Community Nursing Family, Essay Example

Nursing assessment of family provides a sound basis for nursing intervention (London, 2011). Through systematic process, nurses are able to identify a family’s strengths and weaknesses identification and emphasis of these problems help provide a strong building block for healthcare intervention (McGoldrick et al., 2012). This paper provides an assessment a typical family using the Friedman model of family assessment.

Indentifying the Data

The Stevens family currently resides in northeastern Wayne County, Detroit. The Stevens family is a nuclear family comprising of two parents. The 43-year-old Steven (S) is the biological father and currently works as a bank teller. His wife Liz (L) is 39 years old and does not work, therefore, she stays at home. L had migrated to United States 2 years ago from Mexico to reunite with her husband in Detroit. Therefore, L does not speak fluent English. S speaks fluent English and Spanish. Both S and L are of Mexican origin. S and L have one daughter Emily (E) who currently is in high school. E is five month pregnant. The family is a middle class family with strong catholic background. The family spends their leisure time watching television.

Developmental Stage and History of the family

The family is currently in the third stage of family development as seen in the structure of the family. Both L and S parents were of Mexican origin. While L has both living parent, S parents are all deceased.  L, however, does not interact well with her parent, as she was raise by her grandmother currently deceased. S has one brother and they are very close. L does not have any siblings. Developmental task of the Stevens family are to some extent accomplished according to age.  Although L feels like she competition with the new society and the pressure it brings. J, on the other hand, feels sidelined because of her early age pregnancy.

Environmental Data

The family lives in a three-bedroom brick house with one entrance. The house is well fenced with barbed wire. Their home is located in a quiet neighborhood with several elementary schools around the vicinity.  L has stayed in this neighborhood for more than year’s hence low family mobility. While S has been able to interact well with his neighbors, L still have a problem interacting with the neighbors as most the neighbors are Caucasians speaking majorly English.  The neighbors are, however friendly hence making socialization easy to the family.

Family Structure

Communication pattern

There is poor communication pattern in the family as L had just recently moved to Detroit form Mexico. In addition, E is pregnant and does not like to talk much with her parents. Most of the emotional messages often come from L who feels like E has let her down as her daughter. Most of the communications in the family, therefore, are close-ended (London, 2011).

Power structures

S is the key decision maker in as he is the only person currently employed in the family. The family is a middle level family; therefore, decision-making process is simple, as the family has limited activities. Power structure is mainly based on financial and social grounds because L and E often stay at home.

Role Structure

The traditional mother and father role structure exists in the family. S supports the family financially and offers protection. L takes care of family performing household chores such as cooking. E is still a high school student.

Family values

The family has strong Mexican background. Therefore, their values slightly differ from those of American families. The family have strong catholic background and attend Mass on a weekly basis, sometimes twice per week.  The family also value connectedness and frequently tries to associate with their neighbors. However, L has difficulty interacting with neighbors due to language barrier.

Family Function

The family is not well connected, as E feels sidelined sometimes due to her pregnancy. L and S, however, are well connected. The family, however, socializes well with their neighbors who are mostly white Americans. The family is not much concerned with good health, as L has only attended clinic twice since the beginning of her pregnancy. The family also has a stable diet comprising of three meals per day.

Family Stress and Coping

The family does not seem to be coping with stress fairly well as currently their daughter is pregnant and still in school. There is also the stress of paying school fee for E. L also has stress of socializing with her neighbors because she does not speak fluent English.

Six interventions with associated rationale

Interventions refers action plans that public health nurses take on behalf of persons, families, or communities in order to protect health status. The six interventions necessary for the case of Stevens’s family includes health teaching, counseling, consultation, coalition building, referral and follow-up, and disease and health investigation.

Counseling

This intervention program is highly necessary because almost of the family members are going through emotional stress. While E is struggling with stress related to early age pregnancy, L is struggling with stress of associating with the neighbors.

Health teaching

Member of the family needs health related teaching especially E currently in need of teaching related to pregnancy. Rationale for intervention therefore, is to provide basic pregnancy education (Stanhope, and Lancaster, 2004).

Referral and follow-up

The rationale for referral and follow up is to ensure that the family is coping with the stress they are currently going through in their daily lives.

Consultation

The rational for this intervention is to ensure both values and beliefs of the family are addressed during counseling and health teaching sessions (Miller, 2006).

Coalition building

The rationale for coalition building is to promote effective communication among the family members.

Disease and health contribution

The family follows the traditional three meals per day diet. In addition, they have a pregnant baby. The rational for health contribution therefore, is to take care of E as she is pregnant (Stanhope, and Lancaster, 2004).

References

Stanhope, M., & Lancaster, J. (2004). Community & public health nursing. St. Louis, Mo: Mosby.

Miller, S. M. (2006). Individuals, families, and the new era of genetics: Biopsychosocial perspectives. New York: W.W. Norton.

McGoldrick, M., Pearce, J. K., & Giordano, J. (2012). Ethnicity and family therapy. New York: Guilford Press.

London, M. L. (2011). Maternal & child nursing care. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Pearson Education.