Family health assessment

Family health assessment

Thesis

Family health assessment plays a pivotal role in the management of wellness of a family. Evaluation and adoption of proper health seeking behaviors and management of effective therapeutic regimen are the important elements of the family health assessment. This process is developed to deliver care to individuals and provide them with the necessary knowledge and guidelines in order to improve their quality and quantity of life.

Introduction

The family health assessment is an important tool to evaluate the health problems and health process management on the primary level. The physical and functional activities and the psychological well being of a person play a crucial role in the improvement of the quality of his life. The family health assessment helps to develop a healthcare plan for a family. A nurse plays a powerful role in this process using Gordon's 11 functional health patterns as the main sources of data collection and nurse diagnosis.

Discussion

Nurse Assessment and Gordon's 11 health patterns

Assessment is a long process that involves the holistic, the systemic collection of the data, its validation and selection. Family health assessment is the collection of health related data of a family and evaluating the necessary outcomes to be taken in response to that data (Anonymous, 2010)

Marjory Gordon gave a set of eleven patterns to assess health. These patterns are used by the nurses for nurse assessments (Ladd, 2002). The patterns include

Health Perception/ Health Management

Sleep - Rest:

Nutrition and Metabolism

Elimination

Activity and Exercise

Cognition and sensory Perception

Values and Beliefs

Self Concept

Roles and Relationships

Sexuality

Coping/ Stress tolerance

All of these health patterns are observed for Mister Johnson's family (see appendix). The results after the detailed interview are summarized below

Health Perception/ Health Management

No member in the family has been suffering from a chronic illness. However, Mr. Johnson has got a stent in his heart two years back. He has multiple blockages. He has been suggested by the doctor to do certain exercises and take his medication on time. He forgets to take the medication. He does not seem to be very happy with his stent. This might be the reason he has been avoiding his medications deliberately. He has started smoking after his stent.

Sleep - Rest

Except for Mr. Johnson, every member in the family takes a proper sleep of at least 6 to 8 hours.

. Mr. Johnson does not sleep for more than 4 to 5 hours. He is stressed and sometimes takes sleeping pills. He has made smoking a habit since 2 years.

Nutrition and Metabolism

The family follows traditional food choices. They strictly avoid alcohol, and the food is cooked at home by Mrs. Johnson. However, Mr. Johnson has developed a love for the fast food from past two years after the doctor told him that he should be avoiding it.

The answers clearly indicate that Mr. Johnson has taken his problem really seriously. And he is unintentionally ignoring the prescriptions and advice given by the doctor.

Elimination

The elimination profile for the family is normal. No urinary or fecal discharge problems are noticed. Mr. Johnson took something from the local market ...