Each student will perform a family assessment on a family in their community. The family is to be chosen during the community rotation. 

After completion of the Family Assessment each student is to determine one family nursing diagnosis and develop a care plan for this diagnosis.

Family Assessment Guideline

Each student will perform a family assessment on a family in their community. The family is to be chosen during the community rotation.

After completion of the Family Assessment each student is to determine one family nursing diagnosis and develop a care plan for this diagnosis.

Use the following outline and table to gather and record your data.

1. Family profile

a. Personal characteristics of each of the identified family members

1)

Initials

2)

Age

3) Sex

4)

Marital status

5)

Ethnic orientation

6)

Religious orientation

7)

Educational level

8)

Language

9)

Occupational history

(type of job, duration)

10) Interest, hobbies, recreational activities

b. Current health orientation

1) What each family member considers to be healthy about him/herself

2) What health goals each family member has

c. Family characteristics

1) Type of family form

2) Family structure

a)

Role structure

(Include the roles of each family member, satisfaction with the role, presence of role strain, role flexibility

b)

Value system

s (Include what the family values are regarding education, work, health, and religion, and presence of conflicts of value in this family system)

c)

Communication pattern

(Include whether the communication between family members is clear, open and specific, whether emotions are expressed, and whether there are areas not open for discussion)

d)

Power structure

(Include how decisions are made in this family, especially regarding health issues, household matters, and raising children. Also include who makes the decisions)

2. Biophysical considerations

a.

Water

1) Identify the family’s source of water supply

2) Identify the family patterns of fluid intake

3) Identify whether there are any difficulties in meeting fluid requirements for any of the family members and how is this managed

b. Food

1) Usual family dietary pattern

2) Appropriateness of dietary pattern based on food groups

3) Dietary modifications necessary for any of the family members due to cultural, religious, or medical reasons for any of the family members

4) How food is prepared and by whom (Identify whether the food budget for the family is adequate)

5) Family members’ weight gain/loss patterns

c.

Elimination

1) Address family members’ bodily hygiene (i.e., adequacy, problems with elimination)

d. Activity and rest

1) Family members’ activity patterns: Address means of ambulation (safety concerns), level of activity (home, work, leisure), regular exercise programs

2) Family members’ sleep/rest patterns: Address circadian rhythms, time and duration of sleep, use of supportive aids (sedatives, alcohol) or devices (reading, music)

3) Activities the family engages in as a group

4) Acceptable and accessible resources for this family to meet recreational, cultural, transportation, child care, and respite care needs

3. Safety Assessment

a. Describe the family members’ personal safety practices

b. Address social habits (i.e., level of use by family members of drugs, alcohol, tobacco, coffee/tea/cola)

c. Family related to accident prevention and protection, protection from acts of violence, and protection from communicable disease

4. Health Practices Assessment

a. Health resources used (e.g., medical, dental, vision and hearing, screening and immunization programs, and counseling)

b. Personal health practices by family members (e.g., stress/anxiety management, meditation, relaxation techniques, breast self-exam, and well-child checkups, etc.)

c. Adequacy of family members’ mental health (Address affect/mood, thought processes, sensorium and reasoning, locus of control, and suicidal or homicidal ideation)

5. Developmental Assessment

a. Identify what developmental stage of the family life cycle this family is at (Ericson for pediatrics and Duvall for obstetrics)

b. Identify conditions that promote or prevent normal development for family members (i.e., life events, poor health, education)

6. Current Health Assessment

a. Family’s perception of current sources of stress or concern

b. Coping mechanisms

c. Concurrent stresses (life events) in the family system as a result of the current stresses, concerns, or other health deviations (Address psychological, physiological, and financial changes)

d. Family perception of the health situation

1) Family’s own perception of its strength to engage in self-care.

2) Identified area of health for enhancement and development in this family system (health promotion, health maintenance)

3) Family’s receptiveness to engage in health promotion / maintenance activities

Family Assessment Data

Family Profile

Family Characteristics

Biophysical Considerations

Family Practices and Developmental Stage

Current Health Assessment

(narrative format)

Family Nursing

Diagnosis

Family Plan of Care

#1
#2
#3

#1
#2
#3

Clinical Evaluation Tool (CET) 2017

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