Family Health Assessment
Family Health Assessment
Family health assessment is a great tool to utilize to develop health care plans for the individual family. There are many cultural beliefs and values shared by family members that influence their health perception. Gordon’s functional health assessment is used for a comprehensive nursing data base collection of the family unit using both subjective and objective data. Gordon’s functional health assessment is a holistic approach describing the individual’s biopsychosocial-spiritual, interrelated behaviors in 11 different areas in a family/community life (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to analyze a family of three African American adults using the Gordon’s 11 functional health assessment tool: values and health perception, nutrition, sleep/rest, elimination, activity/exercise, cognitive, sensory/perception, self-perception, role relationship, sexuality, and coping. This tool helps nurses to promote areas of wellness, as well as identifying health problem patterns, to assist the family to optimize their well-being.
Values and Health Perception
In interviewing this family, their perception of overall health is good. The husband (JG) is in his early sixties and work as a school counselor. He takes cholesterol medication for hyperlipidemia. His wife (MG) is in her late fifties and is a homemaker. She is over-weight and is on three different kinds of medications for diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. They have three children, but only one daughter (AG), in her late twenties, still lives with them and she is in perfect health. Both, husband and wife have regular doctor’s appointment for regular checkups for preventive measures. They denied any unhealthy habits such as smoking tobacco, drug or alcohol abuse. The family believes in Christianity, pray daily, go to church every Sunday, and is very active in church activities. They value being in good health: mind, body, and soul.
Family health assessment is a great tool to utilize to develop health care plans for the individual family. There are many cultural beliefs and values shared by family members that influence their health perception. Gordon’s functional health assessment is used for a comprehensive nursing data base collection of the family unit using both subjective and objective data. Gordon’s functional health assessment is a holistic approach describing the individual’s biopsychosocial-spiritual, interrelated behaviors in 11 different areas in a family/community life (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to analyze a family of three African American adults using the Gordon’s 11 functional health assessment tool: values and health perception, nutrition, sleep/rest, elimination, activity/exercise, cognitive, sensory/perception, self-perception, role relationship, sexuality, and coping. This tool helps nurses to promote areas of wellness, as well as identifying health problem patterns, to assist the family to optimize their well-being.
Values and Health Perception
In interviewing this family, their perception of overall health is good. The husband (JG) is in his early sixties and work as a school counselor. He takes cholesterol medication for hyperlipidemia. His wife (MG) is in her late fifties and is a homemaker. She is over-weight and is on three different kinds of medications for diabetes, high cholesterol, and hypertension. They have three children, but only one daughter (AG), in her late twenties, still lives with them and she is in perfect health. Both, husband and wife have regular doctor’s appointment for regular checkups for preventive measures. They denied any unhealthy habits such as smoking tobacco, drug or alcohol abuse. The family believes in Christianity, pray daily, go to church every Sunday, and is very active in church activities. They value being in good health: mind, body, and soul.