FAMILY HEALTH
Author: Pentcho Balabanov
United Nation family and household definitions are accepted, although usually the family is corresponded to the household. As a system the family has functions and structure, it is a developing one, i.e. we can speak about physiology, morphology and dynamics of the family. As a group the family has demographic structure, respective psycho-emotional climate, social, migration and education characteristics, material and living assurance, health status and demands. As a social unity the family is at the same time a formal and unformal group.
The survey is oriented towards a critical moment - on the 30th of April 1986 as a part of Population and Housing Census on the 4th of December 1985. It had to use four new criteria in the family type definition: family phase development, pregnancy in the new wedlock family partners, complex family members relationship, unrelated member of the family. The family type is not a goal, but a point of departure for the family medico-social problems study.
The survey has representative character. The sample is based on the household census list and includes 6629 families from 500 nests. There are no more than 15 families in every nest. Over 2% index is guarantied with 95.45% probability /relative error is no more than 20%/.
Information collecting is based on different methods: inquiry-interview, observation, physical measurement and psychotests, documental analysis, expert judgement, clinical examination of the family, complex estimation modeling, etc. The survey model includes the following elements:
1. Family type
2. Residence /town and village lifestyle/ in three aspects: A. Demographic aspect - development phase, generations and age structure; B. Social aspect - social labor and education, family members activity type, migration status and education level; C. Territorial aspect - community functional type and region.
3. Family living conditions also in three aspects: A. Material living conditions - income and food expenses per family member; B. Housing living conditions - sanitary engineering characteristics, rest conditions, kind of dwelling walls and floor, useful and total floor space per member, rooms number per member, housing living conditions total estimation; C. Social living conditions - demographic, psychological, physical, ergonomic.
The health and health problems in connection with the family development types are discussed in greatest detail. Series of regularities are revealed, hypotheses are raised. By means of detail analysis and all received family data linking the author seeks their explication. He makes concrete proposals for the family physician activity in the different family types.
At the end the general and family medicine problems are considered, the family approach and its forms /family dispensarization, therapy and prevention/ are discussed. The future family physician status is determined.
CONTENTS
Chapter one: Family nature, significance and study
Chapter two: Methodology and methodics of the family: medico-social problems study
Chapter three: Family types, health and medico-social demands
Chapter four: Family health factors
4.1. Family health factor - nature and classification
4.2. Social-demographic factors
4.3. Material and living conditions factors
4.4. Medico-social factors
Chapter five: Family development dynamics and medico-social problems
Chapter six: Family medicine problems and family approach in the health service
Literature
Supplement
1. Household questionnaire
2. Household questionnaire replenishment instruction
3. Household characteristics replenishment instruction
