Families Assessment in Nursing

Increasingly nursing is recognizing the significance of the family to the health and well being of individual family members (wright &Leahey, 2000). Hatrick (1998) suggests family nursing in undergraduate nursing education will provide nurses with theoretical and practical skills to work effectively with families. This paper will demonstrate the assessment of one family using the Calgary Family Assessment Model (CFAM) as well as the Calgary Family Intervention Model (CFIM). The CFAM will provide information on the structural, developmental and functional components of the family. The family's strengths and weaknesses are identified, and the role of a community resource in this family's life is described. This discussion will demonstrate the relationship these concepts have on health and nursing in the family. All member of the family interviewed for this assignment agreed to participate but their names have been changed to ensure confidentiality.

The CFAM is an integrated conceptual framework developed by Wright and Leahey for use when interviewing and making assessment of families. The CFAM consists of three major categories: structural, developmental and functional

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Heather occasionally uses alternatives from a health shop for herself, but finds this way to expensive and as a result her choice is limited. Within each stage there are specific tasks the family undertakes.

Nutrition

Eating habits based on moderation and variety can help maintain and improve a person's health.

Developmental Category

The focus of this category is on the developmental life cycle stages of the family including the emotional process and changes within family roles (Wright and Leahey, 2000). This has involved a realignment of Heather's relationship with him to provide healthy role models for Brianna. She ensures Brianna has protein and calcium to assist her growth and carbohydrates for fibre and energy. Heather stated she feels able to express her feelings with Brianna.

Calgary Family Intervention Model

The CFAM's counterpart, CFIM provides a model for intervention after the family assessment has occurred.

Heather and Brianna belong to many subsystems within their own family. Support may be financial, emotional or help with childcare. Having community Based services and easy access to health services for Brianna and herself makes this the perfect option.

Communication

It was evident from the expressive functioning category of the CFAm that the smiths use a variety of communication skills. This bond is likely to be stronger as they share a mother child bond and live together away from extended family. Accessing and analyzing this information is the first step towards empowerment.

Approximate Word count = 3199
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)

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