NRS 434 Assignment Children’s Functional Health Pattern Assessment
NRS 434 Assignment Children’s Functional Health Pattern Assessment
Nurses play an important role in the provision of care to individuals, families and groups of people. Nurses assess the needs of individuals and families to develop effective plans of care to promote their health. One of the ways in which nurses determine the health needs of individuals, groups and families is the use of functional health patterns. Functional health patterns provide insights into the prioritized needs of the family that should be met for the health and wellbeing of the population. Therefore, this paper is a summary of an interview that I conducted with a family to determine their needs and health-related strengths.
Family Structure
The family that was interviewed for this assignment is Mr. Y’s family. Mr. Y’s family was found to be an extended family. The family members included Mr. Y, his wife, two daughters and Mrs. Y’s mother. The family is of African-American background. According to Mr. Y, the family migrated to the US 25 years ago. The family assessment showed them to be a middle class family. In terms of spirituality, the family reported that they are Christians. The family lives in a clean and hygienic environment. Mr. Y reported to work as a driver in a local manufacturing company while his wife works as a high school teacher. Mr. Y’s two daughters are current in college. Mrs. Y’s mother is a retired teacher.
Health Behaviors
Health behaviors influence the overall health and wellbeing of a family. The assessment of health behaviors of Mr. Y’s family showed them to engage in a number of activities that contribute to their positive health. The family members reported that they are active users of the available healthcare services. Their active use of their available services could be seen from their regular visits to the hospital for screening and management of their health problems. Mr. and Mrs. Y reported to have utilized screening services for prostate, breast and cervical cancer respectively. The family also reported to engage in active physical activity. Mr. Y reported that he usually goes for a morning run with his wife and daughters, as a way of maintaining optimum health. Physical activity is important in eliminating health risks such as obesity, cancer and diabetes (Dames et al., 2020). The assessment of nutritional practices in the family showed that the family experiences challenges in accessing healthy and quality diets. As a result, they often consume the locally available foods that might be of low nutritional value. The family members reported not to use any drugs or alcohol.
Current Health
The assessment of the current health status of the family revealed that Mrs. Y was recently diagnosed with diabetes. She is currently on diabetes medication alongside optimum dietary management. Mrs. Y’s mother is also diabetic and uses eye lens due to being short sighted. Mrs. Y’s diagnosis with diabetes appears to be genetic since her mother was diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 50 and has been managing it using oral hypoglycemic medications and dietary modifications. The family has a medical insurance coverage. As a result, they can utilize the care that they need for the optimum management of their health problems.
Functional Health Pattern Strengths
The assessment revealed a number of functional health pattern strengths in the family. One of the strengths related to the health patterns is the high level of health perception in the family. Health perception pattern as stated by Gordon focuses mainly on the understanding and perceived pattern of wellbeing by an individual, family and group of people. The health perception pattern also encompasses the individual, family or group’s understanding of the management of health (Edelman et al., 2017). The interview with the family revealed that the family members had a high level of understanding of their health, wellbeing and management of health. The high level of understanding about their health and needs could be seen in their increased utilization of the available healthcare services and engaging in health-promotion-related activities.
The second strength related to functional health patterns in the family is the optimum functioning in activity-exercise-related activities. According to Gordon’s health patterns, the activity-exercise pattern focuses mainly on the patterns of individual, family or group engagement in activity, exercise recreation and leisure activities. Optimum activity-exercise abilities is important in maintaining one’s health (Lister et al., 2020). The family assessment showed that its members engage in regular physical activities to maintain their normal health wellbeing. The assessment also showed that apart from Mrs. Y’s mother who is old, all the other family members do not have any health problems that limit their ability to engage in physical activities. The assessment also showed that the family spends its leisure time engaging in activities that contribute to their mental health such as participating in church activities.
The last strength related to the functional health patterns in the family is the existence of an effective value-belief system in the family. The value-belief pattern mainly focuses on the patterns of values, practices and beliefs that influence the actions and decisions that the family members make (Edelman et al., 2017). The family assessment showed that Mr. Y’s family has a strong value-belief system. The family practices the teachings of Christianity. The family also beliefs that seeking healthcare from health professionals is important, as it facilitates the realization of God’s purpose in healing them from a disease.
Health Problems or Barriers
Despite the above strengths, some health problems and barriers to health were identified during the interview. Some of the family members were found to have health problems. Mrs. Y and her mother are diabetic. They are currently on medication and lifestyle modification program. The interview also showed the family to experience the barrier of having to travel for a long distance to access high quality care that they need. This therefore implied that the family has a challenge in accessing timely and high quality care in case of emergency cases. The other barrier that the family experiences is the lack of social support groups for diabetes. The family reported the lack of social support groups for patients suffering from chronic illnesses. Social support is important, as it provides patients with chronic conditions with social, emotional and psychological support that they need to cope with their health problems.
Application of Family Systems Theory
The family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes that can initiate positive changes to the overall family. According to the family systems theory, families are complex social entities where members interact in a manner that influence each other’s behavior. Family members have a high level of interconnectedness that increases the need for considering them as a whole unit rather than an individual. As a result, initiatives that aim at brining changes to the family and improve its overall functioning should be directed to benefit the family as a whole. The family should be encouraged to adopt collective approach to exploring interventions that promote their health (Keller & Noone, 2019). Through it, the family systems theory will ensure enhanced health and wellbeing of the whole family instead of individual members.
Conclusion
Overall, the family interview revealed a number of strengths, health problems as well as barriers that affect Mr. Y’s family. The interview provided the student with the insights into the importance of utilizing family-focused interviews to ensure the adoption of family-focused interventions to promote health. Family systems theory can be used to strengthen the effectiveness of family-focused interventions that promote health. Therefore, I will use the knowledge gained from this experience to strengthen my understanding and use of functional health patterns to diagnose and manage issues affecting individuals, families and the population as whole.
References
Dames, S., Luctkar-Flude, M., & Tyerman, J. (2020). Edelman and Kudzma’s Canadian Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span—E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Edelman, C. L., Mandle, C. L., & Kudzma, E. C. (2017). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span—E-Book. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Keller, M., & Noone, R. J. (2019). Handbook of Bowen Family Systems Theory and Research Methods: A Systems Model for Family Research. Routledge.
Lister, Hofland, J., & Grafton, H. (2020). The Royal Marsden Manual of Clinical Nursing Procedures. John Wiley & Sons.
Describe two external stressors that are unique to adolescents. Discuss what risk-taking behaviors may result from the external stressors and what support or coping mechanism can be introduced.
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Health Assessment
Introduction
Bullying is defined as seeking to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable. Bullying within the adolescent community affects about 20-30 % of students who admit being the perpetrator or victim of such harassment (Faulkner, 2018).
Describe two stressors that are unique to adolescents
Bullying and identity confusion are two stressors affecting adolescent population. Bullying in any form can lead to teen depression or suicide (Falkner, 2018). Educating students, parents, professionals and communities on effects of bullying such as teen suicide and depression is imperative to stop the trend. Signs and symptoms of depression are: loss of interest in activities, sadness or hopelessness, irritability, withdrawal from friends and family, changes in eating and sleeping habits, feeling of guilt, lack of motivation/enthusiasm, fatigue and suicidal ideation..
Risk taking behaviors resulting from the external stressors and the coping mechanism
Low socioeconomic status, being pessimistic, cognitive factors, and gender are contributing factors that can lead to higher risk of adolescent depression (Kislitsyna, 2010). Females may be at a greater risk for developing depression because girls are more socially oriented, more dependent on positive social relations and more vulnerable to loss of such relations. Adolescents living with guardians that are depressed may also become depressed. The coping mechanisms are eating healthily, adequate exercising, sleeping adequately and building adequate relaxation time into busy schedules for teenagers. In addition, parents and caregivers should learn to listen carefully to teenager`s problems and support them in sports and other pro-social activities.
Conclusion
People who force and those who are bullied have been found have suicidal ideation, physical injury, somatic problems, anxiety, loe self esteem, depression and school absenteeism than those not involved with bullying (Klein, Myhre, & Ahrendt, 2013).
References
Falkner, A. (2018). Adolescent Assessment. Health Assessment: Foundations for Effective Practice. Retrieved from: https://lc.gcumedia.com/nrs434vn/health-assessment-foundations-for-effective-practice/v1.1/#/chapter/3
Kislitsyna, O. (2010). The social and economic risk factors of mental disorders of adolescents. Russian Education and Society. 52(10). 66-84 DOI:10.2753/RES1060-9393521005
Klein. D.A, Myhre. k.k..& Ahrendt. D.M. (2013). Bullying Among Adolescents: A Challenging in Primary Care. Am Fam Physician. Vol 88(2):87-92.Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/0715/p87.html
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