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The wind of change in health care necessitates the assessment of the family and makes it a crucial tool for health care providers as they seek to assist the family (unit of care) move toward high level wellness. Limited medical attention as well as the imposed self-responsibility for promotion of health moves the locus of control for health management back to the family. The teachings given to the family modeling and interactions are of greater influence than ever on the patient’s health. Gordon’s eleven functional health patterns provide a holistic model for the family health assessment because the assessment data are classified under the eleven heads (Moore, 2009). Questions posed for each functional health pattern can vary to reflect the uniqueness of a family and to inquire about family strengths as well as weaknesses in every pattern. The collected data, therefore, provide comprehensive baseline information for including the family in care planning.
The collected information helps a nurse to determine the health and functioning of a family. The functional health patterns can be used to determine how a family interacts with other families and how it deals with everyday life. It is within the family that the social and economic order affects the physical and emotional well being of an individual. Considering the huge effect that the family has on the health of an individual, it is crucial for health care providers to assess and evaluate a family as a unit. This essay seeks to describe the information about MR Smith’s family that was obtained during an assessment using Gordon functional health patterns (Holloway, 2008).
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Summary of the findings of functional health patterns
The values and health perception look at a person’s view of beliefs and values. In the first functional health pattern, the values and religious belief pattern, Smith’s family is deeply religious. A part from being religious minded, the family inculcates good Christian beliefs and values in their children. This is evidenced by their commitments toward religious activity, their acknowledgement of God as the heavenly father and their dedication to obeying the commandments. On health perception, the family is conscious about their health. The family is served by a family doctor and both parents and the children seek medical appointments on an annual basis. On nutrition, the family avoids harmful lipoproteins (cholesterol) by avoiding fatty foods. The family feeds a lot on vegetables, greens and fruits. In light of this, their nutrition and dietary habits are well under check.
Apart from rare occasions, the family members get uninterrupted sleep on a regular basis. They also reserve some time, as a family, to do various exercises or visit a public gym at least twice a week. The family lacks a private trainer. They have impeccable control over senses and try to take care of their mind and mental health by doing mind exercises regularly. They also attend cinemas and family outing at least once a fortnight to relieve stress. A part from attending a public gym, the family has a well equipped gym at their hone where they practice on a daily basis.
The family’s social realm is well defined. The family is well accepted within the village, and the members have ties with neighbors and friends. They are active in communal affairs and dedicate some f their time in helping others. The family has a good number of well wishers. The parents support two children that belong to their neighbors who cannot afford to give their children decent education. The family, therefore, has a rich social network. Regarding sexuality, the wife has three children. The first born is male, twenty one years old, followed by a sixteen-year-old female and a nine-year-old lastborn male. The spacing is indicative of a well planned family. The wife has never had any abortion, miscarriage or still delivery. All of her children were born through normal spontaneous vaginal delivery in the nearby private hospital. She did not have any complication during delivery. All the children are well looked after, with access to both basic and luxurious goods and services. They seem to have no problem and most of the time they are happy and contented. They have no history of delayed milestones (Moore, 2009).
On stress-coping mechanisms, considering that both parents are professionals, it is only natural to experience stressful moments which may be work-related. The husband is a pilot while the wife is a bank operational manager. Much of the stress they experience is work related. With professional help, the family is able to handle work related stress. Each partner is a source of encouragement and warmth to each other and to the children. They also visit a psychologist once in a while. Together, they are adept in overcoming challenges in both their professional and personal lives. Regarding self concept, the family has a positive attitude toward life. The family has a sense of achievement, and it is comfortable with self image. The parents feel that they have achieved most of their goals, and they look confident and determined to move forward.
Wellness Nursing Diagnoses:
A nursing diagnosis is a health related judgment about an individual patient, family or community with regard to response to the actual or potential health problems. A nursing diagnosis provides a basis for nursing interventions. It gives a health care provider a basis for planning of care and starting an appropriate intervention (Gordon, 2008). Upon assessment of the family, I identified a number of wellness diagnoses for the family. One of the wellness diagnoses that I identified for this family is that the family members are health conscious. They attend medical appointments once in a while and check on their eating habits. They avoid fatty and saturated meals and bank a lot on fruits and greens. The family members are also active. They attend gym at least twice a week. In light of this, family is conscious about health and tries to maintain good health.
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Another family nursing diagnosis is that the family manifests ability to take turns to care for the household and the children. On one hand, both parents are professionals. Considering this, they have a big burden of balancing work and family life. On the other hand, they have children who need attention. In light of this, it is crucial that both parents share the responsibility of upbringing the children. The wellness diagnoses need to put to consideration the social, psychological, and physical health of all family members (Lium, 2010).
In conclusion, the issue of family health is not only multifaceted but also complex. It entails aspects of physiological, physical and mental constraints. This is highlighted by the rigidities and stress of modern day living considering the demands of a multicultural society. Considering these circumstances, it is only reasonable that wellness diagnoses offer amicable solutions in terms of short and long term health promotion strategies to alleviate constraints in well being and human health. Considering that the family is the fundamental unit of life, its health tremendously influences the health of an individual. To reduce the number of medical cases, the health care providers should consider investing a lot of time and energy in health promotion. This must touch the family as it is the main custodian of individual health. A healthy family leads to good health of the members of that family.