GORDON’S FUNCTIONAL HEALTH PATTERN

1. Health Perception-Health Management Pattern

Purpose: To determine how the client perceives and manages his/her health.
Compliance with current and past nursing and medical recommendation are assessed.

Client’s Perception of Health

 Describe your health
 How would you rate your health on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 is excellent), now, 5
years ago and 5 years ahead.
Client’s Perception of Illness
 Describe your illness or current health problem
 How has this affected your normal daily activities
 How do you feel your current daily activities have affected your health?
 What do you believe cause your illness?

Health Management and Habits

 Tell me what you do when you have a health problem
 When do you seek nursing or medical advice?
 How often do you go for medical exams (Dental, Pap’s smear, breast, blood
pressure)?
 What activities do you believe keep you healthy? Contribute to illness?

2. Nutritional-Metabolic Pattern
Purpose: To determine the client’s dietary habits and metabolic needs. The conditions
of hair, skin, nails, teeth, and mucous membranes are assessed.

Dietary and Fluid Intake

 Describe the type and amount of food you eat at breakfast, lunch, supper on
an average day.
 Do you attempt to follow any certain type of diet? Explain.
 Do you find it difficult to eat meals on time? Explain.
 What type of snacks do you eat? How often?
 Do you take any vitamin supplements?
 Do you take herbal supplements?
 Do you find it difficult to tolerate certain foods? Specify.
 What kind of fluids do you usually drink? How much per day?
 Do you have difficulty chewing or swallowing food?
 Do you ever experience nausea and vomiting? Describe.

Metabolism
 What would you consider your ideal weight
 Have you had any recent weight gains or losses?

3. Elimination Pattern
Purpose: To determine the adequacy of function of the client’s bowel and bladder for
elimination.
 Bowel Habits
 Describe your bowel pattern. Have there been any recent changes?
 How frequent are your bowel movements?
 What is the color and consistency of your stools?
 Do you use enemas?
 Do you use suppositories?
 Do you have any discomfort with your bowel movements? Describe.
 Have you ever had bowel surgery?

Bladder Habits
 Describe your urinary habits.
 How frequently do you urinate? When and number of times?
 What is the amount and color of urine?
 Do you have any following problems in urinating:
o Pain?
o Blood in urine?
o Difficulty starting stream?
o Incontinence?
o Voiding frequency during day?
o Bladder infection

4. Activity-Exercise Pattern
Purpose: To determine the client’s activity of daily living including routines of exercise,
leisure, and recreation. This includes activities necessary for personal hygiene,
cooking, shopping, eating, maintaining the home, and working.

Activities of Daily Living

 Describe your activities on a normal day.
 How satisfied are you with these activities?
 Do you have any difficulty with any of these self-care activities? Explain.
 Does any help you with these activities? How?
 Do you use any special devices to help you with your activities?

Leisure Activities
 Describe the leisure activities you enjoy.
 Has your health affected your ability to enjoy your leisure? Explain.
 Do you have time for leisure activities?
 Describe any hobbies you have.

Exercise Routine
 Do you exercise?
 Describe those activities that you believe give you exercise?

Occupational Activities
 Describe what do you do to make a living?
 How satisfied are you with this job?
 Do you believe it has affected your ability to work?
 5. Sexuality-Reproductive Pattern
Purpose: To determine the client’s fulfilment of sexual needs and perceived level of
satisfaction. The reproductive pattern and developmental level of the client are
determined, and perceived problems related to sexual activities, relationships or self-
concept are elicited.

Female
Menstrual History
 How old are you when you began menstruating?
 Have you noticed any change in your menstrual cycle?
 Have you noticed any bleeding between your menstrual cycles?

Obstetric History
 How many times have you been pregnant?
 Describe the outcome of each of your pregnancies
 If you have children, what are the ages and sex of each?
 If pregnant now:
Was this planned or unexpected pregnancy
Describe your feelings about this pregnancy

Male/Female
Contraception
“What do you or your partner do to prevent pregnancy?”

Perception of Sexual Activities

 Describe your sexual feelings. How comfortable are you with your
feelings of femininity or masculinity?
 Describe your level of satisfaction from your sexual relationship/s on a
scale of 1 to 10 (10 as satisfying)

Concerns Related to Illness

 How has our illness affected your sexual relationship?

Special Problems
 Do you have or have you ever had a sexually transmitted disease.
Describe.

6. Sleep-Rest Pattern
Purpose: To determine the client’s perception of the quality of his/her sleep,
relaxation, and energy levels. Methods used to promote relaxation and sleep is also
assessed.

Sleep Habits
 Describe your usual sleeping time and habits at home/hospital.
 How long does it take you to fall asleep?
 If you awaken, how long does it take you to fall asleep again?
 Do you use anything to help you fall asleep?
 How long would you rate the quality of your sleep?
 Special Problems
 Do you ever experience difficulty with falling asleep?
 Do you ever feel fatigued after a sleep period?
 Has our current health altered your normal sleep habits?

Sleep Aids
 What help you fall asleep?

7. Sensory-Perceptual Pattern
Purpose: To determine the functioning status of the five senses: vision, hearing, touch
(including pain perception), taste and smell.

Perception of Senses
 Describe your ability to see, hear, feel, taste and smell.
 Describe any difficulty you have with your vision, hearing, ability to
feel, taste or smell

Pain Assessment
 Describe any pain you have now.
 When does it occur? How often? How long does it last?
 Rate your pain on a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the most severe pain.
Special Aids
“What devices or methods do you use to help you with any of these problems?
‘Describe any medications you take to help you with these problems?

8. Cognitive Pattern
Purpose: To determine client’s ability to understand, communicate, remember and
make decisions.

Ability to Understand
 Are you satisfied with your understanding of your illness and prescribed care?

 Explain.
 What is the best way for you to learn something new?

Ability to Communicate
 Can you tell me how you feel your current state of health?
 Do you ever have difficulty expressing yourself or explaining things to others?
Explain.

Ability to Remember
 Are you able to remember recent events and events of long ago? Explain.

Ability to Make Decisions

 Describe how you feel when faced with a decision.
 What assists you in making decisions?
9. Role-Relationship Pattern
Purpose: To determine the client’s perceptions of responsibilities and roles in the
family, at work, and in social life.

Perception of Major Roles and Responsibilities in Family

 Describe your family.
 Do you live with your family? Alone?
 How does your family get along?
 Who makes the major decisions in your family?
 How do you feel about your family?
 What is your role in the family?
 How does your family deal with problems?
 Are there any major problems now?

Perception of Major Roles and Responsibilities at Work

 Describe your occupation
 What is your major responsibility at work?

Perception of Major Social Roles and Responsibilities

 Who is the most important person in your life? Explain.
 Describe your neighbourhood and the community in which you live.
 Do you participate any social groups or neighborhood activities? If yes,
describe.
 What do you see as your contribution to society?

10. Self-Perception-Self-Concept Pattern

Purpose: To determine the client’s perception of his or her identity, abilities, body
image and self-worth.

Perception of Identity
 Describe yourself.
 Has your illness affected how you describe yourself?
Perception of Abilities and Self-worth
 What do you consider to be your strength? Weaknesses?
 How do you feel about yourself?
 How does your family about you and your illness?

Body Image
 How do you feel about your appearance?
 Has this changed since your illness? Explain.
 How would you change your appearance if you could?

11. Coping-Stress Tolerance Pattern

Purpose: To determine the areas and amount of stress in a client’s life and the
effectiveness of coping methods used to deal with it.

Perception of Stress and Problems in Life

 Describe what you believe to be the most stressful situation in your life.
  How has your illness affected the stress you feel?
 Has there been a personal loss or major change in your life over the last year?
 What has helped you to cope with this change or loss?

Coping Methods and Support Systems

 What do you usually do first when faced with a problem?
 What helps you to relieve stress and tension?
 To whom do you usually deal with problems?
 Do you use medications, drugs or alcohol to help relieve stress?