Cheryl Shelton
Family Assessment
Goldfarb School of Nursing
Instructor: Jan Holbrook
Family Assessment Assignment
A family nursing assessment was done on the Lois G. family during three nursing visits over a period of one month. The family lives at 1234 Main St. and their home phone number is 314-987-6543. This is a lower- middle class (Friedman, Bowden & Jones E.G., 2003), African American, Baptist, single-parent, career, divorced family that is child-oriented and not geographically mobile. Lois is 45 and has three children, Carmen, a 16 year old girl, Emille and Camille, twin 9 year old girls. The mother is the sole custodial parent of the oldest child. Carmen has minimal contact with her father, …show more content…
She has the middle class values of honesty, hard work, progress, achievement and respectability (Friedman, et al., 2003). Individualism and equality are valued, but she stresses respect for God, family and elders; good grades and academic achievement above all else. Health care for the children is important to her. She utilizes her health care insurance to makes sure they have all the needed physicals, immunizations, eye and dental care recommended by their pediatrician. She has delayed her own routine health and dental care and screenings to meet work or family commitments. I explained to Lois that in a recent study a questionnaire was given at both men and women to evaluate family burdens; domestic responsibilities; the appraisal of work and family; and values involved in work-family balance. The results of this study show that, in the present economic and cultural context, assuming family burdens and domestic responsibilities increases the positive appraisal of work and family (Cantera, Cubells, Martinez & Blanch, 2009).
Lois sees her family as very healthy since there are no illnesses or major health crises; but also sees how delaying her health care could directly affect the health status of the family. The children are active in sports, but Lois feels she has been neglecting herself by not getting the exercise she has been used to even though her weight remains consistent and within normal