Assessing Family Health

The purpose of this entry is to briefly define and discuss the concepts of family health and wellness, present some basic issues to consider when planning to assess family health, and finally introduce some common models and measures of family health assessment.

Defining Family Health and Wellness

Health and Wellness in Individuals

Health can be defined in many ways. The most common conceptualizations of health indicate that it is the condition of being sound in body, mind, and spirit and free from physical disease or pain. Broader, more positive definitions of health move toward the construct of wellness. For example, the World Health Organization in its 1948 Constitution defined health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.

It ...

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