Role Of Family Relationships And Communication In Healthcare Provision

Role of Family in Healthcare ProvisionNameInstitutional AffiliationDate The family is one of the basic units in the society where we come from. The family plays a great role in healthcare. When a family member falls sick, then the entire family will be affected in a direct or indirect manner. The family does not necessarily refer to people who are biologically related to us, but people who play a great role in our lives. In fact, the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organization (JCAHO) defines family as "the person or persons who play a significant role in the life of an individual and not legally related to the individual CITATION Sun15 \l 1033 (Sun, Rhaab, & ParkcSu, 2015)." There are different types of family forms such as single parent, families that have remarried with stepchildren or without stepchildren. One of the aspects of a family is a strong sense of connection and kinship that exists whether it is founded on a psychological or biological basis. In my case, I have chosen a family where two of the parents who are elderly are suffering from cancer. The family is composed of 3 children that is two boys and a girl. The elder brothers have completed their school and they are working while the younger sister is still in college. I will evaluate the functional patterns of the family and how it defines the role of each of them in relation to caregiving. I will also evaluate the health promotion measures that have been put in place by the members of the family. The changes that take place in the healthcare system have brought changes for cancer patients since most of the people have shifted from the inpatient services to the provision of care in a home setting. After the diagnosis of the patients, the members of the family decided to move their patients from the hospital so that they can be taken care of at home to avoid more medical expenses. The members had to make a decision for the person who would be the caregiver of the parents. Such a shift from the inpatient care to the home setting increases the involvement of the family in caring for the affected each day. The cancer patients require much attention in terms of symptom management, administration of the associated medication, emotional assistance and assistance on the use of equipment. The younger sister who was in college had to stop her studies so that she would be the caregiver of the parents. She had to prepare for her new role by attending a training where she acquired more information about the illness and its treatment. In addition, she was trained in the instruction of technical and care skills. In the case of family caregiving, the management of the symptoms of the patient is one of the aspects that the caregiver should be trained. The comfort of the patient should be prioritized as the disease progresses and when treatments appear to be less effective. The younger sister who would be the caregiver was equipped with knowledge on how she can identify symptoms as early as possible and manage them effectively. If the symptoms appear to be out of control or the current strategies appear to be ineffective, then it is advised that they should report to the nearest health facility. Healthcare is one of the family functions for its members CITATION Joa10...