Family Health Assessment Functional Health Patterns → ESSAY WRITERS

Family Health Assessment Utilizing Functional Health Patterns

A paradigm shift has occurred in health care, regarding how patients are assessed and plans of care are established. Health care professionals understand that patients do not exist independently from their families, and families need to be considered and involved in establishing the plan of care where appropriate and desired by the patient (Saha, Beach, & Cooper, 2008, para.7). The usual place where individuals learn about health promotion and disease prevention is within the family structure; nurses should include the family as a collective unit when performing a patient assessment (Edelman, Kudzma, & Mandle, 2010, pp. 1-2). One tool that has established its usefulness as a structure for performing family-focused health interviews is Gordon’s 11 functional health patterns (Edelman et al., 2010, p. 3). A woman in the community was interviewed about her family utilizing questions developed from each pattern; the responses were then compiled and summarized, and wellness nursing diagnoses for this family have been identified.

Health Perception: Health Management Pattern

The household is comprised of the woman, her husband, three children (1, 8, and 11), and

her husband’s parents. The family’s general health is good. The young toddler has frequent

respiratory infections, and the father-in-law is a disabled veteran; his disability was not

elaborated upon, but he is able to walk, drive, and assist with the grandchildren. The mother-in-

law has cataracts, and is unable to drive at night. The woman stated in the interview that “[her]

health is fine,” as well as the health of her husband and two older children. She and her family

try to stay active, eat healthy foods, and practice good hand washing. The family members have

regular health check-ups from their doctors, and either attempt to be seen by the doctor when

illness occurs, or got to the ER. The woman also consumes a clove of raw garlic daily when she

is ill, and feels that all of these practices contribute to the family’s overall good health.

Nutritional-Metabolic Pattern

The woman decides the family’s menus, and does most of the food preparation. She

values healthy food, and tries to “sneak in” vegetables in foods like spaghetti sauce. The other

family members are not as concerned about nutrition; if left to their own devices, her husband

would feed the children junk food like chips, and processed convenience foods such as frozen

pizza and macaroni and cheese. The in-laws eat sandwiches as their “go-to” easy food, when

their daughter-in-law is not available to cook. The woman is Filipino and her husband is

Caucasian; the entire family enjoys more traditional Filipino food such as homemade eggrolls,

rice dishes, and rice noodles combined with meat and vegetables.

Elimination Pattern

The woman and her family have bowel movements almost daily. The color is usually

brown and formed. The young toddler has several bowel movements a day, and the color may

vary at times according to diet. The family tries to consume enough high fiber food to prevent

constipation. Her goal for the family is for every member to drink a half gallon of water a day to

assist with urination.

Activity-Exercise Pattern

The woman is active at work; she has to move around a lot while caring for special needs

children. Her own children play outside many hours per week. Her husband is a stay at home

dad; he does some yard and housework, and runs around with the children. The in-laws help with

the children at times, but are otherwise not very active beyond some light walking around the

house. Neither the children nor the adults spend much time on the computer recreationally or

watching television; she estimates about an hour a day for the children, and a little longer for her

husband. The woman spends the most time on the computer because she is completing college

courses online. Her husband’s parents watch a lot of television. The family goes to the park for

fun, and walk while the children play on the playground equipment within visual site.

Sleep-Rest Pattern

The children get between 8-10 hours of sleep per night. The woman and her spouse get

about 6-7 hours of sleep. The toddler usually sleeps through the night, but the woman gets up

with her and attempts to get her back to sleep, in the event that the child does wake up. The

mother-in-law does not sleep very well, and wakes up multiple times a night, but the father-in-

law goes to bed early and sleeps well. The routine at night is for the parents to help get the kids

into bed, then the woman prepares the clothes for the next day, and completes some of her

college assignments. Only the in-laws and the toddler get an afternoon nap.

Cognitive-Perceptual Pattern

The family gets its health information from their doctors, from the nurses that the woman

works with, and from the internet. The woman has a few cultural home remedies that she uses,

such as eating a clove of peeled, pressed garlic once or twice daily if she is sick in order to boost

the immune system, and drinking oregano tea if congested. The family uses over-the-counter

medicine to treat colds and minor aches and pains. The family seeks medical attention in the

event of a serious injury, fever, extreme cough/congestion, or ear aches.

Self-Perception: Self-Concept Pattern

The interviewee feels that her family is similar to others in the community because there

are children in the home, one of the family members has a job outside of the home, and they face

the same mundane routines that many families are familiar with. She feels that the family is

different from many others because her immediate family is living with the in-laws in their house

while she and her husband are trying to save money to buy their own house, and she is going

back to college online. The family would like to change the living arrangements; there is conflict

with living with the in-laws at times. The family is close-knit and resilient, but they all lose their

tempers at times with one another.

Roles-Relationship Pattern

The woman stated that she is a wife, mother, daughter within her family. She takes care

of the whole family, works, and assists at church. The woman is a coworker, an online classmate,

and a friend in the community. She feels that she usually performs her responsibilities within all

of these roles very well; occasionally her school work or church/work attendance are impacted in

a negative way due to multiple demands. She would not change anything, she stated.

Sexuality-Reproductive Pattern

The woman has always wanted many children, and thought that she would have had more

than three children by now. She is satisfied with the quality of intimacy, but wishes for more

time with her spouse.

Coping-Stress Tolerance Pattern

The family prays together and sings when stressed. Last year, the oldest child suffered a

head injury at the hands of the middle child; also, the oldest accidentally locked the baby in the

car and the police had to be called. The closes their tempers when stressed, and the children can

be violent to each other at times.

Values-Beliefs Pattern

The woman is from the Philippines, and her husband is white. They believe that stress

and germs cause illness, and are Christians, attending an Assembly of God church.

Two wellness diagnoses that fit this family’s situation are “Readiness for Enhanced

Relationships,” “Readiness for Enhanced Parenting,” and “Readiness for Enhanced Sleep”

(Weber, 2005).