Infection is another factor that affects a person leaving with diabetes and their family” Wheat(2010). The family of a diabetic person can suffer an infection through the usage of the same toiletry since mostly they suffer from fungal infection which there is a slim chance of someone else getting infected when they use say the same toilet which has just been vacated by the said sufferer. There is also the issue of body smell due to the presence of bacteria and fungi in the body which needs to be looked after. The family of a diabetic person should understand when a family member has got an odour coming from them due to this issue. Clear communication is another major issue that might affect the well being of a family who suffers from diabetic. Diabetes is a chronic disease and can affect the lifestyle of the people involved physically, emotionally and financially. this mostly can put a strain to the family well being. Communication among the family members is important since when they communicate then they will know what the other people are thinking. Communication is important especially between Khalid and his wife since most issues which comes with diabetes affects their marital life directly. The children are still young so they might not feel the pressure the adults are going through as intensely as the adults would feel. Communication is mandatory in a sense that it helps the family carry out most functions in the family and coexists as one family. This is also the only way which a problem can be solved with less fuss and misunderstandings taken care of in a family. Communication also enables the family members to adapt to not only their new surrounding but also their situation with regards to the chronic disease suffered by a member of the family. There is also the financial aspect of the disease, with a diabetic person there is need to have money put aside which will enable the person who is sick to access his or her medication at all time. The food has also to be bought with care since a diabetic person needs a well balanced diet. The family has to be an understanding family since they have to understand that a certain chunk of their income has to go into keeping the affected person well and alive to do his or her duties as needed. With Khalid being the sole bread winner and his wife Moneerah being a house wife I think the family faces some financial burden which comes with this disease. Khalid also has to study and do his masters degree so he is also in college at the same time. Moneerah has to be able to balance and take care of the keeping of the bills while keeping in mind that they have to live in such a budget in order for everything to run smoothly and also not to over burden her husband with all the worries which comes with inability to keep his family in a good lifestyle due to his illness. This might cause him to feel guilty and more often than not depressed. Coping event means the way people deal with stressful events at individual levels ( MacConnell, Campbell and Nelson, 2001) The culture of the family is important to in a sense that there is need for involvement with the process which affects the family as a whole. The family of Khalid is made up of four members who are Khalid his wife, his young son and daughter the family of Khalid speaks both Arabic and English. The family needs to be effectively involved in the life of the sufferers although the degree of involvement varies depending with which family. There are families which are over involved, some lack feelings in their involvement. There is also the narcistic participation and or the emphatic involvement and lastly the symbiotic involvement. In Khalid’s family there is a sense of high self esteem among the members of the family. These include intellectual mastery and psychological hardiness which is seen to have helped this family in coping with the strains which are associated with the situation where Khalid as the head of the family is diabetic. The most effective involvement is the empathic involvement. This is much more effective than the symbiotic and absence of involvement which is considered as absence of involvement. Moneerah is considered to have emphatically involvement to Khalid since she is the only other adult available next to Khalid of course, the other are two small children. Khalid is seen as over involved since he is the bread winner for the family and his contribution is much more than all the rest of the family since he has to attend to his work while at the same time seeing himself as a burden to his wife due to his illness since she has to do all the chores which is involved in the effective day to day running of the family. The family has also to attend to behavioural issue which are seen much more when it comes to dangerous situations, during meetings and when expressing their psychobiological desires and obligations such as drinking, eating, sleeping and having sex. Aggression also can be an issue and also there is the aspect of interpersonal social behaviour and when interacting with other people in the society and outside of their family. There are various styles of behaviours which are acceptable and these are determined by whether the kind of behaviour is chaotic, rigid, and flexible or laissez- faire and to maintain flexibility there is need for certain techniques which should be adhered to. The family of Khalid can be said to be a flexible kind of family. The kids maintained a sort of composure which is unique and unprecedented. All in all Khalid’s family is a family which is coping pretty well with the challenges that they are facing with the fact that they have a member of their family who is suffering from a chronic disease. Conclusion It is very hard to cope in a family which has got a member suffering from a permanent disability of a chronic disease. Acceptance is usually the best way to deal with such a kind of issue. This state of affair should be accepted as a part of the family and they should find ways to deal with it cope with it and live with it. The family should find ways in which to cope and if possible get or give help and support to one another where possible. There is no need for family members to try to ignore the situation since doing this will only make matters worse for every one in the family. Accepting responsibility is the major requirement that a family has to go through. Trying to ignore the status of the member who is suffering from the chronic dieses or avoiding responsibilities will only make things worse as the affected member will feel ostracised, unwanted and a big burden to the other members of the family this may prompt them to be depressed and depression can cause them to think of committing suicide. Depression also makes the immune system of the sick person weaker hence making them susceptible to diseases such as fungal infections, bacterial infection, coughs and cold and also skin diseases. The Khalid family have learnt to accept KHalids conditions and play a role in the management of the diabetes and in doing so, the family is brought closer together and they feel as part of the problem solving team. Although this cannot make the diabetes go away, it does a great deal of help to make Khalid’s situation much more bearable and the life worth living Bibliography 1. Web MD, Diabetes and infections retrieved on 25th October 2010 from http://diabetes.webmd.com/guide/infections-linked-diabetes 2. Daily diabetic cant beat me, Diabetic men may experience sever mood swings, retrieved on 25th October from http://www.daily-diabetic.com/50226711/diabetic_men_may_experience_severe_mood_swings.php 3. Stojek K, Grzeszczak W, Morawin E. Adamski M, Lacka B, Rudzik H., Schmidt S. , Keller C, Ritz E., Boder W. A. , Noble N. A. (1997),Nephropathy of type II diabetes : Evidence for hereditary factors?, International Society of Nephrology INT 4. Ahmed, A husein, A. Kheir. M and Ahmed N (2001), impact of diabetes mellitus on Sudanese women, practical diabetes international, pg 115-118 5. Andrew J. Palmer BSc,MB,BS , Stéphane Roze MS , William J. Valentine PhD , Giatgen A. Spinas MD , Jonathan E. Shaw MD  and Paul Z. Zimmet MD. (2004), Intensive lifestyle changes or metformin in patients with impaired glucose tolerance: Modeling the long-term health economic implications of the diabetes prevention program in Australia, France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, Vol 26, issue 2, pg 304-321 6. Wheat L J, (1980) infection and diabetes, Diabetes Care, vol. 3 no. 1 187-197 7. Gabe M. Erectile dysfunction and quality of life in type 2 diabetic patients - A serious problem too often overlooked. Diabetes Care, 2002, Vol 25, Iss 2, pp 284-291 8. Read More

Mood swing is the major issue affecting both men and women who suffer from diabetes. According to a BBC document which cited a nutrionist named Sam Graci “ notes that as men age their hormonal health changes dramatically as testosterone levels are depleted and oestrogen levels rise. This is known as Andropause, when these hormonal changes are also compounded with the blood sugar fluctuation of a diabetic some unusual pattern of mood and emotions can manifest in men. This might be true in Khalid case since their lives have changed since Khalid was diagnosed with diabetes.

These changes have affected the whole family as a whole since they do now know in what mood Khalid would be in when he comes home. The family of a diabetic person needs to know how to cope with this issue in a sense that they should always know how to deal with the mood swing as it comes. There are also the changes in the diet aspect of it. In order for the sufferers to feel as one with the family most family have to adopt to changes concerning diet although most dietary foods are bland and not tasty they have to contend with that since it also helps the whole family at large while making them leave a healthy life.

This is a positive aspect of a family whose member is suffering from diabetes The spouse of a diabetic man who in this case is Moneera suffers when the husband becomes impotent due to his diabetic status. She has to understand that since the man is unable to perform his marital duties so she has to tread carefully and not put him in situations where he feels cornered to have sex. Gabe (2002) says that “Most men suffering from impotence whether as a sign of diabetes or other ways find it difficult to talk about their sexual performance with their spouse since they have fears that they will be ridiculed of not understood for this situation” they are usually depressed.

The keeping quiet makes them suffer much more than if they talked about it to their spouse. Most men need to go beyond the fact that they have to provide sex in the family. They should know that they are not alone but are part of a family hence what affects one person affects both of them at the same time so if a man has a problem the woman has to know about it. They have to deal with it together. “Infection is another factor that affects a person leaving with diabetes and their family” Wheat(2010).

The family of a diabetic person can suffer an infection through the usage of the same toiletry since mostly they suffer from fungal infection which there is a slim chance of someone else getting infected when they use say the same toilet which has just been vacated by the said sufferer. There is also the issue of body smell due to the presence of bacteria and fungi in the body which needs to be looked after. The family of a diabetic person should understand when a family member has got an odour coming from them due to this issue.

Clear communication is another major issue that might affect the well being of a family who suffers from diabetic. Diabetes is a chronic disease and can affect the lifestyle of the people involved physically, emotionally and financially. this mostly can put a strain to the family well being. Communication among the family members is important since when they communicate then they will know what the other people are thinking. Communication is important especially between Khalid and his wife since most issues which comes with diabetes affects their marital life directly.

The children are still young so they might not feel the pressure the adults are going through as intensely as the adults would feel. Communication is mandatory in a sense that it helps the family carry out most functions in the family and coexists as one family. This is also the only way which a problem can be solved with less fuss and misunderstandings taken care of in a family. Communication also enables the family members to adapt to not only their new surrounding but also their situation with regards to the chronic disease suffered by a member of the family.

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