ASSIGNMENT TITLE: HEALTHY LIVING

Assignment Title: HEALTHY LIVING

Healthier Living

The Key Target Markets

The family has been defined in various ways. Definitions of the family differ depending on the theoretical orientation of the “definer”—that is, by the kind of explanation the professional seeks to make concerning the family. For instance, writers who follow the interactionist theoretical orientation of the family see the family as an arena of interacting personalities, thus emphasizing the family's dynamic transactional characteristics. Writers who espouse a postmodernist perspective of the family view that each succeeding generation of persons redefines the family anew; even the most basic family function of reproduction is seen as being disconnected from the family, with “choice” being the prime context within which the postmodern family exists. Therefore, there are multiple definitions, with theories shaping these definitions and our expectations of family life. (Abelin 2007 45)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) uses a traditionally oriented definition of the family, which is as follows: “The family is composed of persons joined together by bonds of marriage, blood, or adoption and residing in the same household”. This traditional definition of the family is limiting today, both in terms of its applicability and inclusiveness. Any definition of the family must cover the wide array of family forms present today, which traditional definitions do not. Some family scholars have argued that we have defined the family according to a middle-class, white, nuclear family model and have tended to view families that do not conform to this model as “deviant”. (Dubos 2009 83)

The following additional family definitions are presented to facilitate an understanding of family literature.

Nuclear (conjugal) family—The family of marriage, parenthood, or procreation; it is composed of a husband, wife, and their immediate children—natural, adopted, or both.

Family of orientation (family of origin)—The family unit into which a person is born.

Extended family—the nuclear family and other related (by blood) people, who are usually members from the family of course of one of the nuclear family mates. These are “kin” and may include grandparents, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, and cousins.

An individual is the repository of group (especially primary group or family) experience. His or her identity is both individual (intrapersonal experiences) and social (interpersonal experiences) (Helman 2000 77).

Communication Plan

The following summary highlights the most cogent reasons why the family unit must be a central focus of our care.

The family is a critical resource for delivering health care to both individuals and families. When a family focus to care is provided, health care effectiveness has been found to improve. A primary health promotion goal is to raise the level of wellness of the whole family, which should then significantly raise the wellness level of each of its members.

In a family unit, any dysfunction (illness, separation, injury) that influences one or more family members may, and often will, somehow influence other associates plus the division altogether. The family is a closely knit, interdependent network whose members mutually influence each other. The problems of one family member “seep in” and ...