Family Health Assessment is crucial in identifying the family’s strength and weakness in terms of access to quality and affordable care. The assessment also provides crucial information to the healthcare practitioners on the threats to achieving comprehensive health and general wellness for the whole population. Furthermore, the family assessment prepares nurses especially the Family Nurse Practitioners with the relevant skills required in the assessment of the family health patterns and be able to offer family-based solutions (Peterson-Burch, 2018). The concept has also proved to be instrumental in advancement of genetic interventions in some of the complex conditions.
Family Health Assessment Part 1
Family Health Assessment is crucial in identifying the family’s strength and weakness in terms of access to quality and affordable care. The assessment also provides crucial information to the healthcare practitioners on the threats to achieving comprehensive health and general wellness for the whole population. Furthermore, the family assessment prepares nurses especially the Family Nurse Practitioners with the relevant
skills required in the assessment of the family health patterns and be able to offer family-based solutions (Peterson-Burch, 2018). The concept has also proved to be instrumental in advancement of genetic interventions in some of the complex conditions.
Family Structure
In my family health assessment, I interviewed the family of Mr. and Mrs. K. The family unit is composed of three elderly adults of age between 60 to 95 years and two young adults, a 21-year-old female and a 24-year-old male. The family is of Hispanic -American descent, Mr. K is 68-year-old retired attorney while Mrs. K is a 60-year-old retired high school teacher they live together with Mrs. K’s mother who is 92-year-old battling arthritis and Alzheimer. All the family members are practicing Catholics with an upper middle class economic standard. They have enough pension to cater for their medical, food and other family expenses.
Family Health and Family Behavior
The current family health behavior is focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Mr. and Mrs. K have regular exercise schedules in the gym. They do exercise thrice a week on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. They do also maintain a healthy diet to keep them healthy. Mr. K has a history of hyperlipidemia while Mrs. K has hypertension, they both manage the health conditions well through diet and exercise. Their two elderly children are healthy, with no pre-existing medical conditions. They are normal with above average performance in school. They have been excelling in both academic and sporting activities. The 24-year-old son has interest in soccer and plays in the college soccer team while the 21-year-old has been participating in the tennis ball competitions since she was a 6-year-old. Mrs. K’s mother has been battling arthritis and Alzheimer for the last five years. She attends regular therapy to relieve the pain associated with arthritis.
Functional Health Patterns; Strengths and Barriers to Health
In the assessment of the family’s health pattern strength and weakness, it was clear that the family lifestyle and concern about health has helped the family members remain healthy. The family members are engaged in regular exercise and nutrition which are precursors to staying healthy and fit. Mr. K has been able to successfully manage his hyperlipidemia while Mrs. K has been managing hypertensive condition through regular exercise and diet. The strength towards adoption of the health promotion measures as one of the key pillars in the Affordable Care Act that advocates for reduced pressure on healthcare resources and facilities through health promotion measures (Courtemanche et al., 2018). Additionally, give the level of education of Mr.and Mrs. K they are fully aware and knowledgeable on the health matters concerning, health insurance, immunization and vaccination programs and general health promotion measures. The fact that they are practicing Catholics with strong foundation in Christian values of faith, love, patience and compassion, it helps in strong family culture of unity and helping each other overcome the emotional stress that might arise from the workplace or school. The religious guidance has for long been associated with improved mental health among the adolescents and young adults (Estrada et al., 2019). Another strength noted in ensuring a healthy pattern and lifestyle in the excellent communication skills that exists between the family members. They do discuss in open any challenges they are facing and this helps in copin
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