Health Assessment Part 1 Essay

Health Assessment Part 1 Essay

Health Assessment Part 1 Essay

Health Assessment

Nurses play a crucial role in the promotion of optimum health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and communities. They utilize evidence-based interventions to minimize disease risk and promote recovery or rehabilitation for the affected populations. In doing this, models such as functional health assessment guide nurses to prioritize the care and needs of their populations. Therefore, the purpose of this essay is to examine an interview conducted with a family to identify their health status, strengths, and barriers and how the family systems theory can be applied to meet their health needs.

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Family Description
I interviewed Mr. J’s family. The family is of African American background. They reside in a moderately clean and healthy environment. The family has five family members. They include Mr. J (58years old), Mrs. J (55 years old), their first-born son (27 years old) second born daughter (22 years) and their grandfather (82 years old). The family considers itself a middle-class family. Mr. J is a teacher while Mrs. J is a social worker. The first-born son recently secured an employment at a bank and is planning to relocate closer to his workplace. The daughter just finished her university and is currently searching for a job. The family is a Christian family.
The Overall Health Behaviors
The assessment of the family members revealed them to be moderately healthy. Mr. J reported that his family members engage in active physical exercises about thrice weekly except his grandfather who is bedridden due to stroke. The family reported that it eats healthy diet despite the available alternatives being limited. The family utilizes health promotion services such as screening for different health problems. However, they noted considerable challenges in accessing the high-quality care they desire because of high cost. The family’s daughter is currently obese. She has been struggling with engaging healthy habits due to the influence of peer pressure. The grandfather is incontinent. Mr. J developed vision problems and currently uses corrective lenses. His wife has been diabetic for the last three years, which she manages using drugs and lifestyle and behavioral modifications.
Functional Health Pattern Strengths
One of the functional health pattern strengths noted from the interview is the family’s increased awareness level about their health needs and utilization of health promotion services. The interview revealed that Mr. J’s family utilizes regularly health promotion services such as screening and health education. This is important for timely diagnosis and treatment of health problems the family members may have. It also acts as an opportunity for them to be educated on how to live healthy lives.
The second strength noted from the interview is adequate coping mechanisms with stress. Mr. J’s grandfather is currently bedridden due to stroke. He requires assistance with the activities of daily living, which overburdens the family members. However, the family members reported that they overcome challenges they experience in caring the grandfather by being there for each other. They also enjoy a strong social support system from their friends, church, and a community group for people with chronic illnesses.
Health Problems or Barriers
The family reported to experience barriers in accessing the healthcare they need because of the high cost of healthcare. Cost is a social determinant of health for most populations, which limit access to and utilization of care services. Despite being a developed country, the US has the highest cost of healthcare services as compared to other developed country. The implication is limited access to healthcare for the vulnerable such as the disabled and individuals from ethnic minority backgrounds (Garney et al., 2021).
One of the family members is also obese, which acts as a health problem for the family. Mr. J’s daughter is obese, which they attribute to unhealthy lifestyle and behaviors. Obesity increases the risk of diabetes, hypertension, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases. The daughter should be educated and assisted in developing an effective plan for healthy weight gain (Schnurr et al., 2020). The grandfather is also incontinent. He has problems with the elimination pattern. Incontinence predisposes him to other health problems such as urinary tract infections and pressure ulcers. Therefore, high-quality support is essential for his health.
Application of Family Systems Theory
Family systems theory is a model that can be used in practice to understand human functioning. The theory aims at understanding the interaction between family members, as they form a social unit. The theory can be used to solicit change in Mr. J’s family by focusing on the existing family characteristics such as power, communication, role, and rules patterns (Shajan & Snell, 2019). The family members can be encouraged to focus on interdependence in addressing any stressor that affect them.
Conclusion
Mr. J’s family was interviewed and the interview revealed family’s functional health pattern strengths, barriers, and health problems. The family systems theory can be used to solicit changes in the family. Therefore, the understanding from the analysis will inform the development of the family’s care plan.
References
Garney, W., Wilson, K., Ajayi, K. V., Panjwani, S., Love, S. M., Flores, S., Garcia, K., & Esquivel, C. (2021). Social-Ecological Barriers to Access to Healthcare for Adolescents: A Scoping Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(8), Article 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18084138
Schnurr, T. M., Jakupović, H., Carrasquilla, G. D., Ängquist, L., Grarup, N., Sørensen, T. I. A., Tjønneland, A., Overvad, K., Pedersen, O., Hansen, T., & Kilpeläinen, T. O. (2020). Obesity, unfavourable lifestyle and genetic risk of type 2 diabetes: A case-cohort study. Diabetologia, 63(7), 1324–1332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-020-05140-5
Shajan, Z., & Snell, D. (2019). Wright & Leahey’s Nurses and Families: A Guide to Family Assessment and Intervention. F.A. Davis.

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Appendix: Questionnaire
Values/Health Perception
1. How do you promote your optimum health?
2. How can you describe the health needs of your family members?
3. How often do you utilize healthcare services?
Nutrition
1. How can you describe the typical dietary pattern of your family?
2. Does any of your family members have a nutrition-related problem?
3. How does your family maintain health nutrition?
Sleep/Rest
1. How can you describe your sleep pattern?
2. How many hours on average do you sleep
3. What types of sleep problems does your family members have?
Elimination
1. How can you describe the bladder function of your family members?
2. What bladder problems does your family members have?
3. What bladder and bowel problems do you have?
Activity/Exercise
1. Which physical activities does your family members engage regularly?
2. How does the family spends its leisure time?
3. What barriers do family members experience when engaging in active physical activities?
Cognitive
1. What challenges do you experience in your memory?
2. What barriers do you encounter when making decisions?
3. What challenges do you experience with communication or language?
Sensory-Perception
1. Does any of your family members experience pain?
2. Does any of your family member have problems with seeing?
3. Does any of your family members have problems with taste?
Self-Perception
1. How can you describe how each of the family members feel towards themselves?
2. Does any of your family members experience problems with body image?
3. Have you experienced changes that affected your self-identity
Role Relationship
1. How are roles assigned in your family?
2. How can you describe the relationship among your family members?
3. What instances affect the nature of role—relationships among your family members?
Sexuality
1. Has any of your family members suffered sexuality-related problem?
2. How often does the family members utilize screening services for sexual and reproductive problems?
3. Which contraceptive methods does your family members use?
Coping
1. What traumatic experiences has your family undergone in the recent past?
2. Which stressors do your family experience regularly?
3. How does your family overcome or manage stress?

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. Your questionnaire should be submitted as an appendix to 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.