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Context Of Family

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Episodic Health Challenge Within the Context of Family
Family refers to a “set of relationships that each patient identifies as family or as a network of individuals who influence each other’s lives” (West & Jakubec, 2014, p.274). In nursing, it is considered that individuals cannot be completely understood in solitude but instead are better comprehended within the context of their family, as a shift in one member’s health status impacts other members of the family (West & Jakubec, 2014). Moreover, each individual’s thoughts about health and health-related behaviours evolve out of his or her family’s beliefs, values, and practices (Doane & Varcoe, 2005, 2006 as cited in West & Jakubec, 2014). Therefore, in this paper, through the use of the …show more content…

M has an admitting diagnosis of acute dyspnea compounded by pleural effusion secondary to chronic heart failure. Heart failure is defined as diminished cardiac pumping or filling. It presents as ventricular dysfunction, reduced exercise tolerance, decreased quality of life, and a shorter life span (Bouffard, 2014). Left-sided heart failure, which is most prevalent, is caused by left ventricular dysfunction and results in blood moving back up into the left atrium and then into the pulmonary veins. This results in increased pulmonary capillary pressure and development of pleural effusion (Bouffard, 2014). Dyspnea, also known as shortness of breath, is often a symptom of chronic heart failure. It results from elevated pulmonary pressure that is due to fluid accumulation in the interstitial and alveolar space (Bouffard, 2014).
Calgary Family Assessment Model
The Calgary Family Assessment Model was designed to help nurses better grasp the “relationships that family members share, what the illness means to family members, how the illness has influenced family functioning, how the family has been affected by the illness, and the support that the family is most in need of” (Neabel et al., 2009; Wright & Leahy, 2009 as cited in West & Jakubec, 2014, p.278). The model assesses 3 aspects of family life: structural, developmental, and functional.
Structural

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