Family Health Nursing Essay

Many people have many different definitions of a family. Some include family as the people they live with, some include their entire extended family, and some include friends, neighbors, coaches, and teachers. According to the Vanier Institute (2013), a family is “a combination of two or more persons who are bound together over time by ties of mutual consent, birth, and/or adoption” (para. 2). Whichever way you look at it, families often play a major role in life. It only makes sense that when a person begins to go through a drastic change in life such as illness, the family will be involved. This is why it is important that nurses learn how to provide suitable client and family centered care. They can do this by following the four

New norms of what is perceived as a family are emerging, according to Kaakinen, each distinct, with its own set of characteristics defining a healthy family (Kaakinen, Coehlo, Steele, Tabacco, & Hanson, 2015, pg. 37). Based on current demographic indicators, nursing must adapt to these evolving changes, to effectively identify real and potential risks affecting both the health and safety of the family unit.

It also shows that not every family has the same strengths and how the every family’s strengths can differ from each other’s. Which allows the nurse to use this tool to identify their strengths as a family to help them to set a family goal to achieve together and formulate a problem solving plan. It’s an easy tool because the questions are straightforward and it is a child friendly tool, suitable for any age not just the adults. It is a family assessment therefore the children’s feelings shall not be neglected. External family members can take part in this assessment as well, not only will it improve the family members’ relationship with each other and as a family but also help build a trusting relationship with the nurse which will allow the family members to voice out or share anything without feeling uncomfortable. (Smith LM

Families always affect one another, even when they feel distanced. The family unit can promote health or it can be a source of stress. It is the nurse's task to use family relationships to act as health facilitators for the patient, and, if necessary, treat the family as part of the patient's social environment. The family creates the patient's environment just as much as a clean room or an accessible place to exercise or access to appropriate medication.

Family. A word that has about as many meanings as there are stars in the sky. Can family truly be defined, or is it merely interpretive? According to Seccombe, family is a relationship by blood, marriage, or affection, in which members may cooperate economically, may care for children, and may consider their identity to be intimately connected to the larger group (Seccombe 4). Although I do agree with the above explanation of family, I believe that it is inadequate in that it only supplies a framework of family rather than the duties and purpose. To me, family is a unit of individuals, related or not, that symbolize and exude comfort, solace, and support through all the trials and triumphs life throws our way.

Family nursing is not all about patient centered care, it is focused on the needs of the family as a whole (Nursing theory). The main goal for family nursing is to improve any health concerns by assessing the needs,problems,influences, and strentghs of the family (Journal of nursing). There are four four types of approaches to family nursing. The four types of approaches to family nursing are, family as context, family as client, family as system, and family as component of society (the book). The purpose of this paper is to define, discuss, and give examples of the four types of approaches to family nursing.

When I make really good soup, they have seconds and no leftovers” (J. Lee, personal communication, May 9, 2013). No one in the family has food allergies, diet restrictions or any physical disabilities that interfere with daily food intake. Alcohol consumption is not very popular for this family. Occasional drinks are consumed “maybe five times a year, we just don’t enjoy the taste of alcohol” (S. Lee, personal communication, May 9, 2013). This family member did not experience obvious weight gain or weight loss they were concerned about. All members are very conscientious about physical appearance and do keep healthy active lifestyles and ingest healthy meals. When discussing the function of the bowel and bladder issues, S. Lee says, “We are very regular. My wife and I take Metamucil regularly to keep our bowels active. We suffered several constipations many years back, had to use enemas to eliminate. That was very painful and embarrassing. Metamucil was recommend by our doctor and we never miss taking it. Your mom suffered hemorrhoids for many years until she had them removed. We have no problem going once a day or more sometime” (S. Lee, personal communication, May 9, 2013).

-A succinct philosophy of family nursing is seen in The Association for the Care of Children’s Health standards stating the expectation for healthcare providers to facilitate family/professional collaboration at all levels of care, and to recognizing family as the constant in the patient’s life whereas the healthcare providers will fluctuate (p.40, 2003).

Think back to when you were a child and you became ill. All you wanted was the protection and guidance of your mother to take care of you. If you had older siblings, maybe they were the ones that helped make you feel better. Even as we grow older, we rely on our family for support when we are not well. When a family member is ill, it is not just that one person that suffers. When an illness strikes a family member, it oftentimes includes the whole family to deal with the illness also. There are different approaches that a nurse can utilize when dealing with family nursing. Approaches include family as context, as a client, system and a component of society. In this paper, I will discuss where and how these approaches are utilized.

The roal of public health nursing is to promote and protect the health of the population. This proactive approach does not limit their scope of practice to health concerns of individuals but also to developing and implementing programs and policies that help enhance the health of populations. The role of public health nurses is to focus on population centered care with the outcome of promoting health, preventing disability and disease, and improving the quality of life. An effective public health nurse is able to evaluate assessment data to define population diagnoses and set priorities accordingly. They can also serve as advocates for individuals and families in the population to develop policies, access resources, and protect their

“Family-centered care” is a term heard often in healthcare settings and in nursing practice. Family-centered care has been recognized as being an integral part to patient health, satisfaction and health care quality (Kuo, et al, 2012). Family-centered care is implemented with the goal to increase partnerships between, families, patients and providers; and has been prioritized as a core-concept of quality healthcare (Gallo, Hill, Hoagwood & Olin, 2016) Many professionals, however, would be hard-pressed to state what the term “family-centered care” actually means and how it applies to nursing practice. They would be at a loss for how to implement family-centered care and what is absolutely necessary to have in order for family-centered care to be successful. Advanced practice nurses are faced with the challenge of adhering to family-centered care in their practice. Illness, both chronic and acute, and health does not just affect the patient involved in care. Illness and health affect the patient, their children, their spouses, their parents, their brothers, their sisters, their grandparents and anyone else involved in their life. Research by Davidson (2009) supports the idea that the perceived effectiveness of communication between healthcare providers and the patient’s family is related to the overall satisfaction of care. Advance

This is essay is going to examine the principles of nursing and health. In order to do this it must look at the concept of health then describe the dimensions that make up health. Secondly, an adult individual will be chosen in order to discuss the determinants that affect their health. It will then go on to explain the underpinning professional, ethical and legal principles that would be taken into consideration if the individual were to require nursing care. Finally, it will identify how carrying out this assignment has informed the writers personal concept of nursing.

Gordon’s functional health patterns is a method developed by Marjorie Gordon in 1987 proposed functional health patterns as a guide establishing a comprehensive nursing data base(Kriegler & Harton, 1992). Gordon’s11 functional health patterns are; health perception/ health management, nutrition, pattern of elimination, activity/ excerise, cognitive, sleep/ rest, self perception/ self concept, roles/ relationships, sexuality, coping/ stress and values/ beliefs. By using these categories it’s possible to create a systematic and standardized approach to data collection and enables the nurse to determine the following

The role and definition of family can vary from one culture to another. Generally speaking, the culture in the United States places a lot of emphasis on individuality and personal freedom. In many cultures, the family unit has a very strict and defined hierarchy. Often the Father is seen as the head of the household and is responsible for much of the decision making. This can include decisions concerning the health care of a family member. It could also result in reluctance for the head of the family to place himself in a position of relying on others for care, a perceived position of weakness. In many cultures, the family goes beyond the nuclear family, and extends to the community, friends and neighbors. These are strongly held beliefs, and we must refrain from judging them as right or wrong based on our own culture. Rather, weneed to find ways to work within the framework of the family structure of the patient. ( Falvo, pp.186-187)

A family can be defined in many ways, but the common denominator in all is the love and fulfillment one gets by being surrounded by family members. Families can sometimes be at odds with each other, but the strain of this type of relationship usually creates an upsetting feeling to the people involved. People want others to rely on, talk to, do things with, share, love, embrace, and be part of. No matter what the family dynamic is the qualities the word family has will remain the same, as time goes by, and life evolves once again for every person living their