Topic: family

Pascual lives is a quiet and calm neighborhood where he is part of a diversified community from whites, blacks and Hispanics who all live together in peace and harmony. He has a big house but every basic thing he needs is downstairs since he uses a walker and a wheelchair. He also has an easy access to go in and out of his house through the installment of handicap access ramp. He has home health care nurses and Personal Care Assistants who come in frequently to check on him and help him with activities of daily living like cooking, bathing, dressing, cleaning the house and provide transportation to where ever he wants to go. Communication According to Friedman, Bowden & Jones (2003), communication facilitates the transmitting of our feelings, needs, ideas and things in our minds (p, 267). Mr. Pascual states clearly what he wants and his feeling especially when he is upset or happy. An example was when one of his children was sick, he called her and called his sons and daughters to call his sick daughter to check on her and keep on insisting that he was worried about her. This prompted all his children to call her and check on her about her health. Power Structure Mr. Pascual told me that he is the head of his family and has been providing and protecting his family while his wife was a house wife who took care of her entire household. Base on hierarchy Mr. Pascual was the head followed by his wife and his children. According to Friedman et al. (2003), coalitions are either temporary, issue-based alliances, or long-term alliances made to offset the dominance of one or more other family members (p. 300). In their family they respect their elders so the was no coalitions of any sort in the family. Furthermore, concerning power bases, the parents had more power than their children. Role Structure The formal relationship here are father and husband, mother and wife, daughter and sisters and son and brothers. Mr. Pascual was the provider of the family while his wife was the leader when it comes to managing the household since she knows everything that happens at home. He and his wife Monique also fulfill their marital role of husband and wife. Furthermore, the informal roles which he performed was that of encourager. According to Friedman et al. (2003), an encourager praises, agrees with and accepts the contribution of others. For example, when his wife told him that they needed a new house because the house was too small for them, he accepted and assured her that they were going to look for a new house. Values: Norms & Rules According to Friedman, Bowden & Jones, the family’s cultural heritage is a prime source of family’s value system and norms. Mr. Pascual’s family values originate from his Hispanic heritage one of familism which entails that they value more of their family members and their togetherness as oppose to the American Core Values of individualism. When they have any major events like anniversary the whole family come together to celebrate. Spiritual Activities Mr. Pascual is a devoted Roman Catholic Christian. Everyday he watches the mass and rosary on his television at 9:30am. He also goes to church every Sunday to hear the word of God. Furthermore, his children have followed his path and they also go to church and they try everyone that they come across with love and respect life if you are part of their family. Socialization Mr. Pascual stated that him and his entire household went to church every Sunday and his children interacted with other Christian children. They met on Saturdays to talk about bible verses. He and wife trained his children the in the ways of God. They often went to Mexico on vacation to meet their extended family members. Adaptation Mr. Pascual stated that he suffered a great lost in august 2018 when he lost his wife. He said it was a very difficult moment because they have been together that he always missed her. So, in order to cope with her lost he put his trust in God and listens to music to forget and stop thinking about his wife absence. He always talks about his wife in a positive way by saying that she is in a better place. He always cracks jokes to make everyone around him happy that when he says something, we all think he is joking. Health Care Mr. Pascual stated that when anyone was sick in house, they will first try to use home remedies to treat but if it does not work then they can go to the hospital or the clinic to check what is going on. Furthermore, he said that since he is not that active as before he makes sure that he performs some physical therapy two times a week to maintain his strength and balance to move around. Interventions My recommendation to maintaining Mr. Pascual’s family health will be more proactive by ambulating frequently at least 10 minutes everyday to maintain strength to upper and lower extremities. Also, he must reduce his salt and fluid intake because all of these promotes fluid retention inn the body which can cause respiratory and edema problems. Friedman et al. (2003) stated that the Health Belief Model has been used extensively to assist in determining why people engage in certain activities that will or will not promote their health and well-being (p.432). What Mr. Pascual told was that he has been used to eating a lot of spicy and salty foods but has now come to the realization of the side effects of excess salts because it leads to him retenting fluids. He has now decided to limit his fluid and salt intake to be in good health. Mr. Pascual is an amazing God fearing and family man who wants everyone around him feel accepted and happy. He raised his family to be God fearing and caring. His story is one of a change in his childhood social status to one of a more comfortable life. Reference Friedman, M. M., Bowden, V. R., & Jones, E. G. (2003). Family nursing: Research, theory, and practice (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.