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CASE STUDY 

Individuals and a Family as a Client 

Mila Jefferies is a recently widowed 36-year-old mother of two children and the daughter of two aging parents in the southeastern United States. She and her children have recently relocated from an urban neighborhood to a rural town to care for her parents, Robert and Susan. The move involved a job change for Elizabeth, a change in schools for the children, and an increased distance from the family of the children’s deceased father. Mila’s older child is a 5-year-old daughter, recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia. The younger of the two children is a 3-year-old boy with asthma that has been difficult to control since the move. Robert is a 72-year-old Methodist minister who recently suffered a stroke, leaving him with diminished motor function on his left side and difficulty swallowing. Susan is 68 years old and suffers from fibromyalgia, limiting her ability to assist with the daily care of her husband. She has experienced an increase in generalized pain, difficulty sleeping, and worsening fatigue since her husband’s stroke. 

Use the Neuman systems model as a conceptual framework to respond to the following: 

• Describe the Jefferies family as a client I system using each of the five variables. 

• What actual and potential stressors threaten the family? Which stressors are positive, and which are negative? Separate the actual and potential stressors that threaten the individual members of the family. Which of the stressors are positive, and which are negative? 

• What additional nursing assessment data are needed considering Robert’s medical diagnoses? What additional data would be helpful for Susan’s medical diagnoses? What about each of the children? 

• What levels of prevention intervention(s) are appropriate for the Jefferies family? Propose potential prevention intervention(s) for each member of the family. 

• Identify your nursing priorities if you were providing care to this family.