Essay Sample on Family Health Assessment: Measurement, Needs & Engagement

Introduction

Family health assessment is the measurement of the status of a given family. It is a very critical healthcare planning element that is applied either at the family level, the community level, or the population level. The family health assessment is used to describe how the assessment of health needs can be applied to determine health needs that are of priority, the necessary resources to address those needs, and the best possible way of engaging the community to address the needs. Assessment involves the gathering and organization of information to come up with an objective view of the health status of the family.

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The family structure of Mr Ali is nuclear. It consists of Ali as the husband, Mrs Okufour, as the wife, and they have three children, two boys and a girl. The family belongs to the middle-class economic status. Mrs Okufour is an African-American with origins from Ghana where her father comes from while Mr Ali is a Muslim American. They are both very religious, and they both attend Mosques with their children. They have a problem with the health issue in the family as the two boys are obese, and Mr Ali suffers from high blood pressure. They do not practice healthy eating habits, and neither do they do regular exercises to keep their bodies fit. Moreover, they do not go for routine screening of their bodies.

As a middle-class level family, the unit has resources to cater for activities that may require the family members to engage in some events physically. For example, all house chores and environmental engagements are done by the house-helps. Duties like washing dishes, cleaning the house and compound, and trimming the fence are left in the hands of house-helps. It leaves the children and their parents with nothing physical to engage in physically, thus making their body idle. The parents drive their way to the work-places while the children are driven to and from school. At no time do the family members engage in calorie-burning by walking either to work, school, or market place.

Some of the causes of obesity and high blood pressure include the use of alcohol, drug abuse, or cigarettes. Consistent use of alcohol leads to a sustained rise in the blood pressure, which may result in chronic hypertension. Drug and substance abuse speeds up the heart rate and blood pressure and disrupts blood flow while nicotine in cigarettes causes the clotting of blood, thus stressing the heart leading to difficulty in breathing. All these could be the probable reasons why the family is grappling with high blood pressure and obesity (Leung, et al, 2017). However, no member of the family drinks alcohol, smokes cigarette, nor abuses harmful drugs like cocaine and heroin. They are all God-fearing people and follow the teachings of the Quran religiously.

There are at least two functional health pattern strengths found in the family. The first is the sleep/rest practised by the family. A night of good sleep and rest leads to better productivity and concentration. Secondly, it leads to more social and emotional intelligence since one will be able to recognize other people's emotions and expressions. Finally, enough sleep and rest prevent one from falling into depression. The family has a program that ensures everyone has enough sleep and rest. They sleep at least six hours a day. Both the parents and the children take a break of one hour from their day-time engagements to rest their bodies. It is a very healthy pattern for their bodies.

The second functional health pattern in the family is the role/relationship status in the family. The family set up has three 3s that are critical for a healthy social pattern of any family unit. They practised honest and respectful communication among themselves. Secondly, compromises are arrived at easily to avoid confrontations and conflicts. Lastly, there is a total commitment from all members to ensure that the relationship remains strong. These attributes form a functional health pattern since disputes that may result in stress and depression are avoided (Bardagjy & Steinberg, 2019). The family holds regular meetings and also organizes for bonding sessions regularly, and as a result, it lives in harmony and is always in a cheerful mood.

There are three areas in which health problems or barriers to health were identified. The first is the lack of physical exercises in the family. Physical activities play a significant role in the health of an individual. They strengthen the heart, keep the veins and arteries clear, reduces blood sugar levels, and regulates weight and blood pressure. No member in the family practices physical exercises; thus, the health condition of their bodies. The second is the lack of regular medical check-ups in the family. Regular medical check-ups nip the disease in the bud before it develops, helps in eliminating the risk of other conditions, and keeps someone abreast of his or her health. The final health problem in the family is unhealthy eating habits. The family takes too much food rich in calories and sugar (Kastorini, et al, 2019). These minerals are very harmful and are the leading causes of lifestyle diseases like hypertension and obesity.

The family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members. One concept is about the emotional cutoff. This is where people manage their unresolved issues with parents or siblings by cutting off emotional contact with them. The case is prevalent with Martha, the youngest in the family. Emotional cutoff ultimately affects the mental health of the members of the family as they spend their emotional energy on attending to the needs of the affected. It can be resolved by keeping closer attention to Martha's well-being so that any problem can be resolved early enough. The other family system theory that can be used to solicit changes in the family is the differentiation self. The family can practice becoming well-differentiated people to reduce stress levels. Well-differentiated people tend to have high self-esteem and do not need the approval of others to be happy (Lester, 2017). Well-differentiation helps in avoiding stress-related diseases like hypertension and weight gain.

References

Bardagjy, A. S., & Steinberg, F. M. (2019). Relationship Between HDL Functional Characteristics and Cardiovascular Health and Potential Impact of Dietary Patterns: A Narrative Review. Nutrients, 11(6), 1231.

Kastorini, C. M., Critselis, E., Zota, D., Coritsidis, A. L., Nagarajan, M. K., Papadimitriou, E., ... & Greek National Dietary Guidelines Scientific Team. (2019). National Dietary Guidelines of Greece for children and adolescents: a tool for promoting healthy eating habits. Public health nutrition, 22(14), 2688-2699.

Lester, R. J. (2017). Selfgovernance, psychotherapy, and the subject of managed care: Internal Family Systems therapy and the multiple self in a US eatingdisorders treatment center. American Ethnologist, 44(1), 23-35.

Leung, A. A., Daskalopoulou, S. S., Dasgupta, K., McBrien, K., Butalia, S., Zarnke, K. B., ... & Gelfer, M. (2017). Hypertension Canada's 2017 guidelines for diagnosis, risk assessment, prevention, and treatment of hypertension in adults. Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 33(5), 557-576.