Family Age Groups
The family in the case study under consideration includes five members in addition to the grandparents. All of them present different age groups, and for their definition, traditional lifespan stages can be proposed, which, as Berger et al. (2019) note, reflect distinctive physical and mental developmental characteristics. The youngest child, three-year-old Kristina, belongs to the early childhood group, which starts at the age of one and a half. Krish, the middle child, belongs to the category of middle childhood, which follows the previous stage and lasts until the age of 12. Karan, the eldest 16-year-old son, is the representative of adolescence, which continues until the age of 18-19.
The parents of the children, as well as the father’s parents who live with them, can also be categorized. Both Raj (40-year-old father) and Sharon (38-year-old mother) fall under the middle adulthood group, which corresponds to the period of 35-44 years. Raj’s parents (aged 80 and 75) belong to the late adulthood category, which is the last in the list of lifespan stages. Sharon’s parents are younger, and her father falls under the category of middle adulthood (64), while her mother is already in the last group (66). Regarding the social determinants of health that are characteristic of the represented family, their socioeconomic status, education, employment, and healthcare access can be identified as essential categories (Donkin et al., 2018).
The children’s parents and grandparents have higher education; in addition, Sharon is currently studying, which speaks of her academic and career ambitions. The family is not in need because both the father and mother are doing everything possible to earn money, including additional income. In Canada, the family is an immigrant, which, however, does not deter them from opportunities to receive education or medical care.
Assessing the Individual: Raj
As a target family member to consider, Raj is chosen, who belongs to the middle adulthood group. If one follows a more precise categorization in accordance with the lifespan development theory, the man’s age falls within the late middle adulthood period (Chung, 2018). As criteria for analysis, Raj’s physical, cognitive, and psychological health aspects need to be emphasized. With regard to physical health, a simple and common screening tool can be chosen, namely the health risk assessment (HRA) algorithm. Schwatka et al. (2021) describe this tool as a set of questions aimed at identifying demographic, behavioral, and mental health characteristics. Particular attention should be paid to the physical criterion because, according to Raj’s family history, he has the risk factors for developing chronic diabetes, like his father.
The man’s lifestyle is largely sedentary as he either works in an office or drives a truck, and it is important to take these nuances into account when assessing associated risk factors. The tendency to smoke is a negative determinant and may reflect the experience of stressful conditions. Regarding the assessment of cognitive health, following Piaget’s theory, Raj belongs to the last group, namely the formal operational stage (Chung, 2018). This period is characterized by a complete understanding of reality, the ability to think critically, and apply other cognitive skills. In terms of psychological health, Raj can be characterized through Erikson’s psychosocial model. In accordance with it, the man belongs to the penultimate category of middle adulthood, which Erikson describes as “generativity versus stagnation” (Chung, 2018, p. 385). The acquired experience and accumulated knowledge allow Raj to find a language with the environment and form adequate communication ties.
Issues in the Family Environment and Health Promotion
When speaking about the issues in the family that can affect Raj’s health, one can point out several unfavorable factors. First, the family history suggests that the man should maintain a healthy lifestyle and eliminate those habits that exacerbate his condition, such as smoking. In addition, a sedentary lifestyle and lack of exercise are also incentives for the development of chronic diseases. The lack of real help with children from the man’s parents is a driver of stress accumulation because household duties are assigned to Raj’s wife. She, in turn, cannot be a full-fledged partner of her husband in his quest to lead a healthy lifestyle. As a health promotion strategy to apply, the program from Peel Region may be involved. Particular emphasis needs to be placed on work in relation to methods for preventing the development of diabetes in Raj.
Within the framework of the program in question, there are special principles for mitigating risk behaviors (D’Silva et al., 2022). The researchers perform an in-depth assessment of targeted work with South Asian immigrants living in Canada, and Raj and his family are part of this population group (D’Silva et al., 2022). Given the findings, one can note that addressing negative working conditions and increasing socioeconomic status are the avenues of engagement with targeted citizens (D’Silva et al., 2022). Helping Raj may involve providing alternatives to job options and engaging him in healthy habit patterns to promote well-being and avoid severe consequences in the near future.
References
Berger, E., Castagné, R., Chadeau-Hyam, M., Bochud, M., d’Errico, A., Gandini, M., Karimi, M., Kivimäki, M., Krogh, V., Marmot, M., Panico, S., Preisig, M., Ricceri, F., Sacerdote, C., Steptoe, A., Stringhini, S., Tumino, R., Vineis, P., Delpierre, C., & Kelly-Irving, M. (2019). Multi-cohort study identifies social determinants of systemic inflammation over the life course. Nature Communications, 10(1), 1-10. Web.
Chung, D. (2018). The eight stages of psychosocial protective development: Developmental psychology. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 8(06), 369-398. Web.
Donkin, A., Goldblatt, P., Allen, J., Nathanson, V., & Marmot, M. (2018). Global action on the social determinants of health. BMJ Global Health, 3(Suppl 1), e000603. Web.
D’Silva, C., Hafleen, N., Mansfield, E., Martel, S., Fierheller, D., Banerjee, A., Malhotra, G., Mutta, B., Dhillon, P., Hasan, Z., Parikh, A., Nooraie, R. Y., Chaze, F., & Zenlea, I. (2022). Service provider perspectives on exploring social determinants of health impacting type 2 diabetes management for South Asian adults in Peel region, Canada. Canadian Journal of Diabetes, 46(6), 611-619. Web.
Schwatka, N. V., Smith, D. E., Golden, A., Tran, M., Newman, L. S., & Cragle, D. (2021). Development and validation of a diabetes risk score among two populations. Plos One, 16(1), e0245716. Web.