Free Family Health Assessment Essay Example

Values, health perception

What is usually the first action your family takes whenever any member falls sick?
What do you and other members of the family do to promote health?
What are some of the health-related habits practiced in your family?
Nutrition
What type of food is commonly consumed in the house?
How many meals do your family members eat together each day?
Could you please tell me more about how food is shared in the family?
Sleep/Rest
On average, how many hours do you and your family members get per night?
Tell me more about the family’s sleeping behavior?
Is there anything that might interfere with the family members’ sleep?
Elimination
On average, how often per day do you or your family goes for a long call?
Have you noticed any changes in this pattern in any family member of late?
Do you or any other member of the family have constipation?
Activity/Exercise
Do you or any other family member follow a physical exercise schedule? Tell me more about it?
How often per day or week do you or other family members engage in physical activity?
What kind of physical activities do the members of your family engage in?
Cognitive
Who makes most decisions on healthcare in your family?
How do the members of the family acquire information regarding healthcare?
How often do you of other members of the family acquire information on health?
Sensory-Perception
Is any member of the family suffering from a disease that interferes with their sensory ability?
How severe does any illness get before you or other members realize?
How do you or other family members tell that you are healthy?
Self-Perception
How do your family members perceive themselves/
How hard do you or your family members work to promote health?
What do you or other members keep saying about themselves/
Role Relationship
How are the roles distributed in the family?
Who makes most decisions in the family?
What is the family’s perception on sharing responsibilities?
Sexuality
How many members of the family are males and how many of them are females?
Is there a difference in health behavior between males and females?
Are responsibilities different between males and females?
Coping
How do you or other members respond to illness?
Do all the members respond the same way to illness or difficult situations?
What do you or other members do to contain the situation in difficult situations?
Following the assessment of Mrs. Mary’s family, the findings presented in this report were made. In conducting the assessment, Mr. Mary was interviewed as the primary person. Mrs. Mary’s family comprises of four people. In this case, there are two males and two females. The two males are Jones, her husband and Alphonso, her son. On the other hand, the female members are Jane, her daughter and herself. The assessment focused on various aspects ranging the family perception of health to the coping behaviors adapted by the family members in times of health concerns.
The assessment revealed that Mrs. Mary’s family’s diet is mostly vegetarian. Roasted broccoli with Parmesan cheese is the most consumed dish in the family. The dish is consumed four times in a week. Other favorite dishes are creamed Kales, Brown Butter Sweet Potato Alfredo, perfect sautéed mushrooms, and slow cooker turkey meatball Florentine. The most commonly consumed breakfast dishes in family are Graham crackers, hot tea, eggs benedict, liver and grits. The family eats all main meals together. However, every member eats snacks at their convenient time. Mrs. Mary explained that every member eats the quantity recommended by the family’s dietician. In this case, the family keeps a database of each member’s data relating age and the recommended dietary requirement. There is also a meal plan followed by each member. The children have been taught to read and interpret nutritional facts and they are cautious about foods high in cholesterol. The family consumes three main meals per day. When everybody is home, all main meals are consumed together.
Most members of Mrs. Mary’s family have adequate sleep. The children usually go to bed at 9.00 pm and wake up at 6.00 am every day. Mr. Jones, her husband, goes to bed at 12.00 midnight and wakes up at 6.00 am. Mrs. Mary, on the other hand, goes to bed at 10.00pm and wakes up at 5.00 am. Based on this report, the children sleep for 9 hours while Mrs. Mary sleeps for 7 hours. Mr. Jones, on the other hand, sleeps for 6 hours. The recommended hours of sleep for teenagers are 9-10 hours (CDC, n.d.; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, n.d.). The sleep assessment shows that the children get enough sleep while Mr. Jones gets inadequate sleep.
In terms of elimination, Mrs. Mary’s family reports few concerns. All the family members have not experienced any bowel problem except Mr. Jones, who had constipation last week. On average, Mr. Jones and Mrs. Mary experience bowel movements more than six times per week. Therefore, Mr. Jones is currently not experiencing constipation as constipation is indicated by fewer than three bowel movements per day (Sloane, P. D. (2008).
In terms of cognitive aspect of the family, the family members obtain most health information from the family’s primary healthcare provider during every checkup visit. When asked who makes most healthcare decisions, Mr. Mary states that everyone makes her/his decision depending on how they feel. The family is also rapidly responsive to health needs. In this case, most illnesses are detected early before leading to a serious condition.
The family has a positive self-perception. In this case, most members take adequate measures to protect themselves from illnesses and any other harm. When asked what members of her family keep saying about themselves, Mrs. Mary says that Jane keeps saying her peers like her teeth. She spends a lot of time dressing before going to school. On the other hand, Alphonso never beliefs that there is something he cannot do. He believes he has high potential and says he is like his father.
In terms of role and relationship, the family shares responsibilities equally. All the children are expected to help with household works. While Jane does most of the cooking and washing, Alphonse cleans the rooms. The father is regarded as the head of the family. Mrs. Mary consults him and asks for his consent in every decision made. Mr. Jones also shares his thoughts with Mrs. Mary and together they make the family decisions.
The family’s coping strategies to healthcare problems are appropriate. For instance, whenever two members of the family fall sick at the same time, Mrs. Mary requests to be allowed to work online from home so that she can attend to the sick members.
Overall, there are limited barriers to the efforts for managing the healthcare needs of each member in Mary’s family. The family provides a good environment for healthcare support. The following wellness nursing diagnoses can be developed from this assessment:

Readiness for adequate nutritional balance as evidenced by adhering recommended dietary requirements

Potential for low risk of heart disease as evidenced by following vegetable-dominated diet.

References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (n.d.). How Much Sleep Do I Need? Retrieved from <http://www.cdc.gov/sleep/about_sleep/how_much_sleep.htm>
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (n.d.). How Much Sleep Is Enough? Retrieved from < http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/howmuch >
Sloane, P. D. (2008). Essentials of family medicine. Philadelphia, Pa: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.