I interviewed an African American family in a bid to establish their general health behaviors and determine appropriate approaches through which the family’s health can be improved. The five-member family is a traditional nuclear family consisting of two parents, a father, Mr. Brian Logan, and a mother, Mary Cate Logan, and three children, Elizabeth, Brian, and Winnie. Mr. Logan is 44 years old, while his wife is 42 years old. Their eldest child, Elizabeth is 17 years old, Brian is aged 15 years, while their last child, Winnie is aged ten years. Mr. Logan is a masters’ degree holder and works as an engineer with a local construction company, while his wife is a high school teacher. The logan’s family is a medium income family, with all their children schooling in private institutions. Moreover, the family lives in a middle-upper neighborhood. The Logans are Catholics, and they attend mass every Sunday and other church-related functions whenever they are available.
Family Health Behaviors
Currently, the family cannot be said to be healthy because most of the family members are battling different lifestyle-related diseases. Mrs. Logan was recently diagnosed with diabetes, while Mr. Logan is recovering from bronchitis. The last born child, Winnie, has been suffering from obesity since he was five years old. The family acknowledges that they have not been following strict healthy diets, but they have started making an effort to eat healthy since Mrs. Logan was diagnosed with diabetes. However, the family’s favorite dishes remain fried rice, French fries, and pasta, which they commonly eat together with beef or fish. Mrs. Logan is also an excellent baker and always ensures that there are baked snacks for the family all the time.
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Winnie loves cakes and cookies so much, and Mrs. Logan largely attributes her obesity to the high-calorie foods. Moreover, before Mr. Logan was diagnosed with bronchitis, he was a chain-smoker, but he has reduced his cigarette smoking. However, the doctor recommended that Mr. Logan should completely quit smoking. Logan, on the other hand, argues that he is considering cutting down on smoking through a period since he is addicted to cigarettes. Some of the healthy behaviors that the family has started practicing include participating in physical activities; Mrs. Logan has recently enrolled in a gym with the goal of losing weight. Currently, she weighs 104 kgs. Brian plays basketball for his school team, while Elizabeth participates in aerobics at school.
Functional Health Patterns
The key strengths in functional health patterns for the family were noted in elimination, sleep/rest, self-perception, sensory or perception, and role relationship patterns. Pertaining to elimination patterns, the family noted that they all have normal bladder and bowel patterns. Although the family acknowledges that they experience occasional constipation, they state that they do not experience severe problems regarding bladder and bowel elimination. Further, the family observes a tradition of getting a minimum of eight hours of sleep, which is a high strength from the health perspective. They all go to sleep at about 10:00 pm and wake up about 6:30 am during school days, and about 8:00 am when school is closed. Moreover, the family notes that they do not experience any problems relating to sensory perception and that all their five senses are in perfect shape, which is high strength.
Besides, the family demonstrates a strong bond, and whenever they get an opportunity, they take trips or execute small activities together. The family also acknowledged that they love going out in matching colors or clothing. They also participate in community and school activities and maintain good relationships with neighbors. Generally, the family feels happy although Mr. and Mrs. Logan feel that if they overcome their health issues, they will be able to engage more in physical fitness activities. Another strength that the family demonstrates pertains to role relationship, whereby they are dedicated to making time to spend with friends, family, and sometimes co-workers. Due to this factor, the family feels that their relationship with the people around them is excellent. Whenever there is a problem within the family, the parents first communicate before everyone can be engaged in resolving the issue. Mrs. Logan does most of the talking although the children are also encouraged to present their ideas and thoughts. Everyone is also involved in performing the house chores; Mr. Logan loves preparing breakfast, while the wife prepares lunch and dinner. The children are mainly involved in cleaning and organizing the house.
Despite the above strengths, the family demonstrates significant problems or barriers to health, which relate to coping, activity or exercise, and nutrition. As a family, the family deals with stress relating to the young age children, and particularly the two teenagers. The family, however, comes through the support of friends as well as prayers, although managing the children remains a considerable challenge. Another challenge pertains to exercise, whereby despite Mr. Logan being active in boxing and riding the bicycle in the past, he has not been able to participate in the activities for the last six months as a result of his bronchitis. Moreover, Winnie, who is obese, does not engage in any physical activity and instead spends most of her time playing video games, watching the television, or on the cell phone. Finally, the family demonstrates a great barrier regarding nutrition, where the family only shares a meal during dinner. The family also highly consumes snacks made of wheat, rice, and pasta. The children also note that they heavily consume junk foods, particularly now that their mother is increasingly focusing on preparing healthier meals, which they find less appetizing.
Application of the Family Health Systems Theory
The theory examines parts of a system, for instance, individuals within a family, concerning the entire system, such as a family. According to the proponent of the theory, Bowen, the behaviors, emotions, and personalities of individuals emanate from their coping mechanisms and role within the family ( Haefner, 2014) . Hence, it is crucial to view the family as a whole to understand how the family system works since the unique characteristics that define a family emanates from such aspects as how they interact with others. The family systems theory can be applied in several ways to bring changes that would help the family to achieve better health outcomes.
One of the ways would involve creating plans focusing on helping the family to consume healthier diets. The plans would involve educating them on the importance of balanced, healthy diets, as well as eliminating excessive junk food and dependence on heavy calorie foods. Secondly, the theory would be applied in preparing plans that encourage every member of the family to participate in physical activities, such as jogging, or community activities that involve physical activity. Finally, the theory is applicable in managing the family’s stresses, whereby the parents should focus on engaging the services of counselors or other persons specialized in dealing with difficult teenagers to overcome the challenges that the teenage children are presenting. Also, hiring a person to help in managing the children is crucial to overcoming the stresses that emanate from handling the young children.
References
Haefner, J. (2014). An application of Bowen family systems theory. Issues in Mental Health Nursing , 35 (11), 835-841.
Appendix 1: Questionnaire
Values, Health Perception
Kindly describe the current health of the family?
What are some of the practices that your family has adopted to improve or maintain health?
Describe one of your crucial health family goals, is the goal attainable by all the family members?
Nutrition
During meal times, do you always eat together as a family?
What do you think is your approximate intake of calories per day?
What type of beverages and foods does your family typically consume?
Sleep/Rest
Are there factors that hinder one of the members’ sleep?
Typically, what time do family members go to sleep and wake up in the morning?
What are some of the techniques that the family members apply to relax before they go to bed?
Elimination
How many times do you have a bowel movement in a day?
How many times do you pass urine in a day?
Describe any problems or health conditions relating to your bladder or bowel elimination?
Activity/Exercise
Is your family actively engaged in physical exercises, what kind and how often do you exercise?
Explain any challenges or diseases that may be limiting or preventing exercise or physical activity in the family?
Explain how often the family participates in screen-viewing activities in a day, including video games and computers.
Cognitive
How does your family ensure that they are up-to-date with health information?
How does your family determine when they require medical attention?
What kind of health care does your family typically use? (primary doctor’s office, urgent care, emergency, and health maintenance)
Sensory-Perception
Do any of your family members demonstrate ant sensory deficits? Have they been corrected?
Explain any diseases that could have led to the sensory loss in the family?
Explain any difficulties relating to processing information through the senses of any family member
Self-Perception
How can you describe your feelings towards life in general?
How would you describe the family’s overall appearance?
How would you describe your feelings towards yourself and the manner in which others perceive you?
Role Relationship
How would you describe your family’s relationship with co-workers, family, and friends?
How does the family resolve and communicate issues that arise within the family?
How are the household chores divided among the members of the family?
Sexuality
How would you describe your love life? Is it satisfying?
Do you experience any form of sexual dissatisfaction within your love life?
What are some of the steps that you have taken to maintain a healthy sex life?
Coping
What are some of the mechanisms that the family has implemented to cope with stress?
Describe the family’s current support system and the ways in which they help?
What approaches does your family employ to resolve problems whenever they arise?
