Answer 2 for NRS 429 Why is the concept of family health important?
The importance of understanding and promoting family health is essential to assessing, treating, and promoting the prevention of health issues in an individual and on a broader societal scale. The family or household setting is the basis where many health behaviors, positive or negative, are developed, maintained, and changed (Barnes et al, 2020). The family serves as the developmental framework for an individual, and ultimately establishes and nurtures the physical, social, and behavioral patterns in early childhood and over the course of a lifetime. Each member of the family unit has an effect or influence on one another and should be seen as the sum of its parts, working as one whole system (Faulkner et al, 2022). “Observing or understanding the complexity and emotions of the family system lends to the understanding of the individual. When a change occurs in a subsystem, the other parts of the systems react and adapt to the change in an effort to remain a stable unit” (Faulkner et al, 2022). Thus, educating and treating the individual is not enough when promoting healthy lifestyle changes, prevention of disease and behavioral modifications, the healthcare professional must include the whole family system in their approach for optimal client care outcomes.
The Calgary family assessment model is the standard for assessing the structural, developmental, and functional framework of the family’s life. (Faulkner et al, 2022). The CFAM is initially conducted using a fifteen-minute oral interview that gives an overview of relationships within and outside of the family and assists in obtaining information concerning familial support and communication networks (Leahey & Wright, 2016). Following the interview, the nurse may implement the Calgary family intervention model or CFIM, which “focuses on cognitive, affective, and behavioral domain interventions with the intent of creating change and improving family functioning” (Faulkner et al, 2022). Application of the CFAM lends to understanding the families’ unique patterns, inner workings and dynamics allowing for the application of a more individualized intentional interventions to occur from the health care professional (Faulkner et al, 2022). This assessment model also allows the nurse to better strategize how to prioritize and educate change within the familial system. Furthermore, it allows the nurse to target which individuals in the family unit are most receptive to instruct on health promotion and disease prevention programs, with the notion that modification and transformation in one individual in the family system perpetuates change in the other members of the family unit.
Faulkner, A., Green, S. Z., & Whitney, S. (2022). Health Promotion: Health & Wellness Across the Continuum. (Second Edition). Grand Canyon University.
https://bibliu.com/app/#/view/books/1000000000585/epub/Cover.htm# pp 106-110
Barnes, M. D., Hanson, C. L., Novilla, L. B., Magnusson, B. M., Crandall, A. C., & Bradford, G. (2020). Family-Centered Health Promotion: Perspectives for Engaging Families and Achieving Better Health Outcomes. Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financing, 57, 46958020923537. https://doi.org/10.1177/0046958020923537
Leahey, M., & Wright, L. M. (2016). Application of the Calgary Family Assessment and Intervention Models: Reflections on the Reciprocity Between the Personal and the Professional. Journal of family nursing, 22(4), 450–459. https://doi.org/10.1177/1074840716667972
