Explorations In Family Nursing

Explorations in Family Nursing The continuing shift in health care provision from hospital into the community places an increasing burden on the family as the primary source of care. Explorations in Family Nursing looks at how nurses can adopt a more collaborative approach to working with families both to facilitate their task as carers and to promote the health and well-being of the whole family. The first part of the book explores the theoretical underpinnings of family nursing, drawing insights from family therapy and systems theory and looks for a working definition of the family which is inclusive of the varied family forms encountered in contemporary society. The book goes on to establish the principles of family nursing explaining the process of making assessments, planning interventions and evaluating progress. Chapters on caring for chronically and terminally ill children, patients in intensive care, adolescents’ problems, frail elderly people and children with learning disabilities demonstrate the scope for applying family nursing strategies widely both in the community and in hospital. The book concludes with an evaluation of the opportunties, limitations and challenges which family nursing presents for nurses in the 1990s. Explorations in Family Nursing is of interest to practitioners at specialist and advanced levels and to students from Diploma to postgraduate degree programmes. Challenging nurses to adopt a more collaborative approach to care, this book makes a timely and relevant contribution to the development of nursing practice. Dorothy A.Whyte is Senior Lecturer in Nursing Studies at Edinburgh University. Explorations in Family Nursing Edited by Dorothy A.Whyte London and New York First published 1997 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1997 Dorothy A.Whyte, selection and editorial matter; individual chapters, the contributors All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data Explorations in family nursing/edited by Dorothy Whyte. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Family nursing I. Whyte, Dorothy A. [DNLM: 1. Community Health Nursing. 2. Home Care Services. 3. Family Health. WY 106 E96 1996] RT120.F34E96 1996 610.73–dc20 DNLM/DLC For the Library of Congress 96–35163 CIP ISBN 0-203-43595-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-74419-5 (Adobe eReader Format) ISBN 0-415-13349-1 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-13350-5 (pbk) To the families who have shared their lives; and the students who have shared their thoughts; and to my parents who gave me so much. Contents List of figures List of contributors Foreword Preface 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Family nursing: a systemic approach to nursing work with families Dorothy A.Whyte ix x xiii xv 1 The family: images, definitions and development Sarah E.Baggaley 27 Coping with transitions: crisis and loss Dorothy A.Whyte 39 Chronic illness in childhood Dorothy A.Whyte, Sarah E.Baggaley and Christine Rutter 54 The terminally ill child: supporting the family anticipating loss Hazel Mackenzie 82 Family systems nursing: problems of adolescence Duncan Tennant 101 A systemic appro