Family case study

The family who have agreed to allow you to visit them have been told that the information given will be confidential between you and your trainer. The purpose of this study is to allow you to develop your ideas on holistic primary health care in discussion with a family in their home setting, your trainer and other members of the primary and secondary health care teams if appropriate.

Your focus should be on the family rather than the individual:

• in the past

• at present

• in the future

…although you will need to understand the feelings and relationships of individuals within the family. Before you visit the family, review the medical records so you have some understanding of past events, although you should allow the individual family members to tell the story in their own words.

You may wish to consider the following areas:

Physical Social Psychological	Medical Personal Professional	Implications for the future Health care planning Needs Wants Realistic expectations Use of resources Primary care Doctors Nurses Health visitors Out of hours care Practice staff Social services Other agencies Statutory Voluntary
Ideas Concerns Expectations	Attitudes Values Beliefs
Family characteristics Health knowledge Health skills Health attitudes	Family dynamics Interpersonal relationships Relationships with caring professions

Include your own feelings about the family, and the feelings of other PHCT members – don’t forget the receptionists and secretaries!

Use the information you have gained from the visit to draw a “map” of the family. Place the “important” members of the family in the centre of the page and link family members, relationships and problems together.

• Have you identified any areas of health need which you can address?

• Does the family present any special needs or difficulties for members of the PHCT? How might we address this?