Family Nursing

Introduction

Family health is an important aspect in the contemporary society as it enables each member to optimally enjoy physical, social, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. However, there are various traits of a healthy family and a non-healthy family. The traits of a healthy family are depicted by good communication and listening, sharing religious ideas, sharing leisure time, supporting each other, trusting each other among others (Hanson, 2005). Unhealthy families are characterized by distrust, disloyalty, lack of support, dishonesty among others. This paper pays high attention to the analysis of Mr. John`s family, that had a daughter who was suffering from HIV/Aids, the traits, and my roles as this family`s nurse.

I encountered Mr. John`s family at my working place as a nurse in charge of comprehensive care center. Mr. John`s daughter, Mary, had been diagnosed with HIV/Aids after which she was referred to comprehensive care unit for counseling (Littlewood & Vanable, 2008). Mary had two kids and had been divorced by her husband after she started falling sick frequently. Her parents had accompanied her to the hospital and after realizing the condition of their daughter, they appeared confused wondering their next move. I explained the available options that they could employ in order to prolong the life of their daughter. I incorporated them in the counseling process of their daughter. During the counseling process, they could communicate politely to Mary, encouraging her not to worry about her situation, quoting biblical verses and could ask numerous questions (on behalf of their daughter) in areas that they wanted clarification. They also promised to accompany her back to the clinic after one month in order for to be checked whether her CD4 count (the immunity level) was improving. This family proved to a healthy family due to the good communication and listening, support, sharing religious ideas among others (Hanson, 2005). The family appeared to rely on God as the solution to their child`s health status.

In most cases, the role of a nurse it not only providing care to the patient but also to the whole family. In Mr. John`s family, I acted as a health promoter and counselor, through advising the family concerning ways of improving the health of their daughter and prolonging her life (Tess, 2012). The communication and listening virtue of a healthy family enables it to make wise decisions that are aimed at benefitting of the ailing member. Consecutively, the communication enables a family to easily devise means and procedures of disclosing the patient’s health condition to the other family members such as kids of Mary and her brothers and sisters. In addition, the support and biblical quotes that Mary`s parents could bestow on her gave her hope of living through raising her self-esteem.

Conclusion

It is, therefore, evident that a healthy family is important in terms of addressing issues that affect the health of the family members. Healthy families such as that of Mr. John are characterized by good communication and listening skills, supporting each other, sharing religious concepts among other. Moreover, the role of family nurse should not only concentrate on caring the patient only but also consider caring the family members of the ailing patient. In Mr. John`s case, I had to incorporate Mary’s parents in the counseling process in order to provide care to them also. However, family nursing care is challenging and also rewarding as well.

References

Hanson, S. M. H. (2005). Family heath care nursing: An introduction Family health care nursing: Theory, practice & research. In S. M. H. Hanson (Ed.), (3rd ed., p. 9). Philadelphia: F.A. Davis.

Littlewood RA, Vanable PA (2008). “Complementary and alternative medicine use among HIV-positive people: research synthesis and implications for HIV care”. AIDS Care 20 (8): 1002–18. doi:10.1080/09540120701767216. PMC 2570227. PMID 18608078

Tess J., E., (2012). “Education of Nursing Health Care Providers in Family Health.” Encyclopedia of Family Health. Ed. Martha Craft-Rosenberg and Shelley-Rae Pehler. Thousand Oaks, CA:SAGE, 2011. 379-83.