professional association

Family Health Assessment

Alyssa Portugal

Grand Canyon University: NRS 429VN

14 October 2018

Running head: ASSIGNMENT TITLE HERE

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FAMILY HEALTH ASSESSMENT

Family Health Assessment

The following essay will be based on a family assessment that was performed on a family that consisted of husband and wife, along with their two-year-old son. Three open-ended, family-focused questions for eleven topics derived from health patterns were developed for this family. This essay will discuss their responses to the assessment, as well as, identify two wellness problems. The assessment questions can be found in the appendix of this essay. Names have been changed to protect the family’s privacy.

Values, Health Perception

The Cruz family describes their values as Mexican American with roots in Catholicism. Both adults are 28-years-old with a 2-year-old son. They would describe themselves as reasonably healthy. Mateo, the 2-year-old, never misses his check ups and is up to date on his immunizations. Mrs. Vivian Cruz states that she always tries to follow her doctor’s recommendations, but admits that sometimes she falls short. Mr. Michael Cruz states with humor that he would follow a doctor’s recommendations if he went to see a doctor, meaning that he rarely sees a physician. The couple states that their religion and heritage have somewhat of a minor influence on their family values. Vivian describes day of the dead as a celebration they like to partake in by creating their own altar to honor deceased relatives.

Nutrition

The Cruz family explains that they read nutrition labels to a fault, but try to pick items that are low in sodium and sugar. They regularly eat nuts, cold meats, and cheese as a snack. Most of the time, they choose to drink coffee and iced tea along with lemon water.

Sleep and Rest

When it comes to sleep, their work schedules come into play. Michael is usually able to get 7.5 hours of sleep, whereas Vivian only gets around 6 hours of sleep. Mateo regularly gets 8-9 hours of sleep and naps often. Vivian says that she tends to squeeze in a nap here and there, but Michael does not usually get that opportunity. Both adults state that they snore occasionaly.

Elimination

The Cruz family states that they all have normal bowel movements. It is normal for them to have a bowel movement once, or occasionally twice a day. Michael states that he never wakes up in the middle of the night to use the restroom. Vivian explains that she usually wakes up once a week to use the restroom because of the amount of water she had before bed. She tries to drink more water before bed if she was not able to drink much throughout the day. Mateo is potty-trained and uses the restroom regularly throughout the day.

Activity and Exercise

During the week, the family does not exercise very much. Both parents track their steps daily and Vivian states that she usually does about 2,000-3,000 steps more than Michael, daily. The extent of the exercise they perform is carrying Mateo up the stairs. They do not spend much time outside during the summer, but during the rest of the year they are more inclined to go outside due to the cooler weather. They enjoy walking through their neighborhood and taking Mateo to the park.

Cognitive

Vivian states that she often gets confused and tends to have a lot of mental fog, whereas Michael only has mental fog when there is a lot going on around him. Household decisions are usually made together. Vivian believes that she is usually right and that if Michael is concerned, then they will discuss it further and he usually needs to persuade her. She states that she will sometimes let him try whatever his opinion is on the matter, and by doing this she allows for him to see when he is wrong. Michael feels that when he voices his opinions, he does not always feel heard. They explain that when they are not on the same wavelength, there is some difficulty. When it comes to coordination, Michael feels that he is very coordinated and has good reaction time. Vivian feels that she is not very coordinated, but believes she has better reflexes than Michael does. They feel that Mateo is coordinated enough for his age, but isn’t always aware of times when he gets close to bumping his head on furniture.

Sensory and Perception

Both, Michael and Vivian, have glasses to aid their vision. However, Michael does not use his and says that he does not need them. Vivian, however, has an astigmatism and feels the need to wear them when reading, driving at night, using the computer, or watching TV. They both deny taste and smell issues. Mateo does not have any sensory issues.

Self Perception

Michael states that he often feels hopeful about the future, and Vivian says “today yes, but sometimes I don’t.” When asked what they think about themselves, Vivian said she would be confidence in herself. Michael agrees with this in regards to himself as well, and believes that his self-esteem was lowered due to comments from his parents when he was a kid about his size and the way his voice used to be. If he could change anything about himself, he would like to be in better shape, slow down in life more. Overall they both want to exercise more, eat better, and be less stressed out.

Role Relationship

When asked about their marital relationship, they explain that lately it has been good. Not only this, but also that when it’s bad its not bad. When it gets really bad, that is usually rare, maybe 1-2 over last 5 years. In regards to addressing marital problems, sometimes they don’t talk it out. Sometimes they’ll bottle it in until it explodes, then talk it out (sometimes in tears) and end up fixing the issue. They both tend to let problems drag on instead of addressing them right away. However, they take pride in being honest with each other. Discipline in the house consists of timeouts, and occasionally use strong tones without yelling. They usually “check each other” on their discipline when it comes to Mateo to ensure they are not being too harsh. Their routines provide structure and consistency to help avoid problems with Mateo’s behavior.

Sexuality

In regards to how open they plan to be with Mateo about sexuality, Vivian says she plans to be very open about it but she is still trying to figure out where to draw the line as Mateo gets older. She wants to avoid creating a stigma. Michael says he would like to try to find a good balance that is not too open, but he doesn’t want Mateo to feel like he can’t come to his parents. In regards to public displays of affection, Michael says struggles with it. Vivian says she feels like it’s part of her love language. Michael explains that he feels awkward with kissing in public because he cares a lot about how he makes others feel. They hold hands often and don’t have an issue with that. They explain that it depends on their environment. Vivian feels more comfortable being more open around her family verses being around Michael’s. When Mateo starts to show interest in a romantic relationships and dating, they plan to ask questions. They want to try to understand where he’s coming from before making a decision. They’d like to be up front and honest about how they feels about it but still be supportive. They plan to emphasize consent and boundaries as Mateo grows up, and want him to be aware of peoples’ space.

Coping

Methods that Mr. and Mrs. Cruz use to cope with stress include occasionally drinking alcohol. Vivian likes to take relaxing baths, mini trips to get out of house (such as trips to the museum with Mateo), and also shopping at target. Being productive helps her so that there’s not as much to stress about. Michael likes to stay at home and “chill out”. Both of them vent to each other about work to relieve work stress, since they work in the same company. When it comes to prominent stressful events in their lives lately, they’ve had a couple of ER visits that were anxiety inducing. Mateo fell and hit his head then lost consciousness briefly, and Vivian had a strong migraine where she lost feeling of her hands and threw up a few times during that episode, all of which frightened her. When she was pregnant with Mateo, she had preeclampsia, leading to early delivery of Mateo. He ended up developing some light jaundice, but all was resolved after a couple of weeks. A current stressor is finding a babysitter while they are at work. When it comes to dealing with grief, Vivian likes having family to fall back on and celebrating the day of the dead and making an altar. Michael sorts out his grief best by talking it out with Vivian, otherwise he would bottle it up. Sharing stories and memories about departed loved ones helps him to cope.

Wellness Problems

After speaking with this family, two wellness problems that were discovered were that Michael does not regularly visit a physician and that there may be some issues with communication between Mr. and Mrs. Cruz. It is important that Michael make regular visits to a physician to address any issues he may be at risk of developing and to adjust to the healthier lifestyle that he may be recommended. It may be best for them both to seek a marriage counselor to aid them in better communication skills so that they can share their feelings in a positive way whilst in the presence of a mediator. Being a younger family, there will be plenty of growing so that they can find what works best for them. This process will be continuous, and will require adaptation from everyone (Edelman, 2018). However, seeking help from an professional outside source could be beneficial to make for a smoother process.

References

Edelman, C. & Kudzma, E. (2018). Health Promotion Throughout the Life Span, 9th Edition. Elsevier (HS-US), 102017. VitalBook file. Retrieved from https://pageburstls.elsevier.com/#/books/9780323416733/cfi/177!/4/[email protected]:0.00

Appendix A

Family Assessment Questions

1. Values, health perception

· How healthy is your family?

· Do you always try to follow doctors recommendations when given?

· Do your religious affiliations have any influence on your family values?

2. Nutrition

· Do you read nutrition labels for nutritional values?

· What kind of snacks do you eat regularly?

· What are your regular beverage choices?

3. Sleep/Rest

· How much sleep do you get a night?

· Does anyone in your family snore?

· How often do you take a nap?

4. Elimination

· Does everyone in your family have normal bowel movements?

· How often?

· How often do you wake up in the middle of the night to use the restroom?

5. Activity/Exercise

· How much exercise do you get in a typical week?

· What types of exercise do you do?

· How much time do you spend outdoors during the week?

6. Cognitive

· Do you ever get confused?

· How are decisions made in your household?

· How coordinated and balanced would you say you are?

7. Sensory-Perception

· How is your eyesight?

· Do you have problems with taste?

· Do you have problems with smell?

8. Self-perception

· Do you feel hopeful about the future?

· What do you think of yourself?

· Is there anything you would change about yourself?

9. Role Relationship

· How is your marital relationship?

· How do you address marital problems?

· How do you discipline in your household?

10. Sexuality

· How open do you plan to be with your children about sexuality?

· How do you feel about public displays of affection?

· How will you address your children’s interest in a romantic relationships/dating?

11. Coping

· What methods do you use to deal with stress?

· Have there been any prominent stressful events in your life lately?

· How do you deal with grief?