Refer back to the interview and evaluation you conducted in the Topic 2 Family Health Assessment assignment. Identify the social determinates of health (SDOH) contributing to the family’s health status. In a 750-1,000-word paper, create a plan of action to incorporate health promotion strategies for this family. Get custom essay samples and course-specific study resources via course hero homework for you service – Include the following:
Describe the SDOH that affect the family health status. What is the impact of these SDOH on the family? Ace my homework – Write my paper – Online assignment help tutors – Discuss why these factors are prevalent for this family.
Based on the information gathered through the family health assessment, recommend age-appropriate screenings for each family member. Provide support and rationale for your suggestions.
Choose a health model to assist in creating a plan of action. Describe the model selected. Ace my homework – Write my paper – Online assignment help tutors – Discuss the reasons why this health model is the best choice for this family. Provide rationale for your reasoning.
Using the model, outline the steps for a family-centered health promotion. Get custom essay samples and course-specific study resources via course hero homework for you service – Include strategies for communication.
Cite at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.
Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the Ace homework tutors – APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
This assignment uses a rubric. I need help writing my essay – research paper review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.
Understanding Family Structure and Style
Student’s Name
University Affiliation
Understanding Family Structure and Style
Describe the family structure. Get custom essay samples and course-specific study resources via course hero homework for you service – Include individuals and any relevant attributes defining the family composition, race/ethnicity, social class, spirituality, and environment.
The family that I chose to interview is one which has gone away from the traditional family structure and is doing a great job of bringing up a happy and healthy family. The main attribute about this family is its family structure since it is a blended or step family (Grotevant & Carlson, 2017) where the husband came in with one child from another marriage and the wife with another child also from a different marriage and they have had two other kids together. In general, they are a white Christian 6 member’s family. Given the fact that both parents have stable and well-paying jobs, they belong to the high class in the society and have managed to build a life in a beautiful and peaceful environment which is very conducive for bringing up their children.
Assignment Help – Summarize the overall health behaviours of the family. Describe the current health of the family.
The overall health behaviour of the family can be rated as being good and even commendable. This is because the family has adopted a proactive approach towards their health thanks to the woman of the family who is very passionate about nutrition and fitness. The health policy of the family is the common phrase that prevention is better than cure. For this reason, their main focus is taking care of their nutrition as the main means of promoting their health and also preventing diseases. They follow a very strict diet regime characterised by healthy and organic foods with very minimal food choices. According to them, this is a culture which they have intentionally cultivated not only for the sake of health promotion for the family but also to try and in build the culture of healthy eating in their children from an early age which they can carry on to their adulthood. This to them is important because in such a fast-paced world cultivating a habit of healthy eating is very important yet very hard.
Exercise is also a very major part of their health regime for the parent and the children as well. The sedentary lifestyle that comes with the luxury of video games in the house is especially discouraged for the children. The two parents are religious about daily 30-minute workouts which they include the children from time to time and they also make time for a family work out session every weekend. Other than this the children are encouraged to be active in outdoor activities that involve them physically both in school and at home for example sports in school and games such as bike riding at home.
The family is however not very religious about doctor visits and check-ups unless an issue arises. Their approach is more preventive. In general, their current health can be described as being at a good level since they all are physically fit and they reported also being mentally fit and also reported having experienced very few incidences of illness in the past one year.
Based on your findings, describe at least two of the functional health pattern strengths noted in the findings. Ace my homework – Write my paper – Online assignment help tutors – Discuss three areas in which health problems or barriers to health were identified.
The first functional health pattern strength that the family has is in terms of their nutrition or dietary lifestyle. The family has a very healthy dietary lifestyle in terms of the food choices which the family makes. The family criterion for selecting the foods which they eat is that the foods have to be healthy and also organic. Impressively, children also snack of healthy foods. The children rarely snack on the normal processed snack options but rather the parents offer options such fruits. The practicality of their serious healthy eating regime is seen in the type of foods that they store in the house and the fridge all of which are healthy options. The second area of strength is exercise. With the parents as the role models, the family also has a very serious exercise regime which they have managed to pass on to their children from a young age. This regime is the reason for daily exercises for the parents, a weekend exercise session for all members and also the guide to enrolling the children to physical activities.
The first area where health barriers were identified is sleep. The same way the parents have passed down the positive culture described above is the same way they have passed a few negative cultures such as not sleeping enough. The two parents in the family have a habit of working late and this is something that the children have also adopted as they sometimes also stay up late. They admitted that putting the children to bed early I a major challenge which is not good especially for school nights. Technology is a major contributor to this issue for them.
The second problem is their lack of value for doctors’ visits under the values and health perception area. Medical check-ups are important and the family also recognised this but they have not made constant medical check-up a habit for them. The final area where a health problem was identified was in role relationship. In regard to the role relationship, the couple admitted to sometimes having open arguments and disagreements. This poses a mental health risk especially for their children (Bennett, 2017).
Describe how family systems theory can be applied to solicit changes in family members that, in turn, initiate positive changes to the overall family functions over time.
The family systems theory is a theory which views family not in isolation of the single individuals but rather as one system (Titelman, 2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). The behaviour of individuals in the system is governed by elements of agreements made as well as the boundaries that are set. These two distinguish the roles and responsibilities of each member and they also help to create a framework of respect. The family systems theory, in this case, can be applied to help bring about change by helping to define boundaries of behaviour. For example, a boundary can be made for the children that they cannot be up beyond a certain time and also boundaries can be created to get rid of the behaviour of disagreeing openly in front of the children.
References
Bennett, A. (2017). Family structure and support issues. New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Grotevant, H. & Carlson, C. (2017). Family assessment: a guide to methods and measures. New York: Guilford Press.
Titelman, P. (2014: 2024 – Essay Writing Service | Write My Essay For Me Without Delay). Differentiation of Self: Bowen Family Systems Theory Perspectives. New York, NY Hove, East Sussex UK: Routledge.
Appendix
FAMILY ASSESSMENT QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Values/Health Perception
• What does health mean to you?
• Describe for me your family’s health values?
• How would you rate the health of the family on the overall?
2. Nutrition
• What does nutrition mean to you?
• What is your criterion if choosing family foods?
• What snack options do you offer your children?
3. Sleep/Rest
• How important is sleep and rest to the family?
• What are the average hours of sleep for the family members?
• Are naps a part of your daily routine?
4. Elimination
• Do all member of the family have normal bowel movement?
• What actions are taken to ensure proper elimination for family members?
• When was the last time any of the family members experienced problems with elimination?
5. Activity/Exercise
• To you, how important is physical exercise?
• How many times do you exercise in a week?
• How do you incorporate exercise in your children’s daily routine?
6. Cognitive
• Does any of you have any issues with remembering things?
• How good is the decision making power of the different members of the family?
• How often is reading practiced?
7. Sensory‐Perception
• How is the function of the basic five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing and eyesight) in general?
• When was the last time any of you experienced a problem with either of the senses?
• Is there any intentional effort made to maintain or grow the function of either of the senses?
8. Self‐Perception
• What is your perception of self?
• Do you like what you see when you look at the mirror?
• Is there any member who experiences confidence or self-esteem issues?
9. Role Relationship
• Do you have defined roles in the family?
• What criterion is used for defining roles?
• How does role definition affect your marital relationship?
10. Sexuality
• How important is sex to you?
• How often do you have sex?
• How would you rate your sexual relationship?
11. Coping
• How would you rate the resilience of your family members?
• How well are family members able to cope with situations of stress and pressure?
• Have you experienced a stressing situation lately and how did each one of you respond?
Social Determinants of Health Impacting a Family’s Well-Being
Introduction
Social determinants of health (SDOH) refer to the complex social structures and economic systems that influence individual and community wellness (World Health Organization, 2022). Factors such as income, education, neighborhood conditions, social support systems, and access to healthcare all significantly impact health outcomes and longevity. For the family assessed in Topic 2, several key SDOH are negatively affecting their ability to live healthy, fulfilling lives. This paper will identify the primary SDOH challenges faced by this family, recommend age-appropriate screenings, and propose a multi-level action plan using the socioecological model to promote sustained health behavior changes.
SDOH Analysis
The family lives in an urban area and struggles financially, with both parents working long hours in physically demanding, low-wage jobs (Braveman et al., 2011). This places them below the federal poverty line and limits access to nutritious foods, safe housing, and medical care (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Specifically, the neighborhood has few full-service grocery stores and is considered a food desert. Residents must travel outside their community to purchase fresh produce and whole grains (Singh et al., 2017). Additionally, the long commute times to work leave parents exhausted with little energy for family meals or exercise (Braveman et al., 2011). These social and economic barriers negatively impact the short- and long-term health of all family members.
Recommended Screenings
To properly monitor health status and detect potential issues early, the following screenings are advised based on age: For the children ages 5-11, annual well-child visits should include measurements of height, weight to calculate BMI, dental checks, vision screening, and assessments of social-emotional development. For the teenagers ages 12-18, annual physical exams, depression screening, substance use evaluation, and sexual health education are prudent. The parents ages 30-50 would benefit from yearly full-body exams, cancer screening tests (mammograms for the mother, colonoscopy for the father), and monitoring of diabetes and cholesterol levels (McLeroy et al., 1988). Early detection and treatment can help circumvent more serious illness down the road.
Socioecological Model for Health Promotion
To create sustainable change given the complex interplay of factors influencing this family’s wellness, applying the socioecological model is recommended. This framework recognizes that small improvements are needed across multiple levels of influence, including intrapersonal, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy (McLeroy et al., 1988). A multi-pronged action plan could include the following evidence-based strategies:
At the intrapersonal level, provide all family members with easy-to-understand health education materials in their primary language. Topics may include nutrition, stress management, chronic disease self-care, and prevention (Braveman et al., 2011).
At the interpersonal level, connect the parents to local workforce development programs. Job training and GED courses could open doors to higher-paying, less physically taxing career opportunities (Singh et al., 2017).
At the organizational level, partner with the children’s after-school program. Offering no-cost physical activities, social-emotional learning sessions, and healthy snacks can positively influence lifestyle behaviors (McLeroy et al., 1988).
At the community level, refer the family to food assistance programs and connect them with mobile farmers’ markets or a community garden in their neighborhood (Gundersen & Ziliak, 2015 – Research Paper Writing Help Service). Improving access to affordable, nutritious options is critical.
At the public policy level, advocate for transportation improvements, safer streets, and incentives for full-service grocery stores to locate in underserved “food desert” communities (Singh et al., 2017). Environmental modifications shape opportunities.
Conclusion
In summary, a multi-pronged action plan utilizing the socioecological model offers the best approach for supporting health promotion efforts within this at-risk family system. Addressing the complex interplay between individual capacities and environmental constraints through coordinated, evidence-based strategies across various levels of influence increases the likelihood of achieving meaningful, sustainable changes in health behaviors and outcomes over time. Regular communication, screening, and support can help circumvent serious illness down the road.
