Introduction
Functional health assessment is a crucial tool often used in healthcare to help medical professionals assess the physical and mental health of patients and their families. The tool serves as an indicator to see whether individuals experience any barriers and whether their functioning is within normal levels to participate in day-to-day activities. The given work will address the importance of functional health assessment of a family to determine any strengths and disturbances as seen in the habits, well-being, and behaviors of the family members. Consequently, the interviewed family demonstrated the importance of communication since mental health and support are just as important as physical well-being.
Family Description
The Johnson family, who consented to the interview, was chosen for the assessment. The Johnsons are a family of four, consisting of parents and two children, a son aged 12 and a daughter aged 16. This is a middle-class African American family that lives in a suburban area. As members of the family say, they are Christians and attend church regularly.
After retrieving the data from the questionnaires, it was determined that the Johnsons engage in positive behaviors, which can be seen in their dietary habits, sleep routines, and regular exercise. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson claimed that they try to consume only healthy organic food and play sports with their children, which helps them not only bond but be as healthy as possible. However, they additionally emphasized that besides working on their mental and physical well-being, they focus on preventative care as well and have regular check-ups.
Family Analysis
Based on the findings, several strengths of functional health patterns were determined. The first strength is connected to healthy eating habits with all family members. According to Gordon’s functional health patterns, nutritional patterns involve food consumption, fluid intake, and balance (Yoost & Crawford, 2021). Given that the Johnsons do not consume fast food and prefer organic produce, the nutritional pattern is their strength.
Another strength of the household is the physical activity. According to Edelman and Kudzma (2021), “Activity-exercise patterns provide effective indicators for commitment to health promotion and prevention” (p.155). The Johnson family’s commitment can be seen in regular sports activities that involve all members.
However, while the family has several strengths, there are additional concerns, such as the daughter’s issues with self-perception and the son’s problems with sleep disturbances. Moreover, despite the family being healthy-diet-oriented, stress eating has been identified as serving as a coping mechanism.
Application of the Family Systems Theory
Regarding family systems theory, the framework can be applied to the Johnson family to contribute to changes. The relationship between family members and between the family unit and other networks is the main emphasis of family systems theory (Milberg et al., 2020). A shift in one family member, such as when somebody becomes ill, will have an impact on the entire system because the family is considered a set of interconnected individuals (Milberg et al., 2020). Therefore, it is crucial to focus on the family as a unit rather than concentrate on a single individual to solve issues.
For example, when it comes to stress management, the family needs to seek the help of professionals and engage in family therapy to learn more about their coping mechanisms and stress eating. The therapy sessions will additionally help members understand ways in which they can communicate and support each other. With this improved communication, supporting the daughter in her self-perception issues can be feasible. Besides, the sleeping disturbances of the son can be addressed either through mental or physical aspects.
Conclusion
Overall, since mental health and support are just as vital as physical well-being, the family in the interview provided an excellent example of the value of communication. A functional health assessment is an essential framework that helps evaluate the physical and mental health of the family members. The questionnaire’s help in the Appendix determined that the Johnson family has strengths in nutrition and physical exercise. However, the family is exposed to concerns about sleep disturbances, self-perception, and stress management.
By focusing on the family as a unit instead of single individuals, family systems theory sets the necessity for therapy for the Johnsons. The relationships between family members and between the family and other networks are highly valued in family systems theory. Because the family is considered a group of interrelated individuals, a change in one member will affect the entire system. In this case, family therapy can improve communication and resolution of problems connected to sleep disturbances and self-perception.
References
Edelman, C., & Kudzma, E. C. (2021). Health promotion throughout the life span (10th ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Milberg, A., Liljeroos, M., Wåhlberg, R., & Krevers, B. (2020). Sense of support within the family: a cross-sectional study of family members in palliative home care. BMC Palliative Care, 19(1), 1-16. Web.
Yoost, B. L., & Crawford, L. R. (2021). Fundamentals of nursing: Active learning for collaborative practice. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Appendix
- Values/Health Perception
- Does your family value well-being?
- Do you or your family members have any specific cultural beliefs or practices related to health?
- Do you or your family members have any health goals that you would like to achieve?
- Nutrition
- What are your family’s nutrition habits and typical diet?
- Would you say there are nutritional restrictions in your family?
- Would you say that your family consumes sufficient nutrients? If yes, explain how you measure it.
- Sleep/Rest
- How many hours of sleep do you and your family members get?
- Do you or your family members have trouble sleeping or experience any disturbances?
- What does your family do to ensure proper relaxation and rest?
- Elimination
- Do you or your family members experience any issues connected to elimination?
- Do you or your family members have any digestive or elimination concerns?
- What does your family do to promote positive digestive and elimination habits?
- Activity/Exercise
- Would you say that you or your family members have poor physical activity?
- Does your family have any exercise goals or activities?
- Do you or your family members engage in physical activity?
- Cognitive
- Is there a history of cognitive issues in your family?
- Do you or your family members experience cognitive challenges?
- Are there any exercises or habits that your family maintains to promote mental health and cognitive functioning?
- Sensory-Perception
- Do any members of your family have sensory impairments?
- Are there any sensory challenges your family members face?
- Does your family have any practices to avoid sensory impairments and promote healthy attitudes?
- Self-Perception
- Are you and your family members aware of your strengths and weaknesses?
- Do you and your family members acknowledge and address weaknesses?
- Do you or your family members experience challenges with self-perception?
- Role Relationship
- Are there any roles for each family member in your family?
- Do you and your family members have issues with the roles within the family?
- What does your family do to sustain healthy relationships and roles?
- Sexuality
- Does your family have conversations about sexuality?
- Are there any specific issues that your family experiences in terms of sexuality?
- Do you or your family members promote healthy sexuality?
- Coping
- How well do you and your family members handle stress and stressful situations?
- Are there any coping techniques on which you rely?
- Are there any family members that have specific coping needs?
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