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Family Health Assessment

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What are Functional Health Patterns? A functional health pattern is an assessment tool used to help identify family needs in regards to their health. The assessment evaluates weakness and dysfunction within the family that could increase potential risk factors in association with overall health and wellness (Edelman, 2010). By identifying the problem areas allows for intervention and promotional strategies to alleviate the dysfunction.
Health Pattern for my family There are eleven areas of the family health assessment: Values, health perception, nutrition, rest, elimination, activity, cognition, self-perception, role relationships, sexuality and coping. My family values include Christianity and spirituality. My family states if you give to the lord he will give back. We have some unhealthy habits in terms of adequate nutrition. We base our meals on convenience instead of health. We eat fast food or restaurant food for approximately 3 meals per week. When meals are prepared at home we eat at the family dinner table. Easy snacks and meals have become a commodity and convenience has overpowered healthy meals. Obesity, Gestational Diabetes and Hypertension run on all side of our family and should be a factor in relationship to our nutritional intake. We have a routine at home with nap and sleep schedules. However, I have a small child who frequently wakes in the night and disturbs the household sleep pattern. My husband also suffers from frequent insomnia and will watch television till the early morning hours. The youngest child is potty training. My husband suffers from Crohns disease, which is greatly affected by his dietary intake and stress. Due to the diversity and age differences in the home, we are leading an active lifestyle. We have cheerleading, baseball, soccer, horseback riding and family park time. However, there is still a lot of time spent watching television. Approximately 3-4 hours a day is spent in front of the television on average. We are well educated and obtain most of our information in books, journals, news broadcasts and in newspapers. We perceive our family as a typical american family. I have four children, two with my previous husband whom was abusive and an alcoholic and two with my current husband. My two oldest children from my previous marriage sometimes struggle with their relationship to their stepfather. The stability and non- addictive behaviors have been an adjustment for them. Overall, we strive to have a strong family union and bond. Trust and respect is the building block of our foundation as well as prayer. Our coping methods involve talking, strict rules and guidelines, hugs, love and God. However there is a coping barrier in relationship to my teenage daughter. Coping mechanisms within the family have been altered due to unhealthy behaviors. This causes increased stress and a strain on the foundation of our family union.
Nursing Diagnosis The two main nursing diagnoses that would be beneficial for my family involve stress and nutrition. The most important one is ineffective coping mechanisms related to stress and family dynamics. The evidence to support this would be the yelling, back talking and isolation my daughter displays during hard times, argument or discipline. My first intervention is support from a clinical counselor. This provides an outside resource for my daughter and opens the possibility for family counseling. Next, would be the development strategies for alternative coping mechanisms such as writing in a journal, talking to a friend or taking a time out. The desired outcome would be the development of effective coping mechanisms and confidence. According to Hill’s Theory of Family Stress, by decreasing the stress within in the home and developing effective coping mechanisms a decrease of illnesses, immune deficiency, accidents and violence will be evident ( (McDonald, 2009). The second diagnosis is altered nutrition in relationship to poor meal planning. This is evidenced by frequently fast food visits, unhealthy meals and irritation of Crohns disease because of poor dietary intake. Interventions would include possible meal planning, limiting fast food to only one meal a week, preparing meals ahead of time and paying attention to labels for more nutritional intake. The outcome would be more home cooked meals, increased family time, healthy eating and increased energy throughout the family.
Community/Web Resources There are many resources in the community and on line that could assist with the nursing diagnoses in preparation to a healthier home. The community has resources available to families for coping, teens and stress. There is also help with nutrition for busy families. Here is a list of a few centers, groups and resources we can attend.
• A new day counseling center, Surprise, AZ. The counseling center offers individual, group or family therapy. Appointments can be made at the convenience of the families schedule so all can attend.
• Parent/Teen Connection: Open forum for parents and teens to discuss a variety of issues. North Valley Medical Plaza, 3811 E. Bell Road, Suite 106, Phoenix. 800-265-8624.
• Kids Can Cope: Thunderbird Samaritan Medical Center, 5555 W. Thunderbird Road, Glendale. 588-5869.
• Help for Parents: Improve relationship with your children, learn new parenting skills and receive support from other parents. 248-0428, Ext. 234.
• Dream dinner at 822 East Union Hills, Glendale, AZ. You can make meals at the facility and take them home. This provides a healthy and time effective alternative to nutrition. The downfall is it may not be affordable for all families. If attending a group or counseling is not a good option, there are other resources available for us and other families. The Web provides information and resources to assist with developing appropriate behaviors within the home, reducing stress and developing effective coping mechanisms. Here is a list of a few web-based resources:
• Coping mechanisms at Changingminds.org
• Basic Information at Mentalhelp.net
• Healthy eating at mealsmatter.org
Systems Theory and Guidance The systems theory guided me with the assessment of my family. The development of questions and interviewing the family was interesting and providing some insight on my family perception of health. By asking the open-ended questions it allowed risk factors, dysfunction and health perceptions to be identified. I learned a variety of information about my family, some in which I had an abstract view of. I learned that the stress from my oldest child was affecting the family on all levels. We cannot change our genes but we can change their expression and blue print for future generations (Center for Disease Control, 2006). Assessing the family and developing a plan is the first step in defining and changing our future imprint for our family. My five year old asked me if my teenage daughter yells so loud because she thinks I do not hear her. At first, I thought she meant there was something wrong with my actual hearing. After analyzing the comment I concluded she meant I was not listening. We try to always provide the best for our families and instill the values and belief we hope they pass on to their kids. However, being a busy parent we sometimes forget to listen and really identify with our family. This exercise and theory helped me to identify and develop goals to achieve a healthier home. References

Centers for Disease Control. (2006). Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/genomics/events/file/print/2006CoCHP/Hunt.pdf
Edelman, C. M. (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span-7th Edition. St. Louis, MO: Mosby Inc.
McDonald, L. (2009). Hills Theory of Family Stress and Buffer Factors: Build the Protective Factor of Positive Perception with Multi-Family Groups. Retrieved February 19, 2011, from http://cecp.air.org/vc/presentations/2selective/3lmcdon/HILL'S_FAMILY_STRESS_THEORY_AND_FAST.htm

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