Family Health Assessment Part 1

Understanding family structure and style is essential to patient and family care. Conducting a family interview and needs assessment gathers information to identify strengths, as well as potential barriers to health. This information ultimately helps develop family-centered strategies for support and guidance.

This family health assessment is a two-part assignment. The information you gather in this initial assignment will be utilized for the second assignment in Topic 3.

Develop an interview questionnaire to be used in a family-focused functional assessment. The questionnaire must include three open-ended, family-focused questions to assess functional health patterns for each of the following:

Values/Health Perception
Nutrition
Sleep/Rest
Elimination
Activity/Exercise
Cognitive
Sensory-Perception
Self-Perception
Role Relationship
Sexuality
Coping
Select a family, other than your own, and seek permission from the family to conduct an interview. Utilize the interview questions complied in your interview questionnaire to conduct a family-focused functional assessment. Document the responses as you conduct the interview.

Upon completion of the interview, write a 750-1,000-word paper. Analyze your assessment findings. Submit your questionnaire as an appendix with your assignment.

Include the following in your paper:

Describe the family structure. Include individuals and any relevant attributes defining the family composition, race/ethnicity, social class, spirituality, and environment.
Summarize the overall health behaviors of the family. Describe the current health of the family.
Based on your findings, describe at least two of the functional health pattern strengths noted in the findings. Discuss three areas in which health problems or barriers to health were identified.
Describe how family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members that, in turn, initiate positive changes to the overall family functions over time.
Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

ANSWER

Family Health and Assessment

 

The Family Structure

Mr. Arnold’s family comprises of five; himself, his wife, one daughter, and two sons. Family health assessment is essential for this family since it helps them discover their health performance, strengths, and how they can help each other recuperate (Lemke &Dunnenberger, 2020). To assess their health, a questionnaire was necessary for a comprehensive report. The family does not have any cultural beliefs that inhibit them from seeking any medical attention since the family is built on a solid Christian foundation and strongly believes in God; they claim that if God gave them the skills to invent medicine, then why shouldn’t they use it? The family always seeks medical attention twice every month, where a general medical checkup is done. At present, the family has not experienced any nutrition illness, and all are doing well presently.

Current Health of the Family

Mr. Arnold reported that their youngest daughter, who is two years old, experiences lack of sleep, especially at night. This makes her tired during the day; hence she spends up to eight hours sleeping during the day. In general, the other family members do not have challenges with sleep as they spend their days with busy schedules at school and work.

Their youngest son experiences days of constipation and can take about three days without visiting the toilet. The rest of the members have regular bowel movements and no bloating experienced. The family on Mr. Arnold’s side has a history of short-sightedness. Their eldest son is short-sighted and puts on glasses whenever he goes. Apart from sight problems, none of the family members has reported any problem with hearing or touch

The Family’s Overall Health Behavior

Each family member has the responsibility of eating healthy by ensuring that each meal they take is of low sugar and carbohydrates. According to Mrs. Arnold, they provide that each meal given to the children constitutes a balanced diet accompanied by eight liters of water daily. Fruits have been made an essential component in their meals to ensure that their children are provided with enough vitamins. The family does not involve the children in any physical exercises, except for their father. The latter jogs every morning and takes up to twelve hours in a week walking long distances. The family has got a family doctor who visits them after every five months for a general examination. They acquire all their health information from their family doctor. The family is a part of two community movements in their estate. The family is very united and tends to stand with each other no matter the situations faced. The family believes in empowering each other as Mrs. Arnold has also started a movement to help girls in their societies as she distributes sanitary towels.

Mr. and Mrs. Arnold are the sole breadwinners of the family. Everyone is allowed to give their own opinion concerning any matter or any decisions in the family. Family duties and tasks are divided equally to every member according to age and ability.

The family holds meetings every once a week to interact with their children. They discuss and engage their children openly on matters relating to sex. They describe their marriage as a thrilled, peaceful, and fulfilling one. However, both children have been raised according to the sex genders they are in respectively. The couple has experienced several stressful moments in their marriage and deals with them by supporting and encouraging each other. They also take regular family vacations to cool off their minds and overcome the stress. They have also trained themselves to appreciate and take care of whatever they have when available.

Areas Where Health Problems were Identified in the Family

The children in this family face health risk factors. The youngest son experiences constipation frequently, which may lead to hemorrhoids, fecal impaction, and even more severe complications if not taken seriously. Lack of proper sleep experienced by the younger daughter may also cause future severe illnesses like diabetes and high blood pressure. The family should therefore plan on regular clinic visits. The whole family struggled to participate in regular exercises as required. Lack of exercise may lead to obesity and sugar-related diseases (Casson&Karim, 2019).

Health Pattern Strengths in the Family

The family portrays healthy eating habits by taking in a balanced diet and foods that have low sugar content. This helps lower the levels of cholesterol and lowers the risk of contracting cardiovascular diseases. The family also takes time to have meetings to discuss sex education with their children. This is important for them because it helps them avoid engaging in unsafe sexual activities and prevents them from teenage pregnancies.

Family System Theory

According to the family system theory, parent-child relationship is an essential bond in the family since it helps raise the physical and emotional growth of a child. Positive parenting helps children get the chance to grow happy and in fulfilling relationships with others in their entire life. A healthy sibling relationship is meaningful, especially in early childhood and over a lifetime, because it helps improve social behaviors and leads to overall academic achievement (Pratt & Skelton, 2018).Parents should develop a positive relationship with each other by allowing open communication amongst all family members and developing an attitude of service., this helps children grow in a conducive and peaceful environment.

 

 

 

References

Casson, I., Hung, A., Grier, E., &Karim, S. (2019). Health Check tool: For comprehensive health assessment of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Canadian Family Physician, 65(Suppl 1), S33.

Lemke, A. A., Thompson, J., Hulick, P. J., Sereika, A. W., Johnson, C., Oshman, L., &Dunnenberger, H. M. (2020). Primary care physician experiences utilizing a family health history tool with electronic health record–integrated clinical decision support: an implementation process assessment. Journal of community genetics, 1-12

Pratt, K. J., & Skelton, J. A. (2018). Family functioning and childhood obesity treatment: a family systems theory-informed approach. Academic Pediatrics, 18(6), 620-627.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

APPENDIX

QUESTIONNAIRE

• Family values/Health perception.

(a) Does any belief lead to any health-related problem in your family?

(b)How often do you visit the doctor?

(c) Are there any cultural beliefs that hinder the family from seeking medical help?

(a)How can you describe the family’s overall health?

(b)What types of food does the family take on a typical day?

(c) What kind of snacks does the family take?

• Sleep/Rest.

(a)At what time in the evening does the family retire to bed?

(b)Does any member of the family have trouble falling asleep?

(c)What are the average hours that each member of the family takes to rest?

• Elimination.

(a)Does any member of the family experience problems with constipation?

(b)Do you experience regular bowel movements in the family?

(c)Does any of the patterns change? If yes, then how?

• Exercise/activity

(a)What kind of physical activities do you engage in?

(b)How often do you exercise?

(c)How many hours in a day do you take to exercise?

(a)How do you make health decisions in your family?

(b)Do you conduct any regular hospital checkups?

(c)How do you obtain health information in the family?

• Sensory perception.

(a) Does any of the family members experience problems in taste, hearing, or touch?

(b) Does any side of the family have a history of any medical condition?

(c) Does any of your children have eyesight problems?

• Self-perception.

(a) How does the family contribute to the community? How do you feel about that?

(b) How can you describe your family’s involvement with other people?

(c) How do you show your emotions to others?

• Role relationship.

(a) Who is the sole breadwinner of the family?

(b)  How is each member involved in the family’s decision-making?

(c)  How are household tasks divided amongst each member of the family?

10   Sexuality.

(a) Do you engage your children in sex-related education and discussion?

(b) How would you describe your marriage?

(c) How often do you get intimate as a couple?

11   Coping.

• How do you deal/cope with stress?

(b) Have you ever experienced any stressful events in your life?

(c) How does the family handle the situation whereby a specific resource has lacked?