🎯 Learning Objectives:
Bythe end of this session, students will be able to:
• Define family health nursing and describe its scope and nature.
• Identify the different levels of clientele in family health nursing.
• Explain the rationale for considering the family as the unit of
care.
• Differentiate types of families in the Philippine context.
• Recognize the developmental stages and tasks of the family.
• Describe the characteristics of a healthy family.
• Identify key nursing roles in promoting family health.
3.
What is
Family
Health
Nursing?
“A communityhealth nursing
practice that focuses on health
promotion, disease prevention,
and health maintenance of
families, viewing them both as
recipients and partners in care.”
4.
Nature of
Family
Health
Nursing
Practice
🧠 Holistic– addresses biopsychosocial and spiritual
needs
️
🛡️Preventive and promotive – proactive vs
reactive care
Family-centered – every member matters
️
🏘️Community-based – situated in the family’s
living environment
💬 Collaborative – with family, barangay health
workers, LGUs
📊 Data-driven – informed by family and
community health needs
5.
Levels of
Clientele in
FamilyHealth
Nursing
Individual –
care is given
with family
context in
mind
Family – the
entire family
is assessed
and cared
for
Population
Groups – at-
risk families
or
vulnerable
groups
Community
– whole
barangays
or
municipalitie
s targeted
for health
action
6.
Approaches to FamilyNursing Care
Approach Focus Example
Family as Context
Focus is on individual,
family is support
Wound care for diabetic
father with wife assisting
Family as Client
Focus on the sum of
individual health
BP monitoring for all adults
in family
Family as System
Focus on interactions and
relationships
Counseling family
members post-conflict
Family as Component of
Society
Family in interaction with
larger systems
Family participating in TB-
DOTS program
7.
CHAPTER 1:
Family asthe Unit of Care
Family – a group of people related by blood, marriage, or
adoption living together.
“two or more people who live in the same household, share a
common emotional bond, and perform certain interrelated
social tasks.” Allender, 2013
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8.
Family Types
• Familyorientation – the family is born
into; or oneself, mother, father, and siblings
• Family of procreation – a family one
establishes; or one-self, spouse or
significant other, and children
Types
• Dyad/Childfree or Childless Family
• Cohabitation Family
• Nuclear Family
• Polygamous Family
• Extended (Multigeneration) Family
• Single-Parent Family
• Blended Family
• Gay or Lesbian Family
• Foster Family
• Adoptive Family
09/13/2025 Sample Footer Text 8
9.
Family Functions
and Roles
8Essential Tasks
Physical Maintenance
Socialization of family members
Allocation of resources
Maintenance of orders
Division of Labor
Reproduction, release, and
recruitment of family member
Placement of member into larger
society
Maintenance of motivation and
morale
Sample
Footer
Text
09/13/2025 9
10.
Development
al Stage
• Stage1: Marriage
• Stage 2: Early Childbearing Family
• Stage 3: Family with a Preschool Child
• Stage 4: The Family with School-aged
Child
• Stage 5: Family with an Adolescent
• Stage 6: The Launching Stage: Family
with a Young Adult
• Stage 7: The Family of Middle Years
• Stage 8: The Family in Retirement or
Older Age
09/13/2025 Sample Footer Text 10
11.
Developmental Stages Goals
Marriage
•Establish a mutually satisfying relationship.
• Learn to relate well to their families of orientation.
• Engage in reproductive life planning, if applicable.
Early Childbearing Family
Integrate the new member into the family.
Make whatever financial and social adjustments are
necessary to meet the needs of the new member while continuing
to meet the meets of the parents.
Family with Preschool
Prevent unintentional injuries (accidents) such as child poisoning
or falls.
Begin socialization through play dates, childcare, or nursery
school settings.
12.
Developmental Stages Goals
Familywith School-Age
Promote children’s health through immunizations, dental care, and
routine health assessments.
• Promote child safety related to home and automobiles.
• Encourage socialization experiences outside the home such as
sports participation, music lessons, or hobby activities.
• Encourage a meaningful school experience to make learning a
lifetime concern, not one of merely 12 years.
Family with Adolescent
Loosen ties enough to allow an adolescent more freedom while still
remaining safe.
Begin to prepare adolescents for life on their own.
The Launching Stage Family
• Change their role from mother or father to once- removed
support persons or guideposts.
• Encourage independent thinking and adult-level decision skills in
their child.
The Family of middle-aged Parents
• Adjust to “empty nest” syndrome by reawakening parents their
relationship with their supportive partner.
• Prepare for retirement so when they reach that stage, they will
13.
Developmental Stages Goals
Familyin Retirement or Older Age • Maintain heath by preventive care in light of aging. older
age
• Participate in social, political, and neighborhood
activities to keep active and enjoy this stage of life.
14.
Characteristics of aHealthy Family
• Open communication
• Effective problem-solving
• Shared values and responsibilities
• Ability to adapt to stress and change
• Promotes growth and autonomy of members
• Accesses community resources when needed
• Supports members through illness and transitions
15.
Cultural Diversity
Culture –is a view of the world and a set of
traditions a specific social group uses and
transmits to the next generations.
Transcultural Nursing – a care guided by cultural
aspects and respects individual differences
Cultural Values – preferred ways of acting based
on cultural tradition
Culture – specific – Values are norms and patterns
of behavior unique to one particular culture.
Assessment of
Family Structureand
Function
Genogram – a diagram that
details family structure and
provides information about the
family’s health history and the
roles of various family
members across several
generations.
Ecomap - a diagram of family
and community relationships.
09/13/2025 Sample Footer Text 17
Home Care orHome Visit
Assessing a Family for Home Visit/Care
Interview
Health History and Physical Exam
Environmental Assessment
Health Teaching and Education
21.
Steps in DoingHome Visits
• Step 1: Preparing for a home visit: forms, documents,
spot map/location
• Step 2: Ensuring Personal Safety
• Step 3: Logistics of the visit: what you need while doing
home care
• Step 4: Assessing the patient, family, and environment
• Step 5: Home visit assistants
• Step 6: Post visit Planning
• Step 7: Follow up Visits
22.
What is ourRole?
Health Educator – preventive education
🤝 Advocate – ensuring access and equity
💬 Counselor – during family crisis or illness
🔄 Care coordinator – linking with CHWs, RHUs
📋 Care provider – home visits, follow-ups
🧾 Evaluator – family health goal outcomes
HEALTH MAINTENANCE
Maintain SkinIntegrity
Maintain
Promote Elimination
Promote
Ensure Bed Rest
Ensure
Teach Monitoring vital signs
Teach
Teach Self – monitoring for Uterine Contractions, Heart Rate
Teach
25.
HEALTH
INTERVENTION
Explain advances intechnology
Provide health teaching
Provide safe medicine administration
Provide adequate nutrition and hydration
Teach Self – monitoring
Pain Management
Health Rehabilitation
🎯 Learning Objectives:
Bythe end of this session, the students will be able to:
• Define public health and community health and distinguish their
scope and focus.
• Explain the ICN 2025 definitions of nursing and a nurse.
• Differentiate between Community Health Nursing (CHN) and Public
Health Nursing (PHN).
• Relate the concepts of public and community health to the actual
roles of CHN and PHN in the Philippines.
• Critically examine how nursing practices aligned with the ICN 2025
definitions support health equity, sustainability, and culturally safe
care.
29.
Definition of Terms:
🩺Community Health
“A part of public health that focuses on the physical,
mental, and social well-being of people in a defined
geographic area.”
— Malaya, 2021; WHO
30.
Definition of Terms:
🩺Community Health Nursing (CHN)
"A field of nursing that combines nursing practice with
public health science, applied to promote and protect the
health of populations at risk in the community setting."
(Malaya: Nursing Practice in the Community, 2021)
31.
Definition of Terms:
🌍Public Health
“The science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life,
and promoting health through the organized efforts of
society.”
— Winslow, 1920; reinforced by WHO (2021)
32.
Definition of Terms:
🌍Public Health Nursing (PHN)
"Public health nursing is the practice of promoting and
protecting the health of populations using knowledge from
nursing, social, and public health sciences."
— American Public Health Association (APHA), adopted by ICN (2021)
• "It is population-focused, grounded in community assessment,
and prioritizes prevention, policy development, and health
equity."
(International Council of Nurses, 2021)
33.
🔍 ICN‑2025 Definitionof Nursing
“Nursing is a profession dedicated to upholding everyone’s right to enjoy the
highest attainable standard of health, through a shared commitment to
providing collaborative, culturally safe, people‑centered care and services.
Nursing acts and advocates for equitable access to health and healthcare, and
safe, sustainable environments. It promotes health, protects safety and
continuity in care, and manages and leads health systems. Nursing is
underpinned by science‑based disciplinary knowledge, technical capability,
ethical standards, and therapeutic relationships. Nursing is committed to
compassion, social justice and a better future for humanity.”
34.
🔍 ICN‑2025 Definitionof a Nurse
“A nurse is a professional who is educated in the scientific knowledge, skills and
philosophy of nursing, and regulated to practice based on ethical codes and
standards. Nurses enhance health literacy, promote health, prevent illness,
protect patients, alleviate suffering, uphold dignity through life, work
autonomously and collaboratively across settings, and provide culturally safe,
therapeutic relationships. Nurses manage services, enhance health systems,
advance public and population health, foster safe and sustainable
environments, lead education, research, innovation and policy.”
35.
🏥 How ICN’sDefinitions Inform CHN
& PHN
Community Health Nursing (CHN)
• Embeds the ICN’s people-centred, science‑based nursing approach
within community settings.
• Focuses on direct care to individuals, families, and small groups in
their community environment.
• Aims to promote health, prevent illness, rehab and support
recovery at home, schools, barangays, etc.
• Embodies the profession’s values of compassion, cultural safety and
social justice.
36.
🏥 How ICN’sDefinitions Inform CHN
& PHN
Public Health Nursing (PHN)
• Extends ICN’s definition of a nurse to a broader population‑level
impact.
• Focuses on system-level interventions: surveillance, population
health promotion, policy advocacy, equity, and environmental safety.
• Nurses work collaboratively across sectors, managing programs
that align with social determinants of health.
• Supports ICN’s mandate for equitable access, sustainable
environments, and health systems leadership.
37.
Quick Comparison
Term
Scope of
Practice
FocusLevel
Key
Responsibilities
CHN
Care with
individuals,
families, groups
Community (local)
Home visits, local
health education,
rehabilitation
PHN
Programmatic,
policy-driven
Population/
system
Surveillance,
advocacy, health
promotion at
scale
Case 1: TheDela Peña Family
Background:
Mr. Dela Peña (45) and Mrs. Dela Peña (43) are both employed. They care
for their three children (ages 10, 13, and 16) and Mr. Dela Peña’s elderly
mother who recently suffered a stroke. Mrs. Dela Peña complains of
fatigue and worries about money. The children help with caregiving and
household chores but are falling behind in school.
Guide Questions:
• What type of family is this?
• What is their family developmental stage?
• What family health tasks are being challenged?
• What nursing interventions are needed to promote family health?
• How can the nurse support role balance and family coping?
40.
Case 2: TheAlonzo Family
Background:
The Alonzo family consists of a single mother (age 28) and two
children (ages 5 and 3). The mother works as a call center agent
on the night shift. The children are left with a teenage cousin
during work hours. The family has no regular meals, and both
children are underweight. Immunizations are incomplete.
Guide Questions:
• What family type is present here?
• Identify health risks and unmet health tasks.
• At what developmental stage is the family?
• What nurse roles are essential here (educator, advocate, etc.)?
• How would you create a nursing care plan for this family?
41.
Case 3: TheJimenez Family
Background:
Teenage son (17) is frequently absent from school and was recently
caught smoking and drinking. Parents are busy managing a small
business and have limited time to supervise him. The younger daughter
(10) excels in school but feels neglected. The grandmother, who lives with
them, encourages strict discipline.
Guide Questions:
• What is the developmental stage of this family?
• What family dynamics are affecting health behaviors?
• What are the characteristics of a healthy family that are lacking?
• How can the nurse address communication issues and adolescent
health risks?
• What community services or interprofessional collaboration could
help?
42.
Case 4: TheBasilio Family
Background:
The Basilio family recently lost their father due to a motorcycle accident.
The mother (age 38) is left to raise four children (ages 2 to 14). The
family moved in with her sister temporarily. The children show signs of
emotional distress and one child stopped going to school.
Guide Questions:
• What type of family are they now transitioning into?
• What is their developmental stage, and how is it disrupted?
• What psychosocial and physical health risks are present?
• How can the nurse apply the counselor and care coordinator role?
• What are protective factors and coping strategies that can be
strengthened?
Editor's Notes
#3 Key Points:
Holistic care through all life stages
Emphasizes self-care, collaboration, and community linkage
Operates in the family’s natural environment (home, community)
💬 Prompt Question: “Why do you think it is important for nurses to provide care in the family’s natural environment?”
#5 💬 Prompt: “Which level is most appropriate when planning immunization outreach for children?”
#7 Can you describe your own family setup using this definition?
As a nurse, how does understanding different definitions of family help you assess their health needs in the community?
do not make assumptions about roles, caregivers, or health decision – makers, which allows me to perform a more inclusive and accurate health assessment.
#8 How can knowledge of family types guide your communication and assessment strategy during home visits or health education?
Recognizing family types allows me to tailor communication to who holds caregiving or decision-making roles—e.g., understanding that a grandparent might be the primary caregiver in an extended family.
#9 Which family function is most critical to observe during your community health visit, and how can it influence your nursing interventions?
Resource allocation is key—if the family lacks resources for food, medication, or transportation, I would prioritize connecting them with government or NGO support services.
Recognizing health needs
Deciding to seek health help
Providing care to sick or dependent member
Maintaining a healthy environment
Using community resources wisely
Fulfilling family roles and responsibilities
#13 How can identifying a family’s developmental stage help in prioritizing health teaching or identifying health risks?
Knowing the stage helps tailor health education—e.g., a family with adolescents needs information on mental health, substance abuse, and reproductive health, while older adults may need chronic disease management.
#14 “Think of a family in your community that copes well with challenges. What makes them resilient?”
#15 Why is cultural competence vital when assessing families in the community? Can you share a scenario where culture shaped your nursing plan?
Cultural competence prevents misunderstandings and builds trust. For instance, a Muslim family may prioritize female providers for maternal care; respecting this improves care acceptance.
#16 Give an example of how a family’s cultural background might affect their acceptance of public health services or treatment compliance.
Some indigenous groups may prefer herbal remedies over vaccines; understanding this helps me negotiate care respectfully and provide culturally sensitive education.
#17 How can a genogram and ecomap reveal strengths or risks in a family's health behavior and support system?
A genogram can show a pattern of inherited diseases (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), while an ecomap may reveal if the family is socially isolated or has strong community ties that support wellness.
#20 During a home visit, which component gives you the most information about barriers to care and why?
The environmental assessment often reveals overlooked barriers like poor sanitation, overcrowding, or lack of access to clean water—all of which affect health outcomes.
#21 Which step do you think is often overlooked in practice, and what are the consequences on continuity of care?
Follow-up visits are often skipped due to workload, but they are essential for evaluating whether the family's condition is improving and reinforcing health behaviors.
#22 “Why is the nurse’s role different in family health vs. hospital-based nursing?”
#25 In a low-resource setting, what simple health promotion activity can you implement to empower a family and prevent disease?
I can teach handwashing with locally available materials like ash or soap to reduce diarrhea and respiratory infections—low-cost, high-impact intervention.
#29 Targets community-specific needs
Involves health education, disease prevention, and partnerships with local sectors
Relies on active community participation
#30
Focus: Individual, family, and group care within the community
Emphasizes disease prevention, health promotion, and rehabilitation
Settings: homes, schools, barangays, rural health units
#31 Emphasizes population-based strategies
Involves policy-making, surveillance, and intersectoral collaboration
Promotes health equity and social justice
#32 Works at systems and policy levels
Engages in surveillance, advocacy, and program development
Addresses social determinants of health
🔄 Key Distinction:
CHN is more individual/family-centered care in the community
PHN is more population- and policy-focused, ensuring systems-level impact
