NRS-429VN Week 2 Family-Focused Functional Health Assessment
In a family-centered care setting, the family is treated as a client and evaluated on various health aspects. A functional health assessment allows a clinician to obtain a snapshot of events in the family that will be useful in making health-related decisions.
Furthermore, the family functional health assessment allows a clinician to identify potential health problems and health barriers in the family and determine effective ways to intervene (Kaakinen et al., 2018). Using a family of Caucasian origin, the section below discusses the family structure, overall health behaviors, and actual health problems the family faces.
Family Structure and Individual Attributes
The structure of a family aids in determining the interconnectedness and relationships among family members, which may impact an individual’s physical, mental, social, or psychological well-being. The chosen family is nuclear and of Caucasian origin. The father, who is the interviewee, in this case, is the head of the household and answers the questions on behalf of the family members. John is a 45-year-old client who is a structural engineer, has hypertension and is on antihypertensive medication, and has been a smoker since he was 27 years old.
He is married to Anne, a 42-year-old obese woman who works as an accountant in a five-star restaurant. The union produced three children: Abi, the eldest son, 22 years old, who is in college pursuing nursing and living a healthy life; Sophy, 17 years old, who is in high school and has no health problems; and Amor, 15 years old, who is also in high school and has asthma. The family is middle-class, with both the father and mother working to support the household. They are Christians who attend church every Sunday and live in the city.
Health Behaviors of the Family
Following completion of the family health assessment questionnaire, the family exhibited the behaviors as stated hereafter. In terms of values and health promotion, John’s health goal was to achieve better blood pressure control, whereas Anne’s goal was to lose weight. John’s health-maintenance strategy included antihypertensive medication adherence and daily blood pressure monitoring. On the other hand, Anne had a cervical cancer screening last year after her mother died of cervical cancer at 72 in 2019.
Regarding nutrition, the family reports that they eat at restaurants most of the time, usually junk food, because the parents are always busy at work and rarely have time to prepare meals at home. According to John, the family is getting enough rest and sleep, and no one has experienced any health issues related to bowel and bladder elimination.
In terms of physical activity, John reports that they do less, amounting to about 75 minutes of sweating-inducing activity per week. They drive to and from work, so they rarely walk or engage in any of the American Heart Association’s recommended cardiovascular range of physical activities. No one in the family has cognitive or sensory perception issues.
John admits to having a dangerous copying behavior, which is excessive alcohol consumption. This happened two years ago when he lost his mother-in-law to cervical cancer. He also claims to require more alone time when confronted with stressful situations. As a result, despite having the financial means to access health care, the family is experiencing or may experience problems due to their lifestyle.
Functional Health Pattern Strengths, Health Problems, and Identified Barriers to Health
The family has distinguishable strengths on both sides of John and Anne. First, the family’s health perception appears positive, as evidenced by John’s ability to adhere to his antihypertensive medications. This is one of John’s strategies for staying healthy and living a longer life.
Second, it is clear that Anne, knowing the hereditary nature of cervical cancer, seeks a cervical cancer screening. This was triggered by her mother’s death from cervical cancer, and she became frenzied, prompting her to visit a health facility for screening. The family’s health problems include John’s hypertension, excessive alcohol consumption, and Anne’s obesity.
These issues may stem from the family’s proclivity for a sedentary lifestyle, as evidenced by failing to meet the recommended 150 minutes of the cardiovascular range of physical activity in one week (American Heart Association, 2020) and driving to and from work, thereby promoting sedentarism. A potential identified barrier to health in the family could be a lack of attitude, time, and commitment to health-promoting events such as physical activities and healthy eating.
Application of the Family Systems Theory in Soliciting for Change in the Family Members
As a theory of human behavior, the family systems theory defines a family unit as a complex social system in which the interactions between members influence each other’s behaviors. According to the theory, an individual’s functioning is determined by the system’s pushes and pulls, which could stem from the family members’ expectations, hierarchy roles, or even competing emotional demands (Jakimowicz et al., 2021).
Because the firstborn is a nursing student, he has a significant influence on his parents’ health behaviors. Abi can persuade his parents to participate in physical activities and healthy eating by teaching them the importance of the two. Furthermore, due to the issues of hierarchy, the parents are expected to provide financial resources for Abi, Sophy, or Amor to access healthcare if they become ill.
Conclusion
As the most basic unit of society, a family is crucial in determining the connectedness, relationships, and health of each member of the complex social system. In today’s healthcare system, a family is considered a separate client and can be assessed in the same way that individuals are.
However, the assessment requires a family member who can provide reliable and trusted information about the family. Clearly, the health problems in the family described result from a poor lifestyle and a failure to engage in health-promoting activities. A lifestyle change may thus be an adequate intervention to advise the family to pursue.
NRS-429VN Week 2 Family-Focused Functional Health Assessment References
- American Heart Association. (2020). American heart association recommendations for physical activity in adults and kids. Www.heart.org. Retrieved from https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/fitness/fitness-basics/aha-recs-for-physical-activity-in-adults
- Jakimowicz, S., Perry, L., & Lewis, J. (2021). Bowen Family Systems Theory: Mapping a framework to support critical care nurses’ well-being and care quality. Nursing Philosophy: An International Journal for Healthcare Professionals, 22(2), e12320. https://doi.org/10.1111/nup.12320
- Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care nursing: theory, practice, and research. F.A. Davis Company.
Appendix
Family-Focused Functional Assessment Questionnaire
- Values/Health Perception
- How can you describe the current health status of your family?
- What are your family’s health goals, and have you met any of them so far?
- What steps does your family take to achieve the aforementioned health objectives?
- Nutrition
- What foods and beverages do you frequently consume on a daily basis?
- Do you have an estimate of your daily caloric intake, and if so, what is the value?
- Is there any food restriction in your family because of a medical condition? If so, what is the ailment?
- Sleep/Rest
- Does anyone in the family suffer from a sleep disorder, and if so, what is the nature of the disorder?
- What is the family members’ sleep schedule—bedtime and wake time?
- What methods do your family members employ to ensure adequate rest?
- Elimination
- How frequently do you have bowel movements?
- How frequently do you urinate?
- Describe any health issues related to bladder and bowel elimination difficulties any of your family members may be having
- Activity/Exercise
- Tell me about any mobility issues your family members are experiencing.
- Does anyone in your family use mobility aids, and if so, why?
- Do your family members exercise? If so, how often and what types of exercises do they do?
- Cognitive
- Do you have any family members with memory issues due to age or a physical or mental condition?
- Is there a family member who has suffered from a condition that impairs their insight, abstract, and judgment? If so, what was the condition, and how did you deal with it?
- How do family members ensure each individual’s mental well-being?
- Sensory-Perception
- Tell me about any visual problems your family members may be experiencing
- Tell me about any hearing problems your family members may be experiencing
- Is there any family member who has recently suffered from decreased olfaction, and what contributed to it?
- Self-Perception
- What do you believe defines you?
- Are you satisfied with your current life and your accomplishments?
- Tell me about your life goals and how you intend to achieve them.
- Role-Relationships
- What are your most influential relationships, and how do they influence your day-to-day life events?
- How many siblings do you have, and what’s your relationship with them and your parents?
- What are your family’s expectations of you that keep you doing what you’re doing now?
- Sexuality
- I like inquiring about my clients’ sexual and intimate relationships. Tell me about what you think I should know about your intimate and sexual life
- What safety precautions do you take when engaging in intimacy and sexual intercourse with your friends?
- Have you ever felt the need to see a doctor after experiencing a problem as a result of having sex with one of your partners, and if so, what was the problem?
- Coping
- Many people go through stressful life events at some point in life. Tell me about a life event that you struggled to deal with
- How did the stressful event mentioned above affect your life, and how did you deal with it?
- Did you feel the need to talk to anyone about the situation, or did you actually talk to anyone about it, and did it relieve you of the trauma and stress associated with the event’s aftermath?
Also Read: NRS-429VN Week 5 Health Promotion in Minority Populations