Why is the concept of family health important? Consider the various strategies for health promotion. How does a nurse determine which strategy would best enable the targeted individuals to gain more control over, and improve, their health?
Response 1 (Nadine )
The concept of family health is crucial because families play a fundamental role in shaping individuals’ health behaviors, beliefs, and access to healthcare resources. Families provide emotional, financial, and social support, which is essential for maintaining overall well-being and coping with health challenges. Family members often share access to healthcare resources and may influence each other’s decisions regarding seeking medical care, adhering to treatment plans, and participating in preventive health measures (Greens, 2022). In promoting family health, nurses employ various strategies for health promotion. Providing families with information about healthy lifestyles, preventive measures, and available healthcare services and encouraging families to adopt healthy behaviors, emphasizing the importance of regular screenings, vaccinations, and early detection of health problems within the family (Ross et al., 2017). Nurses determine which strategy would be best by assessing the health status, preferences, and priorities of family members to identify areas for intervention and understanding the cultural beliefs, values, and practices of the family helps nurses tailor health promotion strategies that resonate with their cultural context (Green, 2022). Nurses consider the availability of resources, such as financial support, transportation, and healthcare services, when recommending health promotion strategies that are feasible and sustainable for the family (Ross et al., 2017). By considering these factors, nurses can tailor health promotion strategies to meet individual families’ unique needs and circumstances, ultimately empowering them to improve their health and well-being.
Reference:
Green, S. (2022). Health Promotion: Health and Wellness Across The Continuum (2nd ed.). Grand Canyon University
Ross, A., Bevans, M., Brooks, A. T., Gibbons, S., & Wallen, G. R. (2017). Nurses and Health-Promoting Behaviors: Knowledge May Not Translate Into Self-Care. AORN Journal, 105(3), 267.
response 3 (Erin)
Family is a group of mutually related people bound by blood, interest or merely affective relations and who live in a historical, cultural, physical and political context, permitting its own identity (Mantelo, et.al, 2014). The concept of family health is important because individuals in a family influence one another and their health. There are many types of families, a nuclear and extended family can support one another in their daily activities, healthy habits and preventative health, promoting a healthy life. Health in a nuclear family could mean yearly check-ups, healthy routines such as brushing teeth and having a consistent bedtime and supporting one another as health issues or diseases crop up. While other families such as a single person households can view health as being free from disease and is independently responsible for their preventative health, access to medications and can be overwhelming as they are maintaining a household and pressures of maintaining their health on their own.
Through the Calagary Model of Family Assessment, a nurse or health care provider can determine which strategies that can work for certain families and individuals to have more control over and improve their health. This is done by the nurse using short interviews using therapeutic communication to help determine the best interventions for that family. Health promotion and disease prevention is expected knowledge for a registered nurse (National State Boards of Nursing [NSBN], 2016). Nurses education and assessment skills lead to identification of risk factors for disease or illness, health risks, immunization schedules, and health education to help people achieve optimal health (NSBN, 2016).
For example, a single person who does not have family support and needs to care for his diabetes and has been non-compliant can benefit through a Calagary model of nursing assessment. A nurse can then identify that a patient can benefit from weekly home nurse visits with education about his disease process and the importance of carbohydrate counting and prescribed medications being received through the mail (Mantelo, et.al, 2014).
Mantelo Cecilio, H. P., Sturi?o dos Santos, K., & Silva Marcon, S. (2014). Calgary
Model of Family Assessment: Experience in a Community Service Project. Cogitare Enfermagem, 19(3), 493501.
National State Boards of Nursing. (2016). 2016 NCLEX-RN detailed testEducator version.
Whitney, S. (2022). Teaching and learning styles. In Grand Canyon University
(Ed.), Health promotion: Health & wellness across the continuum (2nd ed., pp.105-107).
