Initial assessment of an individual and family is key in knowing how to administer any form of care. The time was taken to learn about the Serona’s Family, they recently migrated from the Philippines to the USA two years ago. The wife is a Registered Nurse and the Father is Security Guard at the local Ferry. They have three girls; ages 5, 7 and 10. Data is collected and analyzed to formulate nursing diagnosis .In this essay the utilization of Gordon’s eleven functional health assessment patterns is used to show the family’s lifestyle, with the collection of objective and subjective data to make patterns reflective of lifestyles. (Edelman & Mandle, 2010). When assessing the family values, the emphasis was placed on the importance of bonding the family, the family believe strongly in making sure the children are raised with their beliefs and culture from the Philippines. They believe their children should be reprimanded for wrongs, so will grow up to be obedient .The family is Catholic in their religious and they try to attend mass every week. They believe in praying and utilize prayer as a main coping tool in the times of family crisis. The family nutrition is contained of a balanced diet, consisting of mostly rice and noodles eggs and vegetables. The Serona family eat three times per day and do not practice snack to snack in between meals, and if they do this was not a frequent practice. Fast food was not a frequent practice for the family, this will also account for their small body sizes. In regards to their sleep patterns the family is usually asleep by 10pm and are up by 6am to get the children ready for school. At nights before bed the children are usually given milk, while the parents normally uses their smart phones for various amusement before falling asleep. There are no sleeping disorders that are reported in the family, they usually sleep well and rested at night, unless something unusual happen to disturb them. Elimination is an important need for the family, they were asked to describe the family’s elimination habits. Everyone in the family normally have a bowel movement once per day except for the husband who have a bowel movement maybe two to three times daily, this may be due to the fact that he drinks more water daily. The main sewer system for the community is managed frequently, so they are no immediate sewer issue that affects the family, or any household plumbing issues. There is clean adequate water supply to meet their elimination needs. In regards to cognitive and sensory perception, there was a high level of self-esteem in the family, the parent made sure their children took part in extra curricula activities, in order to identify their talents and self- awareness. With the mother being a nurse it was recognized that there was no deficit in the family’s comprehension of health promotion and disease prevention. Decision making is usually made as family, even though their children are young their opinion matter especially if it’s a decision that will affect them. Self-perception is the way in which the individual and family perceives self and self-worth. The question was asked what the difference were between their family and any other. They didn’t think their family was really different from others, but Mrs. Serona thank God that she had a supportive husband and one of their daughters sings very well. They are just a typical family who work hard to make sure there is food on the table. The family is loving toward each other, this is evident by the way they relate to each other, takes care of each other. The family works together in any
