Family Health Assessment

Family Health Assessment

Family is the basic unit of society. A family is a set of interacting individuals related by blood, marriage, cohabitation, or adoption who interdependently perform relevant functions by fulfilling expected roles. Health practices are those activities performed by individuals or families as a whole to promote health and prevent diseases. The relationship between members of family influences the understanding of behavior, which is demonstrated in family’s structural, functional, communicational, and developmental patterns (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2003; Bonell et al., 2003).Within families, children and adults are nurtured and taught about health values by word and by example, and it is within families that members first learn to make choices to promote health (Edelman & Mandle, 2010, p. 172).

Family health assessment is a process of getting information from the family about health promotion and disease-prevention activities. Family assessment includes nurse’s perceptions about family constitution, norms, standards, theoretical knowledge, and communication abilities. Marjorie Gordon (1987) proposed eleven functional health patterns as a guide for establishing a comprehensive nursing data base. These functional health patterns (2007) help organize basic family assessment information (Friedman et al., 2003) (Edelman & Mandle, 2010, p. 173-177).Eleven health functions are as follows. Health perception and / or health management pattern, nutritional pattern, elimination pattern, activity/exercise pattern, cognitive/perceptual pattern, sleep/rest pattern, self-perception and self-concept pattern, role/relationship pattern, sexuality/reproductive pattern, coping/stress tolerance pattern, and value/belief...

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...ctional health patterns I was able to get a better understanding of how to conduct a family health assessment. Also I have identified some useful resources for the family based on their needs.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Community Health Resources. Retrieved March 4, 2011, from http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/DACH_CHAPS/Default/LinksHealthTopic.aspx?topic=4#7

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2011). healthy weight- it’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle! Retrieved March 6, 2011, from http://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/index.html

Edelman, C. L., & Mandle, C. L. (2010). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span (7th ed.). St.Louis, Missouri: Mosby Elsevier.

National Instituite on Aging. (2009). Encouraging Wellness. Retrieved March 5, 2011, from http://www.nia.nih.gov/HealthInformation/Publications/ClinicianHB/04_wellness.htm