Community family assessment

Description Family as a Unit and the Client: A Health Needs Assessment Family as a Unit and the Client: A Health Needs Assessment Community health nursing involve the assessment of family as a unit of the society. Family is treated as a client in a nursing perspective with members that may have individual needs. It is also regarded as a whole that nurses concentrate on assisting the dynamic function of the group such as the relationships and interaction between family members and with other social systems (Stanhope & Lancaster, 2012). In macro-perspective, family is a unit that relates the individual to the society. With these concepts, the purpose of this paper is to apply the nursing process on addressing the health needs of a family. For this assignment, the nurse made a single visit on a family of five who reside along New Hampshire Ave in Silver Spring, MD. They originated from the Philippines with the mother (JDC) who arrived here the United States in 2011 and the rest of the family just immigrated recently in December 2014. Based on their immigration history, the mother was a victim of visa fraud and human trafficking. After years of immigration applications, her immigration status and her family members have been recently approved to permanent residency. As of this moment, the family are in the progress of readjusting to their stable status from obtaining their own apartment and seeking more sustainable employment. Home Environmental assessment With the rest of the family’s arrival in December 2014, JDC who was sharing an apartment with 3 friends decided to rent an apartment to accommodate the space needed for her husband and 3 children. JDC rented a single bedroom apartment that falls within her budget. The location of the apartment is very accessible to public transportation with a bus stop located just 1 block away. Upon surveying the area, the nurse noticed that the entrance of the apartment building have secured entry using a touch card. The apartment building has the capability for visitors to ring the apartment to open the main door for them. The entrance also has 24-hour camera surveillance for added security purposes. The inner hallways have some soft yellow lighting but there are some areas with inadequate lighting. Upon entering in the apartment unit, the nurse observed a living room with 2 couches and a TV. Since it is a single bedroom apartment for a family of 5, the family decided to put a bed near the living room partitioned with a portable divider to allow their 2 adolescent children have a place to sleep with some privacy. On the other hand, the youngest child shares the room with JDC and her husband. Across the living room opens a small door to the kitchen. There are adequate kitchen appliances and a small window that provides a good busy view of New Hampshire Avenue. With closer observation, the nurse noticed a distinct smell from a possible leaking natural gas. The nurse asked this to JDC and she said that she has sent complaints and service requests but remains unresolved. The nurse also noticed that the apartment unit lacks a fire extinguisher. Upon surveying the building, the nearest fire extinguisher is 2 hallways away from the unit with the gauge indicator very close to being emptied. Another concern that the nurse noticed is that JDC’s husband is a smoker. The apartment unit does not have a deck so he smokes in the restroom where there is “adequate” exhaust to vent the smoke rather than stepping out the apartment. He explains that last winter weather was cold and smoking outside does not allow him to smoke “comfortably.” He added that he is now “trying” to smoke outside with this warm weather to reduce secondhand smoke exposure of the family. Emergency Preparedness The family has close times in local Family community in which JDC describes as her “sisters.” According to JDC, public transportation is very accessible with available Ride On or Metrobus at least every 30 minutes. Since she cannot afford to purchase a car for now, she relies on calling 911 or her friends who have cars in case of emergency. Since JDC is the breadwinner of the family and she remains to have unstable job for now, she is in contact with a non-clinical social worker from a local non-governmental organization (NGO) which helps victims of human trafficking like her. As of this moment, she is receiving $500 rental assistance for 4 months which helps with her monthly budget. Another concern that JDC expressed during the interview is the lack of their medical insurance. She was unaware that the entire family would qualify for subsidy based on their family income. According to Maryland Health Connection (2015), Maryland residents are eligible for special enrollment period which allows up to 60 days to enroll in new health care insurance coverage from the life event including a change of citizenship or immigration status (Maryland Health Connection, 2015). Unfortunately, JDC missed the 60-day deadline.