Relationships influence health: family theory in health-care research
Abstract
This article reviews the presence of family theory in health‐care research. First, we demonstrate some disconnect between models of the patient, which tend to focus on the individual, and a large body of research that finds that relationships influence health. We summarize the contributions of family science and medical family therapy and conclude that family science models and measures are generally underutilized. As a result, practitioners do not have access to the rich tool kit of lenses and interventions offered by systems thinking. We propose several possible ways that family scientists can contribute to health‐care research, such as using the family as the unit of analysis, exploring theories of the family as they relate to health, and suggesting greater involvement of family scientists in health research.
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Research has highlighted the importance of the family context in shaping a wide range of health outcomes.
“Research has highlighted the importance of the family context—defined inclusively for a diversity of caretakers, parental figures, and generational household compositions—in shaping a wide range of health outcomes”
From Nurse-led approaches to address social determinants of health and advance health equity: A new framework and its implications (2023) · cites this paper as Garris & Weber, 2018
Most health programming, including existing programs for SDOH mitigation, tends to focus on the individual.
“most health programming, including existing programs for SDOH mitigation, tends to focus on the individual”
From Nurse-led approaches to address social determinants of health and advance health equity: A new framework and its implications (2023) · cites this paper as Garris & Weber, 2018
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- Authors
- Garris, B. R., & Weber, A. J.
- Affiliations
- East Tennessee State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Garris, Bill R.
- ORCID
- Garris, Bill R.
- Venue
- Journal of Family Theory & Review
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2018-08-21
- Volume
- 10
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 712-734
- ISSN
- 1756-2570 (ISSN-L)
- 1756-2589
- OpenAlex
- W2888480794
- Cited by
- 20
- References
- 31
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 8 · 2019: 3
- FWCI
- 3.24
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Family Theory & Review (publishedVersion)
- Digital Commons - East Tennessee State University (East Tennessee State University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Counseling, Therapy, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
- Keywords
- family theory, family science, medical family therapy, social relationships and health, systems thinking, family intervention, health care research
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