Family in Crisis, Essay Example

Juanita is facing numerous physical environmental, psychological, biological, sociocultural, behavioural and health system factors that are influencing her situation and driving her to the conclusion that she does not need to live anymore.

Her physical environment, the rural setting within which she is currently residing, has hindered her ability to find work even without any marketable skills. If the setting was urban, she would probably find it much easier to find employment at minimum wage without any marketable skills.

She is psychologically under strain with all the dependents that live under her. She is taking care of many people without any job and any marketable skills. Notably, she is taking care of her 72-year old mother who is diabetic and has hypertension (Rusell, 2002). This creates for an environment that is full of strain as the mother would require a lot of her attention, not mentioning a special diet. The 13 year old daughter would only seem to cause further strain with common teenage delinquent behaviour. The 18-year-old son is an adult and as such may be expected to help in the family finances. However, there is no indication of this. The 9-year-old step daughter would also need constant care and her undivided attention. All these factors work to psychologically strain her.

The one socio-cultural problem factor that works against Juanita is the fact that is a single-mother. Since there is no mention of her husband or boyfriend, and owing to the fact that she is African-American, it can only be safe to presume that the husband or boyfriend abandoned her, neglecting his fatherly duties. One-parent families are common in the African-American culture and this has worked against Juanita as she is left to cater for all the aforementioned family needs on her own. (Barker, 2007)

The health system factors have worked against Juanita in the form of the lack of health insurance cover for any of her family members. This can only be attributed to the fact that health insurance is an expensive asset to acquire owing to the fact that she has no job and/or no marketable skills.

Her mother’s age is a biological factor that cannot be ignored. She is 72 years old is currently experiencing problems with hypertension (high blood pressure) and diabetes. These are common with a failing health of an aging individual.

This is indeed a crisis situation. This is a socio-cultural and psychological family crisis. This is because the socio-cultural facets of the community greatly undermine the functionality of the family and the wellbeing of Juanita, causing great psychological pressure on her and resulting in her developing suicidal thoughts and her contemplation of there being no need for her to live.

The best interventions for tis family would be for the 72 year old mother to be placed on an affordable diet that is well within the reach of the family’s finances.

Another intervention would be to direct Juanita to a psychiatrist to help her with her suicidal thoughts.

In the case where many families in the area are experiencing similar problems, the most advisable nursing intervention technique would be to seek out any social or economic facilities and create an awareness program to aid the community in understanding the biological, psychological, physical environmental, sociocultural, behavioural, and health system factors are influencing the current condition and situation of the community. (Niven, 2006)

References

Barker, S. (2007). Psychology. Oxford: Blackwell Pub.

Niven, N. (2006). The Psychology of Nursing Care. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Rusell, G. (2002). Essential psychology for nurses and other health professionals. London: Routledge.