Professional Documents
Culture Documents
PURPOSE: To provide a basis for estimating the nursing needs of a particular family
1. The family has a health problem with which they are unable to cope.
2. There is a reasonable likelihood that nursing will make a difference the in the family’s
ability to cope.
• When the family is unable to cope with one or another aspect of health care, it may be
said to have a “coping deficit”
SCALING CUES IN FAMILY COPING INDEX
The following descriptive statement “cues” to help you rate the family.
1 or no competence
3 for moderate competence
5 for complete competence
1. It is the coping capacity and not the underlying problem that is being rated.
2. It is the family and not the individual that is being rated.
3. Rating should be done after 2-3 home visits when the nurse is more acquainted with the
family.
4. The scale is as follows:
0-2 or no competence
3-5 coping in some fashion but poorly
6-8 moderately competent
9 fairly competent
5. Justification- a brief statement that explains why you have rated the family as you have.
These statements should be expressed in terms of behavior of observable facts.
Example: “Family nutrition includes basic 4 rather than good diet.
6. Terminal rating is done at the end of the given period of time. This enables the nurse to
see progress the family has made in their competence; whether the prognosis was
reasonable; and whether the family needs further nursing service and where emphasis
should be placed.