A family health assessment is an important step in the development of medical worker-patient relationships, which promotes the possibility to obtain enough information about health promotion and disease prevention. Communication is a good method to discover more about family values, personal feelings, and overall reflection (Persson & Benzein, 2014). In this essay, a family consisting of five members will be selected and interviewed about their styles of life, health, dietary habits, regular activities, and attitudes towards entertainment, climate, and the environment.
The analysis of the answers of participants and the application of the family systems theory should help to understand better the peculiarities of the patient and family care. The family health assessment is a unique chance for a nurse to learn patients’ needs, health conditions, and expectations from care under a particular situation within the chosen context.
Family Structure
In this project, an extended family of five people who live together will be evaluated in terms of their health and disease prevention. There are a father (40), a mother (38), a grandfather (father’s father) (75), a daughter(10), and a son (7). All the family members are White American Christians who live in a stand-alone house in Southeast Gables, Miami, Florida. The family is representative of a middle-income class with stable wages and several opportunities.
After the death of the grandmother because of diabetes and because of old age, the grandfather moved to his son. The family accepted the man positively with the only concern that was based on his smoking habit. The parents did not want their children to experience smoking outcomes and related diseases, and the grandfather tries to keep the promise and smokes outside when children are at school.
Traditions and respect for adults are highly appreciated in this family. The father is an office clerk, and the mother works in the local hospital as a nurse. Despite their occupations and routine obligations, the family has a tradition to have common dinners every evening and spend one of the days off (usually Sunday) together, playing games or barbecuing. All the members support each other, discuss various themes, and never lie.
Health Behaviors
Regarding the profession of the mother, this family is generally aware of the basics of a healthy style of life. They develop strong hygiene habits, take certain disease preventive steps, and avoid extensive use of tobacco and alcohol (except the grandfather). However, both the father and the mother are overweight due to the lack of physical exercise and the preference for a sedentary way of living. Children have normal BMI, but they are exposed to obesity-related problems because of fast food they like at school. The health behavior of the grandfather is provocative and dangerous, but he likes to use his experience, knowledge, and personal issues to prove the chosen position. His word still has some power in this family, and all the members try to find a compromise.
Health Strengths and Problems
As a nurse, the mother evaluates the wellbeing of her children regularly. One of the functional strengths is education and enhanced awareness about various diseases and their signs, which provides an opportunity to discover problems at the early stages and take the necessary diagnostic steps. Another strong aspect is based on the negative experience of the family with their grandmother and her diabetes.
This disease requires regular care and monitoring. Despite the attempts of the family to monitor glucose levels and take the necessary medications, the woman died at the age of 65. Still, this family learned how to support each other in sickness (Baig, Benitez, Quinn, & Burnet, 2015). The major barriers cover such areas as smoking dependence, family history of diabetes, and obesity. These risks increase the chances of the family having some chronic diseases and decrease the quality of life in the future.
Family Systems Theory
To promote some positive changes in family members and improve overall family functioning, a theory is recommended. Kaplan, Arnold, Irby, Boles, and Skelton (2014) discussed the benefits of the Family Systems Theory (FST) in treating people with obesity or overweight. According to this theory, there are eight concepts in terms of which each member should comprehend his or her role in family relationships. A family is defined as an emotional unit with specific interconnected and interdependent systems that reject isolation (Kaplan et al., 2014). An understanding of triangles and multigenerational transmission processes defines the quality of the relationships and explains the worth of behavioral changes in each member.
Conclusion
In general, families vary in their structures and attributes, and nursing interventions depend considerably on how a person accepts social and moral norms, understands duties, and deals with barriers. In this case, the family with a history of diabetes, obesity predisposition, and smoking habits of one member is recommended to apply the Family Systems Theory to underline the connection with this group of people and determine the roles each member should complete. The establishment of health behaviors is an integral part of human life, and the chosen family has good changes to achieve positive changes in case emotions, personal needs, and sibling positions are taken into consideration.
References
Baig, A. A., Benitez, A., Quinn, M. T., & Burnet, D. L. (2015). Family interventions to improve diabetes outcomes for adults. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1353(1), 89-112.
Kaplan, S. G., Arnold, E. M., Irby, M. B., Boles, K. A., & Skelton, J. A. (2014). Family systems theory and obesity treatment: Applications for clinicians. ICAN: Infant, Child, & Adolescent Nutrition, 6(1), 24-29.
Persson, C., & Benzein, E. (2014). Family health conversations: How do they support health? Nursing Research and Practice, 2014, 547160. Web.