Orientation to family health

1. School of Public Health and Community Medicine
Khem R Sharma, MD
Family Health

2. ways of understanding families
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A. Anthropology
- views the family as the source and carrier of culture
B. Social Psychology
- sees families as small groups with tasks to successfully
master
C. Developmental psychology
- studies the environment within which children are
raised and grow into themselves

3. ways of understanding families….
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D. Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry
- As the environment within which normal or
abnormal behavior begins, takes hold and becomes the
patterns enacted by the children
E. - As a system where the whole is greater than the
sum of the parts and where each individual affects
and is affected by every other individual within that
family

4. Family
 A group of individuals living under the same roof and sharing the
same kitchen.
 family is the basic unit of the health care in the community
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Joint
Nuclear
Family

5. Display four common characteristics
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 May or may not be related by blood but bear close emotional
attachments that display four common characteristics:
1) Intimate interdependence and selective boundary maintenance
2) The performance of certain key functions including physical
maintenance, socialization and education, control of social and sexual
behavior, and sustaining family morale and motivation to perform
roles inside and outside of the family unit
3) The acquisition of new members through procreation and the
formation of sexual partnerships
4) Launching of juvenile members from the family when they are
mature

6. Families offer:
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 An experience of connection with history
 Stories of ancestors which offer meaning and value to lives
 A sense of identity through identification with family members
within the bigger society.
 A safe haven in which to relax and experience acceptance and
regard
 A set of relationships within which one experiences care and
guidance and the opportunity to care for and guide others
 Families are places where Physical intimacy among some
members is sanctioned And is also forbidden among other
members

7. Family health
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 Family health is a part and component of community health.
 Family health is a situation in which each and every
members of a family is able to experience optimal level of
physical, mental, social and spiritual well being not just the
absence of disease or infirmity that enables them to live a
socially and economically productive life.
 Family should be distinguished as: A unit of health and unit
for care.

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 For practical reasons, it may be useful to distinguish:
♦ The child bearing unit, where the genetic factors are
prominent.
♦ The child rearing unit, with predominance of the
social and environmental factors.

9. Basic principles underlying family health
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1) There are specific biological and psycho-social needs
inherent in the process of human growth and development
which must be met in order to ensure the survival and
healthy development of the offsprings in the family.
2) Child spacing is a means of bettering the health of mothers/
children reflected in national socio-economic development.
3) If preventive action is taken in pregnancy and early
childhood, its effectiveness and impact on general health is
astounding.

10. Basic principles…..
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4) Healthy development of children is an investment in social
development and productivity for the nation.
5) Mothers and children form the majority of the population.
6) Family can also be seen as a unit of health: if one of the
members of a family is ill, the whole family suffers and is
also exposed to a health risks such as contagious diseases
or parasitic infestation that are easily transmitted.

11. Basic principles…….
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7) Healthy and happy parents: have the desired children and
looked after their development, protecting them from health
risks and preparing them to bear their own responsibilities This
represents the image of a healthy family – the only real basis
for the self-realization of all its members.
8) Family as a unit of care: it offers the possibility of a unique
approach to provide care for the individual which is more
accessible, acceptable, affordable and effective.
This approach also takes account of the patterns of intra-family
relationships in regard to disease prevention, health education
and health care.

12. Family Health Exercise
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 Community based learning
 Field visits for accurate collection of appropriate and
adequate information from the community by observation,
interview and physical evaluation
 Follow up visits in the family to assess the change in health
status and the need for change in the
interventions/counselling
 Develop the art of communication, to be able to convince a
layman the importance of change of habits and style of living
to remain healthy

13. Objectives
1. Appreciate how socio-economic, psychological, cultural
and environmental factors influence health and disease in
a family ; and understand the importance of observing
the individual/family in the natural environment
2. Recognize the effects of illness of an individual to
him/herself and on other members of the family and the
community
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14. 3. Learn the concept of team work, continuity of health care
and management under home conditions
4. Demonstrate certain skills like effective communication,
public health diagnosis, diet survey, and health education
5. Identify the available family/community resources, and
utilize them to solve community health problems
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15. Thank You