This document discusses the importance of family in health and well-being. It defines a family as a group of biologically or legally related individuals living together and sharing resources. The key functions of family are providing a home, economic security, imparting life skills, and emotional support. Families play an important role in child rearing, socialization, personality formation, caring for dependents, stabilizing adult personalities, and influencing disease susceptibility. Problems can arise in broken families where parents are separated or deceased, and in problem families with inability to meet needs, marital issues, or poverty. Overall, the family is crucial for raising healthy members of society.

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Family – An Introduction
Dr. Divija
Department of Community Medicine
Sree Gokulam Medical College & Research
Foundation

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What is a Family?
 Primary unit of a social organisation
 Group of biologically related individuals (blood ,
adoption or marriage) and share the same kitchen.
 Group of individuals living together & eating from a
common kitchen – Household ( not essentially
blood related)

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Functions of family
 Provision of a home
 Economic security
 Imparting knowledge and life skills
 Provision of emotional and social support
 Provision of social status
 Socialization

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IMPORTANCE OF FAMILY IN
HEALTH AND WELL BEING

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1. Child rearing
 Differ with different societies
 Depend on resources, knowledge, values.
 Community health worker who seeks to improve
child health meets obstacles – traditional ways &
religion
 Female literacy
 Aim is to bring up responsible adults

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Parenting is an art…. To be learnt

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2. Socialisation

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2. Socialization
 To socialize “the new born children”
 Teaching the young – values of society, transmitting
information, culture, beliefs, general codes of
conduct
 Schools & religious places play an important role
 Rewards & punishments

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3 Personality formation

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3. Personality formation
 The capacity to withstand stress & strain and the
way in which individual interacts with other people –
influenced by early experience in family.
 Family acts as a buffer against bad influences
 Lay foundation for physical, mental and social
health of the child.

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Good personality traits
 Increased self esteem
 Increased confidence and good decision making
 Can overcome failures or difficult situations by
through wise actions
 Has a positive attitude
 Positive qualities
 Always willing for personal improvement
 Makes a mark of their own

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4. CARE OF DEPENDENT
ADULTS

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4. Care of dependant adults
 Sick & injured
 Women during pregnancy & child birth
 Aged, adolescent children & handicapped

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Family acts as a support system

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5. Stabilisation of adult personality

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5. Stabilization of adult personality
 “Shock absorber”
 Opportunity for release of tension to attain mental
equilibrium & stable relationship with others
 Stress diseases – Hypertension, Peptic ulcer,
Colitis, Rheumatism, skin diseases

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6. Familial susceptibility to disease

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6. Familial susceptibility to disease
 Pool of genes
 Hereditary diseases
 Consanguineous marriage
 Hemophilia , Diabetes, Schizophrenia, Congenital
malformations
 Common environment
 Communicable diseases

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PROBLEM AND BROKEN
FAMILIES

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7. Broken family
 Parents separated or death occurred to one or both
parents
 Paternal separation or dual parental separation
 Psychopathic behaviour, Immature personality,
Retardation of growth, speech & intellect in children
 Prostitution, Crime & Vagrancy

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8. Problem families
 Parents are unable to meet the physical and/or emotional needs of the
children
 Children lag behind rest of the community
 Problems in personality or character defects
 Relationship problems
 Marital disharmony
 Backwardness
 Poverty
 Mental & emotional inability
 Illness

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“The secret of national health
lies in the homes of the
people”
Florence
Nightingale

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References
 Park Text book of Preventive and Social Medicine
 AH Suryakantha – Community Medicine with
Recent Advances

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THANK YOU