Family Health Assessment: Wellness Nursing Diagnosis Guide
This paper presents a family health assessment of a four-member household, evaluated across Gordon's 11 functional health patterns. The assessment identifies key health concerns including Vitamin D deficiency, type 2 diabetes, smoking, poor nutritional habits, sleep difficulties, and a shared need for corrective eyewear. Based on these findings, the paper offers a wellness nursing diagnosis with practical, evidence-informed recommendations covering dietary modifications, sleep hygiene, weight management, smoking cessation, and eye health. The conclusion emphasizes the role of parental modeling in shaping children's long-term health behaviors and advocates for structured family routines that support both physical and mental well-being following a significant family trauma.
- Introduction and Family Overview: Four-member family introduced for health assessment
- Summary of the 11 Functional Health Patterns: Pattern-by-pattern findings across family health dimensions
- Wellness Nursing Diagnosis and Recommendations: Targeted interventions for diet, sleep, smoking, and eyesight
- Conclusion: Parental modeling as key to family long-term wellness
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What makes this paper effective
- Systematically applies all 11 functional health patterns as an organizing framework, giving the assessment a clear clinical structure that mirrors real nursing practice.
- Translates each identified health problem into a concrete, actionable wellness recommendation, creating a logical flow from assessment to intervention.
- Grounds recommendations in specific dietary and behavioral examples (named foods, alternative smoking aids, sleep hygiene techniques), making the advice practical rather than abstract.
- Connects individual health findings to broader family dynamics, noting how parental behavior shapes children's future health risks.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the nursing process applied to family-level assessment: data are gathered through a structured questionnaire, synthesized into pattern-based findings, and converted into a wellness nursing diagnosis with targeted interventions. This moves the analysis beyond description toward clinical reasoning.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief family profile, then presents numbered findings for each of the 11 health patterns. The wellness nursing diagnosis section mirrors that structure, offering a corresponding recommendation for each identified concern. The conclusion shifts to a family-systems perspective, arguing that parental lifestyle choices determine children's future health trajectories. An appendix supplies the full questionnaire used to gather data.
Introduction and Family Overview
This paper reflects upon the wellness assessment of a four-member family consisting of two parents, one son, and one daughter. The report includes a questionnaire based on the 11 functional health patterns and provides an analysis of the family's overall health, culminating in a wellness nursing diagnosis.
Summary of the 11 Functional Health Patterns
1. Values and Health Perception. The family's health perception falls below standard healthy criteria. The mother suffers from a severe Vitamin D deficiency, the father has diabetes and a serious stomach condition, and neither child exercises regularly.
2. Nutrition. The family does not consume alcohol, but the father smokes on a regular basis. The family cannot be considered healthy eaters, as they consume junk food two or three times per week. The mother considers herself slightly overweight and must rest frequently due to weakness.
3. Sleep and Rest. Family members generally consider themselves well-rested and capable of performing daily activities without needing to sleep again after waking. However, the mother sometimes uses sleeping pills to fall asleep.
4. Elimination. There are no apparent elimination problems within the family.
5. Activity and Exercise. The family neither works out nor attends a gym.
6. Cognitive and Sensory Perception. All family members wear glasses, indicating difficulty seeing without corrective lenses. There are no hearing impairments.
7. Self-Perception and Self-Concept. The members feel good about themselves and those around them, and they are satisfied with their lives.
8. Roles and Relationships. Each family member has a strong sense of self and individual strengths. The parents grew up in a combined (extended) family system, while the children grew up in a nuclear family. All members are content with their respective social groups.
9. Sexuality and Reproduction. The parents report a satisfying sexual relationship. The daughter has a normal menstruation cycle.
10. Coping and Stress Tolerance. The family experienced significant trauma when one of their children died unexpectedly. Both parents and siblings faced extreme stress and depression, but they supported one another through the crisis and have since recovered. They report being happy with their lives now.
Conclusion
The selected family appears functional on the surface, but their eating habits have contributed to measurable health problems. Because the parents are managing serious chronic conditions, their children are at elevated risk of developing similar diseases — such as diabetes and obesity — as they age. Research consistently shows that health conditions tend to run in families, making preventive action during childhood and adolescence particularly important.
The parents should take positive steps toward family wellness so that their children can model healthy behaviors. Beginning a home exercise routine, even with basic movements, will demonstrate the importance of physical activity to the children and encourage them to maintain their own fitness. Similarly, if the parents commit to bringing home nutritious food and limiting fast food, the children will naturally adopt healthier eating habits.
The family should reduce their eating-out routine from three times a week to once a week, following a structured healthy eating plan for the remaining six days. The one weekly outing can serve as a recreational activity that supports the family's mental health — particularly important given the trauma they have experienced. Shared time outside the home can relieve stress and help each family member build resilience. Spending meaningful time together, both at home and in shared activities, will strengthen their bonds and support everyone's long-term physical and emotional well-being.
References
Friedman, J. D. (n.d.). Diabetes and diet: 7 foods that control blood sugar. Web MD. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/diabetic-diet-6-foods-control-blood-sugar
Haigh, C. (n.d.). 10 simple hacks to fall asleep in 30 seconds, backed by science. Life Hack. Retrieved from http://www.lifehack.org/articles/productivity/10-simple-hacks-fall-asleep-30-seconds-backed-science-2.html
Quittner, E. (n.d.). 12 ways to get your daily vitamin D. Health. Retrieved from http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20504538,00.html
Web MD. (n.d.). How to quit smoking. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/smoking-cessation/quit-smoking
Web MD. (n.d.). How to maintain good eye health. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/eye-health/good-eyesight
Weber, J. (2009). Nurses' handbook of health assessment (7th ed.). Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Appendix: Family Health Assessment Questionnaire
1. Overall, what do you think about your family's health?
2. How do you plan to stay healthy? What do you do for that? Do you consume alcohol or tobacco products?
3. Do you regularly go to the gym or exercise? Do you visit your doctor for regular checkups?
1. What do you eat on a daily basis? Do you think your family could be considered healthy eaters?
2. What is your daily fluid intake? Do you drink alcohol?
3. Does anyone in your family consider themselves under- or overweight? Why?
1. Do you think your family is well-rested and fit enough to perform daily activities?
2. Do your family members use aids to fall asleep, or do they fall asleep without difficulty?
3. When you wake up, do you feel well-rested or fatigued?
1. How regularly does your family eliminate? Describe the frequency and character. Do you experience any difficulty with bowel elimination?
2. Describe your family's urinary elimination pattern.
3. Are there any difficulties or control problems?
1. Do you work out? How often?
2. What types of exercises do you do?
3. Do you participate in sports during your leisure time?
1. Does anyone in your family have hearing problems?
2. Does anyone experience difficulty seeing properly?
3. What do you prefer: audio or visual learning aids?
1. Do you feel good about yourself overall?
2. Do you ever experience feelings of hopelessness?
3. Do you feel satisfied with your life and the people around you?
1. What are your personal strengths and weaknesses?
2. How do you feel about your personal achievements?
3. Describe yourself in three words.
1. What type of family structure did you grow up in?
2. Who do you live with now? How many family members do you have?
3. Do you enjoy social groups? Who do you socialize with outside the home?
1. (For parents) How would you describe your sexual relationship?
2. Are you satisfied? Have you noticed any changes?
3. (For female members) What is your menstruation cycle like? Are there any related problems?
1. Have you ever experienced trauma or depression?
2. Who is most helpful to you during times of stress? Are they frequently available?
3. Do you use any medications to relieve stress or depression?
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