family health assessment

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This learning activity aims for a full understanding and unbiased view of the family—not just its problems, but also its strengths, values, and goals.

Understanding family structure and style is essential to caring for a family in the community setting. 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 the first part of the assignment will be utilized for the second part of the assignment.

  1. 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.
  2. Document the responses as you conduct the interview. Do not put the family’s name, but utilize initials, the gender of each family member, and their age.

Your paper must include the following:

  • 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?
  • Your assignment must include an eco-map and a genogram – as shown in the required textbook.

family health assessment

Understanding the family structure and style is a crucial aspect of providing comprehensive healthcare support in the community. Conducting a family interview and needs assessment enables healthcare providers to gather essential information about a family’s strengths, values, goals, and potential barriers to health. This knowledge ultimately helps in developing family-centered strategies for support and guidance. This essay explores the outcomes of a family health assessment based on an interview with a family that has given their consent to participate.

The family selected for the assessment comprises a mother, father, and two children, a boy and a girl, aged ten and six, respectively. The family is of Hispanic ethnicity, and both parents are employed, with the mother working part-time while the father works full-time. The family lives in a middle-class suburban environment and identifies as Catholic.

Based on the interview questionnaire, the overall health behaviors of the family are encouraging. The family reported being physically active by engaging in regular exercise, including running, cycling, and swimming. They also reported healthy dietary habits, such as consuming a balanced diet with a variety of fruits and vegetables. In terms of mental health, the family indicated that they prioritize stress management through activities such as meditation, yoga, and spending quality time with each other. Overall, the family’s current health status was reported to be good, with no significant chronic health conditions.

The functional health pattern strengths identified in the family’s assessment include their strong family support system, including close relationships with extended family members, and their commitment to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. These strengths are crucial to the family’s overall wellbeing, and they serve as a solid foundation for managing any potential health challenges.

The assessment revealed three significant areas where health problems or barriers to health were identified. The first is the family’s lack of access to quality healthcare. The family is insured through their employer’s health plan, but the plan’s co-pays and deductibles are high, making it challenging for the family to access healthcare services regularly. This barrier limits the family’s ability to receive preventative care and early detection of health issues.

The second barrier identified is related to the family’s hectic lifestyle. Both parents work, and the children are involved in extracurricular activities, leaving limited time for family meals and quality time together. This time constraint can lead to stress and a lack of sleep, potentially leading to adverse health outcomes in the long term.

The third area of concern is the family’s limited knowledge of community resources. The family indicated that they were unaware of the community resources available to them, such as free health screenings, support groups, and health education programs. This lack of knowledge limits the family’s ability to access additional support and resources to manage their health effectively.

To gain a better understanding of the family’s dynamics, an eco-map and genogram were developed. The eco-map reveals the family’s relationship with their community and their access to community resources. The genogram, on the other hand, shows the family’s medical history and family relationships, including any genetic predispositions to specific health conditions.

In conclusion, conducting a family interview and needs assessment provides valuable information about a family’s strengths, values, goals, and potential barriers to health. This information enables healthcare providers to develop family-centered strategies for support and guidance, ultimately improving the family’s overall health and wellbeing. The assessment of the family in this essay revealed their commitment to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and their strong family support system. However, access to quality healthcare, a hectic lifestyle, and limited knowledge of community resources were identified as significant barriers to health. By addressing these barriers and building on the family’s strengths, healthcare providers can help the family achieve optimal health outcomes.

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