The Form and Function of the Family - Essay Example

The Form and Function of the Family The Form and Function of the Family Introduction The family is the basic unit of society. The relationship each family member has influences the understanding of behavior and can be seen in the family’s structural, communicational, and developmental patterns (Edelman & Mandle, 153). Considering the complex structure of family, nurses utilized a comprehensive family assessment tool in the appraisal of health promotion and disease prevention. A comprehensive family assessment serves as baseline for promoting health and is also affected by nurse perception, theoretical knowledge, and ability to put the family at ease (Edelman & Mandle, 154). The family is also the starting point of learning. It is where the children learn the values in life as well as the different responsibilities concerning their ages. The family is the nurse’s first step in promoting health as well as the most perfect example of individual and holistic caring. The family as the basic medium for health promotion has several responsibilities. Among of these responsibilities are (1) self-care and dependent-care competencies within the family, (2) resilience demonstration among family members, (3) provision of resources, and (4) individual health promotion and family cohesion (Edelman & Mandle, 153). With the broadness and complexity of the form and structure of a family, it is essential that nurses perform various roles and framework to facilitate health of the family. A comprehensive and accurate assessment yields appropriate family diagnosis and care plan or interventions. Family Health Assessment I had interviewed the family of Mr. X. Together with his family members, he gave me full consent in assessing his family structure and function by asking different questions. The Gordon’s Functional Assessment was used during the interview and some of the details were showed below: a) Values, health perception – Mr. X and his family members were asked, “How do you know that each of the family members is healthy? How do you define health?” Based on this question, all of the family members answered that they knew they are healthy because they do not get sick often and they do not frequently go to the hospital. b) Nutrition – I asked Ms. H, the wife of Mr. X regarding who prepares the food served to the family and food selection. Ms. H answered, “I am always the one preparing food for them. I make sure that what they eat is healthy such as combination of meat and vegetables in a meal.” c) Sleep/Rest – I assessed also the general sleep-rest pattern of the family. I asked each of them of the time they sleep. Mr. X and his wife sleep around 9pm while their three sons sleep around 2am in the morning and the two girls around 10pm. I made a follow-up question for boys, “What keeps you awake at that time?” The boys answered that they usually did not notice the time because they were busy playing online games. d) Elimination – I asked general question such as “Have you experienced changes from usual pattern of your bowel and bladder movement?” All of them stated that there are no irregularities experienced as of the moment. e) Activity/Exercise – The activity and exercise pattern of the family were assessed by asking them if they believe that this will contribute to good health. The family believe that this contribute to good health that is why they were jogging every morning to be physically fit. f) Cognitive/Perception – I asked them whether who decides in terms of health promotion activities. Mr. X stated, “We used to discuss that matter among our kids and we let them express their opinions.” g) Self-perception – I asked the kids this time about their opinion on what made their family unique from others. The kid stated that it’s the relationship they have. Their parents are very supportive and they have open communications. h) Role relationship – In discussing role relationship, I just asked them if they are living with other relatives. They stated that they are not. Based on their answer, the family structure, which is involved in this assessment, is a nuclear family. i) Sexuality – To assess sexuality, I separated the couple from the kids to maintain privacy. I asked the couple, “Is there a sense of commitment, love, obligation, and care for each other?” Mr. X answered, “Absolutely yes. The relationship my wife and I have is satisfying and we wanted our children to grow in a family with love and respect.” j) Coping – I asked them how they cope with stressful situations and they answered, “We usually lay everything to God. We know that all this problems can be resolved and there’s nothing to worry.” k) Values/Beliefs – The family of Mr. X stated that they believe in Almighty God. Aside from stressful conditions, they also consult the guidance of God for big family decisions. Summary of Findings Based on the family assessment, the following findings need’s health attention: The family of Mr. X has a narrowed idea of health. Health implications such as not going frequently to hospital due to lack of diseases shall be corrected. The concept of health must be modified among members of the family. The amount of sleep the boys have needs to be discussed by the family. The nurse incorporates in the health teaching the importance of not having sufficient amount of sleep especially during developmental stages. Using the system theory and developmental theory, the identified family nursing diagnoses were (1) from a system approach, the family is classified as open family with permeable boundaries, and (2) from developmental theory, Mr. X family is categorized in a family with school-aged children aged. The main focus of this stage is values and goal development of the children. Health education is necessary to establish positive attitudes. Conclusion The family is the logical unit to start health promotion and disease prevention activities. The complexity in structure and function of a family requires a nurse to establish a comprehensive family assessment in order to facilitate health among family members. Open-ended questions will help the nurse to have a clear picture and deeper understanding of the family situations. In addition, the utilization of the Gordon’s functional health pattern will help the nurse organize basic assessment information of the family. The health promotion approach depends on the theory used. Classifying the structure of the family involves the system theory while approaching on the developmental stage focuses on developmental theory. Health promotion and disease prevention is the core responsibility of nurses and family. Work Cited Edelman, Carole Lium & Mandle, Carol Lynn. Health Promotion throughout the Life Span. 6th ed. Missouri, Mosby, Inc., 2006. P. 152-171. Read More