Summary of the Health Profile
Family violence has continuously been a health issue in the United States for a long time. According to Whyte (2009), in every family, there is always the center of power. In most cases, the physical strength of partners in the family determines the center of power. This makes men more likely at the center of power. In some cases, the center of power might be based on some other demographic factors, such as the level of income earned by the partners and the superiority of the family where either of the partners was born. In some cases, some partners tend to use their source of power to abuse the other partner or other members of the family physically. This makes family members of such abusive families at high risk of sustaining serious injuries from physical abuses. According to Campbell and Humphreys (2008), when the family has a member who is violent, other members are always put at a precarious position as far as their safety is concerned. Such behavior always starts slowly where one partner hits the other. When the behavior is not controlled by putting the power of the aggressive partner under check, the behavior will escalate and the physical injury will become severe. Members of the family will live in constant fear of the possible consequences of actions of the aggressive partner.
Cases have been reported where a partner sustains serious injuries from such abuses. When the abuse is directed to a child, there are possibilities that a minor can have a permanent psychological problem in the entire life. Such a child may grow up to be abusive as the aggressor in the family. In some extreme cases, such aggressions have led to demise of victims, especially in cases where excessive force is used. There are also cases where the victims in self-defense kill the aggressors. This puts such families at very high risk of obtaining serious injuries physically and psychologically due to the abusive behavior.
Supporting Literature: Applicable Theories
Scholars have used three main theoretical perspectives to explain dynamics of violence in the family. The first perspective is intra-individual perspective, which involves the attributes of an individual. They are personality attributes that make him or her abusive in nature. The aggressor in this case will be misusing the power he or she has over the other to abuse them, express their power over them, or to have their way whenever there is a need for consensus. It is also believed that some of the victims of the misused power take part in abuse by behaving in a manner that would facilitate to the abusive actions.
The second perspective can be analyzed from the socio-cultural front. According to Friedman, Bowden, and Elaine (2003), socio-cultural theories of violence focus on the macro-level conditions of society that create a tendency for family violence. These scholars are of the view that the attributes make an individual a perennial victim of aggression while another group is made the aggressor. Such societal issues as racism, sexism, ageism, unemployment, and poverty make a section of society become weak in the presence of other members of the society. Some societies strongly believe and advocate for male dominance in their families. Such religions and cultural beliefs do not find it wrong for a man to express his physical strength over the woman by either scolding her or even abusing her physically. In such societies, violence against women is seen as a normal practice that does not have any cause of alarm. A number of family violence theorists have pointed out the fact that the attitude of the society towards physical aggression in solving issues would always be reflected in the families. If the society welcomes this physical aggression then the aggression will be common in the family and the partner considered being the center of power would find it easy to abuse others at the slightest provocation.
The third perspective is the socio-psychological perspective, which involves examining the interface between an individual and the society. This theory holds that power is a very important component of family violence. This is because it legitimizes the interaction between partners or between parents and children. It is only when there is the legitimacy that this violence can be mated out to a member of the family. This power also helps to emphasize the value that the community places on the family member. With all these powers, an individual can easily abuse other members of the family and this may cause serious physical injury to others who are the victims (Justin, 2012).
Applicable Healthy People 2020
Healthy People 2020 program addresses the need to have a society that is free from some of the currently common diseases. One of the main aims of this program is to fight behaviors that encourage family violence in the current society. This program has identified family violence as one of the main impediment to having a healthy society within this country. A number of ways can be used in this program to fight violence within families. Working with other agencies such as human rights watch, this program has been on the forefront fighting any form of discrimination and physical abuse within families. The program has also been in spotlight encouraging equal employment opportunity for both men and women without any form of discrimination (Cheryl, Sheryl, & Bernard, 2009). This would help reduce the power that a member of the family may have over the partner.
Nursing Intervention Strategies
One of the main nursing interventions that can be used to fight this abuse is counseling. The victims of family violence always end up in hospitals. It is the responsibility of the nurses to investigate and find out the possible causes of such violence in the family (Friedman, Bowden, & Elaine, 2003). An additional intervention strategy is availing the services and community institutions that are charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the welfare of the most vulnerable, such as women and children are safeguarded. The community members should generate this initiative and ensure that the most affected individuals are helped to realize their potentials. The approach is considered strong since it helps in bringing about social change. In other words, it promotes empowerment of the marginalized groups, such as women, who are often victims of domestic violence. Development of network of leaders in the community is another intervention strategy that can reduce cases of domestic violence in case it is applied appropriately in the community. The strategy is strong because it equips members of society with gatekeepers who have adequate information and skills regarding the importance of violence deterrence (Humphreys & Campbell, 2011).
References
Campbell, J., & Humphreys, J. (2008). Nursing care of survivors of family violence. St. Louis: Mosby.
Cheryl, B. A., Sheryl, O. H., & Bernard, F. F. (2009). Parent–Child Attitude Congruence on Type and Intensity of Physical Activity. Testing Multiple Mediators of Sedentary Behavior in Older Children, 28(4), 428-438.
Friedman, M. Bowden, V., & Elaine, G. (2003). Family Nursing: Research, Theory and Practice. New York: Prentice-Hall.
Humphreys, J., & Campbell, J. (2011). Family violence and nursing practice. New York: Springer Publishers Company.
Justin, S. (2012). Performance Costs When Emotion Tunes Inappropriate Cognitive Abilities. Implications for Mental Resources and Behavior, 141(3), 411-416.
Whyte, D. (2009). Family nursing: The case of cystic fibrosis. Aldershot: Avebury.