Family Health Assessment Part I

Understanding family structure and style is essential to patient and family care. Conducting a family interview and needs assessment gathers information to identify strengths, as well as potential barriers to health. This information ultimately helps develop family-centered strategies for support and guidance.

This family health assessment is a two-part assignment. The information you gather in this initial assignment will be utilized for the second assignment in Topic 3.

Develop an interview questionnaire to be used in a family-focused functional assessment. The questionnaire must include three open-ended, family-focused questions to assess functional health patterns for each of the following:

1. Values/Health Perception
2. Nutrition
3. Sleep/Rest
4. Elimination
5. Activity/Exercise
6. Cognitive
7. Sensory-Perception
8. Self-Perception
9. Role Relationship
10. Sexuality
11. Coping

Select a family, other than your own, and seek permission from the family to conduct an interview. Utilize the interview questions complied in your interview questionnaire to conduct a family-focused functional assessment. Document the responses as you conduct the interview.

Upon completion of the interview, write a 750-1,000-word paper. Analyze your assessment findings. Submit your questionnaire as an appendix with your assignment.

Include the following in your paper:

1. Describe the family structure. Include individuals and any relevant attributes defining the family composition, race/ethnicity, social class, spirituality, and environment.
2. Summarize the overall health behaviors of the family. Describe the current health of the family.
3. Based on your findings, describe at least two of the functional health pattern strengths noted in the findings. Discuss three areas in which health problems or barriers to health were identified.
4. Describe how family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members that, in turn, initiate positive changes to the overall family functions over time.

Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide.  An abstract is not required.

 Child abuse and maltreatment is not limited to a particular age and can occur in the infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age years. Choose one of the four age groups (infant, toddler, preschool, or school age) and discuss the types of abuse that are most often seen in this age. Discuss warning signs and physical and emotional assessment findings the nurse may see that could indicate child abuse. Discuss cultural variations of health practices that can be misidentified as child abuse. Describe the reporting mechanism in your state and nurse responsibilities related to the reporting of suspected child abuse. 

1. Course Competencies:
   
   • Incorporate professional values, attitudes, and expectations regarding ageism when caring for the older adult.
   • Outline the importance of advocating for older adults in management of their care.
   • Your supervisor provided some valuable feedback in response to your outline! They are excited to see the PowerPoint slideshow you are creating for your topic’s in-service training. Having developed a number of presentations for in-services, your supervisor offered the following advice:

     “When developing a slideshow, it’s important to be mindful of how you layout your content. For an in-service presentation, the slides should present key points, be arranged logically, without extraneous information contributing to a cluttered look. The audience should get a lot of the content from listening to what you say, not just from reading the slides. Using the Speaker Notes feature in PowerPoint is a great way to include relevant details that you want to provide without overloading the slides.”

     Your supervisor wants you to work from your outline and prepare a visually appealing PowerPoint slideshow for the in-service presentation. They said it should:

   1. Have a title slide.
   2. Contain 6-10 content slides pertaining to the important content areas for your presentation topic.
   3. Use the Speaker Notes feature in PowerPoint to reduce the amount of text that appears on the slides. (The Speaker Notes will contain the text that will guide what you say while presenting the slides.)
   4. Be written using proper spelling/grammar.
   5. Cite at least 2 credible references and present the sources in APA format on a References slide.
   6. For information about creating PowerPoint presentations or adding Speaker Notes, consult the resources below.

      Tip:

   • Writing Guide: PowerPoints
   • PowerPoint FAQ
   • PowerPoint & APA: citing sources and creating reference lists in PPT presentations
   • How do I add Speaker Notes to my PowerPoint presentation slides?

When deciding to enter a Master’s program inevitably, I knew it had to be an online course. The advantage of going to school online while being able to work full time was a significant precursor in deciding to go back. The convenience and flexibility offered in online courses are un-matched, with most learners being full-time workers and parents (Kauffman, 2015). With there being so many appealing attributes, online learning is growing at a rapid rate (Kauffman, 2015). In 2010, over 6.5 million people were taking at least one online course (Kauffman, 2015).

While there are many positive aspects of online learning, there are a few negatives to take into consideration, as well. When choosing an online course, you lack face-to-face interaction with peers and instructors (Kauffman, 2015). The lack of interaction was the biggest concern I had when entering this course. Not being able to have your questions answered right away as you would in a physical classroom is an example. However, the communication between Walden staff in all of my classes so far has been excellent. My academic advisor and all of the teachers have been quick to respond and answer and questions. They always ensure I understand what is being asked of me when they submit the reply.

The second biggest concern I have is finding clinical sites for my practicum courses in the MSN program. I live in a city that is saturated with Nurse Practitioner students, and that makes finding clinical sites difficult. Working with my academic advisor this week, I have nailed down the exact dates I will need practicum to ensure I have a deadline.  According to Online Colleges (n.d.), one of the traits of a successful online learner is self-direction and self-efficiency. Taking the initiative, utilizing resources, and staying on schedule fall under this category (Online Colleges (n.d.). Previously, in my BSN program, we also had a practicum in the last quarter. During that time, I failed to utilize my resources and exercise self-direction and efficiency and didn’t meet the deadline for my practicum applications. By failing to meet the practicum deadline, I delayed one of my courses for six weeks, ultimately putting me behind. Although this was an inconvenience, it was a learning experience for me on time management and self- direction with online learning.

The third and final concern I had was writing Master’s level papers and discussions. The Writing Center was beneficial while obtaining my Bachelor’s Degree, and I will continue to utilize it as a resource to earn my MSN. With options such as help with writing, grammar and composition, APA format, and scholarly writing, you are provided an abundance of tools to ensure success (Walden University Writing Center, 2019).

In conclusion, I have many resources available to me on a professional and academic level. Whether it be my academic advisor, the writing center, a mentor, or colleague in addition to personal discipline and accountability makes me prepared to take MSN courses.