Chapter 19

Family Health Risks

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 Objectives
 Analyze the various approaches to defining and
conceptualizing family health.
 Determine the major risks to family health.
 Understand the interrelationships among individual
health, family health, and community health.
 Explain the relevance of knowledge about family
structures, roles, and functions for family and
community-focused nursing.
 Discuss the implications of policy and policy decisions, at
all government levels, on families.
 Explain the application of the nursing process
(assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation) to
reducing family health risks and promoting family health.

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 Introduction
 A focus on the family is vital in promoting the
health of the individual as well as the health of
the community.
 Knowledge of family structure and functioning is
fundamental to implementing the nursing
process with families in the community.
 Nurses need to go beyond the individual and
family and to understand the complex
environment in which the family functions to be
effective in reducing family health risks.

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 Risk Factors for Families

 Genetics
 Age
 Biological characteristics
 Personal health habits
 Lifestyle
 Environment

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Early Approaches to Family Health
Risks
 Health of Families
 Historically, have focused on:
• The effect of illness on families
• The role of the family in the cause of disease
• The role of the family in its use of services
 Health of the Nation
 Increased attention to improving the health of
everyone in the United States
 Limited attention has been given to (or research done
on) family health risk and the role of society in
promoting healthy families.

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Concepts in Family Health Risk

 Family health
 Health risk
 Health risk appraisal
 Health risk reduction
 Family crisis
 Life events
 Lifestyle

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 Major Family Health Risks
and Nursing Interventions
 Biological and age-related risks
 Genetics
 Environmental risks
 Behavioral risks
 Behavioral (lifestyle) health risk assessment
 Family Health Risk Appraisal

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 Community-Oriented Nursing
Approaches to Family Health Risk
Reduction
 Home Visits
 Purpose
 Advantages and disadvantages
 Process
• Initiation phase
• Pre-visit phase
• In-home phase
• Termination phase
• Post-visit phase

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 Community-Oriented Nursing
Approaches to Family Health Risk
Reduction
 Contracting with Families
 Process
• Beginning
• Working
• Termination
 Advantages and disadvantages
 Empowering Families
 Directed toward the building of nurse-family
partnerships
 Emphasizes health risk reduction and health
promotion

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 Vulnerable Population

 LGBT families
 Same-sex marriages
 Adoption
 Anti-discrimination laws

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 Community Resources
 Specific resources vary from community to
community
 General resources
 Government resources, e.g., Medicare, Medicaid
 Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF)
 Supplementary Security Income, Food Stamps, WIC
 State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP)
 Voluntary programs
• American Cancer Society, American Heart Association,
American Lung Association, Muscular Dystrophy Association
 Tele-homecare

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 Community Resources Nursing
Skills
 Sharing information with families
 Rehearsing with families what questions to ask
 Preparing required materials
 Making the initial contact
 Arranging transportation

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 Policies
 Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)

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