Principles of Patient and Family Assessment
A family health assessment is typically conducted to identify the health concerns of the family members. As a unit, a family is associated with many stresses of daily living that could have a negative impact on their interactions as well as ability to engage in healthy activities. This is especially so for the parents who may feel rewarded but personally drained from caring for the family (Capuzzi & Stauffer, 2015). This paper presents the results of a family assessment example.
The example involved a family of five. The Suarez family are living in the USA having emigrated from Uruguay seven years ago. The father (James Suarez) works in a meat processing plant while the mother (Eva Suarez) works for a restaurant. The family has three children: two sons (ages 10 and 13) and a girl (age 9). The interview was conducted with the mother who expressed all the interview information from her perspective. Eva described her family’s health values and risks as being average. She is aware that the family has unhealthy life patterns, but insists that the sacrifices are necessary.
The cognitive and emotional functioning of the family members appear to be within normal bounds. However, Eva reported that she may suffer from depression. Her family has a history of depression as her brother committed suicide after suffering from depression without receiving the appropriate care. In addition, Eva mentions that she suffers from low-self-esteem that is attributed to the constant drive to succeed and improve her life. She admits that her brother’s suicide was a terrifying experience and she needed to attend counseling before coming to terms with the event. Besides that, she reports that her youngest son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for which he is attending therapy and taking medication to manage the symptoms. Other than suspecting that she suffers from depression and the ADHD reported in her youngest son, there has been no evidence of any other neurological dysfunction reported among the family members. Principles of Patient and Family Assessment
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The roles of the family members appear centered around the standard roles of a nuclear family members. Eva and James have been providing relatively equal incomes to the family, although James will soon become the main income provider due to a recent work promotion. The children are respectful although the youngest son with ADHD is sometimes disrespectful as he ignores his parents’ instructions. There is clear delegation of tasks among the family members, although Eva complains that she has too much to do with the home and work responsibilities.
A review of the family reveals patterns of busy schedule that interferes with Eva’s self-care. She has a lot of responsibilities at home and at work, and this interferes with her rest and sleep. She desired to have more sleep but admits that she is always business and does not receive much help from her husband. In addition, she has a low assessment of herself, and this causes her to lead a stressful life as she focuses on accomplishing tasks at the expense of her self-care. Given the family history of depression, Eva may be suffering from depression (Christenson & Merritts, 2017). As such, there is a need to confirm the depression diagnosis for Eva and provide the required therapy.
References
Capuzzi, D., & Stauffer, M. (2015). Foundations of Couples, Marriage, and Family Counseling. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Christenson, J., & Merritts, A. (Eds.) (2017). Family Therapy with Adolescents in Residential Treatment: Intervention and Research. Springer International Publishing AG. Principles of Patient and Family Assessment