title: A family-focused perspective on chronic illness.
abstract: The care of the chronically ill traditionally has focused on the individual who has the illness. Nursing has always emphasized including the family in care, but very few protocols dealing with chronic illness focus on the family as the unit of care. In this article, the author presents a new approach to the care of families affected by chronic illness, applying concepts of the family health system (Anderson & Tomlinson, 1992) to chronic illness. The protocol described, which includes nursing assessments and interventions, groups areas of family experience into five types of processes: interactive, developmental, coping integrity, and health processes. The protocol presented is an example of an innovative, holistic, family-focused perspective on the care of those with chronic illness.
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Butcher
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005192:Family Health; D006801:Humans