FAMILY ASSESSMENT PAPER

Family Assessment Paper

Family Assessment Paper

Introduction

In this paper we have to select a family that lives in the community, and that you are familiar with. We have to make a home visit and assess the family using selected components.

Family assessment

An Aztec-Mexican American Cultural Interview and Assessment Cultural Competent Care Caring for a culturally diverse community has been the focus of nursing from the beginning. In the early 1890's public health nurses caring for immigrants in New York soon realized the cultural differences between themselves and their patients. Today nurse face a greater challenge as U.S. Census data from 2000 shows a greatest shift in demographics. These changes reflect societies increasing diversity among ethnic and racial lines (Stanhope& Lancaster, 2004).

Cultural competent care in nursing is a combination of culturally congruent behaviors, practice attitudes, structures and policies that allows nurses to work effectively in cross-cultural situations, which was once thought to be all that was needed for nurses to care effectively for their patients (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2004).

Cultural competent care should be the formation for all care that nurses provide, when caring for a patient whose cultural background is different from that of the nurse. Care should be designed based on the patient's culture including his or her cultural norms, values and beliefs. Care should include strategies to empower the patient in making decisions related to his or her healthcare. Care should be provided with respect to the cultural uniqueness of the patient (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2004).

Mexican Americans represent the fastest growing minority population group in the United States. To gain their cultural perspective in healthcare one must listen to the voice of Hispanic women, as they are primarily responsible for maintaining family health within the Hispanic community ((Sandra K. Eggenberger, 2003). Maria is a 30 year old female Hispanic of Aztec-Mexican American decent. She has agreed to answer questions related to her cultural background, beliefs and values in relation to socioeconomic factors, family values, religion and health beliefs and practices. She was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and immigrated to the U.S. at age three with her parents and maternal grandparents. She believes she was raised with traditional Hispanic beliefs and values instilled by her parents and grandparents.

Maria and her family financially fall into the middle-class. She believes that Hispanics are among all socioeconomic groups. Maria's family owns a Mexican restaurant in her neighborhood. She considers her family to be financial well off among her community because they own their own business and home. The majority of Hispanics living in her local community live just below the poverty level. Maria stated, “People in the local Hispanic community make a comfortable living by American standards, however Hispanic families are much larger. It is not uncommon to have a husband, wife, children and other family members living in one home. We support our elders and unmarried aunts and uncles. It is much harder to support a family of ten than a family of four. ”Lifestyle in the Hispanic community most activities revolve around ...