Using Genograms & Ecomaps in Family Healthcare: A Nursing Perspective

This report provides an analysis of family nursing through the use of genograms and ecomaps, focusing on the application of these tools in healthcare settings. The genogram illustrates the author's family structure, highlighting the medical conditions of the paternal and maternal grandfathers, including diabetes mellitus with complications and coronary artery disease, respectively. The ecomap depicts the family's connections with external entities such as the church, community center, college, healthcare institutions, and community nursing services, revealing both positive and negative relationships. The report emphasizes the role of a family nurse in assessing individual, interpersonal, and social levels of relationships to improve the family's psychosocial and socioeconomic situation. Interventions such as counseling, spiritual support, and a humanistic approach to nursing care are recommended to strengthen family bonds and improve overall well-being. The nursing strategy focuses on optimism and hope, guiding families to focus on the brighter side of life despite challenging health conditions.

RUNNING HEAD: MEDICAL
MEDICAL
Name of Student
Name of University
Author note

1MEDICAL
Genogram
ECOMAP
Work
Healthcare
Relatives
College
ChurchCommunity centre

2MEDICAL
Key to Ecomap
reciprocal energy flow
strong relationship
good relationship
negative relationship
Family focused nursing use a structure and a sociological framework of the family to
treat the patients (Goodyear et al., 2017). In times of crisis for the patient and their families
(Kaakinen et al., 2018), the attending nurses should be able to comprehend the conceptual
structure of family framework. This takes identification of the individual strengths,
weaknesses and particular situations, which the family members find themselves in, so that
healthier and stronger relationships can be fostered. The nurse first recognizes the particular
strengths of the family followed by the nurse co-constructing a positive behavioral
environment within the family in order to help the diseased subjects recover faster. Family
strengths can be stimulated by improving - (1) commitment (2) Affection and appreciation
(3) a positive communication (d) quality time together (5) a spiritual bonding and sustenance
of well-being (6) the capacity to handle crisis and stress. With this family nursing approach,
the nurses guide the families to align themselves with optimism and hope for a better future.
The nursing strategy must help the patient family focus on the brighter side of life rather than
being bogged down by the problematic family situation influenced by disease conditions.
The family framework has been structured using genogram and its social and economic
connections has been depicted in the ecomap.

3MEDICAL
In the above genogram of my family - both of my grandfathers (paternal and
maternal) is shown to be suffering from a severe pathology. My paternal grandfather has
diabetes mellitus with complications of diabetic neuropathy and diabetic retinopathy. My
maternal grandfather has a coronary artery disease (CAD) for last 20 years. He is more
functionally independent than by paternal grandfather who is bed ridden as well. My paternal
grandfather is also being taken care by a community health nurse and visits his cardiologist
very week in a nearby hospital. The physical status of my other family members including
myself is functionally and medically fine although an overall psychological tension has
persisted.
In the ecomap, as shown, the family shares an existent bond with the church,
community center and the college. The family shares a good communication and bond with
the healthcare institution and the community nursing service. Moreover, my brother shares a
negative relationship with my relatives and the disruption has affected the health status of my
paternal grandfather many a times. The role of a family nurse is to assess the individualistic,
interpersonal and social levels of relationships and then consolidate the ‘bonds’ which serves
a positive purpose in improving my family’s present psychosocial and socioeconomic
situation.
The nursing assessments aims to understand the physical, spiritual, sociological status
of the family members. The strengths and weaknesses of the family in terms of harmony
(Miike, 2017), problem solving skills(Mata et al., 2017), individual personality traits, the
support available from physically and psychologically fit family members, their overall
motivation and interpersonal communication- should be assessed in order to plan the
interventions in a family focused way. Other than nursing diagnosis, interviewing and
counselling (Boland et al., 2016) can prove beneficial for a family nursing practice. Here in
this case, the immediate connections of the paternal grandfather should be strengthened and

4MEDICAL
the family nursing should be more humanistic in approach (Sampaio, Sequeira & Lluch
Canut, 2015). The spiritual interventions by church should be encouraged as well. In order to
manage my maternal grandfather – the nursing should focus on more on a biomedical
approach along with a psychological support.
References:
Boland, D. H., Scott, M. A., Kim, H., White, T., & Adams, E. (2016). Interprofessional
immersion: Use of interprofessional education collaborative competencies in side-by-
side training of family medicine, pharmacy, nursing, and counselling psychology
trainees. Journal of interprofessional care, 30(6), 739-746.
Goodyear, M., Maybery, D., Reupert, A., Allchin, R., Fraser, C., Fernbacher, S., & Cuff, R.
(2017). Thinking families: A study of the characteristics of the workforce that delivers
family‐focussed practice. International journal of mental health nursing, 26(3), 238-
248.
Kaakinen, J. R., Coehlo, D. P., Steele, R., & Robinson, M. (2018). Family health care
nursing: Theory, practice, and research. FA Davis.
Mata, S., Gómez-Pérez, M. M., Molinero, C., & Calero, M. D. (2017). Interpersonal
problem-solving skills, executive function and learning potential in preadolescents
with high/low family risk. The Spanish journal of psychology, 20.
Miike, Y. (2017). BETWEEN CONFLICT AND HARMONY IN THE HUMAN
FAMILY. Conflict Management and Intercultural Communication: The Art of
Intercultural Harmony, 38.

5MEDICAL
Sampaio, F. M. C., Sequeira, C. A. D. C., & Lluch Canut, M. T. (2015). Nursing
psychotherapeutic interventions: A review of clinical studies. Journal of clinical
nursing, 24(15-16), 2096-2105.