Family Health Assessment Part 2

The family assessment helps in identifying the unique factors that could be affecting their health outcomes. Further probe during the interview session allows the healthcare providers to note the socio-cultural factors determinants of health. The developed health promotion strategies must be consistent and relevant to the identified health issues. The health assessment interview was conducted with the Clark family, a family compromised of five members. The current study explores the identified social determinants of health and proposes a model that could be used to improve the family’s health outcomes.

Description of the SDOH Affecting Family

The assessment report revealed that the company observed various health measures on their daily basis. On the other hand, a few issues were identified that could affect their health negatively. First, adults consumed moderate alcohol with some of the members rarely engaging in physical exercise. Furthermore, the children watch TV for long hours and end having limited hours to sleep. Inadequate sleep can lead to poor emotional management, blood pressure, heart attack, and obesity among others (Chaput & Dutil, 2016).

The interview report showed that the children had to rely on pills to sleep due to their addiction and prolonged exposure to T.V. Additionally, a sedentary lifestyle characterized by limited physical activity could also expose the family members to cardiovascular diseases. Furthermore, it was evident that the members were ineffective in managing stress and were not confident during stressful situations. Poor stress management could expose the family members to suicidal ideation or even engaging in substance abuse as a coping strategy to the stressful experiences they face.

Low sleep patterns, sedentary lifestyle, and poor stress management are prevalent in the family because of the poor family guidelines developed by the parents. The parents have to rule to guide their children and control the number of hours they spent on televisions; though, they have failed.

Age-Appropriate Screening

The parents are aged 47 and 45 years. The father should undertake prostate cancer screening (Catalona, 2018). The prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening should be done once a year to help detect whether one is developing benign or cancerous prostate hypertrophy. On the other hand, the mother should undergo breast cancer screening and cervical cancer screening (Farzaneh et al., 2017). Furthermore, the entire family should undertake a cholesterol test to determine their risk of developing hypertension. The screening is recommended for all people considering their lifestyle patterns.

Health Model

The trans-theoretical model is widely used in health promotion. The model occurs through a series of phases including pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination. The health models aim at changing the attitudes of the family members towards risky behaviours and allow them to take conscious actions and control over the change process. The model is the most appropriate for the family presenting with social issues such as alcoholism, lack of sleep, limited exercise, and excessive watching of T.V. The model aims at promoting a sustained change process (Liu et al., 2018). The health risks presenting to the family can only be eliminated when the members embrace the proposed health modifications and sustain them. The change model is guided by four major tenets, the stages of change, self-efficiency, decision balance, and processes of change (Liu et al., 2018).

Steps for Family Cantered Promotion

The first step in the change process is to allow the family members to understand the need for change. At the pre-contemplation stage, the family members are not ready and willing to change their risky behaviours. The children are used to watching T.V and so telling them to stop may appear impossible. Therefore, informing them of the risks involved in their current practices and how changing would be beneficial to them creates a sense of willingness to change (Rahimi et al., 2019). At the contemplation stage, they are ready for change because they understand the benefits involved in regular exercising, having enough sleep, and avoiding alcohol consumption. Subsequently, the family members are prepared for the change at the preparation stage. The stage also involves the identification of the resources needed for the change.

The self-change approach means that the family members will start planning for their programs and set time for physical exercise, sleeping, and reduce alcohol consumption. The process requires one-on-one communication that allows the family members to express their opinion and what they feel about their current lifestyle. The next stages are action and maintenance. At the action stage, the members implement the proposed changes. Maintaining the changes may be difficult and so the family members may require follow-up. The members will also be motivated by the change initiative after they realize the beneficial outcomes.

Conclusion

The social determinants of health identified in the family’s case include lack of enough sleep due to prolonged watching of T.V, limited exercise, and alcohol consumption. Furthermore, some of the family members are unable to control their emotions and manage stress; such can be addressed through meditation which is already a common practice in the family. The lifestyle patterns present significant health risks; therefore, adopting the trans-theoretical change model will significantly help the family stop the risky behaviours and embrace health-promoting practices.

References

Catalona, W. J. (2018). Prostate cancer screening. Medical Clinics of North America, 102(2), 199-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mcna.2017.11.001

Liu, K. T., Kueh, Y. C., Arifin, W. N., Kim, Y., & Kuan, G. (2018). Application of transtheoretical model on behavioral changes, and amount of physical activity among University’s students. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02402

Farzaneh, E., Heydari, H., Shekarchi, A. A., & Kamran, A. (2017). Breast and cervical cancer-screening uptake among females in Ardabil, northwest Iran: A community-based study. OncoTargets and Therapy, 10, 985-992. https://doi.org/10.2147/ott.s125344

Rahimi, A., Hashemzadeh, M., Zare-Farashbandi, F., Alavi-Naeini, A., & Daei, A. (2019). Transtheoretical model of health behavioral change: A systematic review. Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 24(2), 83. https://doi.org/10.4103/ijnmr.ijnmr_94_17

Chaput, J., & Dutil, C. (2016). Lack of sleep as a contributor to obesity in adolescents: Impacts on eating and activity behaviors. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-016-0428-0