TABLE 3.

A TYPOLOGY OF NURSING PROBLEMS IN FAMILY NURSING PRACTICE

FIRST LEVEL ASSESSMENT
I. Presence of Wellness Condition - stated as potential or Readiness-a clinical or nursing judgment
about a client in transition from a specific level of wellness or capability to a higher level. Wellness
potential is a nursing judgment on wellness state or condition based on client’s performance, current
competencies, or performance, clinical data or explicit expression of desire to achieve a higher level
of state or function in a specific area on health promotion and maintenance. Examples of this are the
following
A. Potential for Enhanced Capability for:
1. Healthy lifestyle-e.g. nutrition/diet, exercise/activity
2. Healthy maintenance/health management
3. Parenting
4. Breastfeeding
5. Spiritual well-being-process of client’s developing/unfolding of mystery through harmonious
interconnectedness that comes from inner strength/sacred source/God (NANDA 2001)
6. Others. Specify.
B. Readiness for Enhanced Capability for:
1. Healthy lifestyle
2. Health maintenance/health management
3. Parenting
4. Breastfeeding
5. Spiritual well-being
6. Others. Specify.
II. Presence of Health Threats - conditions that are conducive to disease and accident, or may result
to failure to maintain wellness or realize health potential. Examples of this are the following:
A. Presence of risk factors of specific diseases (e.g. lifestyle diseases, metabolic syndrome)
B. Threat of cross infection from communicable disease case
C. Family size beyond what family resources can adequately provide
D. Accident hazards specify.
1. Broken chairs
2. Pointed /sharp objects, poisons and medicines improperly kept
3. Fire hazards
4. Fall hazards
5. Others specify.
E. Faulty/unhealthful nutritional/eating habits or feeding techniques/practices. Specify.
1. Inadequate food intake both in quality and quantity
2. Excessive intake of certain nutrients
3. Faulty eating habits
 4. Ineffective breastfeeding
5. Faulty feeding techniques
F. Stress Provoking Factors. Specify.
1. Strained marital relationship
2. Strained parent-sibling relationship
3. Interpersonal conflicts between family members
4. Care-giving burden
G. Poor Home/Environmental Condition/Sanitation. Specify.
1. Inadequate living space
2. Lack of food storage facilities
3. Polluted water supply
4. Presence of breeding or resting sights of vectors of diseases (e.g. mosquitoes, flies,
roaches, rodents, etc.)
5. Improper garbage/refuse disposal
6. Unsanitary waste disposal
7. Improper drainage system
8. Poor lightning and ventilation
9. Noise pollution
10. Air pollution
H. Unsanitary Food Handling and Preparation
I. Unhealthy Lifestyle and Personal Habits/Practices. Specify.
1. Alcohol drinking
2. Cigarette/tobacco smoking
3. Walking barefooted or inadequate footwear
4. Eating raw meat or fish
5. Poor personal hygiene
6. Self-medication/substance abuse
7. Sexual promiscuity
8. Engaging in dangerous sports
9. Inadequate rest or sleep
10. Lack of /inadequate exercise/physical activity
11. Lack of/relaxation activities
12. Non-use of self-protection measures (e.g. non-use of bed nets in malaria and filariasis
endemic areas).
J. Inherent Personal Characteristics-e.g. poor impulse control
K. Health History, which may Participate/Induce the Occurrence of Health Deficit, e.g. previous
history of difficult labor.
L. Inappropriate Role Assumption- e.g. child assuming mother’s role, father not assuming his role.
M. Lack of Immunization/Inadequate Immunization Status Specially of Children
N. Family Disunity-e.g.
 1. Self-oriented behavior of member(s)
2. Unresolved conflicts of member(s)
3. Intolerable disagreement
O. Others. Specify. _________
III. Presence of health deficits - instances of failure in health maintenance. Examples include:
A. Illness states, regardless of whether it is diagnosed or undiagnosed by medical practitioner.
B. Failure to thrive/develop according to normal rate
C. Disability-whether congenital or arising from illness; transient/temporary (e.g. aphasia or
temporary paralysis after a CVA) or permanent (e.g. leg amputation secondary to diabetes,
blindness from measles, lameness from polio)
IV. Presence of stress points/foreseeable crisis situations - anticipated periods of unusual
demand on the individual or family in terms of adjustment/family resources. Examples of this include:
A. Marriage
B. Pregnancy, labor, puerperium
C. Parenthood
D. Additional member-e.g. newborn, lodger
E. Abortion
F. Entrance at school
G. Adolescence
H. Divorce or separation
I. Menopause
J. Loss of job
K. Hospitalization of a family member
L. Death of a member
M. Resettlement in a new community
N. Illegitimacy
O. Others, specify. ___________
P.
SECOND-LEVEL ASSESSMENT
I. Inability to recognize the presence of the condition or problem due to:
A. Lack of or inadequate knowledge
B. Denial about its existence or severity as a result of fear of consequences of diagnosis of
problem, specifically:
1. Social-stigma, loss of respect of peer/significant others
2. Economic/cost implications
3. Physical consequences
 4. Emotional/psychological issues/concerns
C. Attitude/Philosophy in life, which hinders recognition/acceptance of a problem
D. Others. Specify _________
II. Inability to make decisions with respect to taking appropriate health action due to:
A. Failure to comprehend the nature/magnitude of the problem/condition
B. Low salience of the problem/condition
C. Feeling of confusion, helplessness and/or resignation brought about by perceive
magnitude/severity of the situation or problem, i.e. failure to breakdown problems into
manageable units of attack.
D. Lack of/inadequate knowledge/insight as to alternative courses of action open to them
E. Inability to decide which action to take from among a list of alternatives
F. Conflicting opinions among family members/significant others regarding action to take.
G. Lack of/inadequate knowledge of community resources for care
H. Fear of consequences of action, specifically:
1. Social consequences
2. Economic consequences
3. Physical consequences
4. Emotional/psychological consequences
I. Negative attitude towards the health condition or problem-by negative attitude is meant one
that interferes with rational decision-making.
J. In accessibility of appropriate resources for care, specifically:
1. Physical Inaccessibility
2. Costs constraints or economic/financial inaccessibility
K. Lack of trust/confidence in the health personnel/agency
L. Misconceptions or erroneous information about proposed course(s) of action
M. Others specify._________
III. Inability to provide adequate nursing care to the sick, disabled, dependent or vulnerable/at
risk member of the family due to:
A. Lack of/inadequate knowledge about the disease/health condition (nature, severity,
complications, prognosis and management)
B. Lack of/inadequate knowledge about child development and care
C. Lack of/inadequate knowledge of the nature or extent of nursing care needed
D. Lack of the necessary facilities, equipment and supplies of care
E. Lack of/inadequate knowledge or skill in carrying out the necessary intervention or
treatment/procedure of care (i.e. complex therapeutic regimen or healthy lifestyle program).
F. Inadequate family resources of care specifically:
1. Absence of responsible member
2. Financial constraints
 3. Limitation of luck/lack of physical resources
G. Significant persons unexpressed feelings (e.g. hostility/anger, guilt, fear/anxiety, despair,
rejection) which his/her capacities to provide care.
H. Philosophy in life which negates/hinder caring for the sick, disabled, dependent, vulnerable/at
risk member
I. Member’s preoccupation with on concerns/interests
J. Prolonged disease or disabilities, which exhaust supportive capacity of family members.
K. Altered role performance, specify.
1. Role denials or ambivalence
2. Role strain
3. Role dissatisfaction
4. Role conflict
5. Role confusion
6. Role overload
L. Others. Specify. _________
IV. Inability to provide a home environment conducive to health maintenance and personal
development due to:
A. Inadequate family resources specifically:
1. Financial constraints/limited financial resources
2. Limited physical resources-e.g. lack of space to construct facility
B. Failure to see benefits (specifically long-term ones) of investments in home environment
improvement
C. Lack of/inadequate knowledge of importance of hygiene and sanitation
D. Lack of/inadequate knowledge of preventive measures
E. Lack of skill in carrying out measures to improve home environment
F. Ineffective communication pattern within the family
G. Lack of supportive relationship among family members
H. Negative attitudes/philosophy in life which is not conducive to health maintenance and personal
development
3. I. Lack of/inadequate competencies in relating to each other for mutual growth and
maturation (e.g. reduced ability to meet the physical and psychological needs of other
members as a result of family’s preoccupation with current problem or condition)
I. Others specify. _________
V. Failure to utilize community resources for health care due to:
A. Lack of/inadequate knowledge of community resources for health care
B. Failure to perceive the benefits of health care/services
C. Lack of trust/confidence in the agency/personnel
D. Previous unpleasant experience with health worker
E. Fear of consequences of action (preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative) specifically:
1. Physical/psychological consequences
2. Financial consequences
3. Social consequences
F. Unavailability of required care/services
G. Inaccessibility of required services due to:
1. Cost constrains
2. Physical inaccessibility
H. Lack of or inadequate family resources, specifically
1) Manpower resources, e.g. baby sitter
2) Financial resources, cost of medicines prescribe
I. Feeling of alienation to/lack of support from the community, e.g. stigma due to mental illness,
AIDS, etc.
J. Negative attitude/ philosophy in life which hinders effective/maximum utilization of community
resources for health care
K. Others, specify __________
 TABLE 4. SCALE FOR RANKING HEALTH CONDITIONS AND PROBLEMS ACCORDING TO
PRIORITIES
CRITERIA WEIGHT
1. Nature of the condition or problem presented 1
Scale **: Wellness state 3
Health deficit 3
Health threat 2
Foreseeable crisis 1

2. Modifiability of the condition or problem 2

Scale**: Easily modifiable 2
Partially modifiable 1
Not modifiable 0
3. Preventive potential 1
Scale**: High 3
Moderate 2
Low 1
4. Salience 1
Scale**: a condition or problem, needing 2
immediate attention

a condition or problem not 1

needing
immediate attention

not perceived as a problem or 0

condition needing change

Scoring:
1) Decide on a score for each of the criteria.
2) Divide the score by the highest possible score and multiply by the weight:
(Score / Highest Score) x Weight
3) Sum up the scores for all the criteria. The Highest score is 5, equivalent to the total weight.

* Developed by Salvacion G. Bailon and Araceli Maglaya. For details, see article: "Tools and Guidelines for
Nursing at the Family Level". The Anphi Papers, 22(1):13.1977. Updated by A.S. Maglaya in 2003
** Figures (0,1,2,3) for the weights and scale values are arbitrary, dictated more by convenience in computation.
 POSSIBLE PREECLAMPSIA
Criteria Computation Actual Score Justification
1. Nature of the 3/3 x 1 1 The problem is a health deficit and requires
Problem more immediate intervention.
2. Modifiability of 2/2 x 2 2 The resources and interventions needed to
the Problem solve the problem are available to the
family.
3. Preventive 3/3 x 1 1 The possibility of compilations during labor
Potential and delivery and occurrence of
abnormalities in the infant are prevented if
pre-eclampsia is eliminated as early as
possible.
4. Salience of the 0/2 x 1 0 The family does not recognize the
Problem existence of the problem.
Total Score 4

MALNUTRITION
Criteria Computation Actual Score Justification
1. Nature of the 3/3 x 1 1 It is a health deficit that requires immediate
Problem management to eliminate untoward
consequences.
2. Modifiability of the 2/2 x 2 2 The problem is easily modifiable since the
Problem nurse’s resources are available; she can
help the family on effective budgeting of
money and scheduling of time; she can
develop the skills of other members to
achieve good nutrition – proper food
selection and preparation, and feeding
practices.
3. Preventive Potential 3/3 x 1 1 Susceptibility to other diseases and
infections can be prevented if malnutrition
is eliminated; normal growth and
development can thus be achieved.
4. Salience of the 0/2 x 1 0 It is not a felt problem.
Problem
Total Score 4