Assessment of family functioning: evaluation of the General Functioning Scale in a Swedish Bariatric Sample

Exploring family functioning and - hardiness in families' experiencing adult intensive care - A cross-sectional study

Being cared for in an intensive care unit affects both the patient being cared for and the family in various ways. The family is of great importance for the recovery of the former intensive-care patient. The aim is to explore family functioning and family hardiness in families of former intensive care patients. A cross-sectional study using two self-reported questionnaires. Former adult intensive care patients and their family were recruited to participate between December 2017 and June 2019. The data were coded and entered the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 25, for analysis. To explore questionnaire data, descriptive and inferential statistical analyses were performed. Scale values were calculated on, both family wise and between the patients and the family members. STROBE checklist was used. Data was collected from 60 families (60 former intensive cared patients and 85 family members) and showed that 50 families scored healthy family functioning and 52 high strengths in hardiness. The data showed small variations between and within families for family functioning and family hardiness, there were only two families scoring low for both family functioning and hardiness. The variation was higher within the families, but there was no significance level.The conclusions were that family functioning and hardiness was, to a large extent, assessed as good by the families. Nevertheless, it is important to help the family obtain information and support. So, the family need to continue to communicate, finding coping abilities and strengths in adopting new strategies to protect the family unit. The family are very important for members' mental and physical recovery as the health of one family member affects the family as a unit.

The Core of Parents' Main Concerns When Having a Child With Cataract and Its Clinical Implications

PURPOSE

To investigate the main concerns associated with being a parent of a child with cataract and how the parents deal with these concerns.

DESIGN AND METHOD

Twenty-three parents; 6 mothers, 5 fathers and 6 couples with a child with cataract were included in this study. The parents included some with a personal experience of cataract and some without. Data was collected through 17 in-depth interviews, which were recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis by the method of Grounded Theory developed by Charmaz.

RESULTS

The Grounded Theory describes the parents' efforts to balance the child's inability and ability in order to maintain their social functioning and lead a normal life through a process comprising four main categories; Mastering, Collaborating, Facilitating, and Adapting. This process makes the path of transition evident, starting when the child is diagnosed and continuing for several years during her/his growth and development.

CONCLUSION

The core of parent-child interaction is mastering the balance between the child's disability and ability in order to achieve the best possible outcome, visually and habitually. The interactions changes through a process towards adjustment and acceptance. All the parents emphasized that you do what you have to do to achieve a successful visual outcome of the child.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The model provides a comprehensive understanding of parental self-management that can be used by a case manager, preferable a nurse, to pilot the parents through the process.

The health promoting conversations intervention for families with a critically ill relative: A pilot study

BACKGROUND

After intensive care unit treatment, patients often have prolonged impairments that affect their physical, cognitive and mental health. Family members can face overwhelming and emotionally challenging situations and their concerns and needs must be addressed.

OBJECTIVE

We investigated the outcomes of pilot randomised control trial, a nurse-led family intervention, Health Promoting Conversations, which focused on family functioning and wellbeing in families with a critically ill member.

STUDY DESIGN

This randomised controlled pilot study used a pre-test, post-test design with intervention and control groups to investigate the outcomes of the nurse-led intervention in 17 families.

OUTCOME MEASURES

The Health Promoting Conversations intervention was evaluated using validated instruments that measure family functioning and family wellbeing: the General Functioning sub-scale from the McMaster Family Assessment Device; the Family Sense of Coherence, the Herth Hope Index, and the Medical Outcome Short-Form Health Survey. Descriptive and analytical statistical methods were used to analyse the data.

RESULTS

After 12 months, the intervention group reported better family functioning than the control group. The intervention group also had better social functioning and mental health after 12 months.

CONCLUSION

This intervention may improve family wellbeing by improving family function, reducing stress, and promoting better mental health.