Chronic illness has a significant impact on the functioning of the individual within the family and community. For individuals living with HIV, the impact of this illness is further exacerbated by the stigma and discrimination associated with the virus. Rosa, a 61 year old woman in Zimbabwe exemplifies the impact of illness on the caregivers and support system. The family systems theory offers a critical lens to understand a family as a “system” with basic units that are interdependent. Understating a family as a system is critical in examining the relationships within a family. According to Dore (2008), practice informed by family systems pays attention to the functioning for the system as a whole, as well as the functioning of the interlocking subsystems. This theoretical background informs the social worker’s assessment of Rosa and her family as they cope with the emotional, physical and medical aspects of HIV/AIDS. Rosa’s Support System Rosa’s support system is diverse. Her connections stem from family, work, church and other relationships in the community (see Diagram 1). At the core of this system is Brian, Rosa’s husband, who is also living with HIV. Rosa and Brian have five adult children (four daughters and one son). The two eldest daughters are married and live with their husbands and children; another daughter is abroad; the son, John and the youngest daughter, Joyce live with the parents in their family home. Joyce also has a 20-month old son, and she is currently a university student in Psychology at the University of Zimbabwe. In addition to Rosa’s core family, the extended families from both Rosa and Brian’s family are also a strong component of family life in Zimbabwe. Rosa’s siblings, cousins and aunts are aware... ... middle of paper ... ... C. (1997). Women living with HIV/AIDS: the dual challenge of being a patient and caregiver. Health & Social Work, 22(1), 53-62. Kimemia, V. M. (2006). Caregiver Burden and Coping Responses for Females who are the Primary Caregiver for a Family Member Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (Doctoral dissertation, University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida). Kipp, W., Matukala Nkosi, T., Laing, L., & Jhangri, G. S. (2006). Care burden and self-reported health status of informal women caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. AIDS care, 18(7), 694-697. Norsigian, J. (2011). Our Bodies, Ourselves. Touchstone. Simon, C.E., Pryce, J.G., Roff, L., & Klemmack, D. (2005). Secondary traumatic stress and oncology social work: Protecting compassion from fatigue and compromising the worker's worldview. Journal of Psychosocial Oncology, 23(4), 1-14.
Zich, J., & Temoshok, L. (1987). Perceptions of social support in men with AIDS and ARC: Relationships with distress and hardiness. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 17, 193-215.
The family structure is made up of individuals living together in intimate groups with the purpose of caring and supporting each other. Rules and boundaries, spoken and unspoken, are developed by the family members. Family rules and boundaries change and shift over time in order to evolve and grow as a family unit. Some changes are subtle, but some events force major change within the family system. This paper applies the concepts of systems theory to the family system in the movie Sweet Home Alabama. Reese Witherspoon (Melanie Smooter) and Josh Lucas (Jake Perry) star in this heart-warming film telling a story of a young woman who flees from Alabama to reinvent herself in New York City as a high fashion designer. She leaves behind her redneck husband and white-trash upbringing. Melanie finds herself engaged to the cities most eligible bachelor and has to return to Alabama to request a divorce from her first love and confront her past ("Alabama," 2002).
Kaakinen, Gedaly-Duff, Coehlo & Hanson, (2010) report family is the biggest resource for managing care of individuals with chronic illness; family members are the main caregivers and provide necessary continuity of care. Therefore, it is important for health care providers to develop models of care based on an understanding what families are going through (Eggenberger, Meiers, Krumwiede, Bliesmer, & Earle, 2011). The family I chose to interview is in the middle of a transition in family dynamics. I used the family as a system approach as well as a structure-function theoretical framework to the effects of the changes in dynamic function. Additionally, the combinations of genogram, ecomap, adaptations of the Friedman Family Assessment model as well as Wright & Leahey’s 15 minute family interview were utilized.
Some of the biggest obstacles patients with a life-altering illness deal with are: (1) The stigma of the disease (2) Lack of adequate family support (3) The impact of the disease on themselves and their family (4) Lack of adequate resources (Rober...
(Broderick & Blewitt, 2015, pp. 18-19). Seeking help within the microsystem relates to the Nigerian proverb that it ‘takes a village to raise a child’ (African Proverbs, Sayings and Stories, 2016). By reaching out to those involved within the microsystem and branching into the Exosystemic realm or extended family group depicted in Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015, pp. 18-19), Karen should receive help with obtaining finances, child support or legal issues, health care, counseling and food. Karen might also obtain help finding employment with consideration for her condition. This support is especially mandatory for the mental and physical health of the children (Broderick & Blewitt, 2015, p.
Vyavaharkar, M., Moneyham, L., Corwin, S., Tavakoli, A., Saunders, R., & Annang, L. (2011). HIV-Disclosure, Social Support, and Depression Among HIV-Infected African American Women Living in the Rural Southeastern United States. AIDS Education & Prevention, 23(1), 78-90. doi:10.1521/aeap.2011.23.1.78
Each child will probably have many different kind of health issue during his or her infancy or childhood. In addition, for some children these illnesses are mild, they come and go, and they do not have negative influence on their everyday life and development. On the other hand, for some children, there are some chronic illnesses that have a huge effect on their daily life during childhood. Indeed, a chronic health condition is a health issue that last more than 3 months, and it has a big effect on on a child’s daily life, activity, and development. As a result, it demands more hospitalizations, extensive medical care, emergency care, and/or home health care. According to Weiner, “Each year in the US, 6 million children ranging
According to Richard Charles (2001) “the effectiveness of family systems theory rests not much on empirical research but on clinical reports of positive treatment outcomes, the personal benefits experienced by the families that underwent this kind of treatment, and the elegance of Bowen’s theory” (p. 279). Bowen’s family systems theory views the family as an emotional unit and is a theory of human behavior. Systems thinking are used to describe the complex interactions in the unit. However, the client’s ability to differentiate himself/herself from the family of origin is the basis for Bowen’s family systems theory. In addition, the primary focus for growth within the emotional system is differentiation of self. Differentiation of self will be explored as well as how it relates to a church congregation.
Chronic Illnesses in Children and Their Effect on the Families Approximately 10% to 15% of children under 18 years of age have a chronic physical illness or condition and the number of children with chronic conditions has increased substantially in recent decades. It is obvious that chronic illnesses in children do have an immense impact on the families of these children. There are many psychological consequences for the sufferers, their siblings and their parents. Firstly we start by briefly looking at other consequences apart from the symptoms of their illnesses that the patients have to deal with. Sean Phipps's research revealed a high occurrence of a repressive adaptive style in children with cancer.
Kippax, S., Stephenson, N., Parker, R. G., & Aggleton, P. (2013, August). Between individual agency and structure in HIV prevention understanding the middle ground of social practice [Journal]. American Journal of Public Health, 103 (8), 1367-1375. http://dx.doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2013.301301
In United States, the HIV epidemic reached its peak in the 1980s when the number of infected reached 130,000 people per year. Infected women ...
A system involves the use of boundaries between subsystems. “The family is a set of norms or working agreements around the ideal ways for setting up and maintaining households. These norms provide stability and a clear set of expectations, however they also mask tensions and contradictions,”(Longres, 1990, pg.201). Boundaries influence the flow of rules and information throughout a family system. Some families have open boundaries that don’t necessarily have restrictions or aren’t as strict as a family who does have closed boundaries. For example a family who has open boundaries can let the kids come and go as they please without punishment. This can affect a family and aid a social worker better understand a system that has open boundaries because it shows there isn’t much structure for kids to follow. For example, at my internship I will speak with parents of children who misbehave in school and their household doesn’t
I began this program during the spring semester of 2014 at which time I enrolled in the working with family’s course. Unaware how much I would relate to the family systems theory in regards to my personal life. Moving forward I have been able to connect many situations during my practicum experience to this theory as well.
The first goal of intervention is for Precious to gain access to health care, and health care related resources so that she can mange HIV symptoms. Along with access to health care, Precious also seeks to gain access to emotional and mental health supportive resources to cope with her chronic illness. As a means of intervention, I will assist Precious by providing health care resources. I will aid in filling out application for Medicaid and follow up with patient to assist if necessary when her primary care physician is established. To further Precious’ access to care, I will provide her with resources for Powerful Youth, a program that provides health and physiological services for HIV positive young people. In addition to programs that provide HIV drug therapy and medical care, Powerful Youth incorporates HIV support group meeting. According to research in regards to the Powerful Youth, the program is used in conjunction with primary care settings and has been shown to reduce stress, expand social support, and improve emotional health, reduces HIV related risks, enhances medical adherence, and provide coping strategies (Solórzano & Glassgold, 2010). The Powerful Youth program is a culturally relevant because the program exists within the client’s own culture. The program is located in Precious’ current neighborhood, and it designed to reach people within her ethnic and age demographic. In
One way AIDS impacts a household is by preventing the breadwinner of the family from earning income. The patient, who is often a man, would be unable to go to work for an extended period of time until he or she recovers. More often than not, the patient will also ultimately pas...