Family composition
Janet’s family is a Black American nuclear family with both parents and three children. The father of the family is 57 years old, and the mother is 50 years old. The couple has two daughters. One is 19 years old and the other one is 16 years old. They also have a son who is 22 years old.
Roles of each family member
The mother is the primary provider in this family. She plays an active role in decision-making on key family issues. The father mainly takes control of family issues when the mother goes to work. Sometimes, their son also provides for the family. The daughters provide support to their mother in making dietary choices and in doing household chores during school holidays.
Physical and Psychological conditions
The two daughters suffer from anxiety disorders due to the alcoholic nature of their father. They are always fearful of what their father can do. They are also not free to talk to any person when their father is around. The father’s addiction to alcohol affects the whole family due to his violence while drunk. There are no cases of physical conditions in the family. They have no history of any hereditary illness, and all of them always receive immunization whenever there is a need for it.
Living situation
The family lives in a middle-income estate that has good infrastructure and well-spaced houses. The houses are old with leaking asbestos roofing. The water pipes are all faulty. The mother of this family works in a government institution and is the main provider in the family. The son works with a writing company, which is not reliable.
The accomplishment of age-appropriate developmental tasks
The children have been successful in accomplishing all the age-developmental tasks except the last born, who is in the process of establishing her identity and learning how to relate with men (The Center for Parenting Education, 2012).
Effects of developmental states on the family
The developmental state of the last-born daughter is sometimes stressful to the family. Her emotional changes and obsession with the internet and films make the family uneasy. The family worries about the kind of information she accesses online. Peer pressure that comes with the process of self-identity is also a major problem for the family. Friends often influence the last-borne daughter into bad habits such as drinking and watching pornography.
The developmental stage of the family
The family is in the late parental years since all of the children are in school and dependent on their parents. The family creates a sense of discipline through sharing and managing chores in the house. There is a high level of understanding and commitment within the family, which shows the family’s achievement of all previous developmental stages.
Hospitalization
Currently, there is no family member under hospital admission. Other members are supportive in case of hospital admission. Such moments are usually the most problematic to the family. They always strain the family’s financial resources.
Modes of family communication
Family members mostly communicate face-to-face, through actions, or cell phones. The choice of the mode of communication depends on the type of relationship between the members. The mode of communication also depends on the nature of the message and the emotional state of all participating individuals.
Decision-making in the family
The family makes decisions by involving all family members. The subject influences the type of decision that an individual makes. The mother makes most of the decisions on financial matters. Decisions on education, health, and dietary decisions involve the children. The father is drunk most of the time and does not participate in making major decisions. Some personal issues usually involve individual decision-making.
Violence
Violent incidents are common in the family, especially when the father is drunk. He usually destroys household items and shouts at all the family members. Sometimes he beats up his wife and even throws everybody out of the house. Whenever there is a problem among the children, their mother convenes a meeting, and the family solves the problem democratically.
How the family deals with crises
The family seeks guidance and support from friends, church, and relatives. Family members try as much as possible to remain calm while dealing with crises. They also use previous experiences to solve issues that arise.
Cultural and religious factors
All the family members are Christians. They subscribe to the teachings of the Bible regarding taking care of human bodies. They, therefore, do not take alcohol or any other harmful drug. Their father is the only person who takes these substances.
Family goals
The family strives to achieve economic stability for all its members. The daughters are working hard in school to improve their future lives, their brother is working hard to secure a good source of income, the father is seeking employment, and the mother is looking for another job. The family also aims at attaining spiritual steadfastness.
External/internal support
Internal support mainly comes from the mother and her son. The family also enjoys financial and emotional support from the church, relatives, and friends.
Role overload and conflict
Sometimes, there is role overload on the mother. She is the primary provider for the family, which puts her under pressure. Role conflict is common as the father tries to maintain his position as the leader of the family, yet he does not provide for the family.
Emergency plan
The family has no emergency plan for disasters or crises.
Nursing diagnoses
Fear, anxiety, and health-seeking behavior
The girls and the mother are always afraid of their father’s violent behavior. They also experience anxiety due to this behavior. The whole family exhibits poor health-seeking behavior.
The Nursing process
Planning: the goals of the nursing process are to build a good relationship between the father and other family members, and to enhance good health-seeking behaviors in the family. This exercise involves s planning on how to correct their relationship and solving environmental and personal issues that cause anxiety and fear. The plan includes creating assurance, appropriate orientation to the environment, assurance of safety, establishing trust, and assisting them in identifying existing tactics of handling fear and anxiety (Brozek, Gulanick & Gradishar, 2014). The plan for overcoming poor health-seeking behaviors includes the identification of areas that need corrections, setting health objectives, and rewarding positive actions (Martucci & Gulanick, 2014).
Implementation entails putting the plan into practice. It helps achieve specific outcomes that minimize fear and anxiety and promote good health-seeking behavior. This stage also entails monitoring signs of change to estimate progress towards recovery (Nursingprocess.org, 2014).
Evaluation entails checking for a reduction in anxiety, fear, and poor health-seeking behaviors. It also involves checking for improvement in the family. Nurses formulate questions that guide the evaluation process.
References
Brozek, U., Gulanick, M., & Gradishar, D. (2014). EHS: Nursing Diagnosis Care Plans, 4/e – Fear. elsevierhealth. Web.
Martucci, S., & Gulanick, M. (2014). EHS: Nursing Diagnosis Care Plans, 4/e – Health-Seeking Behaviors. elsevierhealth. Web.
Nursingprocess. (2014). Nursing Process Steps. Web.
The Center for Parenting Education. (2012). Developmental Tasks. Web.