Family Dynamics

What is a family?

A group of interacting individuals connected through biology or enduring commitments who usually socialize and function together.

What is family durability?

A system of support and structure within a family that continues through time and lifestyle changes.

What is family resiliency?

The ability of a family to cope with expected and unexpected stressors and adapt to changes or crises.

What is family diversity?

The uniqueness of each family unit, including its members, needs, strengths, and characteristics.

What are family dynamics?

Interactions among family members affected by family structure, function, problem solving, and coping capacity.

What is the goal of family-centered nursing care?

Address the health care needs of the family as a unit and promote the health and well-being of the patient and family members.

What are family forms?

Patterns of people considered by family members to belong to the family.

What is a nuclear family?

Two adults, sometimes with one or more children.

What is an extended family?

A nuclear family that also includes relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.

What is a single-parent family?

A family with one parent raising a child because of death, divorce, desertion, or a decision to have or adopt a child.

What is a blended family?

Parents bringing children from previous marriages or parenting relationships into a new family.

What is an alternative family?

Family arrangements such as multiadult households, grandparents raising grandchildren, cohabiting partners, or adults living alone.

What is the sandwich generation?

Middle-aged adults caring for their children and aging family members while meeting their own needs.

What is family caregiving?

Providing physical care, emotional support, decision-making assistance, and daily living support to a family member.

What is caregiver burden?

Physical, emotional, social, or financial strain caused by caregiving responsibilities.

How does poverty affect family health?

Poverty limits financial resources and access to health care, insurance, and other basic needs.

What is chronic homelessness?

Using homeless shelters for long-term housing needs.

What is transitional episodic homelessness?

Needing shelter for one stay and a short period of time.

What is domestic violence?

Emotional, physical, or sexual abuse involving partners or family members, including children and older adults.

What is family structure?

The ongoing membership of a family and the pattern of relationships among its members.

What is a rigid family structure?

A structure with fixed roles and tasks, making it difficult for other members to take over responsibilities.

What is an extremely flexible family structure?

A structure lacking stability, which can make responding to crises or rapid changes difficult.

What is family function?

What a family does and the processes used to achieve its goals, including communication, caregiving, and conflict resolution.

What is the goal of family nursing?

Help the family and individual members reach and maintain maximum health during and beyond illness.

What is family as context?

The nurse focuses on an individual patient while considering how the family meets that patient's physical and psychological needs.

What is family as patient?

The nurse focuses on the needs, relationships, and functioning of the entire family.

What is family as a system?

The nurse cares for individual family members and the family unit, using available resources.

What is the main difference between the three family nursing approaches?

Context focuses on the individual; patient focuses on the family unit; system combines both.

How does family influence health?

Family beliefs, values, practices, communication, and roles influence health promotion and disease prevention.

What is a crisis-proof family?

An effective family that balances stability with growth and change and can adapt to stressors.

What is a crisis-prone family?

An ineffective family that lacks, or believes it lacks, control over its environment.

What is family hardiness?

The internal strengths and durability that help a family manage stressful events and see challenges as opportunities for growth.

What are genetic factors?

Heredity or genetic susceptibility to diseases that may or may not develop.

How do acute and chronic illnesses affect families?

They affect family roles, relationships, finances, emotions, schedules, and coping resources.

How does trauma affect family functioning?

Sudden, sometimes life-threatening events create stress, anxiety, financial burdens, and difficulty making decisions.

What is the nurse's role in end-of-life family care?

Provide information, emotional support, therapeutic communication, shared decision-making, and referrals such as hospice and grief support.

How is the nursing process used in family-centered care?

Use assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation while considering the family's needs and preferences.

What is a family assessment?

Collecting information about family structure, development, functioning, health needs, and available resources.

What are the three main areas of family assessment?

Family structure, developmental assessment, and family functioning.

What is a family structure assessment?

Identifying family members, their relationships, and the family's context.

What is a developmental family assessment?

Determining how a family adapts to expected and unexpected changes and difficult times.

What is a family functioning assessment?

Assessing how members interact, communicate, solve problems, perform daily activities, and fulfill roles.

What are instrumental aspects of family functioning?

Routine activities such as preparing meals and doing laundry.

What are expressive aspects of family functioning?

Communication, problem solving, roles, influence, power, and beliefs.

Why are cultural aspects important in family assessment?

Culture influences family structure, function, health beliefs, values, and practices.

When should discharge planning begin?

At the initiation of care, with the family included in planning.

What do family nursing diagnoses commonly focus on?

Family coping, caregiver stress, changes in family processes, and family roles.

What are examples of family nursing diagnoses?

Impaired Family Coping, Risk for Caregiver Stress, and Impaired Family Process.

What is important when planning family-centered care?

Develop realistic, mutually agreed-upon outcomes that fit the family's needs, lifestyle, and developmental stages.

What is the goal of family health promotion?

Improve or maintain the family's physical, social, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

What are examples of family strengths?

Clear communication, adaptability, support, nurturing, commitment, cohesiveness, and spirituality.

What is the Synergy Model?

A model in which nurses use their knowledge, skills, experiences, and attitudes to meet patient and family needs for optimal outcomes.

Why is communication important in acute family care?

It helps families understand medical information, treatment decisions, and expected outcomes.

What is the goal of restorative and continuing family care?

Maintain functional abilities and help patients and families manage care at home.

How can nurses support family caregivers?

Teach care skills, provide emotional support, arrange respite, and connect caregivers with community resources.

What are signs of caregiver role strain?

Changes in sleep or appetite, social withdrawal, irritability, anger, exhaustion, and loss of interest in personal appearance.

What are community resources for family caregivers?

Support groups, respite care, transportation, food services, home care, hospice, and mental health services.

How does a nurse evaluate family-centered care?

Compare patient and family responses with planned outcomes and determine whether their needs were met.

How is evaluation different when the family is the patient?

Evaluate changes in family functioning and satisfaction with the new level of functioning.

How is evaluation different when the family is a system?

Evaluate how nursing interventions affect the entire family, including extended family members.