Discourse The Practice of Family Nursing Care: Still a Challenge!

Abstract

Undeniably, the family is an essential part of nursing care. The incidence of chronic illness is increasing and early discharge of patients from hospitals, as a result of health care reform, require families to assume more responsibilities for the care of their members. These families find themselves in need of the assistance and expertise provided by nurses. Family nursing is becoming a flourishing domain. Over the last seven years, three international family nursing conferences have been held, the Journal of Family Nursing was born, and the study of families has been incorporated into many educational curricula (Wright & Bell, 1989).