Family Crisis

Family influences individual health just as the illness experience of a family member influences the health of the family. This reciprocal relationship calls for nurses to practice family-focused nursing care and to “think family” in their nursing practice. Nurses who think family hold the potential to transform nursing practice and improve health outcomes for families and their members. Understanding various family concepts can help nurses begin to think family. Literature was reviewed for each of 10 family constructs (family information keeper, family waiting, family anxiety, family crisis, family communication, family support, family coordination, family inquiry, family threat, and family transitions), a definition and exemplars synthesized, research findings summarized, and recommendations for nursing practice identified. The results of exploring family constructs in this way include building nursing confidence in conducting family health interviews, ensuring translation of family nursing science to practice, and increasing family involvement in care during an illness experience