Family Health Assessment
Gordon's 11 functional health patterns
a) Values, health perception
i. What values have been central in promoting the well-being of the family?
ii. What behavior patterns in the family increase your susceptibility to diseases?
b) Nutrition
i. On average how many glasses of water does each family member consume each day?
ii. What does a normal meal include in the family?
c) Sleep/Rest
i. Does any member of the family suffer from sleep disorders?
ii. Does any member of the family experience fatigue despite of having adequate sleep during the night.
d) Elimination
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i. Does any member of the family suffer from bowel movement disorders such as constipation or diarrhea?
ii. Does any member of the family suffer from bladder disorders such as urinary inconsistencies?
e) Activity/Exercise
i. What leisure activities do the family members undertake?
ii. What roles does each member undertake to help in the maintenance of cleanliness of the family house?
f) Cognitive
i. Who are the major decision makers in the family?
ii. Does any member of the family suffer from learning or cognition disability?
g) Sensory-Perception
i. Does any member suffer from eye, sight and smell impairment?
ii. What activities does the family undertake to improve the environment?
h) Self-Perception
i. Does any member of the family suffer from self-esteem problems?
ii. What are your views on violence in the family such as child abuse or domestic violence?
i) Role Relationship
i. What is the role of each member of the family?
ii. Describe the relationship between family members.
j) Sexuality
i. Are there family members with gender identity disorders
ii. Has any member of the family suffered from traumatic sexual experiences such as rape?
k) Coping
i. How does that family deal with stressful situations
ii. Activities that the family undertakes to support a family member who dealing with a challenging situation.
Family Health Assessment
Family health assessment aims at promoting the well-being of family units through concerted intervention programs. The intervention helps to identify risk factors and behavior patterns, which make family members more susceptible to socially determined diseases (Bomar, 2004). Using the Gordon’s eleven functional health patterns, I undertook a health assessment of one of the families in my neighborhood. The family of African American background is made up of two parents and three children, two girls, and a boy. The children are in their teenage years with the oldest being sixteen and the youngest thirteen. Both parents work full time and the children are in school during the day and undertake extracurricular activities in the evening.
The family has a strong religious background. Through the Christian values, the parents have been able to establish a value system in the family. The parents do not condone drug use, abuse, and premarital sexual activities. In addition, they have cultivated a good work ethic in the children. The children are allowed to socialize with peers of the same age who are always welcome in the family home whenever parents are at home. Although the mother is in a full time profession, she finds time to cook healthy meals for her family in the evening. However, the children like to snack on junk food, which may be very unhealthy in the long term.
The parents love to take water and other fluids and take roughly six to eight glasses a day. However, the children prefer to take soft drinks with water intake being only one to glasses a day. The family eats dinner together in the evening. The mother ensures that the meal includes vegetables, proteins, and a carbohydrate. The parents undertake many activities during the day; therefore, they are always very exhausted and usually retire to bed before nine pm. The son who the youngest is very active in sports and by evening he is exhausted. However, the second born daughter suffers from insomnia. Although she suffered from bed wetting at a tender age, the other family members have healthy urinary and bowel movement activities.
The family does not engage any services of a house help to manage their very tidy home. Each family member has a responsibility, which he or she undertakes either in the morning or in the evening. With the division of chores, each member is left with adequate time for personal grooming and rest. The family emphasis on physical exercise the children undertake sports and other extracurricular activities in school. The mother and father have a gym membership, which allows them to exercise every other day.
The parents are the ultimate decision makers although they are always seek the opinion of their children when the decision affects them directly. The parents are both lawyers in a local firm and the children have been able to maintain good performance in school. However, the second born daughter’s performance in school keeps fluctuating. The father and first-born daughter both wear spectacles when reading because they suffer from long sightedness. The family in general is very perceptive of the environment conservation. The family has planted a few trees and flowers in the compound which they maintain themselves over the weekend.
All the children are very confident and show a lot of potential. The family has cultivated a loving atmosphere. Sometimes the family members have arguments, which are resolved as amicably as possible between the conflicting parties. The children have developed a competitive relationship, which has helped them to perform well in school. Both parents guide their children during any challenging situations and major decisions. The children support their parents by ensuring they perform their daily chores without supervision. The family leaves in safe neighborhood and although the second born daughter almost suffered from a sexual harassment from one her teachers; the situations was resolved and she underwent counseling. The parents have always encouraged their children to express any negative emotions through talking about them. The parents encourage the children to undertake positive extracurricular activities as a family, for example, every weekend they watch a movie together.
Wellness Diagnosis
According to Carpenito-Moyet (2008), a wellness nursing diagnosis helps an individual or family to move from their current level of wellness to a higher level of wellness. The second born daughter exhibits potential for more emotional stability to address her insomnia and fluctuating performance in school. To increase her wellness the parents should intervene and get to the root of her problems which include sexual harassment, possibly through more intensive counseling. The children also demonstrate resistance to nutritious food as they prefer to snack on junk food and not healthy food like their parents. This may predispose them to life style diseases in the long-term (Miller, 2007). The parents should help the children by teaching them how to make healthy snacks. The children demonstrate readiness to increase water intake. The parents should encourage the children to develop a culture of drinking water by emphasizing the benefits of adequate water to health. The children generally demonstrate positive self-esteem and confidence and demonstrate potential for success. This is because of the loving and supportive atmosphere at home. There is also a positive sense of independence and responsibility within the family. This has led to the proper maintenance of the household duties and general good performance of all family members.
References
Bomar, P. J. (2004). Promoting health in families: applying family research and theory to nursing practice USA: Elsevier Health Sciences
Carpenito-Moyet, L. J. (2008).Nursing diagnosis: application to clinical practice USA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers.
Miller, C. A. (2007). Nurse's tool book for promoting wellness. New York: McGraw-Hill Prof Med/Tech Publishers.
