A Family-Focused Approach to Health Care (pdf)

ith many states, and our nation as a whole, undergoing the task of health care reform, health care seems an appropriate topic for considering the merits of a family perspective. Recently, a growing number of health care professionals, researchers, advocates, and consumers recognize that families are a profound and powerful force on the health of individuals, and that health care in this country could be improved by supporting and strengthening family caregiving and the family’s role in health promotion and disease prevention (Doherty, 1992b; Doherty and Campbell, 1990; COFO, 1992). Furthermore, some promising preliminary studies are documenting that a family-centered approach to health care may be more cost effective than the present approach which focuses on individuals.